I don't think it's an issue of the source material - I suspect it's more to do with getting permission from Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, etc.
"Hi-def" is a bit of a misnomer - what it really means is that the films are HIGHER-def than if you watch them on the Atomfilms site. Maybe a few of the films are actually Hi-def, but Pink Five certainly wasn't one of them, it's plain old NTSC.
Originally posted by: s7en Flattery enough yet, Trey?
It's a very good start, I'll say that.
Seriously, of course it's flattering that people like our stuff and are even willing to hack copies of it for their own. How could it not be? I don't really want to tell anyone not to do it. Though I'll say I'd prefer they didn't.
There's a lot of misinformation and/or misunderstanding about how the whole Star Wars/Lucasfilm/Atomfilms thing works, so let me explain it that way.
All Atomfilms contestants whose films are picked as finalists - not just the eventual award winners, I mean every film that's in the contest to begin with - have to sign a big ol' contract with Atomfilms/Lucasfilm to seal the deal. The contract's about ten pages long, plus there's a whole lot of other paperwork that also has to be submitted - an official copyright application filed with the US government, signed releases for every bit of music, every actor, and so on and so on. Same goes for Gangsta Rap or Jedi Hunter and the rest, we all signed the same deal.
What it adds up to is that Atomfilms and Lucasfilm have sole distribution rights to the films, in any media. And with all that paperwork already in hand, if they decide to release a DVD or do a TV sale or anything else they might think of, they're all set to do it. So far they simply haven't, and that's entirely Lucasfilm's call. Doesn't mean they won't do it sometime in the future, tho.
Because of all that, distributing copies of Pink Five or any other Atomfilms finalist is exactly as illegal as distributing copies of Revenge of the Sith. Believe it or not. While I don't personally know of any cases where they've really dropped the hammer on somebody, I know they've sent a few strongly-worded emails when they've spotted unlicensed copies of Pink Five online. That was enough to convince the websites to remove the files, so it ended there.
But in the meantime, all Atomfilms finalists get royalties based on the number of downloads their film gets. The royalties aren't paying my mortgage or anything, but it's certainly better than nothing at all.
So... if you'd really like to see Amy and me get some compensation for making those movies, you'll help us make sure they're only available on Atomfilms, and watch them there. A lot.
Originally posted by: RowManI got a decent copy of Pink Five a while back and included it as an easter egg on my latest SW bonus disc. Does anyone know where I can get Pink Five Strikes Back or Return of Pink Five?
I certainly hope not.
I'm flattered by the interest, believe me. But Lucasfilm and Atomfilms have the sole right to distribute the Pink Five films, in any form, whether for profit or not. They're rather serious about protecting that right.
_I_ can't distribute them, so my feelings when others do are rather... mixed.
