it's not software, but open source should be expanded

[tsmspace]

This is about movies, but also games, stories, and general "lore" that applies to our fiction "universes"

 

I spend a lot of time these last few months feeling very passionately that ::: a few things that all make the big picture

 

- some stories are first of all too old, and second of all too open to encompassing very broad general application,,, to be "controlled" by single financial entities. A good example, and probably the real source of my "minor obsession", is Star Wars. First of all, Star Wars is a concept that loosely applies to all kinds of space fiction, with the ideas being general ideas and also interpreted IN STAR WARS many ways over time. For different people, Star Wars should work different ways, and absolutely still be called Star Wars. 

 

- overall, the most important and valuable themes in stories aren't that unique, and can't really be credited to single individuals. Much like many simple machines, or basic programming concepts and themes, certain stories and aspects of stories are just there and "belong to no one". 

 

-actually a lot of more specific themes (This REALLY applies to games as well) don't actually come from the small crew making the project, but actually did originate from some kind of "user feedback",,, In Star Wars, a lot of really important story ideas evolved from so many people being excited about Star Wars, and talking about it, and making fan-art. Basically, most of the critical story is credited to some writer but actually came from a lot of participants over time. 

 

- open source as a concept is already being applied to things that aren't software,,, excitement over arduino gave birth to clubs like "MakerSpace", where you can do all varieties of activities and crafting and benefit from help and community examples and ideas , all formatted like github. 

 

- Basically, movie projects like Star Wars, as well as other critical cultural themes, should be moved to an "open source" community, where the greater population of enthusiasts can begin fixing all of the terrible movies, and really all of the story material associated with games, books, and the overall "lore library" ,,,,, ,with the basic idea being that different "forks" would be created of each particular story, and participants can begin developing several versions of each single "movie" ,,  

 

- for example, There could be Multiple versions of "A New Hope", with different physics, or alternate storylines, , , and over time new ideas could be tested in these different versions with new releases, or optional updates,,, and the ability for a single viewer like me to include or exclude updates, and choose from all of the available material to construct my own custom version of the film. THEN,,, once lots of people have started to result in their own personal favorite scene collections,,, there would get to be many of them that are identical, and over time there would get to be clear winners in popularity . (although all of the material WOULD still be available for different groups to maintain their unique versions,,, WITHOUT being forced to change things that might be "copyright protected" like lightsabers, or the actual title of their film. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

5 minutes ago, tsmspace said:

There could be Multiple versions of "A New Hope", with different physics, or alternate storylines

Kind of like how The Phantom Edit exists?

 

I believe those are generally called "parodies".

[tsmspace]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

Kind of like how The Phantom Edit exists?

 

I believe those are generally called "parodies".

I mean the rights to the ideas first, then click the box to add it to the film. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, tsmspace said:

I mean the rights to the ideas first, then click the box to add it to the film. 

I could see that being good for consumers, but only consumers.

 

I can't think of many businesses(especially the ones that own Star Wars, as an example) even thinking about that alongside the type of profit they'd be losing.

[tsmspace]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

I could see that being good for consumers, but only consumers.

 

I can't think of many businesses(especially the ones that own Star Wars, as an example) even thinking about that alongside the type of profit they'd be losing.

I don't think Disney should control Star Wars. Star Wars is too big. I don't care about Disney any more than they care about me. I don't need Disney. 

[dalekphalm]

You’re calling for an abolishment if intellectual property rights - not going to happen anytime soon. 

 

IP rights are the machine that drives most art. If I’m an up and coming writer, and I want to make this movie I called Star Wars - but it’s going to cost $10 million to make... what incentive do I have to risk spending all that money if anyone can just take my movie and do with it what they please?

 

Basically you’re describing fanfic. That exists already. Go nuts. 

 

Otherwise, I fully support creators/companies maintaining IP. 

 

What I do think should change, is the length of time before an item enters public domain (it should be lessened, since the current rules are a tad aggressive). 

 

Public domain seems like a much better solution than “open source movies” or whatever. Creators get to make their investment back and then some, and then after

a time, anyone gets to mess with the material in whatever way they want. 

 

The only problem is that copyright lasts too long.

[Andreas Lilja]

6 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

The only problem is that copyright lasts too long.

And it's always extended.

 

[dalekphalm]

4 minutes ago, Andreas Lilja said:

And it's always extended.

 

Which is why it got too long to begin with. 

[tsmspace]

I'm talking more about the quality of the story, and how well everything fits together, and the specific direction of each scene, etc. 

 

After everyone gets watching it, a whole bunch of people would start to have ideas about how things could go differently or better. 

 

instead of releasing the film, and calling it a day,,, contributors could submit feedback that results in updates. Disney could re-make little parts here and there, the actors could keep working on the film, it's not like they're so busy , they're touring around talking to show-hosts and sitting at home managing their money and trying not to get fat. 

 

once a few changes have been made, version 1.01.045 could be made available with and without certain changes, and people could decide what they like better. As long as the film remains popular they could continue to try different developments, and by time everyone looks back , there are actually multiple versions that would require completely separate sequels, but both are good, or perhaps there is a debate on various updates and optional extensions. 

 

anyway, the movies don't have to be set in stone once initially released, the creativity of the greater population could be tapped to improve the quality of the project, as well as explore the potential flexibility of the project. artists all over could participate, and overall satisfaction with the content might improve. Instead of people saying the movie was good, or the movie was stupid, or they hate jar jar binks,, they could simply support their preferred version, and growth of the content could happen without having to make some weird b-movie with a nonsense title and some elusive way of covering the same ideas without infringing on copyrights, which apply to things that don't make sense, because its like patenting the wheel,, (which is illegal because you can't patent obvious logical physics,,, which even complex software can be described as, meaning patent law outlaws any patents anyway.... it's just up to the judge where they say, , it's not illegal YET, because a company is going to make money)