Fanvidding has gone viral. Little did we realize how vast this trend was becoming until we blogged about Fanfic here at Bullhorn Media recently. Fanvidding makes a video in the same spirit that Fanfic writers create stories.
Even as this blogger writes this article, we see it Fanvidding happening right outside the window. A group of kids, ages 8 to about 13 has arrived in a vacant lot and built a small mountain of assorted junk. A loud gangly redheaded boy actually has a bona fide bullhorn and he is obviously directing his peers.
Fan Viding: Welcome to the Viding Generation
Fanvidding Can Come From Almost Any Source!
Conspicuous in the wheel-barrow of assorted props is a fat chow-chow puppy on a soft blanket. He looks a bit wide-eyed and tail-waggingly happy at all the kids’ attention. Thus, A star is born.
Some of the little actors are wearing manes and horns. They have reached a climactic point. Some of the children are bowing and some are singing and some are putting on their tails.
A serious muscular boy poses regally on top of the mountain of pallets, chairs and packing boxes. Then, he is followed by a willowy girl in a cape. She slowly and deliberately raises the puppy above the little crowd. A bright sun-ray…no, wait, that’s a kid in a tree with a bright flashlight. Finally, he hits the upheld puppy squarely in the tummy with the light.
The crowd reacts in appropriate awe. There’s a pause. Everybody sings. The zealous director screams, waving a prosumer video camera. “That’s it, we’ve got it! That’s a wrap! Let’s go post it!”
In case you did not recognize it, you have just witnessed the latest vidding of Lion King. It was done by neighborhood kids who are obviously fans of the original as well as the latest version of the Disney movie. It is not difficult to realize why many movie creators are recognizing that this kind of fan-created art is like free advertising.
Vidding: Part of the New Genre of Fanfic
Thus, we begin our blog with a definition of Fanvidding. It is “the act or process of creating a fan-oriented video or “fanvid” using live-action, TV, or movie footage. It is set to music (or other audio). The people who make these vids are called vidders.”
Like Fanfic, the new art form imitates a beloved movie, tv-show, music video or other famous forms of fiction. Please read or review our previous article for the backstory on the phenomenon of Fanfic.
Best Case Scenario for a FanFic Writer: Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, Fanvid
Not all vidders are neighborhood children, however. Many of fanfic videographers take their work very seriously, and the genre has opened doors for new video makers and writers in the legitimate literary and cinema world.
It might interest you to know that originally 50 Shades of Gray was fanfiction. It was based on the popular vampire series, Twilight. Of course, before it became mainstream, the author removed all traces of vampires. Such a move is known as “filing off the serial numbers.” The homage to Twilight became a unique story of its own.
By the way, as we noted in our previous blog, fair use is the name of the law that protects such creations.
A Vidder’s Success with the Fresh Prince
A feature article in Videomaker recently highlighted one producer’s success. It seems that his trailer for Fresh Prince of Bell Air project caught the attention and support of the main star.
Authors Mark Levy and Roman Zellichenko explained, “The video went viral on YouTube. So much so, that the original show’s star, Will Smith, caught wind of it. He loved it and sat down for an interview with the trailer’s director.”
Statistics Prove Value of Fanvid
Magic in the Palms of Your Hands: That’s Fanviddering.
The Fresh Prince fanvid captured 4 million views in 2 months. Within the Fresh Prince, Vid story is the amazing power of public online reaction. As a result of the comments on the video’s YouTube page indicate thousands of people were hoping to see the reboot come to life as a real series or even a feature film.” Such is the power of Fanvidding and its audience.
As we noted in our previous blog, if you decide to be a vidder, please watch out for the copyright laws. Likewise, be sure to claim your rights under the fair use laws that protect your ability to do this type of artful homage that spins-off from a legitimate original.
Star Trek: The Birth of FanFiction and Fanvidding
The history of Fanfic and Fanvid is often traced to Star Trek fans. By way of review, remember. FanFiction devotees, practice the art of using other people’s copyrighted stories and characters to spin off their own stories.
Star Trek fans were the original FanFiction and Fanvid pioneers. The first publication was an unofficial magazine. In 1967, Spockanalia was created about Dr. Spock and Captain Kirk’s voyages.
Terrific Take-Aways if Fanvidding Interests You
To protect yourself when involved in any type of Fanvid production, we advise you to visit the Fair Use in Online Video document located at the online resource of the Center for Social Media.
The experts there go into detail about your legal stance in a world whose copyright laws are changing even as we watch. They state, “Video is increasingly becoming a central part of our everyday landscape of communication. And thus, it is becoming more visible as people share it on digital platforms. People make and share videos to tell stories about their personal lives. In some cases, they are remixing home videos with popular music and images.”
What Does Fair Use Constitute for Fanvidding?
Among the legal tips, you will find a nice description of what fair use covers and it is surprisingly forgiving. Likewise, in the case of most Fanvidding lawsuits, judges have ruled “fair-use” based on 2 simple key questions:
1. In the first place, did the Vidder “transform” the material taken from the copyrighted work… In other words, “Did they use it for a different purpose than that of the original, or did it just repeat the work for the same intent and value as the original?”
2. In the second place, did the Fanvidder take an appropriate amount of the original plot or characters, “considering the nature of the copyrighted work and of the use?”
If the answers to these two questions are “yes,” a court is likely to allow a Vidder to claim a use fair. That is good for the Vidder, and “because that is true, such a use is unlikely to be challenged in the first place.”
Within both questions, Bullhorn Media sees that the real question is whether the use will inflict “excessive economic harm to the copyright owner.” So, if you have always wanted to extend the adventures of Indiana Jones or create a light-saber wielding race of Star Wars’ alien cats, chances are you won’t be infringing on a copyright. Bullhorn Media eagerly waits to see what happens as our newest generation of Fanvidders “unleashes” their “imagination.”
Past Vs. Present: Fanvidding Steps out of the Shadows
Glamor or Work? It’s Certain That Hard Work Is Essential in Both Traditional Movies and Fanviddering.
Traditionally, because of fears of copyright infringement for both our music and video, most Vidders have preferred to stay out of the press or Hollywood eye.
However, this has begun to shift with the recognition that the sheer numbers of fanvids and the cultural shift to remixing or re-appropriating and transforming popular culture.”
These points have made Fanvidding more visible and more socially acceptable. Recently, Luminosity’s vids were showcased in New York Magazine, and Reason Magazine published an article on vidding as well.