Open Source Puppetry Project

[SesameKermie]

The way I understand it is that what is meant by "open source" is that aside from the equipment neccessary there is no "licensing" cost or fees. For instance, Kermit is not an open source character--if someone wanted to use him in their work, licensing fees and all sorts of other legal hoo-hah would have to be taken care of.

This project, on the other hand (pardon the pun), is meant to be freely shared. As far as I'm concerned, the patterning or lack thereof for the characters was to accommodate puppet builders of varying levels of skill and financial solvency--you make a character however you can. So, why don't we table the "is it actually open-source" discussion for now and lets get back to getting this project underway. One last comment though before we leave this for the moment: could the concept for this project be open-source and have the individual characters/videos be somewhat copyright protected?

Bezalel--I think the final consensus was that the race of monsters was going to be the "Funderlings" and the particular "military unit" they belong to was the O-Mega Force Group. So I think the omega will still stand up.

 

[SesameKermie]

By the way . . .

For anyone looking for a good "head" pattern, Mike the Propologist has posted a pattern over in the "Merry X-mas" thread.

 

[Phantom]

With regards for shouting the groups initials (especially when things go wrong), just for the record, I respectfully ask that we take the word "force" out of the group name.

I doubt anyone will fail to understand my reason why.

 

[puppetsmith]

Could the concept for this project be open-source and have the individual characters/videos be somewhat copyright protected?

Everyone in the project will be sharing the videos they create - that's a given. The videos are almost automatically covered by copyright laws. I know when it comes to open source software - the code is the shared information (usually with a statement at the top of the code saying it was created by a certain person or company and is free to use but not to claim as you own). It seems that in an open source puppetry project - the puppet character (or pattern) would be the shared item.

It seems to me that it should be the decision of each individual contributor as to how much they would like to share. If they would like to post their original pattern of the character they created for others to use, then that's great (maybe with a disclaimer saying that the character may only be used in the open source puppetry project). If a contributor used a pattern that they purchased or a copyrighted pattern, then they could not post the pattern for others to use freely, because it is not theirs to post.

I do feel that a person who may use a copyrighted pattern to create their character should not be excluded from the project.

 

[DannyRWW]

A few humble thoughts (from the guy who has the least puppeterring and puppet building and computer experience).

1. I like the name Funderlings.

2. Thanks for jumping in and taking charge sesamekermie (we need a 'director' of sorts).

3. Is there some way for someone to transfer vhs tapes to computer files.... because I honestly have access to nothing beyond VHS.... that being said maybe there is someone here we can send tapes to that can transfer them to the computer for those of us who are less tech savy. If nothing else I would still like to be a part of this somehow even if I can not record videos.

4. I'm all for free patterns (I have little to no money these days).... but I won't hold it against anyone who buys a pattern. I can say with very much cetainty I will probably make the least professional looking puppet in this group.

5. Let's all try to have fun. I really want to get going on this project....

 

[Buck-Beaver]

So, why don't we table the "is it actually open-source" discussion for now and lets get back to getting this project underway. One last comment though before we leave this for the moment: could the concept for this project be open-source and have the individual characters/videos be somewhat copyright protected?

I think the "is it open source" is besides the point. I was simply making a point about how the discussion started ("splitting a hair" as I said) but what's really important is how it ends and that it ends with a collaborative, community puppetry project.

 

[ScrapsFlippy]

A few things:

First: I dug around on the message boards, and found this earlier thread on a similar subject. Food for thought.

Second: My first posting I referenced an "open source" webcomic entitled Jenny Everywhere as sort of the ideal scene. In fact, if you check out that link, you may notice that Jenny has been drawn as many different ways as there are artists who draw her.

Third: Let's go ahead and say that anyone who wants to copyright their own Funderling, that's fine. (i.e. who cares?)

Fourth: Buy, Sell, Borrow, Steal (not really ), Barter . . . however you get a puppet for this thing: great. Fan-freaking-tastic. If Bezalel wants to give participants some sort of a rebate, fine. If you don't like it, fine. Again, who cares? The important thing is to actually do this, not bicker about the ins-and-outs of capitalistic opportunism and socialistic idealism. (Personally, I don't consider myself an art commie. And I like making money.) In fact, let me quote from the Jenny Everywhere FAQ:

"Is it ok to get published and/or paid by another source for my Jenny Everywhere story?

"Yes. Your story is your story. You have every right to use and exploit your story in any way you wish. But keep in mind that the character of Jenny Everywhere belongs to everyone, so you have no more rights to the character than anyone else and can not transer total rights to another person or organization. If one of the conditions of selling your story is also to sell the character of Jenny for any exclusivity, you are not free to do so. This is the one and only rule for the Jenny Everywhere concept. If you do this, you are selling your publisher a bill of goods and nothing else."

Do I plan on profiting from this? No. Do I care if someone else does? No.

WHO CARES?

Finally: Let's keep this light and fun.

-- Mahatmascrapsflippy

P.S. Phantom - How about this compromise: If someone's video is kid-friendly, it's designated OMG. If it's a bit racier and not kid-friendly, it's designated OMFG. Sort of our own shorthand. When we finally find a home for this online, we'll make sure the designations shunt kids away from the racier stuff. Your thoughts?

 

[Phantom]

I'm okay with that.

Thanks for understanding my concern.

 

[SesameKermie]

Video Guidelines

What kind of guidelines should we have for these videos? This is what I was thinking:

• 3-5 mins in length
• filename with OMG (for general consumption) or OMFG (for racier content)
• a common file format--WMV, Quicktime?
• Have Fun

I realize that not everyone has broadband access or even knows how to make digital movies. Most digital cameras can record small video clips, which can then be edited (depending on the size of the memory card.) Also, most video cameras available now can connect to a computer and transfer the files, if I'm not mistaken. Finally, if neither of these options work, I think we had proposed a "postcard" version of the site too. For the postcard, the character is posed and has its picture taken. Then the story "reporting" the findings is posted along with it.

Does this sound workable?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I would strongly suggest using Quicktime rather than WMV. Everytime I post links to .wmv files in my blog I always get emails from people who can't watch them, especially Mac users.