A Muppet Fandom Documentary

[beakerboy12]

Youtube? Maybe.

 

[TSSD]

I'd be glad to help out with this. I'm no big name in the fandom, but I've been a fan of the Muppets since Sesame Street premiered (when I was one year old). I started reading at age two in no small part due to that show. I was especially into The Muppet Show when it was on the air. Recently, thanks to the wonder of the Internet and DVDs, discovering Muppet items I'd never seen before, like Fraggle Rock, and I've been having a ton of fun perpetrating fan art and fan fiction.

Dunno if that viewpoint would be of much use to you, but if it is, I'd be happy to pitch in.

Thanks! For now, I'm only interested in the classic muppets part, and although it would mainly be post MFS, I would want some background info on the Muppets.
Which reminds me, I really need someone who has been a part of the fandom for as long as possible, so that I can get as deep into the recent history as I can.
I would also want someone who knows something about copyrights and laws and stuff like that, since I have very little knowledge on the subject, and I really don't want to be sued.
Also anybody who runs fansites *cough* Tough Pigs, Muppet Central, etc. *cough* or podcasts *cough* Muppetcast *cough* your POV would be really appreciated. Besides, you don't want to hear for the rest of your life about how the Mindset did it, but you didn't, do you?

 

[SOTTH]

I think this sounds like a great idea, as well! If there's anything I can do to help, let me know!

 

[muppetperson]

I would like to help out from Australia, if the movie comes out over here, for an international perspective.Only thing is- I will have to find someone who has a movie camera!

 

[muppetperson]

It would be great if Disney could work with you and add your documentary as a bonus feature on "The Muppets" when it goes to DVD.

 

[TSSD]

Welcome aboard, you guys! @Muppetperson, it would be great to get an international POV, here's hoping you can find a video camera! As for Disney I doubt that would happen, but that would be awesome, and really great! (and cheap, Disney! )

 

[beaker]

Not really fan fiction as much as a fan project. What I would really like to do, is expand on an idea given by Vic Romano on the "When we go to see the movie" thread. I'd like to make a documentary about the muppet fandom and it's excitement around the new muppet movie. It would hopefully give some background on the muppet fandom since MFS, the excitement surrounding the return of the Muppets' popularity. It would also highlight some muppet fans and their experience around the movie, hopefully some of the people who run the fansites and podcasts, as well as some of the average fans. They would hopefully film outside the theater during their first viewing of the movie, and have interviews almost like you see in shows like the office (done over webcam or something, to include fans who don't live close to me, the footage they taped during the movie, hopefuly some clips of movies past, if I could somehow get Disney to let me, which I doubt they would, as well as this one. I have many ideas for the documentary, and hope to have it done by early 2012 and start working on it over the summer. If you have any ideas or would like to be a part of it, please reply to this thread.

It's a great idea, and I too have thought how wonderful it'd be.

Heck, I drove to Los Angeles just to see the premiere of "The Rockafire Explosion"( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ETK24ax-9A ) which is essentially a really moving documentary about the underground Chuck E Cheese fandom out there.

I LOVE documentaries like Trekkies, Trekkies 2, Star Wait, A Galaxy Far Far Away, King of Kong, Chasing Ghosts: Arcade History, Star Woids, Get Lamp(about interactive fiction/text adventure fans), Best Worst Movie(about Troll 2 fans), The Achievers(about Big Lebowski fans), Toy Punks, Toys Are Us,
etc.

There's never been a documentary about action figure collectors strangely enough, but a Muppet fan documentary would rock.
Of course Warrick would have to be in it. As would a scene with Frogboy at his store

But any help you'd need, lemme know! I've worked on short indie films and sketch comedy stuff, and have an extensive knowledge of documentaries of all kinds.

 

[beaker]

Thanks. Personally, I'd really like to see if I could get this going somehow, and if I could, maybe try contacting Disney and seeing if I could use clips or songs from Muppet projects they have the rights to. I don't know if they would let me, and I really doubt it, but I could hope. I could edit it and organize everything, but I would really need other people to film themselves and others outside the theaters they go to, and maybe film at D23 or other Muppet events if they go.

That's what I was thinking too when I saw your and Vic's idea.
D23 is no doubt going to be pretty much the closest thing to Muppetfest we have(if D23 09 was any indication) As DWMckim joked, we should have an "M55". I plan on being at both Comic Con in July and D23 in August, and I can bet there will be heavy Muppet content at both. D23 in particular, I bet a whole day will be devoted to the Muppets, and will be a big spectacle. I definitely see that weekend as the perfect opportunity to stage a large fan gathering, and overall to make our stand. (I'd so love to make an "M55" shirt, or wear a muffin shirt) I want to see Muppet fans in full force there, kind of a non hostile takeover

Legal stuff: Well, no doubt some of the discussion and fandom will include heavy Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street collecting by people.

Sometimes these kind of documentaries to get to be somewhat official, like the documentary on Firefly/Serenity fans. Theres also the official documentary on Indiana Jones, LOTR and Potter fans.

 

[Vic Romano]

I think for starters, there needs to be guidelines for what we're looking to film. Peoples experiences, random movie goers thoughts, random people just out and about and asking if they even plan on seeing the movie. Then there should be a basic set of questions for interviewing, so a hundred fans aren't all asking a million different questions.

Video clips can most likely be e-mailed depending on length and size.

 

[TSSD]

Legal stuff: Well, no doubt some of the discussion and fandom will include heavy Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street collecting by people.

Welcome aboard! For now I'm gonna try to keep it more oriented towards the classic muppets, since the new movie is coming out. And besides, we don't want this to be longer than Avatar, which it probably would be if we included everything!