SkewTubeFan Videos, Brokeback Trailers,

and the Future of User-Penetrated Content

[ Swarthmore College, 04 March 2008 ]

Julie Levin Russo ‘01

Brown UniversityModern Culture & Media

http://j-l-r.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_sharing_sites

digital video >>• YouTube Poop • mass media

mashups• participatory promotions

?

• How will industry and audiences negotiate a balance between creativity and control?

• Who decides what content is commodifiable?

• Is commercial production the most legitimate production?

:

1) you don't go up there to fish (slash goggles)

2) if you’re looking for work (user-generated promotions)

3) it's nobody's business but ours (fan videos)

4) if you can't fix it, you gotta stand it (best practices)

5) I wish I knew how to quit you!

1) you don’t go up there to fish

slash goggles

http://towleroad.com (October 2005)

slash goggles (personal collection)

Technical Specifications

• genre• narrative• characterization (stereotypes)• visual codes (e.g. framing)• “subtext” (gazes, body language)• metatext (behind-the-scenes trivia

and speculation)

incomplete list of popular Brokeback trailers

• Brokeback to the Future• Brokeback Hogwarts• Brokeback Mount Doom (LoTR)• Brokeback Squadron (Top Gun)• Brokeback Island (Lost)• Brokeback Anatomy (Grey’s Anatomy)• Brokeback Snake Mountain (He-Man)• Broke Mac Mountain (Mac/PC)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=omB18oRsBYg

2) if you’re looking for work

user-generated promotions

http://scifi.com/battlestar/videomaker/tools/

contradictions

promote the show, using its “look and sound” and other

recognizable characteristics

be “original” and don’t infringe

copyright

you’re a TV groupie who wants TPTB’s

attention and approval

you’re a tech-savvy internet based

producer

Terms and Conditions

you are granting SCI FI, its licensees, successor and assigns, the perpetual and irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to (a) reproduce, distribute, display, exhibit, host, cache, store, archive, index, categorize, comment on, tag, transmit, broadcast, stream, edit, alter, modify, synchronize with visual material, create algorithms based thereon, and transcode the Submission to appropriate media formats, standards or mediums... throughout the world in perpetuity, in any and all media, whether now existing or hereafter

devised...

http://video.scifi.com/player/?id=64712

3) it’s nobody’s business but ours

fan videos

http://profile.imeem.com/25CsW5/video/

HsUGuJPi/

from “Pressure” by California Crew (circa 1990)

“Closer” by Killa + T. Jonesy

fake trailers vs. slash vids

form

narrative editing; soundtrack + narration + dialogue fragments

balance narrative, textual associations, + spectacle; song as audio track

tone parodicsincere, at least on one level; deeply invested in the source

audience

accessible with a minimum of pop culture knowledge

speaking to a specific interpretive community

contextshared openly on YouTube; considered public

shared via subcultural channels; considered semi-private

values

effective humor > broad appeal > quantifiable popularity

effective communication > community recognition > feedback + joy

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by Laura Shapiro

http://laurasha.imeem.com/video/Af5PXCX7/

4) if you can’t fix it, you gotta stand it

best practices

Terms of Service

YouTube does not permit copyright infringing activities and infringement of intellectual property rights on its Website, and YouTube will remove all Content and User Submissions if properly notified that such Content or User Submission infringes on another's intellectual property rights. YouTube reserves the right to remove Content and User Submissions without prior notice... If you believe that your User Submission that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing... you may send a counter-notice...

FAQ about Copyright and Fair Usehttp://chillingeffects.org/fairuse/faq.cgi

the fair use of a copyrighted work... is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

2. the nature of the copyrighted work;3. the amount and substantiality of

the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

“Recut, Reframe, Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User-Generated Video,” by Pat Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi

http://centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/fair_use/

“many uses of copyrighted material in today’s online videos are eligible for fair use consideration... [and] could be legal”

“Unfortunately, this emerging, participatory media culture is at risk, with new industry practices to control piracy... Legal as well as illegal copying could all too easily disappear. Worse still, a new generation of media makers could grow up with a deformed and truncated notion of their rights as creators.”

“Fair Use Principles for User Generated Video Content” http://eff.org/issues/ip-and-free-speech/fair-use-

principles-usergen

A Wide Berth for Transformative, Creative Uses

Filters Must Incorporate Protections for Fair Use

DMCA Notices Required for Removals

Notice to Users upon DMCA Takedown

Informal "Dolphin Hotline” Mandatory Reinstatement

upon Counter-notice or Retraction

http://transformativeworks.org

5) I wish I knew how to quit you!

conclusion

?

• How will industry and audiences negotiate a balance between creativity and control?

• Who decides what content is commodifiable?

• Is commercial production the most legitimate production?

?

• Can queer viewing be monetized? Do we want it to be?