Quote: "Here We Go Again"
listen to this: http://www.noneinc.com/sound/ %20&PossibleCostlyIllegals-HereWeGoAgain.mp3 As you read the following.
Which movie franchise has had the most "fan edits?"
--> don't know
Can you estimate how many film edits are out there?
--> everyday more
How many film edits are on your site?
--> more
How important was "The Phantom Edit?" Did that start it all?
--> In the grander scheme, not much. Did it start it all, maybe for this crop of individuals, but for the appropriated arts, this is another drop in the pool.
Some call it collage, compilation, found footage, detournement, recycled cinema, etc. Either way they are all extensions of the creative spirit. Monkey See, Monkey Do; Differently. Humans learn through copying. Some of these terms go back to the early days of cinema. Terms and practices evolve, and appropriation changes to suit those needs. (Duchamp hung a toilet, there are now found footage festivals http://www.cine-magic.com/foundfootagefest.html go figure)
Recently, in the 1970s, because of the grittier content, many films had alternative versions or 'cuts', so they could be released in places they couldn't get the original played. (typically a European film got 'cut' when playing in the US) This had to be a factor in the wave of editors today, who might have been children at that time and learned that the movie they saw, was just part of a larger whole.
In the 1980s, colorization became a new tool, and many films got a facelift. Ironically, George Lucas was vocal, criticizing the colorization of the Three Stooges, claiming that it would harm the humor by removing it's lack of color context. One of the major uplifts to a classic was Metropolis, (1927 / 1984) by Fritz Lang. It got colorized and a new soundtrack was added. Revising soundtrack material is a common Fan Editor decision. Many Fan Editors also might share a common love of MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000) who appropriated whole movies and added their own commentaries. This has evolved into Riff Tracks, but there have been several fan websites dedicated to the art. [ http://www.zarban.com/?page_id=1562 the fan commentary movement has been attributed to that Roger Ebert article ] 'Wizard People, Dear Reader' was an audio modification of the Harry Potter movie which got some media attention years back. [ http://illegal-art.org/video/wizard.html ]
Another 1980s phenomenon, Airplane! became probably the most popular recontextualized/appropriate film still to this day, possibly. Airplane! is a direct remake of Zero Hour. (1957) The overall plot and major portions of dialog are direct lifts from Zero Hour. [ this viddie has clips of both films showing the modifications, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q__vuyH1JEI ]
If Star Wars and Jaws are the films which coined the blockbuster title. Airplane! paved the way for the 'Remake Movie' phenomenon, people like to complain about now. All these spoofy comedies and the creeping of comedy moments into action films is one of the things the current batch of Fan Editors rail against. A common practice i've heard is that many Fan Editors remove the jokey moments from the action films they appreciate.
In the 1990s, whole documentaries were produced using 'illegal' satellite broadcasts. Brian Springer's 'Spin' documents the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of politicians and newscasters. [ watch here: http://illegal-art.org/video/index.html ] Disturbing to this day, especially realizing that the same techniques are being employed to manipulate who gets to speak in the Presidential debates.
On the Star Wars front, George Lucas has in his entire career spurred the creation of tools which democratized film making. http://droidmaker.com/ Is a great book by Michael Rubin on the early days of digital filmmaking. At Lucas Film, the 1980s computer team would eventually become Pixar, but at this time they were making the tools like video and audio editing software which every computer now has standard. The OT.com community have grown up following the evolvement of SW and the computer systems created to make them and are familiar with the tools which permit the modification of film. So it's not surprising that the modification of The Phantom Menace would be one of the initial creations of this type to Find a sympathetic audience. It was built in. There are many other works being created in the same spirit but getting those works to like minded folks to reach a critical mass, well it happens. In audio appropriation, the bootleg mashup scene produced DJ Danger Mouse, but his emergence lead to a contraction of the culture (forums went private, etc.) publicly, because of the scrutany.
For what it's worth, the direct FanEdit.org community is very much concerned with presentation. They like their DVDs so they can go watch on their media viewing systems. They want the theater going experience. This should be of note to the people who make the A/V tech. A good percentage are often gadget freaks. So wrap this article with the new HDTV and BluRay player / media center.
But there are alternative creators using other forums and mediums to get their creations out. There have been many Trailer remakes who use free online repositories to get their message out. Recently learned about a full movie mashup project called 'One Flew Over The Dead Poets Nest'. Available on free online repositories and social media sites, it stands in stark contrast (distributionally) to FE.o. [ http://www.myspace.com/dead_poets_nest ]
...but now here's the cross road, do your readers really care about any of this. What's the angle your publication is going for. Why hire a writer of this caliber to do a piece on this topic. Could you forward the angle question to the person who pitched the article idea. curious what they wanted to find out. what are you gunning for.
Some info pulled from:
http://recycledcinema.blogspot.com/
(thanks Wobbly!) haven't read everything yet, but seems to be a great blog on the subject, definitely coming from a wordy art context.
Thanks! You're being a HUGE help!
--> oh i doubt that.
Tell me how important you think "The Phantom Edit" was to the "fan edit" hysteria? Did it "need" to be that movie that started it all? Is Mike Nichols, the creator of "Phantom Edit," considered somewhat of a legend?
--> Partly touched on the first part before, the idea of the built in audience which lead to critical mass. (the Holiday Special and Phantom Edit share a common video tape trading history, except the Phantom Edit was on the cusp of easy digital transfer) The community appreciates where it's been but doesn't dwell on it too much. Which is why there are few articles. There are new works being created, and the members place most of their time into making those as best as they can. Communities not large enough to have a documentarian following it's exploits, the public forum archives accomplish that some what for those who wade through them.
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