I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's go back to December 2011-Jan 2012.
For the first time ever, our guild was able to muster through the 'Holiday Break' having enough people to still be able to raid 25 man Dragon Soul. Every year prior, when the holiday season would come around, people were too busy with Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's plans to get online to raid. Every year prior, we would have to deal with a month or so of just running 10 man raids, because there was never enough people for 25's.
I was so excited, because not only is our guild the only one running 25 man raids, but we managed to do it at a time most guilds had to stop raiding, period. I was just so happy with the guildies, and the progression, and how much fun we were having.
One day I was rumbling around on YouTube, and the Vevo ads that kinda show up around the videos sometimes, one of them had a link to a Jason Derulo song that I recognized. It sounded like the Toto song "Africa" from the 80's, but updated. It totally fit how I felt about my friends in guild, how tight knit we had become, the challenges we had overcome to just have fun in game.
I had just gotten a new computer, and couldn't wait to try out the new software (Corel VideoStudio) on the next video. I just needed the inspiration. This was it.
I was having so much fun trying to figure out how to make the new software work: how to add a cleaner look to the videos, better transitions, shiner titles.
With my new computer, I had enough hard drive space to make the Fraps videos larger, crisper and also capture some of the conversations the guildies had during raids. I also purchased the song on iTunes, put a Tweet on Jason Derulo's Twitter about it, and I emailed his manager to try to get prior permission.
What was really cool is that one of our guildies pointed out that at the :35 second mark in the video, the words that the artist yells out (which we still aren't sure cause none of the lyrics sites mention it) actually sounds like one of the names of the guys in our guild (Renwald).
Threadjack:
I want to take a quick minute here to give props to the Beepa Pty Ltd folks, the ones who make Fraps.
When I was setting up my new computer, I had forgotten to get the license information from the old computer for the Fraps license that I had purchased. I got even lazier and just went ahead and purchased another copy of the software one night in a fit because I didn't feel like fighting with support on trying to get my old license working and I was taping some stuff that I didn't want the watermark to show up on. I mean, cause that's what most software companies are like....I'm looking at you Adobe, Autodesk, Symantec.....fuss and fight and make legit license holders jump thru hoops to use what we paid for in an effort to stop the 'dirty pirates'.
I made the payment, and received an email shortly after. I was expecting it to have the license info. Instead, I received a note explaining that they have sent the money back to me, and resent my original license info.
They didn't have to. They could have just kept the money, and I would have paid for 2 licenses even though I was only going to use one.
THAT is how you treat your customers.
You guys are the shit. Just sayin'.
Back on Topic:
I get the video done, upload it to YouTube, and then go ahead and submit it to WoW Moviewatch on WoW Insider hoping it might get featured like "Colder..." did.
(Hint, the below link embed may not work for you)
Sure enough, a few days later....
http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/02/06/wow-moviewatch-ill-fight-for-you/
The part of the review that I thought was the best was this:
"While I like to think of myself as a fairly pop-culture-savvy dude, I don't know every artist, every song, and every cover created. While I obviously recognized the Toto sample, I've never been exposed to Jason Derulo. I really grooved to this song, and I loved the way it worked with the video. So now I get to enjoy a new artist, which is an added bonus to a video like this."
That is what Machinima is all about. We take what is on our minds, and mesh it to make something cool we can share. We don't do it for the money, it's all for the expression.
Two days after this story hit, the worst thing happened:
I had uploaded it to YouTube on Jan 31st. It was featured on Feb 6th. It was blocked on Feb 8th. WTF.
Even more WTF, it's only blocked if you are attempting to watch the video from inside the United States. So, this song that was created in the US, purchased in the US (from iTunes), remixed into a Mechinima in the United States, uploaded to a server in the United States, featured on a website that is hosted in the United States, yet everyone in the United States is blocked from viewing it.
What a bunch of crap.
I finally paid for the premium version of Vimeo so that the video could still be available to people in the US.
KoT - I'll Fight for You! from Antimatter the Insane on Vimeo.
To all of you Copyright Maximalists out there, you have no idea how much free advertising we do for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment