A couple weeks ago I posted a video using a Cat Power song…which I used without permission. Since we’ve been trying to push the concept of Creative Commons, I got called out on the mat. So my friend, Lucas Gonze, made an original sound track for the video.
Lucas wrote a good post about the potential for collaboration between music and video makers.
"Soundtracks for videoblogs are an ideal application of blog music. In
both cases the media has to be fast, cheap, conversational and
copyleft. This is an instance of remixing outside of the mashup genre,
and an instance of redistribution outside of filesharing."
CC Mixter would be a great place for people to put out requests for collaborations. This goes beyond the idea of a mashup…and starts entering the way that commercial media is created. People with different talents work together to create something none of them could do alone. Once "bloggy" creators start reaching out to each other in this way…watch out!
Hear ye!
I do think, however, that we have some right to recontextualize the media universe – there has to be some element of fair use. we can’t comment on the mainstream media without using it, so we can’t only play within the CC sandbox as far as I’m concerned…
but Brett…this is the big question.
How do we “recontextualize the media universe” without getting into stupid legal battles with copyright holders…or without marginalizing our work because we need to stay under the radar?
Fair Use is a statement that needs a lot more definition.
A good strategy may be to support and use Creative Commons to such an extent that the traditional copyright world realizes they need to change if they want to stay relevant.
Right – but I think there needs to be other pressure applied than just using the licenses. For sure, when we can, we should release our work this way, and as a political point, use CC works in our videoblogs and creations.
At the same time – I think the boundaries of Fair Use need to be pushed. We need the public to see the issues in real concrete terms. Bring on the stupid copyright battles!
agreed.
i think GirlTalk (http://tinyurl.com/p8t9v) is a good example of how someone pushes Fair Use in a smart way.
How funny. Nice new track – completely different feel.
It’s funny because I was playing around with this video last week. Your whole CC dilemma had got me thinking. I’ve been thinking about videos for my wife Kate’s new album, and wondering about cutting some of my vlog stuff and family videos to one of them.
I loved that Crazy Arms video so much, I wondered how it would be if I put some of her music to it – the effect that it would have on its emotional impact… how much you’d cut the film to the Cat Power music, how much was chance… And I thought if I found something that really *worked*, I’d send it to you for fun.
So just as a little experiment for myself, i ran about five of her tracks with it. Amazingly different experiences, even though the tracks themselves are not *wildly* different. There was one that really worked (although it was 30 seconds too long). But I didn’t send it. I thought it’d be weird.
Anyway, it was really interesting, and illustrated to me how much the heart of the film is affected by finding the *right* piece of music whether composed, CC or from your library. Cat Power chimed for you in a special way, and to go out and find something that works, or to have someone compose it… is *hard*. I wish I was like D.Liss and could score my own stuff. God damn, I hate it when doing the right thing makes it harder.
agreed. Having to make our own music is another task independent creators put on themselves. But there are lots of great musicians out there. It’s now a matter of connecting the videobloggers with them.
still a passion of mine.
i looked up my first post on the videoblogging group as per ryanne’s suggestion and in that message i go on about music and video to the tune of what Rupert is saying. i’ve always experimented and the reason i first got involved with open media was for the very purpose of being able to use indie music and video freely. since 1998, I have been mesmerized by the interpretive values of music on video and often experiment with both intentional and random synchronizations. I used to call it interdigitations.
funny also… just yesterday i wanted to revive my projects to push this stuff forward. openmusicvideo.com/musiconvideo.com project which like so many other ideas, i let them get dusty and abandonded.
ccmixter is also great. havent been there in a while though. i installed it once (its opensource).
sull