The SciFi channel has released some chunky packs of footage, music and sound effects, and invited web users to remix and create videos. Ostensibly this is a competition, with the winning video airing on the channel during a future Battlestar episode…
Which I’m sure will be lovely for whoever wins. I don’t really care though, because I’m seeing a swathe of great A/V mashups and theme remixes appearing in the coming months. I can guarantee that there will be Battlestar breakdowns appearing in the next gig I play with Segue21.
The videos are available in AVI and Quicktime, with both Land and Space clips represented, and there are handy “download all” links. The Quicktime packs are bigger (higher quality?), so I’m getting those: 733MB all up. They’re not really anything you couldn’t get from your own DVD collection, but it’s great to see a TV channel being proactive about remix culture. Hopefully next time they’ll give us alpha-matted effects comps of bluescreen shots so we can bring the actors and explosions into our own work.
Via BoingBoing
Oh my Gods! This is Fracking cool! I can't wait for more video and audio clips.
Hrm. I just hope these dont get overused, and become cliche, like those ubiquitous Bruce Lee and Matrix clips. Jesus Christ. 😀
They look good though – Interlaced DV. I wish the clips were longer though. Not a lot to work with.
Just because they post these clips on their website, does not mean you can use them in your set! As you can read in the term and conditions, they are only to be used for a submission to the SCI FI website.
That's true Bart, but I can't see SciFi taking VJs to court if they use these clips in their sets. Time will tell, but I can't imagine they'll be issuing takedown notices if these show up on youtube etc.
I could be wrong, but this kind of proactive action doesn't seem to be the work of people who are scared about "diluting their trademarks" or whatever frightened rhetoric the studio lawyers use when taking down fan-built content.
That kind of disclaimer is standard procedure so if they need to they can persue people who aren't playing fair. But it doesn't mean they're going to chase after anyone who uses them.
True but you should be telling the whole story and not present it as free footage.
That is true. I'd actually drafted the post with a link to the terms and conditions page, but thought that it brought down the over-excited tone of the article, and really, what cool thing comes without terms and conditions? Most software we buy comes with ridiculous conditions, many of which you "agree" to just by opening the box.
This is an important part of electronic performance – VJ or DJ or otherwise – our medium allows us to play perfect copies of other people's works, and to remix and repurpose them. Anyone can go to the DVD store or hit bittorrent and get this material.
Yes, it's technically illegal to "perform" this material, but it's also "illegal" to rip your DVDs or CDs to your iPod in many countries. If we start disclaimering any time we mention something which may be illegal somewhere, these posts are going to take a long time to write 🙂
If all you want to do is lure readers and sell adds with sensational lies and half truths than go ahead.
But please be aware of your powerful position by running a popular (and mostly high quality) blog. If you can inform, entertain AND educate your readers by telling the whole truth they will be a lot more loyal in the long run.
[…] SciFi Channel Release Battlestar Galactica Music, Sound Effects and Video for Remixing I’ve posted this news on CDMo, but we at CDM Distributed Global HQ love Battlestar so much, and I’m sure Peter would agree it would be a shame if anyone missed out, so we’re going to have a little news repetition. […]