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Frequently Asked Questions - General Info
Frequently Asked Questions - Release Info
Frequently Asked Questions - Production Info
Frequently Asked Questions - Viewing Info
Frequently Asked Questions - Response Info
Frequently Asked Questions - Miscellaneous Info
.NFO graphic for "Thee Backslacpkping With Media"
What is "Thee Backslacpkping With Media"?
A documediamentary is a combination of documentary and media analysis. A presentation which focuses on media portrayals of news or entertainment topics. In this case, a really boring three and a half hours.
How could a User Defined Self Replicating Documediamentary (UDSRD) produce itself?
To gain a better understanding of the history which is being produced, media programming which has been re-edited to user defined parameters could be beneficial. Utilizing media repositories (online video archives like archives.org or youtube) which have video/audio media linked to transcipts which could be parsed to produce a redefined output. For instance, if the user wanted to learn how a certain term was being used, over a certain time frame and to see how this usage differs between news casts verses user created content. Two pieces, of user determined length, could be self generated.
Another example could be if someone wanted further explanation on the evolution of a news story. After watching the 6 o'clock news, which often has little depth on any topic, an individual could ask this system to recreate a wikipedia entry of the evolving news story by using the previous media broadcasts.
These systems could also be used for near instantaneous fact-checking.
In keeping with the nomenclature of past systems, videosearchDROID, could be the appropriate name.
What is/are the Rating/Parental Guidelines of this presentation? (All of the below)
The Public Domain is a selected group of works which are not controlled or owned by an individual or corporation.
"Thee Backslacpkping With Media" upon its initial distribution is being added to the tradition of the Public Domain. %20 feels it's more important to allow the willing and able public to determine the 'life' of works.
[ See http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-definitions.html for more info ]
A fan edit is an alternative version of a film or piece of media which is created not by the copyright owner but by an individual or group who has a different interpretation of the original work. Fan edits realign story elements, remove or add footage, alter dialog, expand/remove special effects, re-edit/recontextualize film elements into an assemblage which tells a different story.
When purchasing a creative work, the buyer needs to make the decision of how close to the creator they want to distribute their compensation. There are many willing and often deserved intermediaries who help promote and gain new audiences for creative works. The idea of Support Creatives is to bring to the public conscience the need to, when applicable, take the time to deliver the creative work compensation as close to the source of the creativity as possible.
How has the 'Support Creatives' initiative helped the creator of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is available for full ownership transferal. The new author will claim ownership of thee entire presentation and all files which lead to the final presentation. Funds from the authorship transferal will go towards the creation and production of the computer search / cut-up / recompile system. (temporarily called videosearchDROID, in honor of past/current DROID developments) Initial offering price has been based on the current estimated price of willful copyright infringement damages as set by the court system. U.S. Code Title 17,504. Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits (c.2) Quote: "In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000." [References: 2009.06.15 decision in Captiol Records v. Thomas-Rassett has set the precedent of $80,000 per willful copyright infringement.]
High end limit : 700 willful copyright infringements * $150,000 = $105 million
Goal : This ownership transferal is to provide the initial investment capital to jump start the intellectual employee core and their equipment and physical requirements to facilitate the creation of the videosearchDROID.
[ See http://www.noneinc.com/sound/ for more info ]
What is the :F:L:I:M:S:I:P:L:A:S:T: :D:A:T:A:B:A:S:E:?
[ See http://www.noneinc.com/Archive/FlimsiplastDatabase/ for more info ]
What is the 'Revenge of the Sith - 133t trailer'?
The Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 133t trailer is a fan edit of the Official Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith trailer which included burned in subtitles which interpreted the trailer's dialog into 133t sp33k. 133t Sp33k (Leetspeak - Elite Speak) is a character replacement alphabet supposedly used by h4xx0rz (hackers) but most likely is a system perpetuated by alternative typing enthusiasts. A Cease & Desist from Lucasfilm Ltd. on 4/25/2005 applied the legal pressure which resulted in the website http://nuar.lunarpages.com/video/SW_mirrors.htm removing the content.
[ See http://nuar.lunarpages.com/video/SW_mirrors.htm for more info ]
Operation D-Elite was a joint venture of the F.B.I. and U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement against the individuals behind the bit torrent tracker, EliteTorrents. The action was caused by the early released workprint of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, which was tracked by EliteTorrents. This workprint would eventually become the backdrop for 'the backstroke of the west' subtitler. The individuals behind the leaked workprint and the operators of the torrent tracker have been sentenced to prison, home arrest and fines.
Operation D-Elite took place on 2005.05.25, the anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars. This action officially ends the Star Wars franchises run as a promoter of technological advancement.
[ See http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/starwars052505.htm for more info ]
What is 'the backstroke of the west'?
episode iii, the backstroke of the west (BotW) is the subtitled title given by an unknown supposed chinese bootlegger to a Shanghai bootleg DVD version of Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith. In bootleg, the awkwardly English Subtitles been has attributed to a english naieve subtitler supposedly who learned chinese subtitles and irrelevantly reconversed them in to (Ch)english.
[ See http://www.winterson.com/2005/06/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west.html for more info ]
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is a Sequel?
In the September 27, 2005 MPAA Press Release "U.S. Attorney Charges Star Wars Movie Thieves", Dan Glickman (Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.) proclaimed "There will be no sequel in their charade."
%20 Unfortuantely presents 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' as thee sequel in this charade. %20 would also like to pose the question: "When the spread of knowledge/information is the center piece, can 700+ willful copyright infringements pass as a valid form of education/dissemination?
What film is mashed up in the Trailer?
The Trailer is a cross-cut-collage of Henry Hills' experimental film "Money" with '$' Chapter 9 of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'.
Quote : "MONEY (1985) is an historical document of the early day of "language poetry" and the downtown improvised music scene."
[ See http://www.henryhills.com/films/money.html for more info ]
Why is the DVD / disc file name 'PIRATESWEB'?>
In reference to 20th Century Fox's policy of code naming the DVD releases of movies after female names, (Revenge of the Sith was code named 'Charlotte') on some message boards the disc was incorrectly associated to the name Charlotte's Web. So in reference to this ephemeral the disc has been named 'PIRATESWEB'. This rumored 'PIRATESWEB' versions is Region 6 - China.
Where should comments/e-mail be sent?
E-mail Address : p-l-1-x-@-e-a-r-t-h-l-i-n-k-.-n-e-t (pee el one ex)
What are the details of the DVD release?
What are the DVD Chapter titles?
What do the menus look like? (click for full size)
What is that odd fonted subtitle? / What is Galactic Basic? / What is Aurebesh?
Galactic Basic is the commonly used language of the Star Wars Universe. Galactic Basic is authored using the Aurebesh font.
What is Chinglish? How was it created?
The Chinglish (Chinese variations of English) in 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' were created by running the Chinese transcript through Altavista's Babelfish translation system.
What does the DVD Cover, Disc & Insert look like?
What is the significance of the Intro TV?
This is the tv set from which an X-Wing flew out of during the Special Edition commercial. For 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Intro, the audience enters the tv.
What is the significance of the Intro Crawl?
The 3 hour 23 minutes presentation is divided into 384 '31 sec : 22 frame' segments laid out in a grid of 12x32. Thus if your into saving time, watching the scroll is like getting the visual cliff notes version of the backslacpkping.
What is the significance of the Intermission Trailer?
The Intermission of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' contains a fan theatrical interpretation of the Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith Trailer. The subtitles are from the fan produced 'Revenge of the Sith - 133t Trailer'.
[ See What is the 'Revenge of the Sith - 133t trailer'? for more info ]
What does this DVD believe it is About 1-6?
2. Copyright Reform: "Permissions"
If these reuse requests are of hinderance to creators or proxi-owners then maybe an organizational body in the Copyright Office could review these permission concerns.
3. Edit Speech
Edit Speech is not about the reproduction of statements, but the creative reworking of existing speech fragments to derive new meanings/view points. The position in which one sentence fragment finds itself, after the act of editing, can change it's meaning and this is where Edit Speech finds its purpose.
Although it may seem to be a luxury, Edit Speech in conjunction with translation technologies, will promote discourse between disparate cultures, which will be invaluable to every generation.
4. Cross Culture:
Excitement, at least in some online forums, was tremendous. And interest continued until the subtitles were transposed onto the official RotS DVD. This interaction of 'Western' (Sith-i-sized) media and BotW subtitles, will no doubt lead to a better understanding of the disparate cultures, although each seemed equally absurd at first impression.
5. Media Understanding:
In a media landscape where one minute of hard factual news is sprinkled through days worth of newsfauxotainment, entertainment programming, honest commercial time and Value-added cinema (product placement), the casual searcher of hard facts is at a great loss in this vast sea of information.
Changing medias' output towards more factual means would lose some of its vibrancy, instead providing tools which allow the searcher added filtering capabilities is what the future of tv could be.
6. Future TV - User Defined Broacasts
Imagine after watching the 6 o'clock news, your not understanding what lead to the latest predicament, so you queue up the program which feeds the last 50 years worth of that 6 o'clock news and cross references those broadcasts with an encyclopedia entry on the topic of choice. The program then recreates that encyclopedia entry using the news' broadcasts.
This basic type of media interaction as with many others could take place with the creation of User Defined Broadcasts.
What is the significance of the Preservation Quote in Trailer 00a?
In the recorded time frame, The American Film Institute (AFI) awarded George Lucas with an honor and during the broadcast the following quote was attributed to Mr. Lucas.
Because %20 has existed at a different time and place where films have a modified stature then in the time of Mr. Lucas, the quote has been amended in Trailer 00a to reflect %20's sensibilities. Plus %20 is not a breeder.
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Rating Description TV:Y All Children TV:Y7 Directed to Older Children TV:Y7:FV Directed to Older Children - Fantasy Violence G General Audiences - All Ages Admitted TV:G General Audience PG Parental Guidance Suggested - Some material may not be suitable for children - Mild Language, Crude Humor and Some Thematic Elements TV:PG Parental Guidance Suggested PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 TV:14 Parents Strongly Cautioned NC-17 No one 17 and under admitted TV:MA Mature Audience Only R Restricted - Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
What is the designation of 'PD' (Public Domain) for?
[ See http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain for more info ]
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What is the designation of 'FE' (Fan Edit) for?
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What is the designation of 'SC' (Support Creatives) for?
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Are you interested in purchasing full ownership of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
Current Precedent : 700 willful copyright infringements * $80,000 = $56 million
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What/Who is %20?
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[ See http://www.archive.org/details/ICE_EliteTorrents_May2005 for more info ]
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Press Release PDF : http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/2005_09_27b.pdf
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Subject Heading : tBSWM (other subject headings will most likely be filtered out)
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Category Info
Release Date 2009/04/01
Theater Date Never
DVD 2009/04/01
DVD Runtime 03:26:18
Aspect Radio 4:3 / 16:9 Menus
Language Chinese / English
Resolution 640 x 480 / 720 x 480 Menus
Video NTSC
Audio AC3 - PCM
Framerate 29.97 VFR
Subtitles
Ch / n /
GB / En /
Cg
Translation babelfish.altavista.com Disc Name TBSWM / PIRATESWEB
Region TBSWM = ALL / PIRATESWEB = 6
Category Info
Film Genre Documentary / Media Analysis
Filesize 7.78 GB
Disc Type DVD*DL
Trailer Yes
Bonus Features Yes
Menus Yes / Animated
Source Analog (VHS) / Digital (PDTV) / Web (Misc.)
Capture Equip Sony SLV-779HF - Magnavox 1988 - Aiwa VX-S13 - Sony DCR-PC100 - Others Unknown
Packet 156*50MB*5
Posted to alt.binaries.starwars
Freer Culture Yes Please
Public Domain Yes
Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal
Public Domain Still Yes
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Thee Backslacpkping With Media - DVD Chapter Titles / Sections
Note : Chapters with 'Play' option, open in a new window and utilizing an Archive.org media player should be viewable on most systems.
Note : Chapters with 'Play+' will work the same way, but once the chapter ends if you click on the video the player will automatically move to the next chapter.
Note : .Ogv is the Ogg codec video file type. Theora encoded by Archive.org. 
Original self encoded .ogg in a new window.
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Chapter
Length / Duration
Title : "Quote" :
(Video Available : Ogg codec - Theora.org developed by Xiph Org
Play Options : Download
00. --:00:00:00 - --:01:00:00 Introduction Video : One Minute Explanation and Initial Responses (Web Only) Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
00.a1 --:01:00:00 - --:02:00:00 Trailer 00a1 : We allow million of these voices to be suddenly silenced. (Web Only) Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
01. 00:00:00:00 - 00:00:11:12 Long : "Long time ago in the faraway galaxy" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
02. 00:00:11:13 - 00:01:13:10 Intro Explanation : "Thee Backslacpkping With Media" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
03. 00:01:13:11 - 00:02:49:11 Crawls : "Remember the chills..." :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
04. 00:02:49:12 - 00:06:29:14 Narrative, Montage : "How you tell stories" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
05. 00:06:29:15 - 00:07:34:17 Siths (Talking Heads) : "Wall to wall, Star Wars... Action!" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
06. 00:07:34:18 - 00:09:28:17 Jar-Jar : "I'm just happy we're never going to see" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
07. 00:09:28:18 - 00:16:26:03 Hype : "Can't Wait" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
07a. 00:10:27:11 - 00:15:19:02 Fan Lines VS Perception : "Die hard fans or super nerds" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
08. 00:16:26:04 - 00:18:29:22 More Siths (Filmatic) : "Blynth+" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
08a. 00:17:12:24 - 00:17:56:00 Hayden Christensen Intro : "Hayden Christensen" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
09. 00:18:29:23 - 00:21:25:17 $ : "Gazillions" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
10. 00:21:25:18 - 00:22:00:21 Epitome Strikes Backward (Striking Epitome) : "It could even surpass Empire" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
11. 00:22:00:22 - 00:26:42:11 Darth Vader : "...only as good as the villian" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
12. 00:26:42:12 - 00:31:10:28 Politics Mis-Reporting : "I'm tired of all this...politicseses" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
13. 00:31:10:29 - 00:34:35:17 DV/Toys/Yoda : "Why can't you be real?" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
14. 00:34:35:18 - 00:45:41:08 Hayden's Fame-enting : "Pretty good for me" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
15. 00:45:41:09 - 00:48:48:11 DV's Suit Hayden Transformation : "The Return of Anakin in the Suit" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
16. 00:48:48:12 - 01:00:44:06 Five Hundred and One Stormtroopers : "Five - oh - One" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
17. 01:00:44:07 - 01:02:27:16 Geek Solo Star Han Trek Brand : "doesn't/didn't really have a..." Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
18. 01:02:27:17 - 01:10:29:00 Chewbacca : "Ladies & Gentleman (Why is this taking so long?) Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
19. 01:10:29:01 - 01:14:49:27 Character Marketing & Impersonations : "Without having seen the films, I knew..." Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
20. 01:14:49:28 - 01:18:59:21 William's Music : "..to create melodic identification for such a glossary..." Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
21. 01:18:59:22 - 01:22:45:27 Gay Droid Expo : "The hobby is out of the closet" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
22. 01:22:45:28 - 01:26:01:02 Induced Drug Moments : "I'm drinking my way to the Dark Side" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
23. 01:26:01:03 - 01:26:57:09 Short Trip to the Dark Side : "I didn't know I had a Dark Side" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
24. 01:26:57:09 - 01:42:20:18 The Lightsaber : "This is the lightsaber scene, right?" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
25. 01:42:20:18 - 01:44:38:24 Larger View of Censoring Obscenities : "George you can type this shit but you can't say it" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
26. 01:44:38:25 - 01:47:26:10 Trailered Intermission : "crapXXor! We got pwn3d!!!1!" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
27. 01:47:26:10 - 01:58:27:26 Downloading/Pirating/Those Fans : "It was a dream of people like George" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
28. 01:58:27:27 - 02:03:14:08 Hair Leia : "I love the hair... Who doesn't" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
29. 02:03:14:09 - 02:06:21:20 Made for Crossing Cultural Boundaries : "because everyone goes" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
30. 02:06:21:21 - 02:08:03:18 Sick : "I wouldn't miss the new Star Wars for anything!" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
31. 02:08:03:19 - 02:14:10:21 Sex : "RISE!" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
32. 02:14:10:22 - 02:23:27:26 Line Life and Beyond : "Not too much to report" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
33. 02:23:27:27 - 02:26:08:21 Sith Who : "I'm all mixed up, upstairs" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
34. 02:26:08:22 - 02:29:21:12 Extreme Fan : "I think that guy said it all" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
35. 02:29:21:13 - 02:32:06:06 Opening Intro's New Hope Impact : "Everyone in that theater just went WWOOOOAA" :
Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
36. 02:32:06:07 - 02:39:40:27 Tragic Backstory Cross Endeavour Independence : "I was able to get the full range of all the things that we're going on" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
36a. 02:38:37:07 - 02:39:40:27 More Sithing : "...but I can't imagine anyone else being interested" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
37. 02:39:40:28 - 02:51:01:14 At and In the Theaters : "at 12:01" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
38. 02:51:01:14 - 02:54:06:25 MTFBWY : "and with you, as well" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
39. 02:54:06:26 - 02:57:43:08 Geek : "Are you proud to be a Star Wars..." Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
40. 02:57:43:09 - 03:00:09:04 Women Online / Female Involvement : "I move to the previous question" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
41. 03:00:09:05 - 03:01:06:18 Media Questioning : "OK, I have no idea what your talking about" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
42. 03:01:06:19 - 03:06:30:27 Generational Fan Bases : "I never payed much attention to it until..." Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
43. 03:06:30:27 - 03:11:08:01 Space Cowboy/Opera/Myth : "It's the fairy tale for our time" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
44. 03:11:08:02 - 03:13:01:09 I am your father : "I am your mother" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
45. 03:13:01:10 - 03:14:43:10 Seeing Again ... the One Six : "You'll be asking those questions" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
46. 03:14:43:11 - 03:20:14:21 How many films? : "One complete story" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
47. 03:20:14:22 - 03:22:29:19 Outro : "Especially Mine! Yes/No" Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv
48. 03:22:29:20 - 03:26:18:11 Credits : "I don't know about you, but I have a shelf" Play : Mp4 : Ogv
: The Great Firewall of the People's Republic of China : Modifying your Digital Versatile Disc Menus : is a Posse, Stealing your star wars :
Example Menu 
Audio Options 
Subtitle Options 
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Version 1 - Full DVD Case
Cover (click for larger size) 
Disc (click for larger size) 
Insert (click for larger size) 
Cover perspective courtesy of fanedits.com.
Version 2 - Sleeve Design
Cover Front (click for larger size) 
Cover Back (click for larger size) 
Insert Front (click for larger size) 
Insert Back (click for larger size) 
Disc (click for larger size) 
It was a slight whim which took over my life.
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Intro Pic (click for full size) 
Authorized for distribution through the Great Golden Shield : to be sold at man stands down tank Square
Intro Pic (click for full size) 
Honoring a grand tradition, 'Thee Backsplacpkping with Media' incorporates a perspective dissolving expositionary intro. Fortunately the various bootlegs of the cultures which found this documediamentary have manipulated the intro to suit their needs.
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1. Documediamentary:
A cross between a documentary and a media analysis. This project attempts to provide a different perspective on the recorded perception of the lead up to Revenge of the Sith. The media we consume has a peer review process which is limited. Society is inundated with a healthy variety of choices, but there seems to be a lack of reflection upon what we are being streamed. I hope others are given the chance to produce similarly constructed pieces which investigate how topics are portrayed in the media coverage. This kind of examination will not occur from the primary media producers. Technology in the form of computer, time-shifted television and other media recording devices will fascilitate productions of media creativity (through introspection by the previously passive audience, transformed into active media participant) the ideals of Permission Copyright Reform needs to be addressed.
Much of the current state of copyright, pioneered by corporate interests of the United States, can be viewed as a lost cause. The twentieth century will be remembered for the continuous expansion of restrictions (in 20+ year additive increments, until they surpassed an individuals life span) and the loss of the Public Domain. For anything to be remixed, reused, reincorporated or reinterpreted, the creator or proxi-owner must give their permission. (Even if it is a project to be viewed only by yourself in your own home) Proxi-owners rarely have the time or patience to honestly consider these requests. Our culture's health has stagnated through this lack of introspection.
Society finds itself with the capability to make an audio/video quotation, as easy to complete and diseminate, as a textual quotation. 'Edit Speech' is a method of communication which deserves a layer of protection, either under the Fair Use doctrine or a new inspired set.
Through inter-connectivity and some forms of globalization, disparate countries are able to view the cultural expressions of other countries. In this case, George Lucas's "Revenge of the Sith" found its way into the hands of an active subtitler with Chinese sensibilities. The resultant, "Backstroke of the West", provided an interesting view point into the mindset of cross cultural currents. Although the creator remained unknown and the desired goal highly debatable, BotW provided a view into the larger Chinese cultural landscape.
Dissemination of ideas through visual and audio means has progressed since its infancy. Black and white cinema gave way to talkies, which progressed to television broadcasts on a handful of channels to cables' thousands of channels.
For those looking for a closer examination, the technologicallly supported Edit Speech can provide further insight into todays world. Within years, programs which recontextualize media into new presentations (which 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' attempts to represent) could be commonplace. With the combination of cable/satellite/internet tv feeds, auto-transcribling services, free online video storage, and search engines; programs will be created which will sort and collate this audio/video information into self generating, user defined, goal oriented programming.
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Quote: "I am very concerned about our natural heritage, and I am very concerned that films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them." -George Lucas"
Quote: "I am very concerned about our natural heritage, and I am very concerned that television : internet video : holocrons that I watched when I was young and the television : internet video : holocrons that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that society can see : search : rework them." -%20"
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What hardware/software was used?
| VCRs | Magnavox 1988 (R.I.P. Dec. 12, 1988 - April 22, 2006), Aiwa VX-S13, Sony SLV-779HF |
| Camera | Sony DCR-PC100 MiniDV Camera |
| Computers | PowerMacG4, PowerMacG5, Dell Dimensions XPS 667r |
| Operating Systems | Mac OS9, OSX, WinXP |
| Video Conversion | SUPER, MediaCoder, Total Video Converter, StoikVideoConverter, VirtualDub, WinAVI Video Converter, pspVideo9, Flash to Video Encoder Pro, TVC, Replay Media Catcher, WinMPG VideoConvert, OSEx, Clip Creator, DiVA, DVDxDVDProTrial, SnapzProX, VLC, Quicktime, ffmpeg, bbDEMUX, Windows Media Player |
| Video Editing | iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere |
| DVD Production | DVD Studio Pro, Compressor, Roxio Toast |
| Graphic Processing | Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe After Effects |
| Audio Production | Soundtrack Pro, Audio Hijack |
| Subtitle Production | DVD Studio Pro, Simple Text, NotePad, Microsoft Word, TextEdit |
| Info Gathering | Netscape, FireFox, Safari, Windows Explorer, Azureus, Bit Torrent, usenet |
| ASCII | ASCII Generator |
What material was used in "Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
| . |
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What material was used in Commentary Track of "Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
| Additional Material |
| FAD Productions' "Galaxy's End : Revenge of the Myth" |
| Memri TV - Iranian TV Commentary: Film "Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith" Portrays American Politics |
| Erik Deutscher's 'The Beginning of the End' |
| If you are aware of a video clip from this time frame which you feel is of interests to this audience please contact us. |
What is/are the budget/expenditures for 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
| Date | Type | Expenditure | Description |
| 2005.xx.xx | xxx | $xx.xx | Forthcoming |
| 2005.xx.xx | xxx | $xx.xx | Meida - VHS tapes, miniDV tapes |
| 2005 | Total | $xx.xx | |
| 2006.xx.xx | xxx | $xx.xx | Forthcoming |
| 2006 | Total | $xx.xx | |
| 2007.xx.xx | xxx | $xx.xx | Forthcoming |
| 2007 | Total | $xx.xx | |
| 2008.xx.xx | xxx | $xx.xx | Forthcoming |
| 2008 | Total | $xx.xx | |
| 2009.03.04 | Material | $31.70 | paper, card stock, cd sleeves |
| 2009.03.08 | Material | $46.38 | card stock, printer cartridge |
| 2009.03.09 | Material | $7.02 | card stock, laminate |
| 2009.03.11 | Material | $32.19 | DVD+R-DL (25) |
| 2009.03.13 | Postal | $19.34 | DVD To: Seattle, Bala Cynwyd, Carlsbad, New York (2), San Francisco, Portland, Canada, Great Britain, Washington D.C. |
| 2009.03.16 | Postal | $14.60 | DVD To: San Francisco, Bellevue, Sunnyvale, San Bruno, New York, Hong Kong |
| 2009.05.05 | Postal | $2.43 | DVD To: Seattle |
| 2009.05.06 | Material | $51.94 | paper, printing, lamination |
| 2009.06.11 | Material | $33.26 | DVD+R-DL (25) |
| 2009.06.15 | Material | $27.27 | lamination, slim line cases |
| 2009.06.17 | Material | $32.19 | DVD+R-DL (25) |
| 2009.07.09 | Postal | $10.94 | DVD To: Austin, Canada |
| 2009.07.21 | Postal | $10.70 | DVD To: San Diego |
| 2009.09.14 | Material | $65.49 | printer cartridge |
| 2009.11.08 | Material | $107.30 | DVD+R-DL (50), CD-R (30), slim line cases |
| 2009.11.18 | Material | $9.25 | printing |
| 2009.11.18 | Material | $49.83 | printing |
| 2009.11.18 | Material | $33.08 | printing |
| 2009.11.18 | Material | $16.84 | printing |
| 2009.11.19 | Material | $64.39 | DVD+R-DL (25), miniDV cassettes |
| 2009.11.20 | Material | $16.24 | printing, lamination |
| 2009.12.20 | Fee | $25.00 | Entry Fee : Maelstrom International Fantasy Film Festival |
| 2009.12.20 | Fee | $25.00 | Entry Fee : Docutah International Documentary Film Festival |
| 2009.12.21 | Postal | $8.91 | DVD To: Bellevue, Belgium |
| 2009.12.21 | Material | $85.86 | DVD+R-DL (50) |
| 2009.12.21 | Fee | $35.00 | Entry Fee : AFI Discovery Channel - Silverdocs - Independent Thinkers Welcome |
| 2009.12.23 | Postal | $14.85 | DVD To: Saint George, Traverse City, Silver Spring |
| 2009 | Total | $877.00 | |
| 2010.01.02 | Material | $119.00 | printing & cd cases |
| 2010.04.30 | Material | $3.70 | printing |
| 2010.05.03 | Material | $4.45 | printing |
| 2010.05.04 | Material | $9.61 | printing |
| 2010.05.04 | Postal | $3.96 | Dualplover - Masters |
| 2010.05.17 | Postal | $0.98 | DVD To: Wyoming |
| 2010.05.19 | Material | $8.94 | printing |
| 2010.05.21 | Material | $34.99 | printer ink |
| 2010.06.06 | Material | $1340.00 | Dualplover - 500 units |
| 2010.06.07 | Material | $40.00 | Dualplover - 500 units - 3% processing fee |
| 2010.06.15 | Postal | $9.69 | DVD To: Portland, Montreal, Australia |
| 2010 | Total | $1,575.32 | |
| Grand | Total | $2,452.32 |
What were the issues involved in the pressing of 500 copies?
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After researching places closer to home to get a small run of discs produced, ended up using my initial choice. Dualplover is an independent small press and label which releases strange cds which i've been a fan of.
Having no clue how long it would take to get them made, I rushed through the process a bit. Decided to go with a CD Sleeve design since that would be easier to hand out and they take up less space, but can still get the full message across. Spent some time transitioning the artwork from the full DVD case size down to sleeve. Working through various issues between A1 and US paper sizes when printing at the local Staples. Adding other people's quotes to make up for my troubles explaining the project consciously. [See/Download Version 2 - Sleeve Design from: What does the DVD Cover & Disc look like? ] Some issues with creating a pdf with layers but eventually found that the raw Illustrator files worked ok with the printing process. Spent a bunch of time to get it so that the disc art, the center of the titles would be transparent to the surface of the disc media's silver layer. Unfortuantely a wrongly checked box would screw up this feature.. |
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So with the artwork finalized and a price determined, sent off the DVD master copy and artwork files. Turns out a DVD master is not the finalized disc which i've burned on some dual layer media. To interface with the DVD printing machines, there's a special format called .DDP which splits up a dual layer disc in LAYER0 and LAYER1 and each gets burned on typical DVD5. DVD Studio was able to create the .DDPs no problem, but was a little nervous since I couldn't figure out a way to preview the disc. Also when creating the new DVD burn, learned that I hadn't figured out the split layer point correctly, and had also lost some of the audio assets. Recreated the assets and spent an afternoon figuring out the actual split layer point. Turned out the best way to determine it is to do a format with as many chapter markers as you can put in. That will show you the window where the split layer can be placed, had spent time moving pieces between VOBs and shift other content so that the split layer would land on the Intermission Chapter. Turns out the window was smaller then expected about 15 seconds and that 15 seconds was about 25 seconds into the intermission chapter. So placed the market and reformatted the disc. Then burned the .DDP discs and sent them off.
Since Dualplover is in Australia there was a week plus delay between sending things off, any kind of Postal Office rush delivery dramatically added to the costs, garanteed 3-5 day delivery was over $40. In the end, the production of the discs was extremely quick. The box arrived and quickly tested some out to figure out if I royally phucked up. They played fine in my computer, don't have a DVD player so had to wait for that test. The disc name got messed up and the DVD_ROM contents ended up in the main directory but that's minor. The main thing which pissed me off was the disc art, I had checked a box I wasn't sure of, which said to put the artwork on a white background, so the time spent figuring out the transparency to get the Title Text to have the silver surface was lost. The other oddity, is Dualplover gets the pressing done by a Taiwan company. So was a nice surprise to have all these documents in Chinese when the box of discs arrived. |
Here's the cost breakdown:
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Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be watched/downloaded?
Note : Available in online streamable form, Mp4 & Ogv downloadable. Click through to large screen streamable version.
The presentation can be viewed in its entirety (Play+) [not recommended] or by individual chapters (Play) [preferred].
Note : Archive.org has other formats available. (.Ogv for example) And their embedded media player will automatically start playing the next chapter. Also the Large Mp4 files on Archive.org contain the Audio Commentary Second Audio Channel. BUT The large Mp4 files were created by ripping the DVD with very limited compression so in total they are double the size of the DVD. If you want to hear the audio commentary of a few chapters then downloading them from Archive.org is the way to go, if you would like the entire audio commentary track, downloading the full DVD is the best option.
(7.3 gigs of downloaded RAR files which expand to an 8 gig .IMG which is ready to watch or burn the DVD)
Type in the following link into your browser : : Address will change periodically.
http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM-RARs-4Blynth/
Download all the RAR files then unarchive them. The result will be a file named TBSWM.IMG which can be burned with many DVD burning software.
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Help for downloading/recompiling/expanding/burning 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
If you are having problems feel free to e-mail : p-l-1-x-@-e-a-r-t-h-l-i-n-k-.-n-e-t (pee el one ex)
If you are successful i'd be happy to know how you did it.
Step 1 : Downloading RARs
The RAR format allows a file to be cutup & compressed into separate files so that certain restrictions can be overcome. (In this case, file size limit and downloadability) You will need to download all the RARs, there are tools available to automate this process.
Step 2 : Expanding from .RAR to .IMG(age)
Once all the RARs have been downloaded you will need an extractor to unarchive them. Visit http://www.rarlab.com/
Step 2a : Problem unarchiving RARs
If you get an error when unarchiving, check to make sure your RARs were downloaded correctly. All the RARs should be the same size, ~50 megs, except for the last RAR which is smaller. If this is the case, there are a set of PAR files available by e-mail which should be able to fix the errors. You will need a program like QuickPAR (PC) or MacPAR deLuxe (Mac)
Step 3a : Watching .IMG
The TBSWM.IMG file's contents should be viewable on PC, Mac or Linux systems. Point your media playing software to the VIDEO_TS folder of the IMG. Recommmended is Videolan's VLC Player.
Step 3b : Burning .IMG
The TBSWM.IMG file is a ready to burn file format which should work cross platform on PC applications like NERO or Mac applications like Toast. You will need DVD-DL (Dual Layer) media.
Step 4 : DVD Player Viewing
The burned DVD should be viewable in most players. Unfortunately one problem with the disc is that in English DVD Players the defaulted Chinese Subtitles do not show until asked for. So please turn on Chinese subs when viewing for the first time.
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Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Transcript be read?
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Transcript can be read here : English - Chinese - Chingrish
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Audio Commentary Transcript can be read here : Unorganized Audio Commentary Transcript Notes
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How has 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' been released?
Official 1. Homemade copies were mailed out. (red ink on disc) [Distribution - US Copyright Office (2) - Lucasfilm, Microsoft (returned), Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Wired Magazine - Media Creators (3) - SW Fans (5) - Friend (1) - Website (1)]
Official 2. Posted to alt.binaries.starwars.
Official 3. The .nfo & .nzb were forwarded to : alt.binaries.documentaries, alt.binaries.multimedia.documentaries, alt.binaries.multimedia.scifi, alt.binaries.multimedia.scifi-and-fantasy, alt.binaries.multimedia.chinese, alt.binaries.dvd.documentaries, alt.binaries.tv, alt.binaries.dvd, alt.binaries.dvdr, alt.binaries.multimedia.tv, alt.binaries.x
Official 4. The .nfo was posted to : alt.fan.starwars, fr.rec.arts.sf.starwars, pl.rec.fantastyka.starwars, tw.bbs.rec.starwars, alt.discuss.starwars, de.rec.sf.starwars, rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc
Official 5. A trackerless DHT torrent (Azureus client) was attempted but it fail'd.
Official 6. Currently testing out web distribution. See Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be watched/downloaded?
Official 7. Since the download version is difficult/complicated. Printed out 25 copies (CD slimline case versions, blue ink on disc) which i'll mail to whomever requests a copy to rent. See : Where should comments/e-mail be sent? Well 23 of these copies have been distributed at the Open Video Conference.
Official 8. Factory Pressed CD Sleeve version. 500 copies.
See What does the DVD Cover & Disc look like? and What were the issues involved in the pressing of 500 copies?
Unofficial : DVD Rips - Bootlegs - Derivative Works
| Name / Info | Type | Date | Description | Official Alternative Download Suggestion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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'The Backslackpking with media' (sp) torrent : demonoid |
DVD Rip Size : 711.9MB File Type : AVI | 2009.06.05 | Highly compressed version of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' main feature to fit onto a CD. Although the title is misspelled, this gets the acknowledgement of being the first bootleg. No burned in subtitles, no extra features, no second audio. | The mp4's available from the FAQ's chapter section have the Chinese subtitles burned in and are approximately the same size. (the mp4s are ~960 megs) Plus, the FAQ's mp4s are individually packaged so you can take the chapters you appreciate. But with no extras and no alternative subtitles, the full DVD is the way to go. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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How can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be rented or bought?
Contact %20 if interested. E-mail info : Where should comments/e-mail be sent?
In the spirit of the 'Support Creatives' initiative, you can voluntarily provide compensation for 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' or %20.
Costs of media purchasing and printing costs are as follows : 25 DVD+R-DL at $42.93 + Misc. Printing at $33.08 + Slim line cases at $9.99 =
Total for 25 = $86.00 @ Cost per copy of $3.44 (does not including initial production)
Total for 25 ($86.00) + 2009 Promotional Expenditures ($877.00) = $963.00 @ Cost per copy $38.52 (does not include pre 2009 production costs)
| Basic 25 Copy Run | 2009 Costs | = Red / Black | : Reflection on Overall Creative Effort |
| Zero | Zero | = No Compensation | : No More Productions |
| $.01 -> $3.43 | $.01 -> $38.51 | = Loss | : Limited Appreciation |
| $3.44 | $38.52 | = Cover Costs | : Some Outward Appreciation |
| $3.45 -> $9.99 | $38.53 -> $39.99 | = Cheap DVD pricing | : Appreciation of the Effort |
| $10.00 -> $24.99 | $40.00 -> $49.99 | = Typical DVD pricing | : Interest in possibly seeing more |
| $25.00 -> $99.99 | $50.00 -> $99.99 | = First run or Institutional DVD | : Definite interest in another |
| $100.00+ | $100.00+ | = High End Generosity | : Make more / Make a living of it |
| $56 mil | $56 mil | = Full Ownership | : Covers Current Precedent Willful Copyright Infringement of 700 sources |
| $105 mil | $105 mil | = Full Ownership | : Covers High End Limit of Willful Copyright Infringement of 700 sources |
| more | more | = Full Ownership | : Cover extreme multiple instance use judgement |
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How often has 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' been viewed, downloaded, rented or bought?
Stats for 2009:
| 2009 | |||||||||
| Physical Copies | Downloads FAQ | Downloads External | |||||||
| Bought | Rented | Free Hand Outs | Complete DVD RARs | Mp4s | Ogvs | Usenet | archive.org | Torrent | Rapidshare |
| Zero | Zero | 95 * | 42 ** | 42 ** | 49 ** | Unknown (at least 9) | 271 | 38 *** | 15 **** |
| Total = 95 | Total = 133 | Total = 333 | |||||||
| Grand Total = 561 | |||||||||
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** - Stats Excel File or Stats in HTML *** - Torrent created by fan at: Demonoid.com **** - www.fanedit.org |
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Will there be a physical release?
Anyone can burn their own. Don't know.
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Where is the Dual-Layer Break Point?
Actual chapter 29. [Thematic chapter 27].
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Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Discussion Group?
To join : http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/tBSWM/
The goal of the group is to bring up any topic or idea people might get while watching or learning about this presentation, and see where it leads. Also to unearth other facts or topics which occurred around the release of Revenge of the Sith which influenced or were influenced by the Star Wars Phenomenon.
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What have people said about 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
Reviews of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
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Link : http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/backslacpkpingwithmedia.html
Quote : "Fascinating and infuriating in equal parts" Date : 2009 Archive : [Archive .pdf] Read : [Link to Text in FAQ] |
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Link : http://www.faneditforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=6352
Quote : "(tBSWM) is a rabbit hole and it is as deep as what the viewer will decide to make it." Date : 2009.06.11 Archive : [Archive pg.6 .pdf] Read : [Link to Text in FAQ] |
Text of : Star Wars Aficionado Review
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THE BACKSLACPKPING WITH MEDIA- A DOCUMENTARY
STAR WARS MEETS THE WORLD'S MEDIA!! THE BACKSLACPKPING WITH MEDIA A STAR WARS/cross culture/media documentary-"a documediamentary"- by %20 "Behind is loaf slaps by the medium" Reviewed by Scott Weller Don't worry, your AFICIONADO editor isn't slowly losing his mind, and his computer's spell check facility hasn't gone into meltdown mode yet, either-THE BACKSLACPKPING WITH MEDIA is a unique, experimental film documentary within the realms of the STAR WARS universe, and was sent into me by the project's ambitious, deliberately eccentric and shadowy (in a nice way) instigator/ creator mysteriously known as %20-who may very well become the "Neo" of the STAR WARS Fan Universe!! Basically, it's a tour de force examination of the world's varying multimedia and its reaction to the STAR WARS SAGA- in particular the 2005 release of EPISODE THREE: REVENGE OF THE SITH. Now, you ask, there has previously been quite a few fan related compilations of footage with regards to certain films and aspects of the saga, from individual cast members to behind the scenes material, but what makes this so special and worth watching-well, this is a serious, and also not too serious, study into the way that the media not only exploits its audience, sells a product to them, then uses the product to their own advantage, but also how it can make itself look darn silly at the same time, especially with regards to how they perceive the legendary saga and its multi Ðaudience section fan base. In general, the media clearly consumes REVENGE OF THE SITH in every way possible, and in some ways its vice versa, too, as a skillful LUCASFILM, though in a different, but equally intriguing way, goes to work with its own highly skilled media control and saturation in showing how important the STAR WARS saga is to people, but also, more importantly, how, as a company wanting to survive and go into other projects, it really does need the fans to come out and support George Lucas in the final legs of his film's fairytale journey. And STAR WARS is sooo big in itself it's clear to me that it's an entity in its own right, equally capable of devouring anybody who loves it or despises it-though I hate the term, it still remains an unstoppable juggernaut of a brand. There's also the chance through the documentary to see how Lucas himself has deliberately changed his own STAR WARS history- of the story, the characters and some behind the scenes moments- to suit his own needs by the time of completing SITH, sometimes not always for the good. An intriguing indictment of both the strengths and the negatives of the world wide press, THE BACKSLACPKPING WITH MEDIA also shows how dangerously manipulative it can be when its to its own advantage (especially the obvious culprit of Rupert Murdoch's TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX, whose media wings, along with several other major corporations, have effectively spread and captured the world-SITH being the perfect example of publicizing their release rights owned movie through their various large power base/conglomerates (including their flagship SKY TV company)). Then there is the intriguing way that REVENGE OF THE SITH would be seen by certain aspects of the media as a sly attack by George Lucas on the George Bush presidency of the time and the affect his rein had on the world in general (this is an interestingly edited segment from %20, showing how the media have used STAR WARS to their own advantage, though also not bothering to do any research on the subject at all-unable to consider the fact that the original script for STAR WARS back in 1974 had a plot that talked about an evil Emperor and his minions that was written in reference to the way dictators can take over so easily, given the right conditions, and that it was also an observation of the then corruption of the then Nixon US administration. SITH's story relevance in 2005, and the way that's the film's certain political nuances are picked up on and used by the press, proves fascinating to see evolve). The sheer amount of clips from all over the world put together in this documentary is enough to make any fan, especially of the Prequel Saga, want to see this, but once past the first twenty minutes or so, you'll soon realize just what an imaginative piece of work %20's presentation is. Watching this documentary, it's equally amazing in a so easy it's plain to see way how there are so few good in television interviewers out there in the world-the amount of dumb questioning and "chit-chat" throughout the installments reaches new heights of inanity and moments of absurdity, but at the same time it's really a kinda banal fun watching it and the way it escalates through the skillful, and with a thematic continuity, editing. Though its nice to see when presenters actually do like STAR WARS, its even worse when you get those ones who really don't give a damn about it and who clearly can't be bothered, literally sleepwalking through their efforts and forgetting their job positions and the huge salaries they're being paid to be clued up on the subject matter they're talking about!! Yes, I know we're in a world where we should be tolerating other people's viewpoints on STAR WARS (even if they're wrong. Ha ha!!) but when you see someone who hasn't even bothered to try and watch it interviewing key people about the films, its sometimes just too embarrassing and cringe inducing for words (and its always painful to see someone like David Letterman or Ed Regis who clearly haven't got a clue about STAR WARS, probably beyond the original 1977 movie release, interviewing someone like Ewan McGregor or Hayden Christensen) -there are quite a few moments when watching these media guys "work" will generate the feeling of a huge chunk of bile being severely caught in your throat!! As well as the press itself, those aforementioned and highly varied sections devoted to all manner of topics within the STAR WARS universe are equally well developed and prove intriguing, not just on the final film's arrival in cinemas but also the kind of emotional/cathartic release that it would generate-completing the nearly thirty year cycle of the series evolution. There's a refreshing new spin within the way %20 has edited the subject matter clips- such as favourite characters, the importance of the series title crawl, STAR WARS own unique theme-ology and the way it has influenced and inspired the fans (going back on the series roots and exploring things that have been touched on before, like the way Joseph Campbell had influenced Lucas's work), Hayden Christensen's feeling of empowerment in wearing the Vader suit for the first, and final, appearance of Darth Vader (the lynchpin for EPISODE THREE, and now, since the arrival of the Prequels, of the whole six film saga itself), John Williams music, overseas interviews (the Japanese talks with Hayden are sometimes scary, sometimes hilarious!! And Hayden's facial reactions to the questions are equally priceless), sex and censorship in STAR WARS, the involvement of women in fandom (unlike a lot of earlier sci-fi, this saga has never been just for the guys!! And Amen to that!!), Rick McCallum's always enjoyable over hyping the films in a way that whips up fan frenzy to new heights each time, the Skywalker Ranch press launch, the definition of GEEK, the gazillions that everyone predicts will be made on its then impending release, to the 12.01am EPISODE THREE screenings to riotous, enjoying the moment fans, and the intriguing hunt for the pirateers who ripped the film off as it was being released!! Just on it's own merits of both fun and fear, the 501st Stormtroopers film section shows wave after wave of Imperial troopers, of all ranks and types, walking out of a convention area-for a few seconds its fun to see them all but then, once the line keeps going and going and going and going, it becomes a bit scary and the power of STAR WARS really starts to get you thinking!! Away from the fandom element, amongst the many other rare clip treats are Nick Gillard and Hayden appearing on a US breakfast show, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, and doing some fun lightsaber fighting with the general public, a lot of CANNES film festival material where EPISODE THREE received it's European premiere, and the aforementioned Japanese interview footage and the main cast (Hayden and Ian McDiarmid and Lucas press call/talk), and a classic Mark Hamill interview in which he wrongly names Hayden Christensen as Christian Haydensen-absolutely priceless!!! There's so much more, that I'll leave you to discover it allÉ There also some fascinating inter-cutting of SITH clips from a version of the film that was given Chinese subtitles-how the film was perceived there shows intriguing and highly different sensibilities from the rest of the rest of the world and in regards to the cross cultural landscape ... With 48 chapters in all (with extra material being added onto the website viewing version of the documentary),what's brilliant about TBWM is that you can watch it one go if you're brave enough (and it's an epic three hours and twenty three minutes!!), or for an equally pleasant wander of total enjoyment you can dip in and out of various chapters and watch from there-each experience through the documentary is a different and intriguing one, almost scientific Ð you may feel like a guinea pig caught in a wheel in an Orwellian "Who's watching the Watchers?" moment!! Or you might feel like you're in a giant Petri dish- being bombarded with all this fast paced interlinking clips to test your psychological reactions!! The kaleidoscoping/montage effect of the first viewing may prove distracting and highly annoying at times to viewers. Equally, the footage and sound quality of the total presentation is of varying quality, so there are parts when its jars, but that is unavoidable as %20 has gotten hold of the clips from such a wide variety of sources, but it doesn't seriously detract from the enjoyment of watching it, but you must stick with itÉit's worth your patience. Like the DVD cover sleeve that represents it, TBWM can be seen as so much to so many-an amazing viewing experience, a mysterious and baffling, hidden warning message experiment, a psychedelic mixture "trip" of images in a style that's very Oriental in it's design ethic, or you might find it just completely unwatchable!!! The choice is yours!! As well as us die-hards, I think non fans will equally enjoy watching TBWM; especially anyone taking part in multi media studies analysis-there's enough material on display here to fill twenty theses!! It's the kind of experimental film-making in itself that I think George Lucas would love-in some ways it's an extension of his early USC film school days short LOOK AT LIFE, but with the visual, live action media format at a faster and more intense, almost to overload, level. It's a shame that LUCASFILM sent back %20's preview DVD unwatched-I think it would have garnered some intriguing interest from them and would have been enjoyed for what it was by both Lucas and someone of the likes of Rick McCallum if they had been shown it-hopefully, over time, its popularity will be established and they will eventually see this intriguing cornucopiaÉ Early criticisms by the fans on sites such as ORIGINAL TRILOGY.COM towards TBWM have been, I feel, a little bit unfair (some citing it as a waste of time and effort with such great footage)- I think some of the fans seeing it for the first time were unsure of what they were going to watch- though it's intriguing to see how comment has improved for the better more recently...in my opinion, THE BACKSLACPKPING WITH MEDIA is definitely an intriguing and important new entry into the exploration of the STAR WARS mythos and it's worldwide effectsÉ AFICIONADO REVIEW: Fascinating and infuriating in equal parts, this is an obvious labour of love by determined film-maker %20 into the joys and horror of the media world's response to STAR WARS and, in particular, EPISODE THREE. You may need some Alka Seltzer occasionally in watching it, but it's a fascinating documentary experience that's definitely worth your perusal time. 9 out of 10 |
Text of : blueyoda Review @ Fan Edit Forum
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REVIEW: Thee Backslacpkping With Media by %20
As you probably have guessed, this is not your typical fanedit. It's a documentary about Star Wars, yet that is not its mission. It's a mashup yet its goal is not necessarely the entertainment value usually associated with such edits. The best way I could describe this thing is that it's a commentary on the current state of the media. No wait - it's a mockumentary on the way we perceive media. No, that's not exactly it. It's an extrapolation on how media will be fed to us somewhere down the line in 20, 30 years. Actually, it is all these things. Thee Backslacpkping With Media is a meticulously assembled piece of art which has so many levels of depths that it is almost impossible to review in a conventional way. It is rather meant to be analyzed, deconstructed and talked about endlessly. It is meant to make us simultaneously examine the impact Star Wars has had on the way movies are marketed; the way the media has handled the hype surrounding the prequels; the way we assimilate information; the current state of the internet and where it's headed; how corporations are shaping modern copyright laws; how we perceive art and what is "stealing" and what is "hommage" and what is derivative work and... too many questions that I will not go into here, because that is not the purpose of this review. Concretely speaking, what is Thee Backslacpkping With Media? It is a collage of snippets of interviews, reports, TV specials, internet parodies and many, many different clips from 700+ sources assembled by theme. It is the equivalent of doing a google search, for example, for "star wars box office", and getting back the results in a audio-visual linear format with clips lasting no more than 8 seconds on average. It is an absolutely mind-numbing experience. It is not meant to be watched in one sitting. It is enjoyable in ten minutes chuncks, perhaps up to 20 minutes chunks if you're ADD enough. Attempting to view the whole thing in one sitting will melt any sane person's mind but I don't believe this is the editor's intention. More than anything the whole project is a statement rather than a movie or documentary. The editor calls it a documediamentary - a project so bizarre that he even had to make up a new word to describe it. The whole thing is a work of genius in my opinion - a window into the future of how information will be processed and delivered to us according to our particular interests and in an interactive fashion that is very organic. It is a simulator of sorts of what it will feel like to watch a tv show 20 years from now and being able to interact with the contents according to our particular needs. Yet it is not quite that experience since it is not custom made for us - it's a very passive experience, the only possible interaction being our ability to skip to the next chapter or choose the different subtitles or audio options. But it's the closest approximation of what it will be like. I believe this is something that will make it into the history books for its conceptual audacity and visionary look into the evolution of our relationship with information processing. Ironically, it is almost unwatchable. As brilliant as it is conceptually, watching more than 10 minutes is mentally exausting. It is too much information thrown at us and our brain is unable to process it. The cutting is frenetic and it is unsuitable as an enjoyable experience for a prolongued period of time. It is a novelty that you can show at a party without the sound on - or something to get a discussion going if you watch a little bit of it with friends. A discussion of what Star Wars has done to movies, of how corporations are controlling information, or any of the points that are detailed on the creator's web page (which is a fascinating read). This is a rabbit hole and it is as deep as what the viewer will decide to make it. Personally, I know I will be throwing this in my DVD player from time to time, and I know I will be getting weeks if not months of enjoyment out of it, discovering the many ways to view it. What I found the most enjoyable was to watch it with the chinglish subtitles which are always funny and with the commentary track on. The editor's insights are fascinating, even if delivered by a Hawking- like robot voice. But wait - it's not a commentary track. It's snippets from IMDB, from various message boards, a collection of different quotes from various sources. Again, this is a deliberate choice on the editor's part, forcing us to re-evaluate what is entertainement. Like everything else involving this project, everything has been thought thru and has a reason for existing, a meaning which we are to discover and which will probably be different for every viewer. It is not thru some kind of artistic choice that the editor named himself %20, the computer equivalent of nothing; he wants to be invisible. But no that's not it; he actually wants us to acknowledge that fact and reflect upon it. This will be met with very mixed reviews. Some will "get it", some won't. Some will "get it" and hate it, some will not "get it" and love it. This will provide a wide range of reactions and that is precisely what the editor set out to do in my opinion. I am fairly certain he will enjoy reading reviews which praise it as much as those that destroy it. This is a labour of love, the first work of its kind and considering the magnitude of it probably the last. Three years in the making, the madness of indexing 700+ sources into something that is at the same time coherant and chaotic, quite like what the internet is at the moment. I cannot give this a rating because there is nothing to compare this edit to - it is, as far as I know, the first of its kind. If not it is certainly the first project on such a huge scale and if I have to give it a rating I'd say it is a 1/10 as much as it is a 10/10. I cannot recommend it because of its bizarre nature yet it is mandatory watching for anybody with a brain. I will therefore arbitrarely give it a 5/10. This edit is hereby approved. |
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Note : Cyan background signify threads with some form of conversation. Grey threads are single mention or notifications.
Categories : Links have been divided, read top headings for explanations.
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Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
What is a NoA? (Notification of Appropriation) How are they received?
A NoA is a 'Notification of Appropriation'. Typically an e-mail or letter, naming the previous artistic creation and newly modified artistic creation.
Example 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Notification of Appropriation (tBSWM NoA):
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Subject : Notification of Appropriation [Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out] by %20
Notification of Appropriation
This e-mail is to make whom ever it may concern aware that the New York Times Editorials/Op-Ed 'Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out' by Neal Stephenson has been reconfigured and reincorporated into 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'. 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is a Proof of Concept, imagining a system which could search through online repositories of media and return a program of desired length on the user's topic of choice. tBSWM takes 40+ hours of media (700+ sources created by corporations, news organizations, individuals, bootleggers) from just around the release of the last Star Wars movie and condensed/recompiled that material into chapters on the underlying themes and memes of the 'Revenge of the Sith' coverage.
FAQ for 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'
Using a text-2-speech automation process, parts of 'Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out' have been incorporated into the second audio commentary track. (This option is only available on the full DVD, a copy can be sent to a supplied postal address.)
If curious, Chapter Segments can be viewed here:
I don't recommend watching it all at once, (if ever) look through the chapter titles and if one sounds interesting try it out.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
%20 |
Notifications of Appropriation have been ignored 100% of the time. (current as of: 2010.01.24)
One person has responded to the NoA, and after responding and offering to send them a copy, %20 is as of 2010.07.18 awaiting a mailing address.
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On March 16, 2009 the United States Copyright Office (http://www.copyright.gov/) received two copies of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' for contribution to the United States Library Of Congress. (http://www.loc.gov/index.html) The goal of the Library of Congress is to 'sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations'. Other items in the Library of Congress are a 35mm print of the 1977 version of 'Star Wars'.
It takes about 18 months for recognition of submissions.
| Overview | ||
| Date | Topic | |
| 2009.03.16 | 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' submitted to Library of Congress | |
| 2010.12.03 | Library of Congress requests alternative Form TX | |
| 2010.12.xx | %20 provides Form PA | |
| 2011.03.03 | Library of Congress seeks permissions | |
| 2011.03.14 | %20 responds to the Library of Congress permissions issue | |
2009.03.16 - 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' submitted to Library of Congress
2010.12.03 - The Library of Congress requests alternative Form TX
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Re: The(sic) Backslacpkping With Media
IPN: 156300196
Dear Mr. Lopez: We must delay registration because you sent a "Document Cover Sheet" instead of a copyright application. Please complete the enclosed Form TX and return it to us. Also, be sure to include a copy of this letter to ensure accurate processing. For faster service, please fax both sides of the application and a copy of this letter to 202-707-1237, attn: John Poff. If you are unable to fax your completed Form TX, send it to:
Special Handling Please note that if we do not receive a response to this message within 20 days, we will close this case without processing your registration or notifying you further, and forward your desposit copy(ies) under the provisions of the current copyright law. The fee is not refundable. If you re-apply for registration after the case is closed, you must send a new application, copy and fee. The effective date of registration will be based on the new submission.
Enclosures: |
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2010.12.xx - %20 provides Form PA
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Re: The(sic) Backslacpkping With Media
IPN: 156300196
To: Mr. Poff Thank you for getting back to e about having the incorrect paperwork. I mistook the 'Document Cover Sheet' as the application form. This is my first submittal to the Copyright Offices. Although you provided Form TX, I am submitting Form PA, since the project is a 'motion picture' documentary which I read online has this specific form.
Included in this Fax are the following:
Thank you for your attention in this matter, please let me know if anything is missing.
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2011.03.03 - The Library of Congress seeks permissions letter
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COPYRIGHT OFFICE
SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE 1870 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Washington D.C. 20559-6000 GJ/kd-d March 3, 2011
Peter A Lopez
Control Number 81-512-1302(L)
Dear Mr. Lopez: Please accept our apologies for the delay in contacting you about this claim. We are writing now because it is not clear whether you have obtained permission to use the preexisting material contained in your new version of this work. The preexisting material appears to be under copyright protection. The copyright owner of a work has the exclusive right to make a new version of that work (Section 106 of the copyright law, 17 USC). The law also provides that copyright protection for a work that includes previously copyrighted material does not extend to any part of the work in which this material has been used unlawfully (Section 103). This means that copyright protection will not extend to a derivative work such as a translation, adaptation, or musical arrangement if the preexisting material under copyright protection has been used unlawfully. For more information, please see Circular 22. Please check any written permissions you might have from the copyright owners to determine the extent of your rights with regard to using the copyrighted works. If you have obtained such permissions, please confim this in writing and we will reconsider registration. If you are not authorized to use the preexisting material or your written permissions indicate that you do not have the right to claim copyright in the new version, we cannot register the claim as submitted. In accordance with our practices, we will close your tile without further action. The fee is not refundable. If you want to register a claim in your original text (commentary), please send a new printed copy containing only this text. Also, please give us your authorization to amend the "nature of authorship" line to describe the claim as "text" only. We will also delete your statements in the "preexisting material" and "material added to this work" spaces, assuming this text has not been previously published or registered.
-2-
PETER A LOPEZ
Control No. 81-512-1302(L)
We would appreciate a prompt response regarding this matter. Please reply within 60 days and return the enclosed Reply Sheet.
Note: The Copyright Office is experiencing some delays in receiving and processing mail, due to increased security measures. All mail, including U.S. Postal Service mail and shipments by private carriers such as Fedex, UPS, DHL, and Airborne Express, is screened before it is delivered to the Copyright Office.
Sincerely,
Enclosures:
Please do not send another fee unless this letter specifically requested that you do so. |
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Initial Response: Maybe the Library of Congress is trying to make me aware of the potential consequences. But I don't understand why they are worrying about permissions. According to the Library of Congress website: (http://www.loc.gov/about/mission.html)
Quote: "The Library's mission is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people."
This work was attempting to push the progress of knowledge and creativity in my own odd way. I hope it is to the benefit of more then just the American people.
Maybe the Library of Congress is attempting to do me a favor. But my stance is what I submitted should be included into the Library. If it is or is not lawful, I don't get to choose. There are exceptions to the exclusive rights of copyright law so that authors can create creative works with limited use of copyrighted materials without acquiring permission from the rights holder; commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, scholarship are a few. The laws and how they are weighed on the scale of justice make the final decision. 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is a creative work and to have a robust Library, the inclusion of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' should happen. If at any time someone wants to take issue with the reuse which occurs in 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media', then we'll deal with that as it comes. So far, I can barely get people to watch the work. Having the Library of Congress make a permission pre-judgement, I don't think sends the right message to creators.
Sincerely,
%20 (Peter A Lopez)
2011.03.11 - Response to Library of Congress on Permissions Issue & 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'
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2011.03.11
Library of Congress Title: 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Control Number: 81-512-1302(L)
To whom it may concern, This letter is to explain my position why the work, 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' should be included into the Library of Congress. Although advised by examiner, Gareth James, that the commentary portion of this presentation could be included as just the text, I informed him that both the audio/video and commentary were 98% recycled. So I am proceeding with the 'Performing Arts' registration, realizing that it will most likely be denied, because the 700+ permissions have not been obtained.
I view this presentation as citizen journalism. Although it was 2005 (before youtube) vast volumes of media data was available for consuming and reinterpretation. I don't claim to own copyright of any of the pieces in this presentation. Just like the author of a book doesn't claim ownership of the letters 'C' or 'P'. Letters are the tools of writers. Media sources and their sentence, word fragments or images are the building blocks of my attempt at citizen journalism. And that collective re-newsing is what I feel deserves a copyright registration. I understand this registration doesn't protect me from future lawsuits dealing with the individual reuse cases from their owners. All published versions of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' has been dedicated to the Public Domain, Creative Common's license CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. According to the Library of Congress' website: (http://www.loc.gov/about/mission.html) Quote: "The Library's mission is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people." If the Library of Congress denies works on the lack of permission claim, they are failing to support their Congress persons, since much of public knowledge falls into this grey area which has been created by advances in technology. The Library of Congress is acknowledging this grey area and the media landscape shift with two recent acquisitions.
1. http://twitter.com/librarycongress/status/12169442690 All those retweets are given equal time in the Library of Congress archive, even though they are 99% exact copies of their source.
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/sports/09archive.html?src=twrhp Quote: "Miley was a junior at Bosse High School in 1947 when he began taping sporting events as a hobby with a $165 wire recorder that his father bought from Sears & Roebuck." These are illegal recordings according to the Permission rules applied to my project. Except these sporting event recordings are completely unaltered. Everything in 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' has been processed / analyzed and reconfigured so that it tells a new story or enlightens upon a larger topic which wasn't necessarily the primary focus of the original recordings. Which is one of the guides in copyright legislation; does the work provide commentary, criticism, news reporting, research or scholarship. It's the viewpoint of myself, that this type of presentation will be possible in future search engines. We have archives of video data (C-Span, youtube, etc.), the public is beginning to tag the data with meta values and recently even subtitles. Search engines can process the subtitle text just as easily as a webpage's text, so implementing simple video editing to the subtitles will make search results of processed video a reality. Presentations like 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' will become commonplace, it might not be pretty but it is informative. In all reproductions of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' all the original sources are declared so that the entity interacting with the project can seek out the original source. I will not be attempting to get 700+ permissions for a variety of reasons. If denied, I will anonymously donate 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the Library of Congress. Thanks for your time and consideration, sincerely. Peter A Lopez |
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What happened when %20 sent 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the ______ Film Festival?
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From: Terri Saunders (tsaunde5@dmail.dixied.edu)
September 2, 2010 Hello, We regret to inform you that your entry has not been accepted by DOCUTAH Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival.Thank you for your submission and interest in our festival. We look forward to seeing your work in the future and encourage you to submit again next year. Thanks again for your entry. Sincerely,
Phil Tuckett
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May 24, 2010
Thank you for submitting " THEE BACKSLACPKPING WITH MEDIA" for consideration in the 2010 SILVERDOCS Festival. This year we have receivedover 2,200 film submissions from over 85 countries contending for just 50 feature and 40 short slots. We are continually inspired by the passion and commitment exhibited by filmmakers working from all over the world. The challenge of selecting one good film over another makes final decisions very difficult and we truly regret not having the ability to invite many more great films to be a part of our festival. Regreatfully, due to the limited amount of slots, venues, time and manpower, we will not be able to include your film as part of this year's program. We wish you the greatest success with your film and in all your filmmaking endeavors, and hope that you will keep us in mind with future projects. Sincerely,
Sky Sitney
Sarah Bilodeau
Andrea Passafiume
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What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the Open Video Conference?
The Open Video Conference (2009.06.19-21) was set up to pull together the individuals/entities which are developing video systems which supports unrestricted access, participation, reworking and other ideals associated with a more transparent society. One of the mottos printed onto t-shirts was:
1791 : Free Speech
1965 : Free Voting
1983 : Free Software
2009 : Free Video
Day 1 : Understanding the Situation
Having zero programming skills and not a firm grasp of where computer technology is in relation to the idea behind tBSWM of a system which could search/sort/cut-up/recompile media, %20 headed to the Open Video Conference to learn what's currently available.
The Open Video Conference is about the creation of a framework and platform for media creation and distribution which is unrestricted and available to anyone. Unfortunately tBSWM is burdened with restricted media, so I felt awkward about wasting too many people's time with my ramblings. Spent the first day going to the presentations and chatting with many receptive people about the project. But it seems that a search-edit-recompile system is several years away. One of the challenges to the movement is getting people to consider the open systems. The Ogg codec is the open standard equivalent of the closed mp4/h.264/flash systems which are used by the majority of online video repositories. When tBSWM first went up the video was in Ogg format, but whenever someone wanted to watch the project, there were issues with how to install the codec's and how to play the files. Mozilla announced at the conference that the next version of their software (3.5) would have Ogg playback built in, so that's one hurdle solved. On the search/edit front, two technologies were on display which could provide the foundation. Metavid.org, Pad.ma and Kaltura are systems for online video editing sites which allow anyone to edit open video sources. Both have the capability to search through existing subtitles/transcripts to find the relevant information, then the user can pull out the pieces to create new compositions. So the video search/cut/recompile system's foundation is being created and if there is interest, who knows but in a few years user created programming (video archeology) like experiences similar to tBSWM might be possible.
| The pic is of the homemade disc made to give out. Went to Staples, shrunk the DVD artwork to fit a CD slimline case then laminated the print outs. Worked out well (even though most of the text is unreadable) since there was space above and below the artwork to show the DVD underneath where the titles and other information was written. [printed 44 of the laminated artwork covers, but only burned 25 discs, the price went up for whatever reason... Ended up handing out 23 discs over the weekend. More on that in Day 2, tentatively titled "It's hard to give away a free DVD at a Free Video Conference"] |
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Day 2 : Distributing tBSWM & Missed Opportunities Since I wasn't able to go to the final day hack-a-thon, decided to set up shop right there in the hallway. Found a bench between the conference rooms and the bathrooms where foot traffic would be highest. Acting as a strangely silent street bootlegger (with a violently bouncing knee and eerie grin, but I was sporting a Suckadelic Chinatown tee), I set out one of the Open Video Conf. t-shirts as my grab-and-go cloth and laid out the discs with a homemade sign (was this practice for my future homelessness?) proclaiming that the DVDs were FREE but there was a significant caveat that the viewers might want to know about. Worked out fairly well, spoke with many people who seemed to appreciate the search system recompiling idea, even though the product on display might not be to their liking. Go a big kick out of the awkward facial expressions/fleeting glances people gave as they passed my distribution center. Some people took one home, and we'll wait and see if they get watched. For my effort got a dollar from a possible new fan, the 'Support Creatives' Initiative at work! Was there for about 3 hours and 16 disc left my possession, about one disc every 11 minutes...... |
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Well there were some pleasant surprises, Star Wars in some of it's myriad forms got periodic mentions in some of the lectures, so when I could those individuals got copies. (let's hope they're fans...) Got a chance to give copies to persons who actually appeared in tBSWM. But I blew a chance to have the %20 moniker more widely known. There was a change in speakers because one of the lecturers was called in to do some news media about the post-election Iranian situation. So the conference set up Peter Sunde, one of the founders of the Pirate Bay, as the closing lecturer. The introduction to Mr. Sunde was done by Alan Toner creator of "Steal This Film" and he mentioned the Elite Torrent takedowns. (Unfortunately, how the US population didn't come to their support, as the citizenry of Europe has done in the Pirate Bay case) So during the Q&A, I submitted a question by post-it note, but I neglected to attribute the question to %20. Could have had the moniker on the big stage... phuck. ...and unfortunately the answer to the question "Have you talked to the Elite Torrent Mods who are about to get released from jail or getting off parole soon?", didn't amount to much.
The lecture can be viewed from the Open Video Conference website. Find the 'Live Stream's section go to the Menu (lower left) --> "Browse On-Demand Library" --> June 20, 2009 --> (last option) Live Show Sat Jun 20, 2009. The introduction is around 03:10:00, and the question is around 03:34:00.
Great conference, full of ideas, we'll see if anyone watches tBSWM and feels compelled to do anything.
Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
What happened when %20 asked the label Illegal Art to release 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
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Quote
"wow. this is a cool project. how long is the total project? a lot of amazing clips and juxtapositions. i don't think we're interested in it, even thought it's fascinating... i'm just not sure if i would personally sit through the entire thing more than once, and part of what we look for is work that we would return to again and again... and maybe that's putting too mujch of a "musical" asethetic requirement on something that is more conceptual and analytical, but we have our biases." |
What happened when %20 asked the ForceCast to review 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
Two copies have been received by the ForceCast crew, and now we wait to see if they successfully survive the review process.
Ran into Jimmy Mac at TheForce.net after party during Celebration V. His comments were that he wanted to see more of the clips, and because he was confused what the title was that was an explanation why it hadn't been mentioned on the show.
Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
What happened when %20 replied to the Maxim Magazine request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
A reporter entered the OT.com Forums and requested information on 'Fan Edits'. (Link)
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Saw your post on OT.com, it might not fall into your original article's destination, but.... Did you ever wish you could search through all the video media available online, and a program would cut-up and recompile those resources to produce a program being defined by your search query, desired length and other parameters? That is the goal of the Fan Edit below, which attempts to be a media analysis / video archeology study of the media released by anyone (corporate or individual) at the time of the release of the last Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith.
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' FAQ:
Watch any chapter from the website:
or download the DVD:
If this sounds interesting, don't be afraid to ask any questions, it's not the usual fan edit.
%20
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As the reporter's questions spread, although not contacted directly, proactively %20 took the opportunity to answer the questions proposed. (%20 responses are in bold)
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Sorry for the delay, but here are some questions and thanks so much for participating!
--> not a problem, my pleasure How old are you? --> not relevant Where do you live? --> not relevant What do you do? --> see FAQ [ http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html#WhatWho%20 ] How many "fan edits" have you done? --> Many %20 creations are available from: [ http://www.noneinc.com ] What's the primary reason you do you do "fan edits?" --> information dissemination, see FAQ [ http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html#Documediamentary ] Is it that you didn't like the original or were bored with it? --> the original lacked the ability to reassemble itself Has anyone from the film studio ever contacted you about your fan edits? --> Yes, see FAQ [ http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html#NotInLibrary ] How long does it take to do --> 3 years, see FAQ [ http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html#WorkSchedule ] There seems to be a high risk/low reward: You don't get paid to do them and you could conceivably be punished for copyright infringement. So why do it? --> User Defined information dissemination, see FAQ [ http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html#HowDoc ] Are you a wannabe film director or film editor? --> no, I make, you/they define What are your favorite "fan edits?" --> not relevant What are you impressions of "The Phantom Edit" and "Superman: Redeemed?" --> not relevant I'm on a tight deadline so the sooner the better. Thanks! --> I believe that soon there will be systems in place which will allow people to search/cut-up/recompile media as easily as a word processor manipulates text. Fan Edits will seem trite when anyone can go to their favorite search engine and search/cut-up/recompile the last 50 years of their favorite 6 o'clock TV news or all the online videos to match the content of a wikipedia entry or newspaper article. They choose the Topic, length and other various parameters. That's going to be awesome. Can't wait. %20 |
A second questionaire was distributed which had additional questions.
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Sorry missed a few:
Do you ever think eventually you'll stop making fan edits?
--> Ahh Goood Question, Is %20 A Nerd. Can an imaginary entity be a mental construct... Let's pull back onto something else for a moment then get back to that. Yes, i'm most likely sterile. A large sack of blood vessels descended into my testicles rendering them functionless. How does this pertain to your publication. Oh that's right i'm the aged adult virgin you don't market too. Breeders bring profits. Nerds, Geeks, Dweebs they might create stuff, but stuff is not interesting, new 20 something people are where the action is. But it's great to know that even when you hang out in nerd circles like fan edit forums, you can still receive complements like "you are truly a certified lunatic", and it's appreciated. It's a different world depending on where you exists. We mean you no harm. Hey let's edit something together right now, take the "Hacker Manifesto": [ http://www.phrack.com/issues.html?issue=7&id=3#article ] and replace 'Hacker' with 'Fan Editor' and 'Criminal' with 'Nerd'. I'll do some for you:
Fan Edit Modified Quoting of +++The Mentor+++'s "\/\The Conscience of a Hacker/\/" (Hacker Manifesto)
"<omission>the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us nerds. We explore... and you call us nerds. We seek after knowledge... and you call us nerds. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us nerds. <omission> Yes, I am a nerd. My nerdity is that of curiosity. My nerdity is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My nerdity is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for. I am a Fan Editor, and this is my <modified> manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike. <edit> We like to build upon the past.</edit>" Oh my gawd, i'm about to gag. That's truly a horrid Fan Edit. but with time something different will be developed. |
Few days later, round 3 questions.
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Quote: "Here We Go Again"
listen to this: http://www.noneinc.com/sound/ %20&PossibleCostlyIllegals-HereWeGoAgain.mp3 As you read the following.
Which movie franchise has had the most "fan edits?"
Some call it collage, compilation, found footage, detournement, recycled cinema, etc. Either way they are all extensions of the creative spirit. Monkey See, Monkey Do; Differently. Humans learn through copying. Some of these terms go back to the early days of cinema. Terms and practices evolve, and appropriation changes to suit those needs. (Duchamp hung a toilet, there are now found footage festivals http://www.cine-magic.com/foundfootagefest.html go figure) Recently, in the 1970s, because of the grittier content, many films had alternative versions or 'cuts', so they could be released in places they couldn't get the original played. (typically a European film got 'cut' when playing in the US) This had to be a factor in the wave of editors today, who might have been children at that time and learned that the movie they saw, was just part of a larger whole. In the 1980s, colorization became a new tool, and many films got a facelift. Ironically, George Lucas was vocal, criticizing the colorization of the Three Stooges, claiming that it would harm the humor by removing it's lack of color context. One of the major uplifts to a classic was Metropolis, (1927 / 1984) by Fritz Lang. It got colorized and a new soundtrack was added. Revising soundtrack material is a common Fan Editor decision. Many Fan Editors also might share a common love of MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000) who appropriated whole movies and added their own commentaries. This has evolved into Riff Tracks, but there have been several fan websites dedicated to the art. [ http://www.zarban.com/?page_id=1562 the fan commentary movement has been attributed to that Roger Ebert article ] 'Wizard People, Dear Reader' was an audio modification of the Harry Potter movie which got some media attention years back. [ http://illegal-art.org/video/wizard.html ] Another 1980s phenomenon, Airplane! became probably the most popular recontextualized/appropriate film still to this day, possibly. Airplane! is a direct remake of Zero Hour. (1957) The overall plot and major portions of dialog are direct lifts from Zero Hour. [ this viddie has clips of both films showing the modifications, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q__vuyH1JEI ] If Star Wars and Jaws are the films which coined the blockbuster title. Airplane! paved the way for the 'Remake Movie' phenomenon, people like to complain about now. All these spoofy comedies and the creeping of comedy moments into action films is one of the things the current batch of Fan Editors rail against. A common practice i've heard is that many Fan Editors remove the jokey moments from the action films they appreciate. In the 1990s, whole documentaries were produced using 'illegal' satellite broadcasts. Brian Springer's 'Spin' documents the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of politicians and newscasters. [ watch here: http://illegal-art.org/video/index.html ] Disturbing to this day, especially realizing that the same techniques are being employed to manipulate who gets to speak in the Presidential debates. On the Star Wars front, George Lucas has in his entire career spurred the creation of tools which democratized film making. http://droidmaker.com/ Is a great book by Michael Rubin on the early days of digital filmmaking. At Lucas Film, the 1980s computer team would eventually become Pixar, but at this time they were making the tools like video and audio editing software which every computer now has standard. The OT.com community have grown up following the evolvement of SW and the computer systems created to make them and are familiar with the tools which permit the modification of film. So it's not surprising that the modification of The Phantom Menace would be one of the initial creations of this type to Find a sympathetic audience. It was built in. There are many other works being created in the same spirit but getting those works to like minded folks to reach a critical mass, well it happens. In audio appropriation, the bootleg mashup scene produced DJ Danger Mouse, but his emergence lead to a contraction of the culture (forums went private, etc.) publicly, because of the scrutany. For what it's worth, the direct FanEdit.org community is very much concerned with presentation. They like their DVDs so they can go watch on their media viewing systems. They want the theater going experience. This should be of note to the people who make the A/V tech. A good percentage are often gadget freaks. So wrap this article with the new HDTV and BluRay player / media center. But there are alternative creators using other forums and mediums to get their creations out. There have been many Trailer remakes who use free online repositories to get their message out. Recently learned about a full movie mashup project called 'One Flew Over The Dead Poets Nest'. Available on free online repositories and social media sites, it stands in stark contrast (distributionally) to FE.o. [ http://www.myspace.com/dead_poets_nest ] ...but now here's the cross road, do your readers really care about any of this. What's the angle your publication is going for. Why hire a writer of this caliber to do a piece on this topic. Could you forward the angle question to the person who pitched the article idea. curious what they wanted to find out. what are you gunning for.
Some info pulled from:
Thanks! You're being a HUGE help!
Tell me how important you think "The Phantom Edit" was to the "fan edit" hysteria? Did it "need" to be that movie that started it all? Is Mike Nichols, the creator of "Phantom Edit," considered somewhat of a legend?
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And more follow up, again directed elsewhere, but answered anyway. ...these answers ramble as an overall general sense of depression, impending doom and general malaise to where this article is going...
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I actually spoke to the head of "anti-piracy" at the MPAA and, honestly, he barely cared at all about "fan edits." He was WAY more concerned with flat-out piracy. Do you have any documentation that they made you take down links? Why do you believe they're so anti-"fan edits?"
--> The MPAA operate on various levels. The public wing (which handles reporters/media) of course would say that Flat-Out piracy is their prime concern. It is governments like China who permit a different level of legal/illegal material to stay in the buying sphere, which can be seen as the biggest threat. But on other operating levels, people make decisions. It only takes one MPAA employee (or one of the many companies which are under the MPAA umbrella) to send out Cease & Desists to works they might have never seen, (the youtube C&D process has become a factory assembly line) and don't fully understand but claim is infringing. The individual on the receiving end has to make a decision. Give In, which most people recommend, or fight. Fighting a Cease & Desist can be complicated, time consuming and plagued with financial setbacks. Most of which lead to a Chilling Effect. [ http://www.chillingeffects.org/ ] Yes they're not the same but the MPAA and RIAA are viewed with the same general apathy in the emerging fan creator universe. There are many audio cases which didn't have positive outcomes for expanding creativity. U2 hid behind their record label as it took out Negativland/SST. [ http://negativland.com/?opt=mailorder&item=68&type=1 ] CBS went after the Evolution Control Committee. [ http://evolution-control.com/cbs.html ] The Beatles after DJ Danger Mouse. The catalog of music works owned by a copyright control organization who just target rap samplers, and have gotten the precedent down to several second of 'unrecognizability'. (Parliament/NWA 100 Miles and running decision) and Michael Jackson used the Canadian RIAA to suppress John Oswald's seminal Plunderphonic work. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plunderphonics ] Lawerence Lessig's books cover a lot of the cases which have modified the perception of the legal climate. [ http://lessig.org/ & http://remix.lessig.org/ ] Who wants to risk it all to make a point... especially when the C&D sender can force you to travel to where ever they want, and since the MPAA organization has multiple locations, they can make you go anywhere, on your own pocket. ( For more info on the DMCA and C&Ds listen to http://www.thelasthope.org/media/audio/64kbps/A_Decade_Under_the_DMCA.mp3 talk by Marcia Wilbur who wrote a book on the subject ) Also the movie industry and really all content owners have a general lack of interest in material reworking. For instance, http://www.darknet.com/2005/07/when_the_studio.html This guy wanted to gain permission to reuse small parts of movies (from the 7 major film companies) to incorporate into a project for his daughter to be shown to family and friends. He's got copies of the response letters. Most denied on principal. The MPAA/movie companies don't have the man power to adequately determine either way, so they flat-out deny or not respond. It's easy. So what fan editor in their right mind would be anything but fearful when doing this kind of thing. Luckily most of them are either proud of what they've accomplished or just ignorant of the what's happened before them or accepting of the risks and proceed anyway. Are you on loan from Playboy or is Maxim and Playboy synergizing? Can you guess which movie company sues clowns who make balloon animals in shapes similar to their cartoon characters? Hint: They just bought Marvel. If Star Wars supposedly got fan editing through the Phantom Edit, Star Trek has it's levels of appropriation too. Paramount recently released a new DVD box set of the TOS where they updated all the special effects shots, similar to what Lucas did with the Special Editions. But here's where things have changed slightly, Paramount allows a group of fans to recreating whole unproduced episodes of TOS. which i guess is not so special since Lucas Film Ltd. allows the same type of Fan Film creativity. And at the same time, TNG is getting facelifted by a youtube fan editor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf9oD_xl8mI But while these positive changes happen, C&D in both communities are still happening, even though both sides press release that they don't. To see where the Fan Edit community could progress, i guess the Modified Trailers are a good example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wOcQr-2-pE but i guess this stuffs been blended into the Web Soup enterrtainmants. R U aware o': http://www.concretetv.com/ Thee Supreme Fan Editorist of them all. I believe you worked for the mag. (RS) which declared him so. |
The topic of press releasing and C&D'ing, should have contained the link to: http://www.digitalcity.com/2009/07/28/comic-con-steve-sansweet-on-star-wars-fandom/. The pertinent quote and %20 reply is in the response section at the bottom. Again this is semantics, it might be not what LFL or most corporations are about, but never the less it's a tool in the belt.
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Sorry for the delay, was busy celebrating the birth of 60 Minutes and the Sci Fi Channel yesterday.
1) Can you give me an example of something you've done to show your huge level of fanaticism toward fan editing? Delighted: 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' : http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html A 3.5 hour guided tour through the media onslaught (over 700 sources, over 1,666 edits) brought upon the universe via a highly debated genre franchise. tBSWM is attempting to be a proof of concept of future media interaction where a user defines the search parameters and a system searches, cuts-up and recompiled the vast online repositories of media into a condensed historical info-heavy experience. Concentrated Learning. 2) Why do you go by an "alias"? Why does ANYONE go by an alias? Is it for fear of prosecution or is it something else? Like Driver Licenses, Voting and other events in a life, society has deemed it appropriate to wait for these 'gifts' to be granted. The common collective has determined that individuals grow until an approximate age and then become what they generally refer to as an adult. Now in some cultures people identities are actually redefined at that point, some even take new names. Internet culture has keyed into this phenomenon with the Avatar and User Name concepts. People want to redefine their core being and through the Alias they be all that they can be or want to be. I would suggest that society re-examine how it treats religion and let the individuals chose their religious affiliation at the same time they're granted voting and driving rights. 3) Why spend six hours a day working on "Thee Backslacpkping With Media" if you're not an aspiring filmmaker? Are you just that loyal to the craft or is it something else? I would like society to have a User Defined Self Replicating Documediamentary experience. I think it'll be helpful to have a well informed electorate, and thus produce a more robust democracy. or maybe I just like clip shows too much. 4) Any idea where "The Phantom Edit" was originally uploaded and/or if there's a way to monitor how fast it was downloaded once it was? The Phantom Edit started out in the VHS tape trading world. So hanging out at Comic book conventions was the way to stop that one. Yes there are ways to monitor online downloading experiences. But every few years more technology comes out and the ability to monitor verse the ability to freely exchange knowledge/information vacillates. For instance in China, there is the "Golden Shield" (Great FireWall of China). This attempts to prohibit communications. Individuals have developed technologies like Ultrasurf, which allow so called dissidents to talk to whom they choose. During the recent Olympics when the government stopped reporters from talking to their editors, systems like these were used to get around the Golden Shield. Recently the Chinese government attempted another layer of internet clamp down, called 'Green Dam Youth Escort'. Originally required to be installed on all machines distributed in China, the government has stepped back and only forced it to be run on all school, internet cafe and other publicly used computers. Designed to protect youth from adult content, in trials it removed 15% of pornography terms and 85% of political keywords. Let's now drift towards the Fan Edit world and distribution of content. There are many bits and bytes moving services. Some connect users like p2p systems. (napster, kazaa, eDonkey, Bittorrent) Others are forums discussion groups which have had their utility increased like usenet. (quick story on usenet. Usenet is one of the oldest internet items, there are thousands of discussion groups talking about many diverse topics with millions of users. But New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo thinks that the amount of illegal pornography on them warrents that all ISPs stop communications through usenet. Notice how he did not recommend dropping the groups in the offending areas, he recommends dropping the entire usenet service. Millions of discussion groups, hundreds of millions of topics. So ISPs have been dropping usenet and even though the ISPs are offering one less service, they don't drop their fees. that's a win-win for business but not for communications.) Others are free online services to move/store large files like megaupload or yousendit. All are monitorable, trackable and pollutable. There used to be more pollution. I ran a blog called 'Thee RIAA Is My Favorite Band' and I would collect the files distributed by companies like Overpeer. Twas phun. But that's the old days. Now the new mini-file sharing war is with torrent trackers and ISPs. A tracker goes up, companies threaten the ISP, tracker goes down. It's wack-a-mole. The entire Pirate Bay archive is a 20gb download and you can set up your own. So with that knowledge how do you ramp up? You enlist government. Happened before. Revenge of the Sith came out. Lucasfilm says they'll go after all the pirates. But they (Lucasfilm) didn't. Lucasfilm did Cease and Desists some fan films but that's an issue over on the side. Lucasfilm is part of the MPAA, and it was them who gathered the proof, who went to the FBI/ICE and Government sent several citizens to jail for a few years, and in some of the court records, Star Wars is never mentioned. These are the skirmishes on the internet. Some people win some people lose. The chairman of Getty Images said "Intellectual Property is the oil of the 21st century". People have developed the Onion Router (Tor) to increase anonymity of internet communications. These are all actions which are going to be pieces of the next whatever. Imagine the Onion Router wrapped around BitTorrent protocols through web interfaces with free online archives. and Imagine at the next G20 summit the Berne Convention is expanded to match the updated US copyright rules of life+100+Mickey. Great Googgilymoogily. But that aside. I'd like you to be able to search all online video media archives and have a mini-program returned to you on the topic you're researching. I think that's neeto. %20 |
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From my editor:
I visited the FanEdit site and it seems like they "makeD you buy the original work before you can download the fan edit? Or at least, I saw a warning to that effect when I was trying to download a fan edit of Watchmen. So, at the very least, it seems like whoever runs that particular site is trying to profit off the movies in some way-no? Are there any sites that make you pay for the fan edits? All for now. Thanks! ---> As with other websites that discuss movies (OT.com aint-it-cool, chud, etc.) FE.o has a similar strategy for profitteering. Talk about movies, link to online retailer of said movie and pray your traffic is high enough to cover server costs. Some blogs work this way as well. The blog owner starts an account so that all purchased items which get bought from links on that blog, get some gain. All buying of copies of the movie happens between the viewer and Amazon or their local DVD buying store. FE.o on all Fan Edit pages provides links to Amazon or some other online retailer. Do those links support the server costs, that is a possibility, but FE.o doesn't have the page views to make it financially solvent, I would guess. Every fan editors handles it differently. Some make VHS tape copies like the Phantom Editor. Some editors ask for proof of purchase, picture or scan of the DVD receipt etc. Others put their edits into myspace, youtube, bittorrnt, etc. Others go with the trust that the other end owns a legitimate copy. In some cases the original fan editor doesn't know his work has escaped. Reminding people that to legitimately view a fan edit, a copy must be owned is like FBI warnings on DVDs or the statement sporting events have, "no rebroadcast without the written consent of" etc. (WFMU.org's Kenny G spoke the entire transcript of the longest baseball game, it's quite something to listen too.) They are reminders in different forms to do the right thing. I personally recommend that both sides add 'Support Creatives' onto their releases. This will remind the consumers that attempting to place the financial gains as close as you can to the actual creator of the work you appreciate, will possibly foster more creative works. But it's all a crap shoot. In the end, very little can stop anyone from going to the library and taking out a copy or borrowing a friends. How many parents use the local library as their dealer of Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues or that purple thing. There's ways around every system for those who look. Making it easier to gain access at a reasonable compensation might be a goal worth persuing. The key is making it available. In an atmosphere which is now making it fairly reasonable that anyone could expect every piece of media ever created to be available in some economic compensation online. So if release 'x' is available in many different ways, sure people might 'shop' for the cheapest, but most likely they'll just watch the quickest found and pay those fees. People don't shop for media, they consume it. Insert Fair Use discussion here. Periodically there are other website start ups who cater towards certain edits or genres, they tend to be the creations of a fan editor looking to spark another site. Some persists others go under. Each one has certain charms or unappealing qualities. Through it all FE.o has gone on. Maybe just by name, but more likely because the operators treat this phenomenon with a passion that somehow transends. Sure one day the house of cards will fall, and what the suer will find is an individual with a family. (an odd phenomenon in the fan edit community is a lot of these editors are parents with sick kids. they're forced to stay at home and often can only get away for a few hours at a time, ie the length of a movie. This is similar to the predominance of military vets in yahoo forums.) [other categories are media minded kids, college film students, maybe a few wannabee film makers, extreme fans of certain movies, but mostly preservationists of odd tv and movies. and at this time in history, a bunch of unemployed people] Or it'll turn into some weird drug like thing. The owners watched all his movies so many times he's sick of them all, so he's capitalized on the fan edit phenomenon to watch everything through someone else's eyes. And he keeps the system going with the spirit of a meth addict, keeping the system bringing in new product to support his habit for new viewpoints on his favorite movies. Yeah that might be it. So in response to your editor, besides the above, if they went onto youtube and searched and found a copy of Watchmen, should youtube include the similar warning that to watch they should own? There actually is a fellow who tests out the automated (audible magic) youtube cease and desist system, he slightly modifies copyrighted material to see at what point the automated cease and desist system kicks in. Many of the results look like pan and scan squooooshed tv broadcasts of movies. As for the last question yes, there are sites that make people pay for fan edits. Those individuals do not remain (they get banned) on the high profile fan edit discussion forums, like FE.o and OT.com. Some forums make you pay a fee when joining the discussion, they tend to be linked into a dedicated tracker. There are many eBay and other sites offering up fan edits, 'Star Wars : Deleted Magic' being the main one being seen sold online or at comic book conventions, etc. The community goes through waves, where periodically members who come across fan edit selling, notify eBay/etc. that the auction is offending to their terms of usage. Sometimes eBay/etc. gets to the bottom of things and makes a determination. I'll be selling my Fan Edit one day, but more for the attention. Since I can't seem to get anyone to watch it when offered for free, maybe the allure of giving away compensation will gain the project some viewers. Since willful infringement has a higher price tag then regular copyright infringement, i'm using the recent Jamie Thomas-Rasset case as my starting price tag. So the going rate of a single willful infringement equals $80,000. Since 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' has over 700 cases (now yes we could use the 1,666 actual edits, but for the sake of argument we'll use the number of individual sources). So 700 x $80,000 = 56 million dollars. Which is a nice price tag, since that will mean i'll only have to make one copy. (if a seller comes through of course) But with 56 million dollars, that should be enough to hirer a team of skilled cutting edge programmers to produce the User Defined Self Replicating Documediamentary system. and that's a societal win! %20 |
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I have a follow-up question for the Maxim story on fan edits that comes from my editor:
To your knowledge, do the fan editors make any profit off of these films, and are any of the hosting sites pay-for-content sites? Got an 8-6 so don't have as much play time. Off-Topic: go see http://theyesmenfixtheworld.com/ doesn't need a fan edit. The sad reality is the Fan Edit community has failed to solve the internet profitability problem. Actually they purposefully don't attempt to solve the internet profitability problem, so that they stay out of the way of copyright extremists. But Maria is free to rephrase the question, to suit the recent fancy, the community will answer as best they can. Is this line of question originating from the recent Paul Graham Post-Medium Publishing article? http://www.paulgraham.com/publishing.html or Clay Shirky's 'Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable' http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/ But i'll provide some more details and a New Development which might make for interesting conjecture. Although I cannot speak for the entire fan edit community, but there are posts and rules on the two major fan edit communities of FanEdit.org and OriginalTrilogy.com which prohibit the sale of any so called 'fan edit'. http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Fan-edit-preservation-forum-rules-and-FAQ/topic/5950/ "2. No profiting from any activities related to fan edits or preservation efforts. Those found selling their fan edits or preservation projects here or elsewhere will be banned." http://fanedit.org/about/frequently-asked-questions-and-siterules/ "Question: Who can tell me, where the links are? Answer: No one from the staff of FE. We will delete all emails we get asking for links, because it would put us in legal danger." I haven't come across any fan editors who are distributing their content for profit, the forum moderators generally take action quick and swiftly on these issues. The general concensious is that the works produced have not crossed the line into a work of merit which the creator deems significantly valuable to test the markets. There have been several cases on the OT.com forums of members found selling and their subsequent banning. (google/bing/yahoo "site:originaltrilogy.com banned") So who's profiteering from fan edits. internet service providers (it's all about communications), advertisements on blogs which talk about fan edits, advertisements on forums which discuss fan edits, advertisements on search engines from fan edit searches, advertisements from free online archive places, computer makers and the applications which fuel this type of creative output. Publications which have articles on fan edits could be considered profiteers from the fan edit phenomenon. Books with chapters. News programs which cover fan edits. Etc. There doesn't seem to be any monetary trickle down theories functioning when it comes to the original creators. Aside: one of the main FE.o aesthetics is quality. To acheive the best quality fan edit, the recommended proceedure is to work directly from the best source which for about 99% of movies is the most recent release. That means buying the latest and greatest version. Wouldn't be surprised if fan editors buy movies they don't like just to edit them. As with all creative content, some thrive others fail. No fan edit site, persuing the evolution of the artform, is pay-for-content. That would require some advanced .html'ng which just is not part of the scene. And as elaborated prior, the fan editing community proper don't have the interest to be the poster child of the next round of judicial copyright rulings (Golan v. Gonzales: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_v._Gonzales & Kahle v. Gonzales: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahle_v._Gonzales or Eldred v. Ashcroft: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldred_v._Ashcroft - General article on Lessig's copyright court cases: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.10/lessig_pr.html), the members just want to chat with similar minded folks. But the fan edit community at times is pilferred upon by the comic book convention / lost tv/movie dvd trader community. Star Wars Deleted Magic an OCPmovie production is seen at every comic book convention now, along with Star Wars fan films like Star Wars Revelations. But Fan edits just aren't that popular. The scene hasn't seen any breakthrough titles of yet, which have captured the imagination of the wider public, but the Big Apple Con is this weekend so who know's what will be there. Also a major hurdle to the Fan Edit community is the idea of downloading 4 gigs of information. It's just completely outrageous to most internet users, who tend to want things immediately. Waiting a day or several days/weeks to watch a fan edited movie just is not on the agenda of most online folks. So %20's 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is attempting to be the next stupid attempt to cross the so-called self proclaimed fan edit imaginary line between free and pay. As covered in the last e-mail, to complete the Willful Infringement Circle of Financial Gain, (remember the conservative $56 million price tag) tBSWM is available for full or partial purchase in any method of financial transferrance. %20 takes credit cards, money orders, old lottery tickets, change, bills, stocks, free food, food stamps etc. And for a limited time, any Maxim subscriber can pay double for the same item which can be gotten for free. Although my current profit margin is not up to blockbuster standards. [http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html#Support] But check with the US Treasury or Where's George, but SN: D93936887F is no longer in circulation, and that will stay for the forseeable future, unless litigative circumstances determine that Bankruptcy by Corporation is the defined goal of some business entity. So to recap, the Fan Editors profits unfortunately are left to positive forum posts, or posts which help them expand their creative impulses. But maybe there is some dark fan edit under-underground where copies are sold for cold hard cash, but that's a fairly remote possibility. But with the Infinite Improbability Drive, maybe the social profits can be calculated. %20 |
What happened when %20 replied to the Epoch Times request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
Another RFI (Request For Information) came into the FanEdit.org control center for information on Fan Edits, and again, unprovoked, %20 answered.
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NOTE: the below is information on an odd Fan Edit.
Hello, not a problem. I'm a plunderphonic glitch noise-itian posing as a video archeologist working for a no one, who goes by the moniker %20, who has made fan edits, but is currently promoting a media video search/cut-up/recompile system. I am based in a theoretical construct called the internets and hope to have a handheld version called Flimsiplast Database in the near future. (think flexible digital paper) We to are available for Free to anyone around the world, but without the unstated agenda. (except for those we keep silent upon)
But this aside, lets get to the Fan Edit discussion. %20's most recent Fan Edit might be of interest to you and your organization. The project is called
If you didn't know, shortly after the release of the last Star Wars (SW) movie a bootleg with odd Chinese/English subtitles appeared called 'backstroke of the west'. The subtitler distributed a message through these subtitles which reflected their viewpoint of the SW cultural phenomenon. ('Sith' became 'West', the 'Jedi' became the 'Presbyterian Church', etc. [see: http://www.winterson.com/2005/06/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west.html ])
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' (tBSWM) is a response to those subtitles and other actions taken at this time. (the US FBI/ICE shut down a torrent site, while Lucasfilm was Cease & Desisting fan created trailers) To engage in this cross cultural expression, the entire tBSWM presentation has been translated into Chinese and then back into English. Partly to show off the current difficulties in machine generated translations but mostly to engage a wider audience. If the english speaking world got some chuckles/insight from the backstroke subs, maybe the same would be the case for tBSWM subs.
And this is where it gets neeto. Individuals are embedding freer-speech enabling system into the pirated DVD. Things like UltraSurf (software to bypass the Great Firewall/Green Shield) and Blogger Rights documentation and other things which someday i'll hopefully find out about. These things can really take on a life of their own.
tBSWM can be watched online:
Don't hesitate on any type of question.
%20
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--> Follow the -->'s
Hi all I'd like to thank you all for getting back to me so quickly. I thought I would copy you all into this email so you can either reply to me separately if you like, or decide who is going to reply on behalf of all of you. I think this is going to be a nice feature - looking forward to hearing your answers to the below questions. Some of them may seem a little 'obvious' but the audience will most likely not be aware that fan edits exist, so I need to explain a little about the background to the phenomenon. Ok here are the questions: --> NOTE : The opinions expressed in this e-mail in no way reflect the opinions of Fan Edit.org or their affiliated websites. --> NOTE 2 : The opinions expressed are of %20 a tangental element who's attempting to expand the conversation to gain a better worldly understandment of the Appropriated Arts. --> Why would you think we/they/I/them/it would want a 'nice feature'. Maybe we want some controversy. I understand that the entertainment section of the Epoch Times is used to attract the free audience to their other articles. and I just told you that the fan edit 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' was being used by an undefined new younger wave of dissidents to distribute freer-speech enabling systems and ideas. The Fan Edit mystic is glossed by the 'done by novices' banner. Right now it's under the radar. According to a reporter from a recent article, even the MPAA is not heavily concerned with the Fan Edit phenomenon. The MPAA he says is more concerned with Piracy. 'MORE' So let's imagine if a story broke that pirated DVDs of a Fan Edit (let's call it 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media') were distributed cross countries borders and that these pirated Fan Edit dvds contained information which contained encoded information which was against the interests of the that governments central core. Now it might be the case that this countries government is lax on piracy in relation to other governments. But now a stupid little fan edit is possibly targeted from two sides. On one hand an economic based organization is attempting to protect it's intellectual property, and on the other hand a government is attempting to limit information distribution, but the mysterious third appendage one stupid little dvd crosses both paths. Could influence from those two sides cause for a crack down on the larger context, and accidentally cut off the weird appendage. And btw the stupid little dvd, contains content which the creator designated to the public domain, creative commons license zero, it's as free as things can be without a court wasting time thinking about it. So some might claim that the stupid little dvd is a form of speech, and now a government and economic based system are aware of it, possibly. Could one of these things change their stripes. Could a government, which has a lax copyright enforcement system, increase it's scrutany and crack down on pirated dvds or would an economic system stand behind the creative spirit? Anyway it might make for a good short story, even if it is real. But in the mean time, download the DVD and send a copy to a cross border friend. How about you tell us what you think you know about the phenomenon. Correcting misconceptions might be a good angle.
Why do you think fan editing started?
How long have you been involved with fan edits? Why did you start?
So since many developments were coming from the Star Wars factory, that's most likely why the Fan Edit community was defined after the creation of 'The Phantom Edit'. There was a built in fan base, familiar with film technology and they lachted into the idea of modifying film. Heck George set up the idea by modifying his own films just a few years before. The Special Editions and the purposeful manipulation of not only character development and plot devices (Han no longer shoots first) in the minds of some was the slap in the mind which promoted others to rethink and revise films. Now other popular films have done similar reappropriation on a massive scale. Airplane! is a direct remake of Zero Hour!. Many scenes lift the staging, character and dialog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q__vuyH1JEI Also in the 80s movie preservation became a topic of interest, everyday most films rot in Hollywood archives. Some people like Rick Prelinger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Prelinger) have taken it upon themselves to use their influence to preserve documents which would otherwise be destroyed. (and going as far as to make these forgotten films alive again by free archives like http://www.archive.org/index.php) In the 80s, Hollywood realized the problem but decided to try to economize the results. One of the results society got was the colorization of film. For example the 1927, Metropolis got a facelift and revised soundtrack in 1984. These are other examples of popular modified film which influenced the Fan Edit generation. I'm more interested in the creations which alter the pre-existing material in such a way, that it's just hard to equate the two as similar or there's a decision made by the re-appropriator that the original owner might not want to be associated with the revised work. The change provides a new clarity or enlightenment.
Can you give me an idea of your background? Age, occupation, where you live etc.? I understand this might be a bit sensitive, so you don't have to answer if you feel uncomfortable - it just gives a little depth to the article.
I came through the audio appropriation scene. Negativland/PLU/Oswald/collage, Boomselection/mash-up, Noise/experimentation scenes. In many ways the Fan Edit community is random movie fans from all over the world. They're collectors of memorabilia, they've got most of the versions of their favorite films from VHS to laser disc to DVD, etc., they do the message board thing and discussed the movie down to the most unherald detail. And repeated discussions have pushed these folks to the point of, hey what if we did this to the movie. And they've done it and the act of interacting directly with the film medium appeals to them. Maybe they have an itch to be in film, some do others don't care for the industry. This story has repeated a few times in different areas of specialty, and those folks have begun to join forces to create communities which cater towards the activity of movie manipulation. Getting these people together to help others learn the process, but some members just like seeing a film they appreciate from a different vantage point. It might be the same joke, but so-and-so's punch line is better, or more suited towards this type of audience.
How many films[/TV/sound] have you edited?
Which fan edits do you regard as your favourites, and why?
Is the fan editing scene growing?
How many films do you think are fan edited a month?
How long does it take for you to re-edit a film? I know this might be something of a "how long is a piece of string" type question, but if you could give me an idea...
As a generalisation, who are the people doing the fan edits? Are they professional editors (as in the case of the Phantom Edit) or amateurs with an enthusiasm for editing? Or something else?
Fan edits exist in something of a legal grey area. Have you ever had any trouble from the authorities or film companies? If so how was this resolved?
Do you think the original film-makers see your edits? If so, do you know what they think?
It struck me that the next step for fan edits might be that commercial film-makers start to re-edit their own favourite films. I can imagine Tarantino being quite enthusiastic for something like this. What are your thoughts on this, and do you think it is a likely possibility?
But with the plethora of fan edits of trailers on social media sites and competitions sponsored by film schools and other organizations, it would make sense that one of these reinterpreters would rise through the ranks to be given the chance to make something with the financial backing to become wildly successful.
Otherwise, what do you think the future of fan editing might be?
What are you working on at the moment?
Do you have any tips for people who might want to start fan editing?
Is there anything else you would like to tell me? Any other people I should speak to?
--> I'm new to this question answering game, but if you'd like you can read the responses to another questionaire sent over by another story writer recently: http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html#Maxim some things repeat some are new, use it to help your next profile puff.
Thank you in advance for your time!
Thee mis/dis/information contaminated in this e-me is not confidentially confounded and may or also june be privileged to april. It, %20, is intended for the inclusive exclusive use of the +resseeeee(z sometimes y) and access/manipulation buy many other person/contemporial vehicle/being or diety is unauthorised but done by them anyway. It is not, could be not, should be not, forget me not intended that this that e me be re-lied grey'd upon without every subsequent stone carved confirmation of its supposed con tents and other camping equipment. If/When 'u' have received this e-me in 3rr0r, please notify (in stone carved pylinth) thems eventually and forward hand rubbings from your system to spammers everywhere. Please did not not distribute, not not copy, not not circulate, not not use or not not rely on the mis/dis/information contaminated in this e-me. This e-me is from Thee Aprocryphal Tymes of which they'uv exist and whose ever +ress and contract details be shown ablove may or may not goto line 10. --> This space intentionally left blank. |
On September 24, 1968 60 Minutes premiered. On September 24, 1992 the Sci Fi Channel aired it's first broadcast. Since 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' presentation attempts to join journalistic integrity with a possible alternative future media interaction, %20 took the opportunity to inform the citizen journalistic spirit of blogs of tBSWM. It was the blogosphere which propelled the 'backstroke of the west' into a cultural meme. So the backstroke blogging sites we're contacted to let them know that the backstroke has been responded to, culturally. Now yes, calling the backstroke blog repeaters, citizen journalism is faulty...
But that's not the point, 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is attempting to be a proof of concept of a possible future of media interaction. Providing the end user with defining the media topic/depth/duration/etc. in which they want to interact. There are plenty of local news outfits producing hundreds of hours of so called news, add in the 24 hour cable news channels who tend to be more opinion then news, the ability to filter these broadcasts to their essential hard news coverage will be a key tool in promoting fact distribution. This can only lead to a more informed electorate and robust democracy.
The honored creation years subtracted or just the day plus one, is the number of blogs contacted. [ see Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets? ] Although some blogs have instant approval, others required review and it's probably just %20 who's interested in this process.
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What happened when %20 handed out nine copies w/ questionnaires at the io9.com meet up?
Website io9.com had a meet up for folks into the future. So %20 brought along nine copies of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' with the recently finished questionnaires . Each DVD came with the questionnaires, a self address envelope with Star Wars postage stamp (thanks Mark and Stephanie), and the DVD contained partial inserts of the subway posters. We'll see if anyone wants to help make this kinda thing the future.
:Update: Well %20 plucked this up. The Star Wars stamps which add an authentic and relevant touch to the questionnaire's self addressed envelope but they were released in 2007 when postage was 3 cents less then it is today. So unless the people who received the DVD and questionnaire add the 3 cents, these will be lost in the post. My fault. phuck. If these individuals do end up back here at the FAQ contact info their answers can be e-mailed to: " Where should comments/e-mail be sent? "
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What happened when %20 handed out copies at the 'Star Wars In Concert'?
When 'Star Wars In Concert' made it's local stop, %20 figured the type of audience who might share a common fascination with the Star Wars phenomenon might be there. So 50 copies were home printed with inserts utilizing the Wallpaper and Subway Posters. Also included were the questionnaires and a self addressed envelope with the correct postage this time..
The verbal tag 'Free Documentary on the Star Wars Phenomenon' ain't catchy but it's what was went with. For the first time actually meet someone who had actually seen the DVD. Got maybe 25 copies into various people's hands before security took an interest. %20 gave him a copy, and was asked to stop handing them out, while he confirmed with whomever that the handing out was acceptable. When they returned they said that the building checked with the show and the show said no.
How this relates to this weeks chapter 2009.11.15-2009.11.21 - 25. Larger View of Censoring Obscenities - Play : Mp4 : Ogv is up to you.
So after the show hung around the parking lot handing out some more. (45 of 50) And as a fitting end we rolled down the windows and left the scene blaring Ackmena's rendition of "Goodnight But Not Goodbye". (listen at http://www.starwarsholidayspecial.com/multimedia.htm)
(thanks to Mark and Stephanie for videoing and moral support)
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George Lucas appeared on The Daily Show (2009.10.05) to discuss his new book. (George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success)
In support of the new OriginalTrilogy.com Petition, which reminds Mr. Lucas, Lucasfilm and everyone else involved in the next version of the SW films, that they should include the versions of the movies as they premiered in the theaters as part of the package. Please head on over and read/sign the petition. (OriginalTrilogy.com Petition) Even though the petition was just under a month old, at the time it had over 850 signatures, to show that interest in the petitions ideas are out there, %20 decided to try to get a copy to Mr. Lucas while he was in town promoting the book. The petition was printed out along with one of the banner ideas created by OTcom forum member doubleofive which show the strange blue color shift which was applied when the Star Wars movies were released in DVD format. Anticipating that there would be some SW fans in the audience, 30 homemade copies of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' were made to hand out to the people online. One of these copies was added to the Petition with the following letter, which attempts to promote the educational aspect of the imaginary future video search/cut-up/recompile system.
On the day of the appearance, the petition managed to make its way into The Daily Show theater. (%20 couldn't get a ticket) Don't know what happened after that. Hopefully it was taken seriously by someone and wasn't just thrown out. |
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| Hoping that this was an open parade, %20 in fan regalia showed up with 20 or so copies of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to hand out to the fans, and a poster with changeable slogans of varying degree of Star Warsiness. Having the word 'Backslacpkping' placed at the top of the poster so that it would end up in the photographers pictures and get posted online and trigger some interest. Yeah far fetched I know. | |
| It wasn't an open parade. The members in the parade were from the 501st Legions : 501st Empire City Garrison , 501st New England , 501st Connecticut Squad & 501st Garrison Carida. %20 went to the first of three locations to start, and no one was there, just the two guys in the store, and very little in sight that this was to have a SW event soon. So %20 booked it over to the Times Square location and was greeted by a camera crew bank all pointed directly towards the path which the parade would take. Quickly put together the poster sign (just a cut up paper box and print outs of some words/phrases) On the front chose 'GONK IS FORCE' with force written in Galactic Basic, and tossed in 'Happy Life Day' just incase someone did have a problem I could go with the excuse that it's promoting the Adidas / Star Wars match up, like a birthday kind of corporate synergy. On the back two color images, one of the wallpapers and partial subway poster with 'RTJKJAS' just in case I got the opportunity to show another side. |
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| NYC has recently added some public sitting zones with chairs and tables, and one was placed in view of the camera gallery. So was able to sit and wait and as they paraded up, I joined up, got some dirty looks from the special guest and other Adidas workers, who I guess thought I was there to protest the Special Guest's pimping of women and illegal substance violations and the other Special Guest who fictionally attempted to bring his son to the Dark Side. Here's how it turned out: | |
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Media Outlet | Videos - Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 (Mentions Holiday Special!!!! ~1:45) Video 4 (via DJ Neil Armstrong who dj'd the event) | ||||
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Film Magic
by Charles Eshelman 
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Rap-Up.com
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Rap-Up.com
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Assocaited Press
Zak Brian 
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Getty Images
Neilson Barnard 
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Getty Images
Neilson Barnard 
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WCBS 880
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Stumbleupon - Techland
*Video - YouTube* 
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Assocaited Press
Zak Brian 
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Getty Images
Neilson Barnard 
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WCBS 880
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Getty Images
Neilson Barnard 
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Getty Images
Neilson Barnard 
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Getty Images
Neilson Barnard 
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Getty Images
Neilson Barnard 
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SciFi Wire
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News Nine MSN AU
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News Nine MSN AU
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News Nine MSN AU
(Shows 'Force' in Galactic Basic!) 
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*Today in Website/Corporate Sponsored Censorship* (why is it ok for websites/corporations to eliminate posts which don't violate their Terms of Service?)
Attempting to provide explanation of the poster to the websites which covered this event has met with the following lack of interest:
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Comments on Rap-Up.com
For those curious the homeless guy's sign on the right says: "BACKSLACPKPING GONK IS FORCE (force is written in Galactic Basic) HAPPY LIFE DAY WITH MEDIA"
"Gonk is Force" is a reference to the GOnk Wars of R.A.S.S.M.
"Happy Life Day" is a reference to the Holiday Special
"Thee Backslacpkping With Media" is a documediamentary about the recorded perception of the Star Wars phenomenon at the time of the release of the last theatrical film. |
If you have any documentation of this event let us know.
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To: People vs George Lucas, Star Wars Uncut
Subject: Star Wars Participatory Spirited Trilogy?
Date: Feb 9, 2010 11:48 AM
Hello, writing to see if your two films would like a third to complete a Star Wars Participatory Appropriated Spirited Trilogy. (or whatever phrase that ends up being)
The connections, our projects reach a conclusion at a similar time and share a similar compositional imperative. 'The People vs George Lucas' (PvsG) airs at SXSW in March, 'Star Wars Uncut'(SWU) will collect it's final segment shortly, and 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' (tBSWM) will become relevant because the material appropriated was from around the release of 'Revenge of the Sith' (RotS) which has it's five year anniversary this May. All three project reuse material provided by someone else. The term 'crowd sourced' has been attributed towards your two projects, while tBSWM crowd sourced in a sense through online collection / appropriation of material produced by any and everyone in the manner search engines do today. And these films construction, in the spirit of collage, was done to inform a larger story in all three cases.
Since tBSWM is the outsider here's the gist, collected 700 media programs/videos/pieces released around RotS which talked about Star Wars and edited them to focus on the issues people brought up, with the idea being what if a search engine was able to video edit all of the public free media archives/news broadcasts/home videos for topics of the users choice. The entire presentation can be viewed online: http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_Video.html To get an idea try Chapter 22, 'Induced Drug Moments' (3 min.) [Full FAQ: http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html] The goal, with tBSWM as a proof of concept, is to get video search technology implemented. (and promotion that access to larger databases with filtering techniques will encourage education) Or at least at this time and place, to get the idea out there, since it seems video search/edit/recompile technology requires inventing or creation.
Some of the tech does exist. For instance, if you two after the DVD phase wanted additional length to your projects, a system like 'Rip Remix's (http://www.ripremix.com/) where people could remix the films in their own ways via web interface. SWU could promote online fan editing of the SWU material, and it seems rather inevitable that the concept of 'People vs PvsG' might interest someone to remix.
The positive association as a trilogy (besides strength in numbers) is it will reinforce the Star Wars reference. The positive for you two is that you could use tBSWM as deflection. (When interviewed: "That's an interesting point, have you heard what tBSWM did, I don't agree with that.) No way is anyone obligated in my eyes to make or promote the connection, just might be useful to have for whatever reason.
Let me know what you think.
later
%20
People Vs George Response:
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How are you? Please accept my apologies for this late response. As you can imagine, with the amount of attention that our film is getting these days, I'm way behind on my email responses. The good news is that we've already been selected by three additional, extremely prestigious film festivals (news TBA), so it appears that our film is off to a very strong start.
Needless to say, some of the clips you kindly provided are included in the film, and you and your project are credited appropriately. I'm definitely intrigued by the idea of fans remixing THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS in the future, and I'd love to hear more about your ideas; but I think this is a conversation we should engage in several few months from now, as we're currently very focused on our festival run, which is going to take most of our energy, and will require a lot of stamina and focus. I hope this makes sense. That said, please feel free to email me your detailed ideas. Even if I can't focus on this right now, I'd be more than happy to read more about what you have in mind. On another note, I remember you mentioning months ago that you might be able to post higher resolution clips for me once the clips have been selected. Is this still possible? If so, should I just send you the list of clips we're using in the film, with time code? Please let me know how to proceed. Thanks again so much for all your help and participation! I look forward to continuing the dialogue. You've put together a really amazing project, and it would indeed be fun to make it accessible to the fans in a fun, participatory way. I hope all is well, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. |
Star Wars Uncut Response:
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My name is _____ and I'm helping Casey out with the tons of email coming in....
I read all of your ideas and projects and I'm pretty impressed with your thought process and video search interest. It's definitely the way things will be turning, as user participation and search trends continue to be packaged and monetized, and more written content turns into video commentary. That being said, I just wanted to point out a couple of things. The first is that while Casey and Alexandre crossed paths, they're not really working on a collaborative or linked projects. The two of their aims are very different, as, of course, yours seems to be as well. The second is that as we finish and release the first Star Wars Uncut movie, our main focus will be on improving the website and the user experience of producing, organizing, and sharing their videos that still conform to the spirit of the narrative more than focusing on user process. With this in mind, I think we're going our own road for now, but appreciate your offer and hope to see more of your work down the line. |
What happened when %20 asked 'RedLetterMedia' to review 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
Hello, tossing an idea your way if you in the mood to vent about the recent Cartoon Network Cease and Desist.
One way to get back or at least show off the flaws in the system, could be to directly address Cartoon Network material (a Clone Wars Episode which is similar to the AotC Review takedown), or to talk about the situation but do it over a piece of media which is related but could be considered pushing the copyright boundaries in a different direction. (this would lessen the focus on your work and possibly push the issue away from your reviews) For instance in your MTV interview you talk about 'Lucasfilm don't sue us' but the what if someone sampled everyone. You could point out how this individuals is the enemy while you get to vent the problems you had with CN and youtube.
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' (tBSWM) which is a time capsule of the RotS media from 5 years ago, could be a backdrop for this review/comment. Maybe the 'Sex' chapter could feed the Plinkett persona. Giving you a space to push that material while also commenting on the takedown.
(I had tossed the idea of blind reviewing tBSWM to RedLetterJay previously)
Thanks for the mention of Damon Packard in TPM review.
%20
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An open invitation to the premiere party of the Star Wars documentary Jedi Junkies made for the latest opportunity to get copies of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' out to the masses. To put it kindly this was not my type of crowd. The place was on the fancy side. There were three large TV screens and they only played a series of maybe 6 poorly cropped still frames which kept zooming in. They did not have copies available to purchase. (they haven't been produced yet) Listened in to one of the producers conversation and it sounded like things were recorded multiple years ago. (probably at conventions via failed entertainment news casts) Producer commented that the doc. was about these friendly people who do these non-traditional things. They're hoping the online distribution will spur dvd sales in the holiday's time. Ten dollar dvds. So in conclusion Star Wars as vehicle for someone else's career, Hey! I know all about the StarWars-sploitation.
Handed out copies to random folks. The photographer again seemed the most interested. Received a lot of the basic, what the phuck are you doing looks when offering free copies. One lady did take an interest. She was related to the director I believe, and I guess she too was uninterested in the subject matter of the documentary but was interested in taking a strange documentary maker and was willing to provide information to make the meet and greet / dvd distribution go better, in her mind. But after explaining that it might be better to view the disc before all this and as %20 dodged the questions, she insinuated that i'd given her some 'adult' feature. So to get rid of that inference I explained how my doc. was approached as if I was a search engine. Well that answer pushed her over the limit and that was the end of that. Approached a pair drinking fancy drinks a short time later, and after saying, would you like an odd other SW documentary, received the classic impolite laugh / 'No' combination with that 'How Dare You' eye brow raising smirk full on condescension which makes you realize it's time to get the phuck out of dodge. I don't think they had ever seen SW, nor will ever have interest to do so. The last hand out was phun though, partook in a devious exchange about promotion at a promotional event.
So thirteen copies are out in the wild, eleven had the questionnaires which didn't have an envelope or postage this time, since none of the others have ever been returned. Maybe one of these folks will e-mail back results. But after reading the questions, we all know the answer to that will be 'no'.
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To return the favor of a quote which these random individuals posted in response to this project, %20 offered up a copy mailed to whatever address provided. Of the 14 offered up, 4 people accepted, 1 said to give it to someone new, and the other 9 didn't respond.
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The Next H.O.P.E. (Hackers on Planet Earth) is a biyearly conference which has lectures, how-to sessions, performances and other presentations which are an offshoot of the do-it-yourself hacking philosophy.
There were two main public spaces which had good turn over traffic, and that's where copies were left for the inquisitive to pick up and take if they found the description, artwork or packaging interesting. Left them in sets of five, so that they wouldn't be left forever and eventually trashed, this way I could monitor their dispersal. Typically took about 2-3 hours for 5 to be taken. The hourly panel schedule provided a new set of eyes, so over the course of friday 21 were given out and 30 on saturday. As always, look forward to hearing back from this new set of random viewership.
Had a nice conversation with the folks from QuestionCopyright.org who were there supporting/displaying the work of Nina Paley creator of "Sita Sings the Blues". 'Sita Sings the Blues' tells the story of lost love, from three vantage points. The story's biographer's real life story which parallels the Indian epic, Ramayana, and these stories are enhanced through the partly in the public domain music of Annette Hanshaw. To open up the free distribution of the film, (so that anyone and everyone could freely make legal copies) Nina Paley was required to pay for the publishing rights to the Annette Hanshow music, everything else was her own work which she offers under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
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So the question from me to them was, What do you do when your creation is 100% recycled with over 700 sources? They agreed that this was a segment of creative works which still doesn't have a defined space.
QuestionCopyright.org also is getting word out about their Creator-Endorsed Mark which is similar to the Support Creatives Initiative. The Creator-Endorsed Mark is a tool creators give to distributors which inform the buyer of how much proceeds make their way back to the creator. As with any image based authorization system, how do you combat fraudulent use, and their answer is trademark lawsuits. Thinking back now, they would have been a good group to ask if the general copyright discussion might benefit from someone taking the anarchic 'do anything' for the sake of education view point which this project seems to offer. Especially is the 'do anything' actions preserve orphaned or inaccessible media. |
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What happened when %20 brought 'Thee Backslacpking With Media' to Star Wars Celebration V?
Star Wars Celebration is a periodic get together of as Mark Hamill calls them, U.P.F.s (Ultra-Passionate Fans). Coinciding with the 30th Anniversary of 'The Empire Strikes Back', the fifth celebration was held in Orlando, Florida.
%20 figured if there ever was an audience for 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' then this would be the place. 400 copies were brought to be given to the fan base. The idea being to reach the widest variety of fan. Greeted the opening day crowd outside the convention center and distributed about 150 copies. Then another 50+ at TheForce.Net after party that night. Then over the next bunch of days focused partly on fans who had one day passes, staff of Celebration V, employees of the various official Star Wars companies, vendors, etc. Most went to people waiting in the various lines or those exiting some of the events, like the late night movie screenings and fan mixer. The Droid Makers and some of the costuming fans really had me in awe, and it was difficult handing off copies to these individuals. They've taken their fandom to such an impressive level, plus the costuming people for the most part don't have pockets.
%20 expects about 4-10 responses to the handed out DVDs.
| Opening day wore the official 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' t-shirt. Used an old white tee and got those do-it-yourself printable iron-ons, and used the mysterious 'RTJKJAS' FBI/ICE takedown message. Was hoping it could turn into a conversation starter to find those other individuals who might have run into the term or are aware of it's existence. Was hoping to interview ex-Elite Torrent members. So for the first two days walked around with the 'DOCUMENTARY LOOKING TO INTERVIEW EX-ELITE TORRENT USERS THX' message. Got a few looks from people who I suspect might know what I was talking about, but the reality was no one asked to be interviewed, either on-camera or off. It's safe to say that probably only a few individuals at Celebration V even knew that people went to jail for the 'Revenge of the Sith' leak. |
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But this was all day one, with three more days to go %20 still was looking for opportunities to display these works. Thought about at the closing of the day, after the movie screenings, and the ultimate would have been, let me set this up. Most of the large panels and presentations were located around a central three story atrium space, so all of the people would spill out of those events and look down onto this half scale AT-AT which was built in the center on the main floor. The idea for maximum impact was to roll out the three posters behind the AT-AT in complete view of the people riding the escalators, after the Main Event, the interview of George Lucas by John Stewart.
So the people one or two stories away would be able to figure out the overall image in the photo-mosaics, then to bring them down, %20 was going to write "Happy Five Year Aniversay, Revenge of the Sith" at the top and at the bottom "Please Leave a Message or Sign". And people could come scribble what ever they'd like on the posters. Partly because the 6' x 6' display might not have been big enough and the general climate of anti-adult thought in the convention (and Star Wars in general), %20 did not carry through with these ideas.
When, during a panel, an official high up employee of Lucasfilm is making comparisons that George Lucas, himself and 3po are representations of the Christian Holy Trinity (father (God), son (Jesus) and the holy spirit), that's just such a phucked up vibe, %20 decided not to drop a tack there. So %20 failed the 'Artist' test which Celebration V could have been.
Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the second Open Video Conference?
The second Open Video Conference (2010.10.01-02) again showcased the talents of individuals and groups who are attempting to create video systems which are free and open for the general public to use.
Having realized from last years conference that the mechanical creation of a documediamentary like 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is mutli-years away, just handed out copies to people who showed some interest in the Star Wars phenomenon. Luckily one of the panels was dedicated to the < target-"SWUncut" href="http://www.starwarsuncut.com">Star Wars Uncut project. So after the panel ended, hung out and offered copies to those interested.
The Star Wars Uncut project is currently figuring out how to proceed with the project. After being called to Lucasfilm to discuss the project (LFL would like The Empire Strikes Back to be done Uncut) and winning an Emmy for outstanding interactive media, the project team is attempting to figure out how to move the internet sensation to a big screen sensation. Would be great if LFL backed the project, but the easy choice of not-backing or giving the approval is the easy choice, especially as they migrate the old films for the 3D release. This of course is short-sited. Like the developments of THX and digital projection, Lucasfilm could be at the forefront of interactive cinema. Like Dragon's Lair of old video arcade fame, Star Wars Uncut would be perfect for small or large venues which would implement a simple two button device so that the viewers could chose the next upcoming segment for display. Then after the screening, awards could be handed out to person who's choices most matched the publics, but then also the marketing machine could be utilized so books or Lego building brick sets could be handed out to the person who chose the most Lego recreated scenes. Seems like a win-win for everyone.
So I think 17 people got copies, and as with all these other events, we await any response or possible the first returned questionnaire...
Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the New York Comic Con?
New York Comic Con is no longer about comic books but about all forms of media which attract a certain segment of the population. Seeing that Star Wars plays one of the most recognized attractors to this phenomenon, %20 brought the few remaining copies of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the event to hopefully find receptive people to view the project. Offered copies to people who wore Star Wars related clothing or were overheard talking about the movies. Some accepted others did not. Handed out somewhere close to twenty copies.
Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
Is it true that 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is a StarWars-sploitation film?
Were your Ackley appendages attached wrong?
Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
How do you pronounce 'Backslacpkping'?
back-slacp-k-ping : bak-slak-(u)p-kah-pinggG ; verb
I'm not sure. that's a guess, I haven't really had to say it in public yet... If I had too, I would limit the pronunciation of 'U' in up and over stress the PinGGGGG to distract from the garbled middle. The text-2-speech program used for the audio commentary has a version at the beginning.
Because this project was partly a response to teh backstroke of the west, I wanted a back*something* word in the title. This piece began in a shorter form focusing on the mistakes/gaffs by the talking heads. so backslapping seemed appropriate, since the final piece was going to be drawing attention to their reporting errors, they slacked on the facts. The word combination got the final approval when the translator into chinese returned 8 characters.
Return to: Top - Questions / Bottom - Recent Updates
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
Various issues which were brought up in 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' remain vague to this day because traditional media cannot investigate every incident to its full potential to understand the implications. Citizen Journalism is one avenue which can bring out issues or reporting to learn the hows and whys. In tBSWM story, with the governmental involvement, FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests can be made to learn more.
| Overview | ||
| Request Date / Agency | Request Topic | Results |
| 2010.07.18 / DHS | 'RTJKJAS' | CLOSED - too vague |
| 2010.09.28 / FBI / ICE | 'Operation D-Elite' | FBI (14 pages) / ICE (40 pages) |
| 2011.03.11 / FBI / ICE | 'Star Wars' Copyright Infringement | |
| 2011.03.14 / FBI / ICE / OAG | 'Operation D-Elite' Continuation | |
Since this is all new to me, the first FOIA request will be for information on the term "RTJKJAS". This FOIA has been sent to the main ICE, FBI, and DHS offices. I've read that individual offices under each of these might offer different material, and that will be looked into. ICE is under the DHS banner so that might lead to duplicate responses.
2010.07.18 - Initial Request : "RTJKJAS"
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To whom it may concern:
This e-mail is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I am inquiring about usage of the term "RTJKJAS". Please provide any and all records which mention this term. RTJKJAS was seen on a website created by the FBI/ICE after they shut down a website in the May 25th 2005 'Operation D-Elite'. I am interested in learning about this and other times the term 'RTJKJAS' was used and its derivation if that's documented. I am an individual requesting this information for noncommercial purposes. Here is my contact information: (Omitted) I agree to pay any fees that may be incurred in the request process. But please contact if fees extend beyond thirty ($30) dollars. Would prefer the material supplied be in digital format. PDF/TIF/etc via e-mail or CD-ROM, but will accept paper. Thank you for your attention in this request. |
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Re: DHS/OS/PRIV 10-0865
Dear Mr. Lopez: This acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Homeland Security in which you seek any and all records which mention the term "RTJKJAS", to include other times the term was used. Your request was dated July 18, 2010 and received in this office on Julyl 19, 2010. Upon initial review of your request, I have determined that the information you are seeking is under the purview of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Therefore, I am referring your request to the FOIA Officer for ICE, Catrina Pavlik-Keenan, for processing and direct response to you. You may contact that office in writing at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 800 North Capital Street, N.W., 5th Floor, Suite 585, Washington, D.C. 20528 or via telephone at 202-732-0300. If you need to contact this office again concerning your request, please refer to DHS/OS/PRIV 10-0865. This office can be reached at 866-431-0486.
Sincerely,
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Request No.: 1151938- 00
Subject: RTJKJAS Dear Mr. Lopez: This responds to your Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts (FOIPA) request. Based on the information you provided, we conducted a search of the indices to our Central Records System. We were unable to identify responsive main file records. If you have additional information pertaining to the subject and you believe it was of investigative interest to the Bureau, please provide us the details and we will conduct an additional search. You may file an appeal by written to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), U.S. Department of Justice, 1425 New York Ave., NW, Suite 11050, Washington, D.C. 20530-0001. Your appeal must be received by OIP within sixty (60) days from the date of this letter in order to be considered timely. The envelope and the letter should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Appeal." Please cite the FOIPA Request Number assigned to your request so that it may be identified easily. Enclosed for your information is a copy of the FBI File Fact Sheet.
Sincerely yours,
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Request No.: Re: 2010FOIA8625
Subject: RTJKJAS Dear Mr. Lopez: This acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE), dated July 18, 2010, seeking all records which mention the term "RTJKAS".(sic) Your request was received in this office on September 14, 2010. After careful review of your FOIA request, we determined that your request is too broad in scope or did not specifically identify the records which you are seeking. Records must be described in reasonably sufficient detail to enable government employees who are familiar with the subject area to locate records whiteout placing an unreasonable burden upon the agency. For this reason, 5.3(b) of the DHS regulations, 6 C.F.R. Part 5, require that you describe the records you are seeking with as much information as possible to ensure that our search can locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, a request should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipients, and subject matter of the records, if known, or the DHS component or office you believe created and/or controls the record. The FOIA does not require an agency to create new records, answer questions posed by requesters, or attempt to interpret a request that does not identify specific records. Please resubmit your request containing a reasonable description of the records you are seeking. Upon receive of a perfected request, you will be advised as to the status of your request. If we do not heard from your within 10 days from the date of this letter, we will assume you are no longer interested in this FOIA request, and the case will be administratively closed. Please be advised that this action is not a denial of your request and will not preclude you from filing other requests in the future. Your request has been assigned reference number 2010FOIA8625. Please refer to this identifier in any future correspondence. You may contact this office at (202) 732-0300 or (866) 633-1182. Sincerely,
Catrina M. Pavlik-Keenan
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NOTE: ICE response dated 09/14, post marked 09/21, received 09/24. So missed the 10 day deadline... |
Having spoken over the phone with the FOIA groups of ICE and the FBI, the 'RTJKJAS' FOIA requests have been closed. The problem is that it was overly broad but also doesn't fit into how they research requests. Even though the 'RTJKJAS' was found in webpages, from the conversation, it didn't sound like they were able to digitally search in this defined manner. Was interesting that over the phone, the government search assistants were using online searches to help themselves understand the topic I was brining up. Unfortunately had sent out the below requests before having had some of these phone conversations, since some phone-tag went on. Still unsure if it's best to submit several requests which approach the problem from different vantage points or is that kind of wasting the systems time, since the goal is the same. Decided to go with a more broad scope. Would have expanded the inquiring paragraph since it sounds like the more variables you can provide the FOIA research people the better understanding they will have of the event and that could lead to better results, but also could lead to such refined results that maybe additional requests would be necessary. This is all speculation at this point, done have a defined sense of what they do over there and how best to provide the correct amount of information to find the determined information. But that's also part of the issue, I don't have a certain defined goal, just attempting to piece together how all the pieces came together to understand why things turned out as they did, who determined the goals and who supplied the data, etc.
So a new angle will be used to approach learning about this event, starting from 'Operation D-Elite'.
2010.09.28 - Initial Request : "Operation D-Elite"
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To whom it may concern:
This e-mail is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I am inquiring about the joint FBI/ICE operation called "Operation D-Elite". On May 25th 2005, Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter of the Criminal Division, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Michael J. Garcia, and Assistant Director Louis M. Reigel of the FBI's Cyber Division announced a criminal enforcement action targeting the bittorrent peer-to-peer network which had released early copies of the movie, Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith. I am interested in the documentation which lead up to or preceded the actual operation and arrests. Please provide any and all records which document this incident. I am an individual requesting this information for noncommercial purposes. Here is my contact information: (Redacted) I agree to pay any fees that may be incurred in the request process. But please contact if fees extend beyond fifty ($50) dollars. Would prefer the material supplied be in digital format. PDF/TIF/etc via e-mail or CD-ROM, but will accept paper. Thank you for your attention in this request. |
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20536 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement October 21, 2010
Peter Lopez
Re: 2011FOIA904 Dear Mr. Lopez: This acknowledges receipt of your September 28, 2010, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for records regarding joint F BI/ICE operation called "Operation D-Elite. Your request was received in this office on October 21, 2010. Due to the increasing number of FOIA requests received by this office, we may encounter some delay in processing your request. Per Section 5.5(a) of the DHS FOIA regulations, 6 C.F.R. Part 5, the Department processes FOIA requests according to their order of receipt. Although DHSÕ goal is to respond within 20 business days of receipt of your request, the FOIA does permit a 10-day extension of this time period. As your request seeks numerous documents that will necessitate a thorough and wide-ranging search, DHS will invoke a 10-day extension for your request, as allowed by Title 5 U.S.C. ¤ 552(a)(6)(B). If you care to narrow the scope of your request, please contact our office. We will make every effort to comply with your request in a timely manner; however, there are currently 504 open requests ahead of yours. Provisions of the Act allow us to recover part of the cost of complying with your request. We shall charge you for records in accordance with the DHS Interim FOIA regulations as they apply to non-commercial requesters. As a non-commercial requester you will be charged 10-cents a page for duplication, although the first 100 pages are free, as are the first two hours of search time, after which you will pay the quarter-hour rate ($4.00, $7.00, $10.25) of the Searcher. We will construe the submission of your request as an agreement to pay up to $25.00. You will be contacted before any further fees are accrued. We have queried the appropriate program offices within ICE for responsive records. If any responsive records are located, they will be reviewed for determination of releasability. Please be assured that one of the processors in our office will respond to your request as expeditiously as possible. We appreciate your patience as we proceed with your request. Your request has been assigned reference number 2011FOIA904. Please refer to this identifier in any future correspondence. You may contact this office at (202) 732-0300 or 1-866-633-1182. Sincerely,
Catrina M. Pavlik-Keenan
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U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, D. C. 20535 October 25, 2010
MR. PETER A. LOPEZ
FOIPA Request No.: 1156112- OOO
Dear Mr. Lopez: X This acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information-Privacy Acts (FOIPA) request to the FBI. The FOIPA number listed above has been assigned to your request. O For an accurate search of our records, please provide the complete name, alias, date and place of birth for the subject of your request. Any other specific data you could provide such as prior addresses, or employment information would also be helpful. If your subject is deceased, please include date and proof of death. O To make sure information about you is not released to someone else, we require your notarized signature or, in place of a notarized signature, a declaration pursuant 28 U.S.C. ¤ 1746. For your convenience, the reverse side of this letter contains a form which may be used for this purpose. O lf you want the FBlÕs Criminal Justice information System (CJIS) to perform a search for your arrest record, please follow the enclosed instructions in Attorney General Order 556-73. You must submit fingerprint impressions so a comparison can be made with the records kept by CJIS. This is to make sure your information is not released to an unauthorized person. X We are searching the indices to our Central Records System for the information you requested, and will inform you of the results as soon as possible. O Processing delays have been caused by the large number of requests received by the FBI. We wiil process your request(s) as soon as possible. Your request has been assigned the number indicated above. Please use this number in all correspondence with us. Your patience is appreciated. Very truly yours,
David M. Hardy
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(Rev. 01-31-2003)
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Precedence: ROUTINE
To: Cyber Attn: Intellectual Property Rights Unit Criminal Computer Intrusion Unit
Buffalo Attn SA **REDACTED b6, b7c**
From: San Diego
Approved By: **REDACTED b2, b6, b7c** Synopsis: Set leads to prepare and conduct coordinated search warrants and interviews on O4/27/2005 related to Intellectual Property Rights Theft investigation. Details: The FBI received a complaint from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on March 1, 2005 wherein the MPAA stated they began an investigation of the Elite Torrents (ET) organization, an illegal online piracy group, in August 2004. **REDACTED b6, b7c, b7d** provided the MPAA with a complete copy of the data logs from the ET tracker which collected the login names, IP addresses, and other piracy transaction information from its members. The logs included information on individuals in the United States including three high level system administrators of ET, eleven individuals who are identified and credited as being the original Uploaders of copyrighted material to the organization, and numerous individuals who are identified as being leachers/seeders of the organization, those who obtained the copyrighted material and allowed it to be uploaded from their computer system to other users.
To: Cyber From: San Diego Leachers are individuals who are sharing a file but do not have a full copy of the movie/program/game they are downloading. Seeders are individuals who have obtained 100% of the item they are downloading, and are now providing it to the other members. Uploaders are individuals who have been given the responsibility to obtain new material for the organization, create the torrent files, and share the files with the other members. In the early 199Os, computer hackers and other individuals organized themselves into various international groups that became an underground Internet society known as the "warez scene." The leading warez groups compete against each other to attain the reputation as the fastest provider of high-quality pirated computer software, including utility and application software, console games, and movies. These warez groups specialize in being the first to release new pirated software to the warez community for unauthorized reproduction and distribution worldwide. The new mainstream technology and terminology quickly replacing the "warez" underworld is known as "BitTorrent" which has been touted by computer experts as one of the the biggest advances in Internet technology. BitTorrent was introduced as a program that allowed computer users to share and swap files, specifically music and movies, through a centralized file server. Preparing new pirated movies, music, games and software for release and distribution to the BitTorrent scene generally requires a number of different steps. Mechanically, files shared over a BitTorrent system are broken down into separate parts that are separately shared. A user downloading over a BitTorrent network will begin sharing the parts of a file as he acquires them, which is even before he has acquired all of the parts of the larger file. The BitTorrent system is designed so that users will obtain the missing parts of the files they are acquiring faster if they upload the parts they acquire simultaneously as they download and acquire them. This combination of partial-sharing and tit-for-tat techniques generally results, especially for larger files such as movies, in BitTorrent providing faster downloads than competing peer-to-peer file transfer systems. There are two types of programs that comprise the BitTorrent system: "clients" and "trackers." Clients are programs that users run to download and upload files. Trackers are programs that certain motivated parties run to tell the clients where they can located the files they want. This file- location service is critical to the functioning of the BitTorrent system. A tracker tracks clients and maintains a list, or index, 2
To: Cyber Fromf San Diego of which clients are online sharing which files. Trackers do not store or relay the files themselves, but instead introduce clients to one another to make file sharing by individuals easier. A client communicates with a tracker to ask it for the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of clients sharing the file that the client wishes to download. The client then automatically communicates directly with those other clients to download the desired file from them. The BitTorrent system enables users to download many types of files, including movies, music, and software, which are called "content" files. In order to download a content file with BitTorrent, a user must first find and download an associated "torrent" file. Torrent files contain the information BitTorrent clients need to download associated content files. Namely, a torrent file includes the address of a tracker, the name of a content file, the size of the content file, the size of the parts into which the file is divided, and unique file identifiers for each part. Torrent files are small files that essentially tell one computer where and how to get a content file directly from another computer. The key philosophy of BitTorrent is that users should upload (transmit outbound) at the same time they are downloading (receiving inbound.) In this manner, network bandwidth is utilized as efficiently as possible. BitTorrent is designed to work better as the number of people interested in a certain file increases, in contrast to other file transfer protocols. To date, it is the fasted way to download music and movies, illegally, on the Internet. This is a joint investigation with the San Diego Computer and Technology Crime High-Tech (CATCH) Response Team, and the US Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Local Agents from ICE will be contacting the recipients of this EC to assist in the preparation and execution of the search warrants. If it is determined that the subject of the lead is not in the Division being notified, an EC will be generated to inform the affected Division. A draft affidavit is being prepared and will be forwarded electronically to the separate divisions in preparation for the coordinated search warrants. Separate from the affidavit, an excel spread sheet listing subject information and the initial target information packet provided by the MPAA will be forwarded to the lead Agent. Closer to the time of the search warrant, questions to ask the subject during the interview will be prepared and provided to each Division. It is anticipated that numerous computer systems or large storage configurations 3
To: Cyber From: San Diego may be found at the search locations due to the number of files and volume of data each subject has downloaded or allowed to be uploaded from their computer system. The planned execution date for the coordinated Search warrants is scheduled for O4/27/2005. Surveillance of the targets daily routine will assist in the coordination for serving of the warrants. Please report pertinent information to Case Agent. 4
To: Cyber From: San Diego LEAD(s):
Set Lead 1: (Info)
Set Lead 2: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 3: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents 5
To: Cyber From: San Diego available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 4: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows: 6
To: Cyber From: San Diego
Set Lead 5: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 6: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources. 7
To: Cyber From: San Diego
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 7: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 8: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate With respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search 8
To: Cyber From: San Diego warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 9: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows: 9
To: Cyber From: San Diego
Set Lead 10: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 11: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources. The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows: 10
To: Cyber From: San Diego **REDACTED b6, b7c**
Set Lead 12: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 13: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine 11
To: Cyber From: San Diego work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows:
Set Lead 14: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows: 12
To: Cyber From: San Diego
Set Lead 15: (Action) Assign lead agent to coordinate with San Diego and respective Field Office in preparation for multiple division execution of search warrants. Conduct local background investigation of below listed individual, and determine work/school patterns. Coordinate with respective Division resources to have either CART, RCFL, or properly trained Agents available to assist in seizing computer systems during the search warrant execution. Coordinate with local ICE agent for additional resources.
The anticipated target of the search warrant in your division is identified as follows: ¥ ¥ 13
(Rev. 01-31-2003)
Precedence: ROUTINE Synopsis: To recommend the opening of a IPR infringement case regarding captioned matter. Details: On 02/15/2005, **REDACTED b6, b7c** Worldwide Enforcement, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), **REDACTED b6, b7c** and **REDACTED b6, b7c** MPAA, United States Anti-Piracy Operations, **REDACTED b6, b7c** briefed members of the Unites States Attorneys Office (USAO), Southern District of California, and Special Agents with the Federal - Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on an organization of individuals who administer and provide original material for the online trading of copyrighted media. These individuals belong to a group know as Elite Torrent, and have over 130,000 members worldwide. **REDACTED b6, b7c** provided information from a database tracking server which detailed data made available, downloaded and uploaded from each individual. The information identified system administrators, content originators and low level members who participate in the online trading of copyrighted material. The MPAA inquired to the possibility of a criminal referral to target the key individuals located in the United States for criminal prosecution. The USAO was supportive of issuing search warrants, and would want an analysis of the data to make a prosecution decision. San Diego requests the opening of the above captioned case to investigate the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations further. ¥ ¥ |
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2010.11.10 - Response : U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M
OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 102910 TECS II ORGANIZATION SUBJECT PAGE 1 TECS RECORD ID: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUB RECORD 01 *** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ======================================== NAME: ELITETORRENTS
*** DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION ========================================
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION ==============================
*** INFORMATION ON OFFICERS ======================================= *** OTHER INFORMATION ============================================= FIN ID: DATE: 20
*** RECORD OWNERSHIP INFORMATION ================================== CASE NUMBER: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)**
REMARKS: *** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION LOOKOUT LEVEL ======================= OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000001.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 102210 TECS II ORGANIZATION SUBJECT PAGE 1 TECS RECORD ID: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUB RECORD 01
*** NAME INFORMATION ===========================================
*** PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ===================================
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION ========================== *** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ==================================== SSN: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**
DRIVERS LICENSE- NUMBER: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** STATE: PA COUNTRY: US *** OTHER INFORMATION ==========================================
*** RECORD OWNERSHIP INFORMATION================================
REMARKS:
*** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION=================================
OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY
102210 TECS II PERSON SUBJECT PAGE 1
*** PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS =================================================
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION ========================================
*** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ================================================== *** OTHER INFORMATION ========================================================
*** RECORD OWNERSHIP INFORMATION =============================================
REMARKS:
*** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION =============================================== OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000003.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 102510 TECS II PERSON SUBJECT PAGE 1 TECS RECORD ID: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)**
*** NAME INFORMATION =====================================================
*** PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS =============================================
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION ====================================
*** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ==============================================
*** OTHER INFORMATION
STATUS: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** DATE: 050108
REMARKS:
*** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION ===========================================
OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000004.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 102510 TECS II PERSON SUBJECT PAGE 1 TECS RECORD ID: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUB RECORD 01
*** NAME INFORMATION ==============================================
*** PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ======================================
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION =============================
*** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ======================================
DRIVERS LICENSE- NUMBER: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** STATE: AZ COUNTRY: US *** OTHER INFORMATION ===========================================
*** RECORD OWNERSHIP INFORMATION ================================
REMARKS:
*** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000005.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 102510 TECS II PERSON SUBJECT PAGE 1 TECS RECORD ID: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUB RECORD 01
*** NAME INFORMATION =========================================
*** PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ================================
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION ======================== *** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ================================= *** OTHER INFORMATION ======================================
*** RECORD OWNERSHIP INFORMATION ============================
REMARKS:
*** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION ===============================
OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000006.2011F01A904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 102910 TECS II PERSON SUBJECT PAGE 1 TECS RECORD ID: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUB RECORD 03
*** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ======================================
*** DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION ======================================
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION ============================ *** INFORMATION ON OFFICERS ======================================
*** OTHER INFORMATION ============================================
*** RECORD OWNERSHIP INFORMATION ================================= CASE NUMBER: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)**
REMARKS:
*** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION ==================================
OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000007.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 110210 TECS II PERSON SUBJECT PAGE 1 TECS RECORD ID: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUB RECORD 01
*** IDENTIFYING INFORMATION *** DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION
*** ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE INFORMATION *** INFORMATION ON OFFICERS *** OTHER INFORMATION
*** RECORD OWNERSHIP INFORMATION CASE NUMBER: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)**
REMARKS:
*** PRIMARY ACCESS INFORMATION OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000008.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TECS ACCESS CODE **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)**
ICE PAGE 1
TITLE: ELITE TORRENT RELATED CASE NUMBERS: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** COLLATERAL REQ:
TYPE OF REPORT: TOPIC: INTERVIEW OF **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**
SYNOPSIS:
On May 25, 2005 ICE Special Agent **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and FBI Special Agent **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** conducted a interview of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** in his residence located at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. DISTRIBUTION: RACPB SACPH SACSD
SIGNATURE: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** SPECIAL AGENT
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000009.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
Details of investigation: On May 25, 2005 ICE Special Agent **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and FBI Special Agent **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** conducted a interview of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** in his residence located at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. The following is a summary of the interview conducted by ICE Agent **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and FBI Agent **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. FBI Agent **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** wrote the following summary.
**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, male, white, Date of Birth, (DOB) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, Social Security Account Number (SSAN) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, home address **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, home telephone number 814/824-**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, employed as **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c** located on **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c** work telephone number 814/ **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** currently **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was interviewed at his residence. Agents and personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI were present at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** residence to execute a search warrant. The warrant is from the United States District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, issued on 05/23/2005 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter. After being advised of the identity of the interviewing Agents and the nature of the interview, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** provided the following information: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was given a copy of the face of the warrant and Attachment 'A which listed the property believed to be at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** residence. After providing **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** an opportunity to read the warrant and the attachment, the reporting Agent asked **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** if he knew why Agents were at his residence, to which he responded he did. Present for parts of the interview were the following: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** mother **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, DOB **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, father **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, DOB **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** twin brother **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** girlfriend. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000010.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y advised **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is his parent's house. After **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** provided his descriptive data and stated he was not on any medication nor under a doctor's care, he was read his rights from a United States Customs Service 'Statement of Rights' form. The reporting Agent advised **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** he was not under arrest. The reporting Agent read each paragraph from the 'Statement of Rights' form and asked **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, if he understood what it meant. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** replied in the affirmative for each paragraph. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** waived his rights and signed the 'Statement of Rights' form at 7:21 AM on 05/25/2005. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked what Agents were going to find on his computers. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated "a little bit of everything." **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he has the following on his computers: music, movies, and games (to include computer games, Play Station games, and XBox games). **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he does not engage in carding. The only credit card numbers on **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** computers would be his own. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he does not sell copyrighted materials. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he has considered doing this but never acted on it. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised the following would be copyrighted content on his computers: movies, music, software, games, tv shows, and dvds. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he is familiar with Warez groups, but is not involved in one. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he is willing to assist future investigations by giving directions to Warez distribution sites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he is involved in peer-to-peer networks. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he uses FlashFXP on his computers to send copyrighted materials back and forth on the Elite Torrents (ET) website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he does not have encrypted files on his computers. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he uses the following online nick-names: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** does not use an ident. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated his email address for Yahoo is **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. The password for this account is **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he uses an additional server for his website **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** pays $5/month for this server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** could not recall the IP address for the server and did not know the server's location. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated Equaweb is the company operating the server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000011.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y FreeBSD is the type of server he uses from Equaweb. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** could not recall any specific programs utilized on this server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated the programs he utilized on the server are what they normally use. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** login for this server is **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. and his passwords are **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** or **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** accesses SSH through Putty and FTP through FlashFXP. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he is the only person who has access to this server and stated he has just a couple of .php files and some image files on it. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is familiar with the hacker alphabet but does not use it. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** does not have a nick variation. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated his computer would have a lot of nick-names of others in the network. On the reporting Agents notebook, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** wrote the nick-names he could think of as follows: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he has the second highest rank in the ET; only behind the owner of the site, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is the sysop or systems operator. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has instant messenger with his name on the computer. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** does not know where **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** lives but stated **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** server is in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** accepts donations from other ET members. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is an administrator in ET, and is approximately 23 years old. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** lives in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and works for **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed most of the people uploading material sell copyrighted material. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has told him he (**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**) was selling Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised the log files in his computer should still have this conversation. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** are all administrators for ET who do coding for the site. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated coding make the site faster and more accessible. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is 15 years old. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is an administrator for ET who is in her 30s. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was recently promoted because she has been with ET for a long while. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** were all moderators. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is in his 20s and lives in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000012.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he uses his laptop and desktop to get on the internet. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he occasionally uses his father's computer to check his e-mail. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** does not use passwords nor usernames for his laptop and desktop. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated the same IP address is used for all computers in the house to include his laptop. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised only he and his girlfriend, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** use his laptop. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised his brother **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** uses his desktop to check E-Bay auctions. When asked about usage of the desktop, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he accounts for "99.9%" of its use. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he uses his computers at various times during the day depending on school and work. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he uses his laptop a lot at work. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** works several late night/early morning shifts. When the reporting Agent asked about online accounts, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** responded by stating "where do I start?" **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he has one account at a lot of different places. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated a lot of accounts will be found on his computer. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he is an administrator and uploader within ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** uses the nick-name **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, as an administrator and uses the nick-name **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** as an uploader. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed there are eight administrators in ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he talks with all of the upper level moderators and administrators. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated all of the uploaders in ET have dedicated servers they use to upload content. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he uses approximately 100 other P2P networks but does not hold any positions within them. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he obtains his content he uploads to ET from other torrent sites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated torrentbytes.net is the site where he can obtain content the quickest. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** could not recall the names of any other sites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** mostly associates with ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did not know any of the true names of ET members. Depending on who the other person is, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would communicate with them through IRC Instant Messenger.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000013.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y The only FTP sites **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** operates either directly or remotely are individual users who have FTP set up. On the reporting Agents notebook, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** wrote the names of FTP sites he had access to: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised the sites.dat files would be on his computer. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he has not allowed anyone else to utilize his username and password on any P2P site. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he connects directly to his P2P and FTP sites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** does not use shells nor bouncers. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he frequents the efnet server. Once he gets in this server, he gets hundreds of servers/channels to include: elitetorrents, etuploaders, et-mods, etstaff, etreleases, and etsupport. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he is willing to do whatever he can to help the FBI and ICE in future and current investigations. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he has other P2P/torrent sites in his bookmarks. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he uses **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** as his login and password to access other torrent sites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he stays logged in all the time to ET IRC chat rooms on both his desktop and laptop. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he has been obtaining copyrighted content for the last 4 to 5 years. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** got involved in ET about 9 months ago when he stumbled across the site. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** talked to the owner of the site and was promoted to moderator. talked to the owner of the site and was promoted again and now makes decisions such as promotions for ET. talked to the owner of the site and stated promotions are usually based on rapport and involvement in the group. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed there are 100,000 active members of ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** states someone who lives in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c** and attends **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is a user within ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did not know this individual's name. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** originally advised he obtained Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith three minutes after it was released to the public. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** later stated he obtained it three hours before it was released to the public. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised most movies are available on the internet several months before they are released on dvd. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised music and
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000014.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y games are available on the internet before they are available for sale. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised he already has a new Star Wars game and the newest Coldplay cd. On the advice of his mother, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** requested an attorney at 12:22pm. All questioning of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** ceased. Investigation continues.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000015.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
TITLE: ELITETORRENTS.ORG
RELATED CASE NUMBERS:
SYNOPSIS: On February 22, 2006, SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** the FBI, a copy of the transcript for the interview of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** (ET user name **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**), took place on July 29. 2005 **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, Born **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, social security number **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, who currently resides at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, was interviewed at the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
DISTRIBUTION:
SIGNATURE:
ORIGIN OFFICE: SD
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000016.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION: On February 22, 2006, SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** received from the FBI a copy of the transcript for the interview of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** (ELITE TORRENT (ET) username (**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**) , that took place on July 29, 2005. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, Born **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, social security number **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, whose residence at the time of the interview was. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was interviewed at the United States Attorneys (USAO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his attorney **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, Assistant Federal Public Defender, (814) 455-**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. Also present for the interview was the Department of Justice AUSA Andrea Sharrin, with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) . Participating via phone was Special Agent (SA) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and Special Agent (SA) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, from the Erie resident Agency office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). After being advised of the nature of the proffer interview and reviewing the signed proffer letter, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was advised of the identities of the interviewing agents by AUSA Sharrin, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** provided the following information: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** described that he utilized the program FlashFXP to obtain pirated content from other ELITE TORRENT (ET) members, specifically **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** to live in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and work at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** to reside in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and went by the nic **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** until he released Star Wars Episode III to torrents sites, then changed his name to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** worked for **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and had visited Fused Network's website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** utilized MIRC to chat online with other ET members and was certain that the program logged every channel and instant message conversation. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** started downloading pirated material from IRC users and continued until he heard about downloading torrents. He found the ET website, registered for access and began corresponding with a member named **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** liked **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and promoted him to moderator after one month and then promoted him to administrator one month after that. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** remembered that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** liked him because he was in the chat rooms all of the time. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** worked the third shift (overnight shift) and had time to talk in the chat rooms, check the comments in the forms and review the quality of the content. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** spent most of his time checking the comments members made in the forums.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000017.2011FOIA904
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**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to discuss the share ratio on ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** explained that the ratio was not enforced in the very beginning. After the site had over 50,000 users, members with a share ratio of less that "1" were warned for having a low ratio and then removed if their ratio had not improved. The ratio was based on the size of the files, not on the number of files downloaded. The majority of files transferred via the ET website were movies. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** attorney asked for clarification regarding the ratio as to what was considered "providing content", whether it was original content or downloaded content from others. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated that the ratio was based on the total amount of data transferred, either original content or content downloaded from others. A majority of the data was transferred from one member to another and did not represent original content new to the ET website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** identified other administrator nics who were involved with ET: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, and about five others whose names he could not remember. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** added that there were restrictions on those who could add original content to ET. The requirements for being an uploader, someone tasked for bringing original content to the organization, included having a fast connection and access to material to seed. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was tasked to promote individuals to be uploaders and to monitor the content the uploaders were providing. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believes **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** to be approximately 23 years old, and spent about half of his time managing other uploaders. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** understanding was that all of the administrators and some moderators had the password to the **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** account and would upload under this account. When asked which administrators utilized the **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** account, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** named **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did not have fast enough internet access to upload, therefor they were responsible for doing coding for the website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** estimated that half of the files uploaded under the **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** account were movies. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated that he was responsible for just ten movies, including Star Wars Episode III (SW3). **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** originally downloaded SW3 from another Bit Torrent (BT) website named "The Pirate Bay". The last time **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** accessed The Pirate Bay was when he downloaded SW3. The only other movie **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** remembered uploading was The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** received around 95% of the content he uploaded from **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked how many uploaders there were with ET and estimated it to be between 30 to 40 at any time, with a max number of 60. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** felt that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was the top uploader for ET, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would be considered to be
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000018.2011FOIA904
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in the top 5 of uploaders, the same for **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** but only because it was a shared account. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was a poweruser prior to becoming an uploader, and had his account information of amount of content transferred zeroed out or deleted. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was not aware of anyone else whose account that was modified. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked why people participated in ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** explained that everyone belonged to ET to download content, and stated "why else would anyone be there." **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked if he had any information on some of the recently mentioned members. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that was a 17 year old male, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was in her 30's, had a few kids, and had her picture in her profile on ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was considered to be an idiot who no-one liked and was considered to be very immature. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** recounted that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had told **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** sold access to files. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** admitted that he sold SW3 and bragged about how much money he made. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was adamant about not selling anything related to downloaded content. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had an open File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server running on his personal computer, which he gave access to other uploaders to send or copy files. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would exchange files via FTP. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** ran a 100 Mb/s dump site named Slackers located either at the Planet or at Layered Tech, both are ISPÕs which house pirate sites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** personal website was housed at Equaweb. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** gave access to servers he had at Fused Network. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** accessed **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** site using FlashFXP and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** account. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would download files to his computer to seed. If the file was too large, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would seed from **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would get access to one of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** servers from time to time, and only for a few days at a time to seed these files. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** never provided content to other uploaders for them to seed. The content which was released through the site was created from known release groups, with the exception of SW3, which came out of Lucas Films. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did not know who had obtained the first copy of SW3. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** downloaded SW3 and seeded it from his home computer. Because **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was such a good uploader, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** asked that he monitor the other uploaders. Uploaders could FTP to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** server to obtain material and seed from their location or personal server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would seed from **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** server a few times a month. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** estimated that he uploaded 10 movies, lots of music and maybe some software. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had 5 hard drives with approximately 600 Gigabytes (GB) of data. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would download or rent movies or games from stores and
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000019.2011FOIA904
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copy them to his hard drive. He was obtaining music and movies from IRC before he started downloading torrents. He explained that it was much easier using the torrents to download content. BT was more efficient than other types of file transfers, but acknowledged that he knew it was illegal, and with ET having over 130.000 members, the torrents and content would be downloaded many times. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked if he recognized the nic's of the following members of ET: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** knew of him but had no information. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was a moderator who lived in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** worked at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and was a friend of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would seed from **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, left the ET organization 2 to 3 months before the takedown, and knew **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** because he had mentioned purchasing something using **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** discount at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, told **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** that he was **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** left the organization a few months before the takedown. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** a good uploader but they never talked. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was a good uploader, and he worked for **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** on their computers. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** knew he was a uploader but had no other information. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** remembered that some of the uploaders would talk about having access to top sites, but he couldnÕt recall who it was. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** related that all of the chats that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** participated in on MIRC were logged to his computer by default. Additionally, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated he had several ET members in his AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** family was aware of his online activity. Several times **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would download a movie, and either write the title on the DVD or create and print a label. The material **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** uploaded was material he was interested in and what he believed would be popular to others on the site. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** never transferred or viewed child pornography. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would download adult porn from pornbits.net, where **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was also an administrator. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** asked if he could use his AIM account to try and reconnect with
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000020.2011FOIA904
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friends. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was advised not to communicate with anyone from ET. The ET usernames referenced in the above report, correspond to the subjects of investigation listed below:
SUBJECT NAME ET USERNAME
Investigation Continues
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000021.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
TITLE: ELITETORRENTS.ORG
RELATED CASE NUMBERS : TOPIC: PROFFER INTERVIEW OF **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**
SYNOPSIS: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, born **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** social security number **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, resides at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, home phone number (512) 567-**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. was interviewed in the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) . Western District of Texas, 816 Congress Avenue, Suite 1000, Austin Texas.
DISTRIBUTION:
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000022.2011FOIA904
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DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** born **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, social security number **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** resides at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** home phone number (512) 567-**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, was interviewed in the United States Attorneys Office (USAO), Western District of Texas, 816 Congress Avenue, Suite 1000, Austin Texas. Also present during the interview was US Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) Trial Attorney Andrea Sharrin, Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Matthew Devlin, FBI Special Agents (SA) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** , and Assistant Federal Public Defender (AFPD) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, (512) 916-**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. Prior to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** attorney entering the conference room, AUSA Devlin provided SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** me with a copy of the US Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report of investigation prepared by the local ICE investigator pursuant to the search warrant service on May 25, 2005. A copy of this report will be maintained separately in the 1A section of the file in an FD-340 envelope. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was presented with a proffer letter which he reviewed with his attorney. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** signed the letter and the interview began. After being advised of the nature of the interview and the identities of the interviewing agents, provided the following information: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was on a bit torrent (BT) website named torrentbits.org which had a link to the EliteTorrents.org (ET) website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** subscribed sometime around August 2004 to ET and began corresponding with a member named **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** by private messages and IRC chat. A few days later, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** noticed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was looking for a moderator for the site and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** offered to volunteer. The position of moderator was to keep people in check, monitor the forms for abusive language and people offering credit card numbers. Approximately one month later, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was promoted to administrator by **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** wanted to be a nice moderator, not like the rude moderators on torrentbits.org. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked what other moderator nics he remembered and what he knew on each member. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** created the site and lived in Los Angeles, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** created the code for the website and lived in Europe, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** cousin and purchased servers for people, and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, who lived in Canada, took over control of the server at some point. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** went by the nic **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** because it was derived from his last name. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked what his tasks were as a website administrator. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated that he had no tasks or responsibilities, his job was a moderator for the forums, keeping the site organized, talk to people about their concerns, but nothing with coding the website. If members complained about a delay (length
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000023.2011FOIA904
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**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** of time prior to someone getting to dovmload a file) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would suggest they fix their ratios. Having a higher ratio would allow the individual to access additional torrents on the website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** could not remember any names of the uploaders (individuals tasked with providing content to the website and members of the organization). **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked if he recognized any of the following names, and what he could remember about each one: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** remembered that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was the administrator for the uploads. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would forward messages to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** if it was related to uploading problems or content. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to identify the other members who re administrators. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** remembered the following **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** utilized another screen name **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** could not remember. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** described **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** as being the biggest uploads to have them seed the torrents. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** were in charge of the we site. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** rarely talked to any of the uploads. Most of the messages **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** received could be answered by directing the members to the forums. There were a few instances where **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** modified member's statistics by altering their uploaded amount in the tracker. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** estimated that he changed around 12 members statistics. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was directed to a page on the ET webite by **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** which allowed him to modify members statistics by entering their user ID and what the new upload or download numbers would be. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** decided that he no longer wanted the position of an administrator around December 2004 to January 2005. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** wanted to retain his access to top sites allowing him download additional content, but not be responsible for uploading files. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** made this decision because he had just moved to Texas, and started working full time. Althought **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** wanted to be less involved, he still wanted access to movies. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was well aware that the tracker monitored the upload to download ratio and he took steps to fool the tracker. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would disconnect from the tracker, modify the URL that reports information to the tracker, and then run the torrent in a client, but would not provide information to the tracker keeping from it what content **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** obtained. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** coached him through this process but did not know if anyone else had knowledge to do the same thing. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did this primarily to prevent people from connecting to his computer to obtain the content he was downloading. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did not believe that ny of the administrators or moderators were aware of his activity. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** utilized this activity on every torrent website he downloaded from. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** downloaded approximately 10 titles of content from other BT websites and uploaded the content to the ET website.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000024.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** estimates that he downloaded close to 150 files consisting of movies, PC games and software. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** downloaded mostly movies, and obtained two a week to watch at home. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** remembered uploading The Godfather at the beginning of his involvement with ET and uploaded software for the remaining time he participated. While an administrator. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** created numerous accounts with different access levels to experiment with the access these accounts possessed. All of the files **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** downloaded are located in the My Documents folder on his computer. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** never downloaded child pornography or credit card information. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to describe the intent of the ET website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated that people would sign up on the website, and would search for torrents to download to obtain content. Once they started acquiring content, they were required to make the content available to other members until their sharing ratio was greater than 1. The web site tracked the ratios in the background of the site. If members did not keep a good ratio, of at least 1, they would get banned. The higher the ratio the members had allowed them to access more torrents. This higher access to additional torrents was why **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had created the additional accounts. The speed of the members was very important to share the file, and the speed of the uploaders was extremely important. The roll of the uploaders was not only to release the files, but have a fast enough connection to get those files out quickly. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would monitor the upload and download speeds of members, and when it appeared that someone had a fast connection, he would contact them about being an uploader. Some administrators and uploaders had a server they utilized for gettin content. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and one other member had a fast server, while **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had a smaller server, which he used to seed smaller files. Sometime around October 2004. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was given access to the programing script of the website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** admitted that he did not have any programing knowledge, so he checked and corrected the grammar on the ET website. He had this access for approximately one month. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to identify the other BT websites that he visited. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** listed small sites as simsplace and bubbaÕs world. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** listed large sites as supranova, torrentbits, filelist.org, piratebay.org, lokietorrents, 123torrents and espew. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** estimates that he began looking for content online around February 2004. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated that he is not part of any warez group but assumed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** were involved because of their access to top sites and new content. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to into detail on the members of ET whom had been named. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** described **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** as rude to others, a jerk, and someone who offended others all of the time because he rubbed people the wrong way. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** lived in
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000025.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and spoke to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** through chat. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had a website and posted his picture. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was a moderator who was online quite a bit. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was someone who helped with the programing script for the ET website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** recognized the following names but had no additional information on them: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did not recognize the following screen names: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated that he ran an FTP client server on his home computer and never used his work computer. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** attempted to transfer via FTP a file with **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** on one occasion. All of the money donated to the ET website went to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** never attempted to sell content or ask payment for access to the website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to discuss the Star Wars Episode III (SW3) movie release on the ET website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** observed that the torrent was released prior to its theatrical release, but he went to see it in the movie theater. Two days later, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** downloaded the movie from the ET website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did not remember who released the file to ET or how it would have gotten out from FOX Studios. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** used WinRAR to reassemble the files into a playable or burnable format after downloading them online. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** never rented or purchased and ripped DVD s to upload to the ET website. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked about **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was aware that the ET website had attempted to use **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** to protect its members from Trojan Horse IPÕs, educational institutions, the Motion Picture Assssiation of America (MPAA) and law enforcement groups. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was scrapped because it crashed the web server on several occasions. When **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** started downloading movies, he did not know that the MPAA was going after people trading movies over the internet. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** then heard that the MPAA was sending letters to individuals they had identified as participating in the activity and ordering them to stop. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** became more aware how illegal it was to participate with BT technology over time to trade movies. Because he was becoming aware that there was a crackdown on online piracy, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** wanted to get out of the scene and have a lifestyle change. After the raid, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** learned of the investigation by reading news stories on Yahoo news. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has not purchased a new computer since the raid on May 25, 2005. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has not had any contact with anyone from ET since the raid. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** placed some downloaded software on his roommate's computer including the video game Call of Duty, computer defrag software and Microsoft Word.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000026.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
Investigation Continues
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000027.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
TITLE: ELITETORRENTS.ORG
RELATED CASE NUMBERS:
SYNOPSIS: On February 22, 2006, SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** received from the FBI, a copy of the transcript for the interview **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** that took place on August 17, 2005. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was interviewed via telephone at the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) U.S. District of Arizona located at 2 Renaissance Square, 40 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1200, Phoenix, Arizona.
DISTRIBUTION:
ORIGIN OFFICE: SD
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000028.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION: On February 22, 2006, SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** received a copy of the transcript for the interview of **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** that took place on August 17, 2005 **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** born **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, security number **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** , residing at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, cell phone (602) 881-**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, home phone (623) 551-**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, was interviewed via telephone at the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) U.S. District of Arizona located at 2 Renaissance Square, 40 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1200, Phoenix, Arizona. Present in Phoenix were Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) John Lopez, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** attorney, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, FBI Special Agent (SA) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. and via phone SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), SAC San Diego and U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) AUSA Andrea Sharrin. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was presented with a proffer letter which he reviewed with his attorney. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** signed the letter and the interview began. After being advised of the nature of the interview and the identities of the interviewing agents, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** in essence provided the following information: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is married and has **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** children. Because of the young age of his kids, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, went online to look for movies to download so that he wouldn't have to take his young children to the movies. He started with the www.torrentbits.org (TB) website until it was taken down by either the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) or someone else. Contacts that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** made while at TB directed him to the www.ELITETORRENTS.org (ET) website around October 2004. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** initially downloaded movies and computer games. He had been utilizing the Kazaa peer to peer (P2P) client to transfer files before he found bit torrent (BT) clients and websites. Unlike the regular P2P clients, BT clients and websites tracked the download to upload ratio for each user. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was aware that a member needed to have a ratio of 1 to 1 to maintain their account. All that was required to get a membership was a login name and valid email address. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** used the screen name (nic) **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** or **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had utilized these nicks for some time. The only place **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** downloaded torrents were the TB and ET websites. When he first joined ET, he
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000029.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
**REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was just a regular user. After obtaining a server from FUSED NETWORK, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** became an uploader. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** identified the following people as running the ET website: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** or **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. It was one of these people who offered to provide content to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** for him to seed to the ET website. The main reason **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** obtained the server was to provide a better transfer connections to increase his ratio. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was also a member of the TVTorrent and TVSwarm websites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** is aware of the warez scene, but was not involved directly. After becoming an uploader, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** joined the ET IRC channel. It was here that the uploaders would discuss some things but mostly they communicated through private messages. When there was content that he liked and needed to be seeded, it would be transferred via FTP to his server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** to be running the site based on IRC chat conversations they had. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** also was positive the website would never be taken down due to its location overseas. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has access to a zero day dumpsite and provided content to others. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was another uploader who had really good connections to the warez groups. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was the one who approached **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** about being an uploader, and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** actually promoted him to administrator. In chat, people would list what content that had available for others to seed, and if someone was interested, they would respond to the message. The person who had the file would then FTP it to the person who showed interest in the file. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was only interested in video games and movies that he liked. All of the content he uploaded was obtained from other people, and just about all of it was released from known groups. These groups were known release groups who had their own dumpsites. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was running an FTP server on his computer, and had created accounts for three people to access his server. There were approximately 50 titles of content uploaded to server. Around the end of_Apri1 2005, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** decided to stop participating in ET and to stop uploading content. This decision was because he wanted to spend more time with his business, was getting bored with the whole thing, and saw that other sites were being shut down by the MPAA. Just prior to his decision, on April 16, 2005 his server at Fused Networks was taken offline. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that the MPAA somehow got access to the ET website and collected information on the uploaders. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was so positive that he stopped uploading content three to four weeks before the raid. and also stopped downloading around that same time. He continued to be on the IRC chat channels, but never turned on logging on his chat client. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to provide any information he had on o ET members. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** lived in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** worked for a **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** attempted to get people to pay
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000030.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
for access to the content he had on his server. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** never tried to have anyone pay for access and the access to ET was free. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked what was asked of him to be an uploader. He responded that uploaders needed to seed one or two items per week, which he exceeded all the time. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** admitted that he knew what he was doing was illegal, but it didn't stop him. He also knew that once content was seeded, it would be downloaded numerous times. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** described his computer skill as very savvy. He has worked with computers since he was 12 and has had various jobs working with and utilizing computers. He is currently marketing through a software developing company overseas and considers himself to be self employed for the last five years. Located on some of the computers seized from his home include source code for programs and web pages. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was running a business on his computers and will have the last 4 digits of peoples credit cards for refund purposes only. Upon review of the hard drives, the items that will be found are programs that he downloaded and installed, including operating system software, movies, music and computer games. The last contact **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has had with any other ET member was with **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** a few weeks ago via ICQ chat. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** said his house was searched and had his computers seized. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** got an attorney and told about the meeting **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had with the Government, but would not discuss any specifics. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** said that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was also hit with a warrant, and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was currently helping **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** with his online business. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** spoke to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** who said he wasnÕt served and is laying low and taking it easy. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** asked to talk about the Star Wars Episode III (SW3) release on ET. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** stated that he had stopped participating with ET by the time of the SW3 release. He remembered there was talk of the release in the chat channels, but does not remember anything specific. On the day or the raid, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** went to a store and purchased a new computer. Since the raid **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has not participated in the chat channels. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked to provide any additional information on the following listed ET members. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and uploaded a fair amount of content. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and shared photos of the equipment which was located in his home. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** were the same person. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** changed his name to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and then to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** lived in **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** but was not online as much as the other main members. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** worked at **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and had a dedicated server at FDCServers. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** resold server space to other uploads including **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**. When **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** informed **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** that his server had been taken down and advised that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** get an attorney, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** just decided to stop participating in the
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000031.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
ET organization. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** did mostly TV shows and was considered a top uploader. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would upload 5 or more TV shows at a time but never chatted on the IRC channels. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was an administrator for the ET website, and site operator for the IRC channel. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** believed that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** would talk to **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** on a regular basis. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** was asked what types of software he downloaded, and he responded all types including operating system (OS) software such as Windows XP. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** estimated that 4 to 5 of his computers had illegal OS software running on them. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** kept most of the movies he downloaded and loaded the software on several of the computers in his home. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** asked if he could obtain the photos of his kids on his wife's laptop because they are the only copies they had. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** advised the interviewers that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** has a civil suit against **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** for his client, the **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** for a sum of $50,000. They estimated a charge of $750 per infringement, and he is cooperating with the civil case by entering into an injunction with the **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** and the movie studios. The ET usernames referenced in the above report, correspond to the subjects of investigation listed below:
SUBJECT NAME ET USERNAME
Investigation Continues
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000032.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
TITLE: ELITETORRENTS.ORG
RELATED CASE NUMBERS:
SYNOPSIS: On September 11, 2006, SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** spoke with U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) trial attorney Andrea Sharrin via telephone concerning the status of prosecution for the subjects involved in ELITETORRENTS. Sharrin related that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** had **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**.
DISTRIBUTION:
ORIGIN OFFICE: SD
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000033.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** This is the first criminal enforcement action against copyright infringement on a P2P network using BitTorrent technology. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** arose from Operation D-Elite, a federal crackdown against the first providers (or suppliers) of pirated works to the technologically-sophisticated P2P network known as Elite Torrents. At its prime, the Elite Torrents network attracted more than 133,000 members and facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 2 million copies of movies, software, music, and games. On May 25, 2005, federal agents shut down the Elite Torrents network by seizing its main server and replacing its log-in web page with the following notice: "This Site Has Been Permanently Shut Down by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)." within the first week alone, this message was viewed over half a million times. The Elite Torrents P2P network offered a virtually unlimited content selection, including illegal copies of copyrighted works before their availability in retail stores or movie theatres. For example, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** supplied the network with the final entry in the Star Wars series, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," more than six hours before it was first shown in theatres. In the next 24 hours, it was downloaded from the Elite Torrents
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000034.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
network more than 10,000 times. Operation D-Elite is a joint investigation by ICE and the FBI as part of the Computer and Technology Crime High-Tech Response Team (CATCH), a San Diego task force of specially trained prosecutors and law enforcement officers focused on high-tech crime. Federal and state member agencies of CATCH include ICE, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the San Diego District Attorney's Office, San Diego Police Department, the San Diego Sheriff's Department, and San Diego County Probation. Andrea Sharrin, Senior Counsel for the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. The Motion Picture Association of America also provided substantial assistance to this investigation
Investigation Continues.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000035.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
TITLE: ELITETORRENTS.ORG
RELATED CASE NUMBERS: TOPIC: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**
SYNOPSIS: On September ll, 2006, SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** spoke with U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) trial attorney Andrea Sharrin via telephone concerning the status of prosecution for the subjects involved in ELITETORRENTS. Sharrin related that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**.
DISTRIBUTION:
ORIGIN OFFICE: SE
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000033.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION: On September 11, 2006, SA **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** spoke with U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) trial attorney Andrea Sharrin via telephone concerning the status of prosecution for the subjects involved in ELITETORRENTS. Sharrin related that **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** This is the first criminal enforcement action against copyright infringement on a P2P network using BitTorrent technology. **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** arising from Operation D-Elite, a federal crackdown against the first providers (or suppliers) of pirated works to the technologically-sophisticated P2P network known as Elite Torrents. At its prime, the Elite Torrents network attracted more than 133,000 members and facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 2 million copies of movies, software, music, and games. On May 25, 2005, federal agents shut down the Elite Torrents network by seizing its main server and replacing its log-in web page with the following notice: "This Site Has Been Permanently Shut Down by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)." Within the first week alone, this message was viewed over half a million times. The Elite Torrents P2P network offered a virtually unlimited content selection, including illegal copies of copyrighted works before their availability in retail stores or movie theatres. For example, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** supplied the network with the final entry in the Star Wars series. "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," more than six hours before it was first shown in theatres. In the next 24 hours, it was downloaded from the Elite Torrents network more than 10,000 times.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000037.2011FOIA904
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Operation D-Elite is a joint investigation by ICE and the FBI as part of the Computer and Technology Crime High-Tech Response Team (CATCH), a San Diego task force of specially trained prosecutors and law enforcement officers focused on high-tech crime. Federal and state member agencies of CATCH include ICE, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the San Diego District Attorney's Office, San Diego Police Department, the San Diego SheriffÕs Department, and San Diego County Probation. Andrea Sharrin, Senior Counsel for the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. The Motion Picture Association of America also provided substantial assistance to this investigation
Investigation Continues.
O F F I C I A L U S E O N L Y ICE.000038.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLIVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY
10/25/10 TECS II - CASE RECORD PAGE I
CASE OFFICER: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** SPECIAL AGENT
ORIG OFFICER: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** FDA CRIM INVS ST
CATEGORY: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUB-CATEOGRY: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)**
COUNTRY CODE: ORIGIN US x FOR MORE: NATIONAL SECURITY RELATED: N >>>> SUMMARY/DESCRIPTION <<<< The San Diego United States Attorney Office (USAO), and the San Diego High~Tech Crimes Task Force (CATCH) have asked the ICE RAC/Pittsburgh for investigative assistance with an organization known as "ELITETORRENTS". ELITETORRENTS provides online trading of copyrighted material protected by Intellectual Property Rights. The ELITETGRRENTS organization has over 130,000 members worldwide. This investigation focuses on the individuals who administer and provide the copyrighted media. The ICE SAC/San Diego in conjunction with the CATCH Task Force has requested that the ICE RAC/Pittsburgh assist in the execution of coordinated search warrants in Erie, Pennsylvania.
OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000039.2011FOIA904
REQUESTED BY: JOYCE, SYLVIA M OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY 10/25/10 TECS II - CASE RECORD PAGE 1
CASE NUMBER: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** STATUS DATE; 05012008
CASE OFFICER: **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** FDA CRIM INVES ST
CEATEGORY: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)** SUE-CATEGORY: **REDACTED (b)(2)High, (k)(2)**
COUNTRY CODE: ORIGIN US X FOR MORE: NATIONAL SECURITY RELATED: N >>>> SUMMARY/DESCRIPTION <<<< On, February 15, 2005, **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)** , Director of Worldwide Enfocement (sic), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and **REDACTED (b)(6), (b)(7)c, (k)(2)**, Vice President and Director MPAA, United States Anti-Piracy Operation, briefed members of the United States Attorney Office, Southern District of California, and Special Agents on an organization of individuals who 'administer and provide original material for the online trading of copyrighted media. These individuals belong to a group known as 'EliteTorrents, " and have over 130,000 members worldwide. This investigation is pending the closure of three collateral investigations.
OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- TECS II INFORMATION -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY ICE.000040.2011FOIA904 |
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Analysis - First Impression Forthcoming
2011.03.11 - Request : 'Star Wars' Copyright Infringement
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Shortly after the release of Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the inevitable happened, a chinese bootleg. Although The People's Republic of China had decreed March 15, Anti-Piracy Day, the chinese speaking public's desire to view culture from outside their country had lead to a mini-industry of people re-subtitling movies. Normally, the re-subtitling is done into Mandarin for the benefit of the non-english reading world, but in this case the subtitler took it a step further and provided a new set of English subtitles for the world to read. But they weren't just read, they were embraced and became an active part of the cultural evolution as an internet meme. And we have Jeremy Winterson to thank for this opportunity.
So what is the bootleg story in Shanghai? (In New York City, many get sold on the sidewalks, between knock off shoes and other clothing.)
JW: In Shanghai in the evenings when people leave work they set up shop all over town- I'd sometimes grab a movie here and there walking back home from work. I had tossed the DVD onto a big pile. The street vendors aren't hassled by anyone so they set up shop on street corners for several hours during the evening- typically selling out of one or two small open briefcases. The place I used to buy from was a shop- it was a 'fake storefront'- when you walked in there was a woman with a rope who pulled on a section of wall to reveal the real store behind. Tons and tons of DVD- every type of series you can imagine in all sorts of weird combinations- every Sopranos episode in one box, every Star Trek New Generation, all of Palin's Around the World... each one was $1 per disc.
Living/working abroad, was the bootleg watching a way to stay in touch with the culture you grew up with? Especially since many movies never make it there or come out months/years later. Or maybe was the bootleg collecting been a coping mechanism to deal with the new surroundings?
JW: I've not been back to any bootleg shops since about a year ago. I've got a HUGE backlog of DVDs that I've bought and never watched and my customers haven't asked to go.
Have you gotten a sense that the subtitlers are aware of the movie in a cultural sense, so that when they translate they interpret the subtitles in a certain way? From what you've seen, do the Chinese subtitles generally have a certain tone: mechanical, jingositic, other?
From what I've seen, it's only the newest of the new releases that get special subtitle treatment- and not all DVDs either, as the less popular movies will sometimes have subtitles missing or have subtitles from a completely different movie. I wonder if whoever was paid to do the subtitles just swapped in a file from another movie knowing that the pirates couldn't tell the difference.
Of course when the DVDs are released then the pirated DVDs wind up being straight copies with no issues.
So there's a window in which there's demand for subtitles and there aren't any original subtitles/script available for reference. That's when human translation comes in. A lackey gets paid to watch the movie and translate it over to Chinese (or in some cases, Bahasa Indonesian) and then the other subtitles are created from there. If you look at my blog the Rocky Balboa movie got the same sort of treatment.
(http://winterson.com/2007/04/rocky-vi-is-strange-shell-wave.html)
For the lackey to do his job he has to do a fair amount of interpretation. Not only the words being said but the meaning behind them. In Backstoke you can see that sometimes he misheard what was being said (eg. with Yoda's pregnancy vs premonitions) or in other cases he changed the meaning slightly (eg. force becomes 'wish power').
So a fair amount of cultural understanding is needed for the subber to work on the movie.
Take us back to 2005, we're you specifically interested in Star Wars or was it just the latest/greatest?
JW: I've always been a big Star Wars fan. I even queued up in line for Episode 1, which I found to be a bit of a disappointment at the time.
Was there any Star Wars buzz, the hype in the US was palpable, but did the culture over there get that excited? Or just run of the mill, here comes the next American Summer Blockbuster Movie.
JW: Fairly run-of-the-mill. The original trilogy never was launched in a big way in China so kids weren't raised up on it. People did know it was a big movie but they didn't pay any more attention to it than say, Avatar, which was hyped up in China even more.
When you started watching 'star war - the third gathers - backstroke of the west', how did it all settle in, the realization that hey, i've come across something extraordinary?
JW: It wasn't until my sister came to visit and was watching it early one morning that we realized how bad/good the subtitles were.
How far into the movie were you when the realization dawned that it was time to blog?
(http://winterson.com/2005/06/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west.html & http://winterson.com/2009/01/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west-redux.html)
JW: At the time I was blogging regularly. As soon as I saw how crazy the subtitles were I thought I gotta share it with my friends. Of course I never expected so many people to read that particular blog entry!
Did you have to advertise it's existence at all, or once posted friends and search engines drove traffic organically?
JW: Not at all. In the beginning I posted just 5 or 6 screenshots. A friend told me he would circulate my entry around his office and that's what started the initial traffic, I think. I got people requesting me to post more screenshots so I did it shortly before going on vacation. The next day I found that my website was down due to all the traffic and scrambled to find ways to put it back up. Some readers helped me set things up using the coral cache to reduce bandwidth and I also increased the amount on my account.
How early after posting did the blog fail to handle the traffic?
JW: From memory the first couple of days there was a spike and then it started to come down. Maybe a few thousand people. After I posted the other screenshots I had 50,000 unique visitors overnight. It took me a day to fix things, which wasn't easy as I was traveling overseas and in the meantime a couple of people posted mirrors which for a while got a lot of traffic. In the first couple of weeks there were around 500,000 visitors. Now it's a fairly steady number of about 300-400 per day unless someone new links, in which case it can spike quite a bit.
Then in the weeks after your blog post, you watch the popularity soar. Must have been annoying the number of times you got asked for a copy, any strange people request one?
JW: I like to think that I was allowed to keep Backstroke up because the Star Wars folks have a sense of humor. I got lots of requests to send off a copy of the DVD and only mailed off 2- one of them to someone at LucasArts. =) I took a quick look back at the folks who had requested a copy of Backstroke- a bunch of random ones. Aside from LucasArts there was a guy in Pixar (who apparently represented a few folks who wanted to see the DVD) and a guy in a venture capital firm in California. Most of the requests came within the first week- now I just get a 'comment' every now and then on the website.
What/Where do you think the tipping point was which shifted this into viral mode?
JW: I think people just saw it as something very funny, and as a lot of people know Star Wars there were a lot of people who appreciated it so it got forwarded on and blogged about. Darth Vader's unusual-sounding "Nooooo..." at the end of the movie was already being parodied, and when 'Do not want' came out as the translation people jumped on it. I think it was the YTMND and /b/ folks who got things going, but not totally sure.
Have you followed the 'backstroke of the west's cultural evolution? From subtitle to meme to __INSERT HERE__? Where have you found traces of backstroking influence?
JW: In the beginning I was amazed/shocked at how much traffic my site got. I was constantly searching to see who was saying what about it. I haven't searched for Backstroke stuff in a long time now. 'Do not want' is still very much out there- I stumble across it all the time.
Brief history of 'backstroking' influence:
Most notoriously the 'Do No Want' meme: http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Backstroke_of_the_West
"Oldfags also recognize this film as the origin of DO NOT WANT."
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/DO_NOT_WANT
Also commonly expressed in proper English as; "I find myself desiring not to offend, but I must make clear my severe and vehement dislike for the offered material. I say sir, please kindly remove the offending post and yourself from my sight."
While the original clip spawned a YTMND (http://donotwant.ytmnd.com/) meme, the "Do not want" line was found infinitely more lulzy and has thus spread throughout the internets as one of the most widely used memes.
Gallery of 'Do Not Want' images: http://macrochan.org/search.php?tags=Do+not+want (possibly NSFW)
More Info: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/do-not-want
5 years later, one bootleg dvd brought about over 500 comments to your blog post, and search engines find over sixty thousand results for 'backstroke of the west', and one of the subsequent meme's 'Do Not Want' finds over 6.5 million images, how crazy is that?
JW: Totally crazy!!!!
Makes me wish I had something worthwhile to say rather than just the random crap on my blog... hahahah....
Do you think the original subtitler will one day surface?
JW: I think the original subtitler has no idea. If I had to guess I think it was probably some student at a lower-tier university in China who was paid a few dollars to translate it from English to Chinese, then a computer was used to make the subtitles in English from the Chinese. That's the only way I can think that the meaning got so twisted but yet still stuck to the subject of the movie.
Very much thanks, Jeremy.
%20
::Extra Info::
For those interested in specific translation interpretations, the following wiki page has explanations of how things possibly got re-subtitled: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_War_The_Third_Gathers:_The_Backstroke_of_the_West
Watch 'backstroke of the west': http://www.youtube.com/user/BackstrokeOfTheWest
dbowgett has superimposed the backstroke subtitles onto the Original Star Wars: http://dbowgett.users.btopenworld.com/
NEW DEVELOPMENT!!!! Authentic Audio Backstroke? http://www.youtube.com/user/TheThirdGathers
Real Fake Authentic original Star Wars Engrish subtitle screencaps: http://www.opticalsin.com/sw_engrish/main_anh.html (found 2004)
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RTJKJAS
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*Help Action* 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' DropLift Day - 2010.04.01.
*Details Forthcoming* Learn about What is DropLifting?
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Which Chapter of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is watched the most often?
With 2009 creating an artificial end date for statistical analysis, last years online viewing habits have been compared.
( Stats Excel File or Stats in HTML )
Stats calculated Amount Downloaded in MB and Number of Hits for each Chapter, the equal split of these two values provided the rating of Most Viewed/Download Chapter in either Mp4 or Ogv format.
| DL Rating | Hit Rating | Ave. Rating | | Title | Play : Download |
| 54 | 53 | 53.5 | | Introduction Video | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 53 | 50 | 51.5 | | Sex | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 50 | 52 | 51 | | Larger View of Censoring Obscenities | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 48 | 51 | 49.5 | | Induced Drug Moments | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 41 | 46 | 43.5 | | Politics Mis-Reporting | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 43 | 42 | 42.5 | | Fan Lines VS Perception | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 47 | 37 | 42 | | $ | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 45 | 39 | 42 | | Trailered Intermission | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 51 | 26 | 38.5 | | Intro Explanation | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 49 | 28 | 38.5 | | Narrative, Montage | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 42 | 35 | 38.5 | | Hayden Christensen Intro | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 40 | 36 | 38 | | Made for Crossing Cultural Boundaries | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 38 | 38 | 38 | | MTFBWY | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 52 | 21 | 36.5 | | Long | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 30 | 43 | 36.5 | | Geek | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 31 | 41 | 36 | | William's Music | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 46 | 25 | 35.5 | | Crawls | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 39 | 31 | 35 | | DV/Toys/Yoda | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 21 | 49 | 35 | | Downloading/Pirating/Those Fans | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 37 | 33 | 35 | | Extreme Fan | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 18 | 48 | 33 | | How many films? | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 20 | 45 | 32.5 | | Space Cowboy/Opera/Myth | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 16 | 44 | 30 | | Chewbacca | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 36 | 23 | 29.5 | | Gay Droid Expo | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 19 | 40 | 29.5 | | Credits : | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 11 | 47 | 29 | | Geek Solo Star Han Trek Brand | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 23 | 34 | 28.5 | | Hair Leia | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 25 | 29 | 27 | | Character Marketing & Impersonations | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 34 | 19 | 26.5 | | Outro | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 32 | 18 | 25 | | DV's Suit Hayden Transformation | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 33 | 11 | 22 | | Opening Intro's New Hope Impact | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 35 | 8 | 21.5 | | Sith Who | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 28 | 14 | 21 | | Epitome Strikes Backward (Striking Epitome) | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 15 | 27 | 21 | | Short Trip to the Dark Side | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 9 | 32 | 20.5 | | More Sithing | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 27 | 9 | 18 | | Hype | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 22 | 12 | 17 | | Darth Vader | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 4 | 30 | 17 | | Hayden's Fame-enting | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 26 | 7 | 16.5 | | Jar-Jar | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 29 | 3 | 16 | | Women Online / Female Involvement | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 24 | 6 | 15 | | Siths (Talking Heads) | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 6 | 24 | 15 | | Line Life and Beyond | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 14 | 15 | 14.5 | | I am your father | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 12 | 16 | 14 | | Generational Fan Bases | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 5 | 22 | 13.5 | | Five Hundred and One Stormtroopers | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 7 | 20 | 13.5 | | Tragic Backstory Cross Endeavour Independence | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 13 | 13 | 13 | | Sick | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 3 | 17 | 10 | | The Lightsaber | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 10 | 10 | 10 | | Seeing Again ... the One Six | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 17 | 2 | 9.5 | | More Siths (Filmatic) | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 8 | 4 | 6 | | Media Questioning | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
| 1 | 5 | 3 | | At and In the Theaters | Play : Mp4 : Ogv |
Analysis: (Warning, i'm tired and this is rather misthought)
Some of the problems with these Rating is that the data set is fairly limited, with a few gaps. Although gathered over almost 9 months, there's just wasn't much involvement. Also don't know how to factor in the search engine spider hits which I don't think downloaded the full file. Although 95% of the files were existing from the beginning some were added later and that factors into their ratings. Another factor affecting these ratings is that the first half of the chapters were advertised in forums as part of the weekly viewing agenda. At no time did any of these segments go viral, so without being linked to by any source other then the FAQ these stats should reflect people's initial impulses.
Going with the validity of these ratings, it's not surprising that 'Sex' is highly rated, actually thinking back this was the one segment which did get props from the yuku Star Wars bboard dedicated to adult content, and those added eyes most likely pushed this chapter to the top, otherwise it would probably be in the middle. Generally the Mp4 to Ogv ratio is about 6:1, but the Ogv's got a two month late start. The Ogv viewers have a more overall viewing preference, while the Mp4 have significant trends in chapter viewing habits. Also good to see that Ogv have a fan base.
Should break out the chapters which have the highest Hit Rating but the lowest DL Rating, those would be the boringest, since the viewer gave up before the whole file was downloaded. 'Downloading/Pirating/Those Fans' scores high on this list with a 28 differential.
Also since the stats don't show a jump for the chapters which were announced as weekly viewing, that idea is another FAIL>. Well on second review, maybe Dec's chapters did get a slight pump from the pluggings. Ok nothing too insightful. If you find something more relevant or interesting please let us know.
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'The People vs. George Lucas' is an participatory documentary in which people submit their thoughts on George Lucas. %20's contribution is a collage of the testimony of George Lucas from the June 24, 2008 House Committee Energy & Commerce - Universal Telecommunications Service - Telecommunications and the Internet in which he suggests that internet access for students and education facilitation should be a Digital Right.
File Location : PvsG-Free_TeleCommunications_EnForcement-(UnNotated)
File Name : PvsG-Free_TeleCommunications_EnForcement-(UnNotated).mov
File Size : 75mb - 1280 x 720 HD
Sources : http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/206153-1
| George Lucas Testimony Transcript | Screen Capture | Governmental & Trade Organization Enforcement |
|
C-SPAN Announcer : "Now a House hearing on the availability of phone and internet serivces in the U.S. Witnesses include Star Wars's creator and director, George Lucas. Who also heads the George Lucas Educational Foundation."
George Lucas : "But I believe, that the eventual goal should be to make these connections free. Free. For all schools and libraries. This goal is ambitious, and as important as the coalition of free public schools and libraries themselves. Free and open to all. |
/PvsG-Free_TeleCommunications_EnForcement-(UnNotated)1.jpg)
Click for Full Size |
2005_3841_20050228_wray_resignation.pdf
2005_01_25_MGM_v_Grokster_States_Amicus_Brief.pdf Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress).pdf Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)2.pdf 2005_4031_richtersummit051905.pdf Federal Law Enforcement Announces Crackdown on P2P Piracy Network.pdf http/www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl109-9.html.pdf (June 14, 2005).pdf |
| Telecommunications provides the new learning platform of this century. And is replacing the text book as the medium through which modern education is provided. The world's knowledge is now available online far beyond what books and materials can provide in schools and libraries themselves. |
/PvsG-Free_TeleCommunications_EnForcement-(UnNotated)2.jpg)
Click for Full Size |
2005_09_27b.pdf
2006_02_23.pdf Justice Department Announces Guilty Plea in Peer-to-Peer Piracy Crackdown.pdf Wise, Virginia Man Sentenced in Peer-to-Peer Piracy Crackdown.pdf Defendant Sentenced in Online Piracy Crackdown.pdf Federal Bureau of Investigation - Kansas City Field Division - Press Release - Department of Justice.pdf kuonenPlea.pdf Justice Department Announces Guilty Plea in P2P Piracy Crackdown.pdf |
| Just as access to quality education is a civil right. Access to modern telecommusche. Excuse me. Access to modern telecommunications tools for education should be viewed as a Digital Civil Right. We should seek to guarantee that right to every student regardless of their ability to pay. |
/PvsG-Free_TeleCommunications_EnForcement-(UnNotated)3.jpg)
Click for Full Size |
News Releasse 30 April 2007.pdf
Justice Department Announces Seventh Guilty Plea in P2P Piracy Crackdown.pdf ducdoplea.pdf doinfo.pdf Federal Bureau of Investigation Richmond Field Division - Department of Justice Press Release - Department of Justice2.pdf doveConvict.pdf Federal Bureau of Investigation Richmond Field Division - Department of Justice Press Release - Department of Justice.pdf doveSent.pdf |
|
Thank You.
Thank you Mr. Lucas, very much. |
/PvsG-Free_TeleCommunications_EnForcement-(UnNotated)4.jpg)
Click for Full Size |
ICE - P2P crackdown EliteTorrents (Operation D-Elite) Procedure Movie
2005.05.25 http://www.archive.org/details/ICE_EliteTorrents_May2005 |
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What if 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' became a textual piece?
As a continuation of this exploration experiment. What if 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' became a textual piece. Here's an example of what Chapter 27 "Downloading/Pirating/Those Fans" could turn into, minus the fancy graphics.
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' as a textual piece:
Chapter : 27
Title : Downloading/Pirating/Those Fans
Duration : 00:11:01:16
Clip Total : 096
Clip : 27.001
Duration : 00:11:11
Source Network : BBC
Source Program : Star Wars Episode III - London Premiere
Air Date : 2005.05.16
Speaker : Anthony Daniels
Quote : "The legend has grown beyond the movies. That you have people here dressed up as Jedi and so on. And that is going on all around the world, everywhere around the world there are Star Wars fans who take it for themselves."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : As a spokesman for the Star Wars franchise, Anthony Daniels has spoken worldwide on behalf of this industry. But he seems to miss the point that these fans who "take it for themselves" are also giving back when they dress up in public promoting their favorite cultural phenomenon.
Clip : 27.002
Duration : 00:13:16
Source Network : AMC
Source Program : Bleep! - Censoring Hollywood
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Stephen Soderbergh
Quote : "If I want to sit at home and take the Star Wars Trilogy, and and do my own version and make it two hours long. And watch it in my living room... that... i'm allowed to do that."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Stephen has repeatedly used the fan editing of Star Wars as his litmus test of what people should and should not be able to do with movies. It would be nice if he expressed his ideas of what he would change. 60 Minutes did a follow up review of the movie piracy situation on 2009.11.01, in the blurb on the website, Steven says "on-line movie pirates should have their internet privileges suspended." There are people who feel that communications, like free speech, are an intrinsic right, so when an industry claims that the internet is a privilege, you might want to take note. Industries have the funds and time to lobby governments. A similarly logic'd statement was said by Mark Getty, chairman of Getty Images, he said "Intellectual Property is the oil of the 21st century." Some people feel that this is one of the first declarations of war on the current functioning of the internet, where freer communications is central to the democratic body.
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is attempting to continue to evolution of the understanding of ideas and culture. If it were to function logically, as much of media would be searchable and digestible like how taking a book out of the library functions today. As of today (2009.12.05) there are bits and pieces of a proposed new 'Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement' (ACTA) which could make the desired tBSWM video search system never to be given the possibility of being created. The United States government has not spoken on record about this agreement over 'national security' concerns. Some people consider the language of this agreement will have the ability to overturn one of the core understandings of the internet, which allows ISP not to be responsible for the infringement which happen on their networks. For instance, online video storage places, like youtube, dailymotion or vimeo can't be brought into court every time a copyright concern is addressed. A video/media search/cut-up/recompile system needs a database to with draw from. Libraries were never that much of a concern, yet everything can be found and borrowed from them. People still willingly purchase works even though the free alternative is there. I don't think this will change, the idea of Supporting Creatives is firmly intrenched in the logic of humans.
Clip : 27.003
Duration : 00:04:19
Source Network : G4
Source Program : Attack of the Show
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Brendan Moran
Quote : Speaking of Mr. Lucas, he actually gives his blessing for the whole fan film thing."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Wellll, sorta. More on that later. And really who knows what George thinks, his company can always do something else.
Clip : 27.004
Duration : 00:10:29
Source Network : Fuji TV
Source Program : Mezamashi
Air Date : 2005.07.08
Speaker : George Lucas
Quote : "And I hope that the Star Wars saga continues to be an inspiration to the artists and dreamers ahhhhh among all of us.
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : That it has and continues to be. Hey this projects is attempting to continue several tenants of George's spoken word. Having heard repeatedly that George plans on returning to experimental films and never does, %20 decided to go this route which could be construed as an experimental film. Also the film technology of Industrial Lights and Magic which democratized filmmaking so that anyone could have the same tech as Hollywood, is what hopefully will be expanded into the video search/cut-up/recompile exploration of societies interaction with media.
Clip : 27.004
Duration : 00:09:04
Source Network : KUSI
Source Program : KUSI News
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Patrick Kajirian
Quote : "Nowadays with digital technology, it's so easy to create something like this, even with your computer at home. Ah and and due to that it's opening up doors.
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : And here's someone else saying the same thing. Mr. Kajirian is commenting on how now the lightsaber effect and other special effects can be created at home, but the logic applies.
Clip : 27.005
Duration : 00:11:29
Source Network : codedsignal.com
Source Program : XXXX
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Michael Rubin
Quote : "In the late 60s early 70s, it was a dream of people like George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola that... that kids that anybody could get a computer and could edit their own movie on it.
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : And here's the writer of the definitive history of the evolution of filmmaking computer science. "droidMAKER : George Lucas and the Digital Revolution" chronicles the evolution of digital filmmaking, from the soundDROID and editDROID systems to the creation of Pixar and the creation of computer generated graphics.
I think this is one of the clips which might have been recorded outside my original time frame parameters. But the content was too relevant to leave out.
Clip : 27.006
Duration : 00:08:17
Source Network : G4
Source Program : Attack of the Show
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Brendan Moran
Quote : "There are 140 entries from all over the world. They have to be a kind of light hearted spoof on the whole Star Wars saga. Or else George Lucas will sue them."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Ok so we just heard someone say that it was a dream in the past of a certain idea. Well 30 years later and now look what's happened. The initial wave of internet Star Wars fan films received cease and desist orders. Then after a cooling off period, where fans halted the sales of their films, Lucasfilm decided to put on a showcase of this phenomenon. Except with a bunch of caveats, which has hampered this culture from reaching it's potential. But for those who successfully navigate the ins-n-outs, the rewards of working in the movie making system have been found. And it's not fair to say that George Lucas will sue them, it's Lucasfilm the business entity which goes around suing. The delegation of responsibility.
Clip : 27.007
Duration : 00:01:04
Source Network : G4
Source Program : Players
Air Date : 2005.05.05
Speaker : Mark Hamill
Quote : "The copyrights and all that."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Yeah.
Clip : 27.008
Duration : 00:05:10
Source Network : Lining Up TV
Source Program : Fans Gone Wild
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : none
Quote : "The following sequence has been removed, as demanded by someone ashamed of their fandom."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : So this is what it's like being 'Culture' and someone removes a work from your consciousness. I don't know what it was originally about, and there's no way of finding out in most cases. Things just disappear. Some see tragedy, some don't. This clip is from the a fan DVD of the folks who waited in line for RotS in Hollywood. To make the top 25 moments, the clips would probably have been wonderful to witness, but on this end, we just won't know.
Clip : 27.009
Duration : 00:11:10
Source Network : Discovery
Source Program : The Science of Star Wars "Space Cowboys"
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : C-3Po (Anthony Daniels)
Quote : "In recent years the world of entertainment has experienced a most prolific advance in technology. beep squeal beep. Yes R2, I know you were a part of it. But it's rather rude to boast."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : As pointed out in droidMAKER it hasn't been just in recent years, the last century has been a continual development/evolution.
Clip : 27.010
Duration : 00:04:12
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "In the new Star Wars movie, it's the noble Jedi battling the evil Sith."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : This is the first of several reports which focused on the Star Wars piracy issue. They have been cross examined and you'll see them interplay over the remainder of this chapter. Comparison of similar ideas yet with varying terminology, verses different ideas compared.
Clip : 27.011
Duration : 00:06:13
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : at the Movies
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker : Steve Sansweet (Head of Fan Relations)
Quote : "It's sorta gotten away from us because the fans have such ownership of Star Wars, but"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Again here's the spokesman for Lucasfilm, claiming that Star Wars fans have over stepped their boundaries by embracing their favorite cultural item and attempting to make it a part of their lives.
Clip : 27.012
Duration : 00:01:29
Source Network : Lando Dr. Pepper Interview
Source Program : One Man Star Wars' Charles Ross
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Charles Ross
Quote : "This is my own one man version of it."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : And here's an example of one fans attempt to continue the evolution of the ideas of Star Wars into a new form. Charles Ross tours the world doing a one man'd interpretation of the concepts and moments of the Star Wars movies. And this is the weird side of being a fan of the culture but not understanding why certain fan activities are allowed to survive and other are shut down. And the more stories you hear the more confusing it appears, or maybe that's just me.
Clip : 27.013
Duration : 00:08:01
Source Network : BBC3
Source Program : Generation Jedi
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Dermot O'Leary
Quote : "No where was this sense of community seen more then on the early internet. Which Star Wars fans used to created and distribute their own versions of the saga."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Since the early days of the internet, the culture has expanded into the idea of Fan Edits. Where an individual deliberately modifies a movie to fit a certain idea they might have. A subculture has grown around this idea. The Fan Edit came into being after Mike J. Nichols, modified Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace, to coincide with previously held notions of George Lucas's editing philosophies to create what was described as 'a successful exercise of professional and artistic narrative film editing.'
Clip : 27.014
Duration : 00:03:20
Source Network : AMC
Source Program : Bleep! - Censoring Hollywood
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Stephen Soderbergh
Quote : "What i'm not allowed to do is sell it, or rent it."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Here's Soderbergh raining disapproval on the folk aesthetic again. These clips came from a discussion of a company who edits out material they don't like from movies under the guise of protecting children from imagery and language not suitable to their interpretation of their religion. The company was called Clean Flicks and they had developed a special computer program or DVD player which would follow a series of commands which would edit out material the company felt unredeemable.
Clip : 27.015
Duration : 00:04:03
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : at the Movies (Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith)
Air Date : 2005.0521
Speaker : Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen)
Quote : "I want more, and I know I shouldn't."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : So here's a quote directly from the Star Wars film in question, which was part of the trailer and shown quite frequently. Could these words have been a result of the growing pressure of piracy on the mind of George Lucas to insert a message into the films? Or could this be a questioning of consumer culture's constant requirement of 'new New NEW' by someone who grew up during the 60s cultural movements. It will be interesting to see how this self rationalizing quote plays into the evolution of the generation which who's early development fell into the time period of this movies release.
Clip : 27.016
Duration : 00:00:02
Source Network : Aegis Films
Source Program : A Great Disturbance
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : none
Quote : "The characters and events in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual events and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."
As stated on all badges, all attendees of Celebration III and Gen Con Indy, consented to being recorded (by audio, visual, and/or other means) for exhibition and exploitation by any means in all media.
This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States of America and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition may result in civil and criminal persecution."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : This is one of the several blip-verts dropped into this presentation. This one %20 finds confusing, on one hand the author is establishing their ownership of the material in the final statement. But then shortly before they quote a phrase by another organization which permits the recorded of anything in that certain time and place. I dislike statements like the final one, they completely neglect one of the tenants of the Fair Use doctrine of the United States, which was the locale of the film in question. Why does everyone feel the need to place this restrictive banner over their works, instead of pointing out to everyone the real legal system our country applies to. Which is malleable, over the course of a century the US system has repeatedly expanded the clamp down on culture so that the removal of the Public Domain is seen by many as the current standing of things, cuss really who's going to live to see the age of 150 years old.
Clip : 27.017
Duration : 00:05:02
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "Now there must be a great temptation to swipe stuff. Your there, your doing Star Wars."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : So this is a phun transition, you've got the main character transitioning into the actor. It's interesting that even at the top of the SW food chain, there were questions of stealing.
Clip : 27.018
Duration : 00:05:18
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "It had the biggest box office opening ever. Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Listen to the audio commentary for more of the facts behind this statement. Most of them were pulled from the Internet Movie Database.
Clip : 27.019
Duration : 00:04:09
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker : Carol Lin
Quote : "Some people have found a way to see the movie without even buying a ticket."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : The segment title of 'Space Invaders' has got to have grabbed the attention of many 30 somethings who grew up with the arcade game. It's impossible to figure out the stat, but how many anythings are viewed without the 'proper' authorization. For instance, no sales take place when going to the library and borrowing a DVD or borrowing one from a friend, those are examples of seeing with buying a ticket, but they'll never make the news. Ok maybe the Onion has done this story.
Clip : 27.020
Duration : 00:09:20
Source Network : USA
Source Program : AFI Tribute of George Lucas
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Tom Hanks
Quote : "But as far as actually paying money, and seeing the movie at a local Cleveland cinema. Didn't happen."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Again here's another example of the media talking about not paying, yet viewing the entertainment in question. And everyone is laughing! And it's Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks! So on one channel, the news is making everyone aware of this major threat of film piracy, and on another channel, the film makers themselves are laughing about the same topic. Even the creator of the film in question, is laughing about the piracy, yet in a short period of time, George Lucas's decision to give authority to prosecute copyright infringement of his companies works to the MPAA who would in turn convince the United States government to prosecute several individuals for leaking and distributing the movie online and these individuals would enter the penal system for a few years, then several more of house arrest and more under governmental supervision. Now yes Tom Hanks was talking about his experiences with the original Star Wars movie, but the topic remains the same and at this critical time point and well everyone's laughing.
Clip : 27.021
Duration : 00:02:25
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker : Carol Lin
Quote : "The movie made an illegal debut on the internet."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Tagline : "'Star Wars III' Found Illegally on Internet" from one website and the movie title changed to a variable, this subject could be revisited everyday. Also in the crawl text at the bottom is "estimated $158.5 million since its thursday opening, shattering office records'. If the clamp down or division of the internet happens it'll be because of the fear mongering of the notion of piracy. I guess the news media was doing everyone a fair and balanced discussion by posting these two view points.
Clip : 27.022
Duration : 00:03:25
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : Countdown
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Keith Oberman
Quote : "But who took a copy of it and uploaded it onto the web."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Tagline : "Star Wars - Big Bucks, Big Scandal" is the tagline for this segment. On the web, the names of these individuals is posted in several hundred places.
Clip : 27.023
Duration : 00:03:00
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker : Carol Lin
Quote : "The downloading of Star Wars is gaining a lot of attention."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.024
Duration : 00:05:20
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Headline Prime - Showbiz Tonight
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker :
Quote : "The movie has already been pirated. Showing up on the internet, and on the streets of New York City."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : '$tar War$' Hot Headline.
Clip : 27.025.01
Duration : 00:05:12
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "On the streets and in the shops of New York City."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.025.02
Duration : 00:05:12
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "Yo turn that -bleep- camera off, or all break that -beep-"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Here's an example of the problems with the subjectivity of a piece like this. The lack of context. The clips shown in the original piece of the guy going after the camera man, there's no reference that that was connected to the Star Wars bootleg. Sure maybe in the original recording the two segments (video on ground and guy yelling) are in one continuous shot, but right now video material especially working footage is kept behind locked doors. So if you wanted to verify the claims of that clip, it would take some doing. But with the online repositories of media, everyone would be able to do the fact checking from the original clips. So instead of taking my word that these edited clips are relevant to each other, anyone could be able to corroborate. But to do that everyone's going to have to realize the benefits of a system like that, supporting the idea of Supporting Creatives over the fear mongering of the piracy debate might be a good idea.
Clip : 27.026
Duration : 00:04:07
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "In 1999, it was easy to find illegal copies of Star Wars Episode 1."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Oddly one of the Phantom Menace VHS bootleg found on the streets of NYC can be traced back to an internet post. And in the preservation community, these bootlegs remain to this day the only true way to see the original Star Wars films. With all the minor changes and special editions, the original movies have been neglected and in the mass consciousness forgotten. Supplanted with the preferred version of the original creator, which under the laws of copyright is the 'right' thing to do. But once they expire, hopefully the originals can reappear, since it was in that form that they sparked the cultures imagination and attention.
Clip : 27.028
Duration : 00:04:07
Source Network : FoxNews
Source Program : Fox 5 News - NYC
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Rosanna Scotto
Quote : "And your about to see one of the pirated DVDs that was pulled off the streets."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Tagline : "The Fake Be With You"
Clip : 27.029.01
Duration : 00:19:03
Source Network : FoxNews
Source Program : Local PM - NYC
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Obi-wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor)
Quote : "They over shot us."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.029.02
Duration : 00:19:03
Source Network : FoxNews
Source Program : Local PM - NYC
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen)
Quote : "They're coming around."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.029.03
Duration : 00:19:03
Source Network : FoxNews
Source Program : Fox 5 News - NYC
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Andrea Day
Quote : "But before you shell out 10 bucks to a street vendor for a copy of any movie. Take a look at this one, police confiscated today. Those annoying numbers at the top of the screen are there through out the whole movie. And the picture is distorted."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Ok so in their article on piracy, they show off the 'fake' to everyone watching and then mention what they view as problems. Distortion, which is the same as all the sqooshed movies which have been modified to fit broadcast television standards since the dawn of theatrical movies on television. Guess what it doesn't bother most people if the aspect ratio is bad. And the idea that there's some text on the screen at all times, how in their right minds could they perceive this as a distraction when their phucking logos are on every damn channel. ONLY during commercials do the logos disappear. Again no normal casual television watcher is going to see this as a problem. In other media discussions of piracy they talk about the pirated movies where you can see chairs or hear someone snoring. Again how is this a problem, when you get this same experience when you go see the movie in theaters. People are used to distractions when seeing movies or television. There's some mystic of the perfect movie or television presentation, and people are trying to perfect it and bring it home with large screen HD televisions and surround systems. A selection of media content creators are attempting to promote this as the only way you should view their presentation, but it just seems impractical. It's odd but the Fan Edit community are also proponents of the 'perfect best quality presentation' maybe this will be the quality which helps form a bond between the original creators and the expanders of culture. Sure quality is fine, but choosing between not seeing and seeing, and quality is no longer a problem.
Clip : 27.032.01
Duration : 00:04:27
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "That's cool."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Transitions like this where you have an annoying statement, which is then claimed as 'cool' by a doofus is an added perk of editing material.
Clip : 27.032.02
Duration : 00:04:27
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : Hayden Christensen
Quote : "Yeah so I took one of those and that's back home now too."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : And this statement is another added perk of editing, here because of the edit, we've implied that the main star of the final Star Wars movies has a copy of the bootleg in his home.
Clip : 27.032.03
Duration : 00:04:27
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "Do you think it's cool that like."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.033
Duration : 00:06:13
Source Network : FoxNews
Source Program : Fox 5 News - NYC
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : NYC Police Commander
Quote : "This is Star Wars, one we just recently grabbed this morning. There are about a thousand of um inside there."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Could you find a better looking police officer chief type character? And this is what everyone wants, the successful crack down on the illegal selling of copyright works. Now we move onto:
Clip : 27.034
Duration : 00:07:12
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : CNN Headline News
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker :
Quote : "In addition to the street copies, bootleg copies of Revenge of the Sith are also available on the internet."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Here's an example of how the media conglomerates expand an issue to suit a goal of theirs. Controlling their media is their overall objective. Why allow individuals or organizations who are not the creators or owners the ability to comment when you don't have to. So here they move the physical copy monetary exchange and transfer the copy copy to the internet copy. The computer's communication main objection is to transfer information through copying. So it's an easy step to compare physical copying to computer copying on the internet.
Clip : 27.035
Duration : 00:04:02
Source Network : none
Source Program : mm3
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "My only problem with this is that the internet has given me too many spoilers."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Here's one of those moments which this pieces larger objective allows, the comparison of corporate media and individuals media creations. And the comparison of the internet from the corporations perception and this individuals seem to be quite different.
Clip : 27.036
Duration : 00:04:22
Source Network : BBC3
Source Program : Generation Jedi
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "To various movie web sites, you get phrases like 'George Lucas raped my childhood.'"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : One of the other main aspects of the internet is teh noobie h4tr3d ti!t. And the phrase 'George Lucas raped my childhood' is a classic. The origin of the phrase internet scholars have tracked back to an article by Mark Altman who was criticizing the Special Editions. The article states: "The CGI digital enhancements "destroy the magic of the original," declares Mark Altman, a diehard Star Wars fan and editor-in-chief of the monthly cult mag Sci-Fi Universe. "For those who grew up on Star Wars - a really seminal film for a lot of us - it's kind of a shock to see it butchered. It's like watching your childhood being raped." Just learned this but the term snowclone applies to variations of the 'x' raped my childhood theme. The phrase might have originated from a news article posted in 1996.05.17, which is around the time of the Star Wars anniversary, the article was about a real case, and the article has the abused stating this to be snowcloned phrase.
Clip : 27.037
Duration : 00:28:28
Source Network : none
Source Program : GLRapedOurChildhood
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Hot Waffles
Quote : "And I just wanted to die, when I saw Greedo shoot first. That's why we say. George Lucas raped our childhood, George Lucas raped our childhoooood. But there was more to the story."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Hot Waffles performed their song built on this phrase at the Star Wars Revenge of the Sith Hollywood line.
Clip : 27.038
Duration : 00:05:29
Source Network : CBS
Source Program : The Late Show with Craig Furgueson
Air Date : 2005.05.16
Speaker : Craig Furgueson
Quote : "Digital technology. Was invented by anti-social nerds. Who don't leave the house."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : An on the humor front, nothing like cliche's to appeal to the masses.
Clip : 27.039
Duration : 00:05:29
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "Did you know bootleg versions of Star Wars are already available online."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Yes.
Clip : 27.040
Duration : 00:11:03
Source Network : ABC
Source Program : Jimmy Kimmel Live
Air Date : 2005.05.28
Speaker : Jimmy Kimmel
Quote : "You know as soon as the movie came out, it was up on a website available for uh download. Illegal downloading. But the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security put a stop to it. They busted downloaders intensities."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Busting Downloader IntensitiesÉ hehehehe That was the goal of companies like Overpeer, but they expired a few years prior. Would be interesting to find out that our government was poisoning p2p waters but it's doubtful. But why spend resources there when you can use evidence provided by another organization and use that to then carry out your job and prosecute your citizens.
Clip : 27.041
Duration : 00:07:12
Source Network : CBS
Source Program : The Late Show with Craig Furgueson
Air Date : 2005.05.16
Speaker : Craig Furgueson
Quote : "They steal music and movies on their computers. See I like the old days, when thieves had to leave the house."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : I don't remember hearing stories from the old day of people leaving the house to steal music and movies. Music was sung and people resang it with out any complaints.
Clip : 27.042
Duration : 00:04:09
Source Network : Animal Planet
Source Program : Animal Icon's "Star Wars Creatures"
Air Date : 2005.05.00
Speaker : Rick McCallum
Quote : "Most of the villains are really technological. There not, you know, real."
Explanation : It's odd that a spokesman for an organization at the forefront of technology, could use this kind of spooking language.
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Again he's a spokesman for a company which is known for creating technology. And he's saying that technology is a not real villain.
Clip : 27.043
Duration : 00:06:03
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : American Morning
Air Date : 2005.05.26
Speaker :
Quote : "US Immigration and Customs officials are cracking down on a website called Bit Torrent."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Please a little research here, yes Bit Torrent the company has a website, but Bit Torrent is a protocol. Guess this was the first time this fool or maybe it was CNN itself was hearing about this computer technology. According to the press release by the FBI's Cyber Division and ICE this was the "first criminal enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright infringement on peer-to-peer (P@P) networks". Also even though Elite Torrents had 133,000 members, Operation D-Elite only targeted administrators and 'first providers'.
Clip : 27.044
Duration : 00:29:20
Source Network : U.S. Government - Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Source Program : Elite Torrents
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : none
Quote : "FBI Footage"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : So here's the video provided by the FBI and ICE of how they found out about and identified the Revenge of the Sith leak. Now they probably didn't find it themselves, they were lead to this site by the MPAA, but as well see somethings got lost in translation. It's sorta pertinent that they would use a search engine to find a website they already know the address for. Many individuals have made the conclusion that search engines are just as responsible for the finding of copyrighted materials as p2p application or Bit Torrent search engines. But even though this media file was made available to every news organization to show their side of the investigation, the search engine connection (explicitly Google) was not focused upon in the coverage. Failed attempt to link search engines into the piracy chain, good try. As you'll read later, other search engines have fallen to the MPAA's desires. Anyway continuing, ICE use google to search for the term "elitetorrents.org" which is the name of the website. They then show how from the EliteTorrents.org website they can search to find the "star wars sith" movie. Even though the 8th link down on the front page is a file called "Star.Wars.Episode.III.Revenge.of.the.Sith.TC.SVCD-TUN(nuked)". This TUN release though has a cyrillic crawl and is most likely from Russia. First link after the search is "Star.Wars.Revenge.of.the.Sith.Episode.3-DVDR" and according to the stats at the time of this video, 1290 people were actively seeding, but the torrent file had been downloaded 5,737 times. The 1.43 gb size makes it a viewable presentation but not a quality DVD output. Over 600 comments is just incredible for talk back on a torrent file. Especially for one that's only a day old. Now 48,097 check out the torrent info page, 26,015 downloaded the torrent file, and at this point 5,737 had downloaded the sith.ISO file. The ICE team highlight the upload date, 2005-05-18 19:45:08. Then they pop up a new program window running the media player VLC. Except the file being played is called 'star.wars.episode.3.trailer.ws.pdtv.ac3.xvid-fqm.avi', how that's not the same file as being targeted as the Sith leak. Plus the video shows the file length to be 0:02:59 about more then 2 hours short of the actual movie length. But you've got to give them props, even though there's no audio, they've used the clip from the discussion between Anakin and Chancellor Palpatine where Palps is saying 'The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Is it possible to learn this power. Not from a Jedi." But of course this is also the opening of the Trailer so maybe no contemplation was given for the choice of clips the ICE people used. They then close the trailer and up pops the FBI/ICE takedown wallpaper. And that's the extents of 'ICE_EliteTorrents_May2005.avi' interesting that it was posted to archive.org a free repository for media. But errorly the Segment description says that 'Scene 3) ELITETORRENTS.ORG site is launched, and video of pirated Star Wars movie begins playing." That is complete erroneous. Also to add weight to the google piracy chain idea, Segment description says "Scene 1) Web browser shows Google homepage. Scene 2) Mouse cursor points to Google search box, and elite torrents is entered." That is not what what written into the search field.
Clip : 27.045.01
Duration : 00:05:04
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "The Empire hijacked... online."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : 'The Empire' in this case an allusion to Lucasfilm was used by many programs when discussing this issue.
Clip : 27.045.02
Duration : 00:05:04
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : C-3P0 (Anthony Daniels)
Quote : "I feel so helpless"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : A phun reuse of the RotS trailer material. Although it's the Empire referred to in the previous clips, and 3Po falls into the Rebel camp, but the text is what it's about not the full thought out conjecture.
Clip : 27.045.03
Duration : 00:05:04
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "Internet Pirates"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : According to a 2005 Michael J. Garcia, Homeland Security assistant secretary for immigration and customs enforcement, quote "Internet pirates cost U.S. industry hundreds of billions of dollards in lost revenue every year from the illegal sale of copyrighted goods and new online file-sharing technologies make their job even easier." With this in mind then why were only a handful of people targeted?
Clip : 27.046
Duration : 00:03:18
Source Network : CBS
Source Program : The Late Show with Craig Furgueson
Air Date : 2005.05.16
Speaker : Craig Furgueson
Quote : "They give themselves such glamorous names, they're Internet Pirates."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.047
Duration : 00:02:15
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "Commandeer Episode 3, on the web."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.048
Duration : 00:02:27
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : Right Now
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker :
Quote : "People are going to find a way to bootleg almost any movie.
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Tagline "The Empire vs. The Pirates" In a Salon.com article they define "The First Law of Piracy" as the most popular albums, movies and TV shows shared, are done so as a sign of success. and he goes on to state that the Third Law: "This isn't about right or wrong, legality or illegality. It just is."
Clip : 27.049.01
Duration : 00:08:25
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Hayden Christensen
Quote : "Ah yeah, I nicked a few things."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Again here's Jay Leno focusing on what was taken from the set instead of the movie itself. It's as if there was some weird cabal where when talking about Star Wars you had to mention some sort of unauthorized ownership transversal.
Clip : 27.049.02
Duration : 00:08:25
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "Nick. See nicking sounds better then just stealing."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : And here's more terminology play, sharing/pirating/nicking/stealing/borrowing/sampling.
Clip : 27.049.03
Duration : 00:08:25
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Hayden Christensen
Quote : "Doesn't it."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.049.04
Duration : 00:08:25
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "You're not a thief."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Ahhh.
Clip : 27.049.05
Duration : 00:08:25
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Hayden Christensen
Quote : "It's a little less harmless."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.050
Duration : 00:04:26
Source Network :
Source Program : Movie Delivery
Air Date : 2005.07.15
Speaker :
Quote : "Woah like pirates."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.051
Duration : 00:06:01
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "In real life, evil comes in the form of internet pirates that are trying to illegally distribute the film, on the web."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.052
Duration : 00:07:03
Source Network : CBS
Source Program : The Late Show with Craig Furgueson
Air Date : 2005.05.16
Speaker : Craig Furgueson
Quote : "Arrrrr Arrrrr Garrrr, That's what I be talking 'bout. That's right, I'm an internet pirate. I'm just downloading."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.053
Duration : 00:04:28
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker : "John" Movie Downloader
Quote : "I click one button, it's done with in an hour and a half, DVD quality."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : First off, if anyone knows please inform "'John' Movie Downloader" that %20 would like to interview him. Thanks in advance. This individual gave the perfect quote to the media types attempting to portray the easy of online copyright infringement to protect their cache of intellectual property media empire. But as shown by the FBI/ICE video, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Plus it also doesn't get into the installation of the software and other business. So let's roll that FBI/ICE video again, with an added bonus.
Clip : 27.054
Duration : 00:33:17
Source Network : U.S. Government - Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Source Program : Elite Torrents
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : none
Quote : "FBI Footage"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : This run through of the footage leaves in the FBI/ICE takedown splash page which was installed on the Elitetorrents.org webpage after they were transferred domain ownership. The revised webpage also contained the character combination, "RTJKJAS". People have found this 'word' on other websites taken down by the FBI/ICE.
Clip : 27.055
Duration : 00:04:09
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "We're told this new technology is beyond anything scene before."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Love phrases like this, when you can't take the time to verify some information, just use the idea that so-and-so said something, but make sure it's a large point to scare your audience into submission. Heck this same technique was used above. Having a media library archive online for everyone to sift through, will promote research into topics by anyone. Instead of falling into the trap of fear of new technologies, especially one like Bit Torrent which will be used by the industry to get out their content, cheaply and efficiently.
Clip : 27.056
Duration : 00:17:26
Source Network : none
Source Program : C3_02
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : none
Quote : "George Lucas! no camcorders allowed this is mpeg from my still"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Again here's a segment from a random individual which provides a great sense of clarity on the prior issue of new technology. All over governments are clamping down on picture taking of buildings (to fight terrorism), corporations are saying you can't film on their property (it's our intellectual property), but does that stop this guy, who's camera (traditionally thought of as a still image capturing device) can now act as a video camera. It's been almost 5 years now and now everyone's phones can do what he's done. Content industries problem is not just the individuals, but it's the creators of new tech.
Clip : 27.057
Duration : 00:07:05
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "And a week before Episode 2 Attack of the Clones opened in 2002. Bootlegged Cloned copies hit the world wide web."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Showing a trend, CJCTV did some research into the past Star Wars bootlegs. It makes perfect sense that the new Star Wars movies were at the cusp of technological advancements. And in this time frame, developments in the distribution of massive amounts of information was the significant advancement. Star Wars fans grew up learning about the advancements made by Industrial Lights and Magic. A portion of fandom is involved into the digital communications revolution. All three of the Prequel Trilogy Star Wars movies were found online shortly after theatrical release.
Clip : 27.058
Duration : 00:06:09
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : John Malcolm
Quote : "Six hours before it was released in the theaters, and within 24 hours it had been downloaded over ten thousand times."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : This was one of the positive developments in the bootlegging of Star Wars movies from the viewpoint of the MPAA. Both "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones" were found online earlier then "Revenge of the Sith". I'd like to find out when RotS actually originally left the facility where the time code print was lifted. The time coded file moved between many people's hands so it could have been a week or two before the upload to Elite Torrents.
Clip : 27.059
Duration : 00:04:15
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Dean Garfield
Quote : "Last time we checked there were tens of thousands of people who had downloaded it."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : This number has some validity, based off of the FBI/ICE video. This was proof that a system could provide the content people wanted in a reasonable manner to at least these individuals. I guess the MPAA/Industry wants the wait time to be zilch, so that's why it's taken so long for them to implement their own online video distribution system.
Clip : 27.060
Duration : 00:06:13
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : American Morning
Air Date : 2005.05.26
Speaker :
Quote : "Where ah ten thousand people have stolen Revenge of the Sith the six Star War film. and"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Taglin "Minding Your Business - The Feds Strike Back" Interesting that the two prior individuals, one a representative of the MPAA and the other a co-worker, they use the term download, yet this fellow goes with stolen.
Clip : 27.061
Duration : 00:05:01
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "But some fans didn't pay to see it. They copied it illegally."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Well the internet is rarely free, there's some paying to get online.
Clip : 27.062
Duration : 00:10:16
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Anderson Cooper 360
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : Anderson Cooper
Quote : "Even before it's release. Copies of the latest Star Wars flick have appeared on file sharing networks, that cause such congestion, that downloads we're taking more then 40 hours even over high speed connections."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Tagline "Star Wars Downloads"
Clip : 27.063
Duration : 00:08:07
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "And i'm guilty of this. Well I tried to download it off the internet today, but somethings wrong with my computer. I wound up with a video of Darth Vader having sex with Paris Hilton."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : The adultification of Star Wars has been a slow moving idea. Maybe because George was raising kids as the trilogy developed, or because the kid market is the easiest to tap into economically, but attempts by fan culture to put an adult spin or contribute adult thoughts to the franchise have been meet with a hard head. The internet is full of adult spins on the franchise, it will be interesting to see which ones develop into functioning products or even just literature which is allowed to percolate in it's own procreative juices.
Clip : 27.064
Duration : 00:08:08
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker : Clive Thompson (Wired Magazine)
Quote : "And the geeks are the ones using the technology. So it's viewed as a test case, of exactly exposed is Hollywood to online downloading."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Tagline "Space Invaders - 'Star Wars III' Found Illegally on Internet".
Clip : 27.065.01
Duration : 00:09:18
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Hayden Christensen
Quote : "You can get 50 thousand dollars on E-Bay for it."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : More suggestive editing.
Clip : 27.065.02
Duration : 00:09:18
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "Really."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.065.03
Duration : 00:09:18
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Hayden Christensen
Quote : "If things ever... go awry for me."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.065.04
Duration : 00:09:18
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Jay Leno
Quote : "I may have to nick a one of those myself."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.065.05
Duration : 00:09:18
Source Network : NBC
Source Program : The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Hayden Christensen
Quote : "Yeah"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.066
Duration : 00:05:26
Source Network : Court TV "The Investigation Channel"
Source Program : Celebrity Justice CJCTV
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "It's the FBI getting involved to bring balance to Hollywood's financial force."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Must be a Star Wars fan writing this script because the puns just don't stop. One of the key factors in Operation D-Elite was targeting a U.S. based Bit Torrent Tracker. To move this technology out of the hands of the casual users into a business solution. To accomplish this you have to handle the problem in pieces. The MPAA has more influence in the United States then anywhere else, most likely, so the RotS leak became their choice to make a point on their home turf. And the data they collected was enough to convince the FBI/ICE. The Bit Torrent protocol reveals the IP address of the people connected to a torrent. Users can block IP addresses when they connect to a torrent. If the industry had invested in the technology at the time of the release, developments like trackerless torrents and plug-ins which aid in the anonymity of online communications would have been less likely to be used by the majority of file sharers.
Clip : 27.067.01
Duration : 00:16:26
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker :
Quote : "In a statement, Lucasfilm says it will pursue anyone with the unauthorized sale or purchase of copyrighted materials and insure they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : They have a good history of this. But in this case they farmed out the task to the MPAA who collected evidence then farmed out the job to the FBI/ICE. Bottom Scroll : "Counterfeiters were selling illegal DVD copies of "Star Wars: Episode III" on Beijing's streets." China is to the US what the US used to be to the UK. A pirate nation ignoring the copyrights of another country. The street bootlegs of New York and Beinjing most likely had the same source the Elite Torrents leak. And it would take a few weeks for an subtitler to create the backstroke of the west, which would laughably enchant those with the weird culture clash sensibility.
Clip : 27.067.02
Duration : 00:16:26
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker :
Quote : "The MPAA says penalties range from hefty fines to possible criminal charges."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Another example of a taking head reading a pre-supplied statement.
In this case several individuals served jail time, home arrest and fines.
Clip : 27.068
Duration : 00:05:14
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : Right Now
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker : Paul Dergarabedian (Box Office Tracker)
Quote : "They've actually ahh prosecuted people for this. It's a huge offense it's a federal crime.
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Notice the pause. And then the roll into the phrase that pays, or at least makes the issue someone else's problem." Paul is the 'President of Box-Office' of a company called Media By Numbers. He takes stats provided by others and writes things about the stats for other press outfits to quote. Some of his brilliance is summed up in his review of 'Aliens vs. Predator' quote: "If you're a fan of the Alien movies, you want to see this movies. If you're a fan of Predator, you want to see this movie." So in essence like %20, Paul Dergarabedian is a shill.
Clip : 27.069
Duration : 00:02:26
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : Coundown
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Keith Oberman
Quote : "An arrest, police make."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Tagline "Star Wars - Big Bucks, Big Scandal"
Clip : 27.070
Duration : 00:06:05
Source Network : ABC
Source Program : Jimmy Kimmel Live
Air Date : 2005.05.28
Speaker : Jimmy Kimmel
Quote : "And I personally glad to see the Department of Homeland Security involved in this. Now that we have the terrorism licked."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.071.01
Duration : 00:12:00
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker : Clive Thompson (Wired Magazine)
Quote : "The genie is out of the bottle, and Hollywood is going to have to figure out, how to make money off of it."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Very few technological revolutions haven't been embraced by the wallets of the public. The recording of music onto wax cylinder didn't halt people from going to concerts, sheet music didn't stop people from hearing other artists perform that material, radio transmissions which broadcasted lots of music into every home didn't stop people from going out to concerts, even though their friends had the same record which they could have borrowed they still bought another copy, even though people could buy an audio cassette and record off the radio they still bought, even though the VCR allowed people to record television broadcasts they still went to movies and still watched commercials, CDs created perfect copies and unparalleled audio clarity and still people bought another copy, often of something they already had the record and cassette of, napster users had the largest library of music ever assembled at their mouse's finger tip yet napster users purchased more CDs on average then any other demographic. It's been clear for sometime that if the material is available it will be paid and payed attention to. But also what was learned from the napster generation is that with volume comes understanding and appreciation. 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' attempts to show how the same logic can apply to future interactions with media, to promote a rational understanding of the society around us.
Clip : 27.072.02
Duration : 00:12:00
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Sunday Night
Air Date : 2005.05.22
Speaker :
Quote : "They say downloading today can be compared to the threat to the movie industry, posed 20 years ago by the VHS tape. Which now makes millions for the industry."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : The problem seen by the content industries is that the digital format might be the final upgrade in their arsenal. Over the last century, recordings went from wax cylinder to vinyl records to tape cassettes to compact discs. Each time the same material was purchased with an upgrade of quality or convenience. The digital format at this point represents the end of this upgrading purchase issue. The mp3 of today is the same mp3 of tomorrow. Why the general public never orchestrated a boycott of new formats until the content industries provided some return for lesser pay when they bought the same material. That was the gluttony of consumer culture. But with environmental concerns looming, some individuals are choosing to consuming less.
The visuals of this segment are of "'John' Movie Downloader" and he's visiting the previous incarnation of newzbin.com a search engine which tracks .nzb files from a selective index. Similar to searching for a certain filetype in most other search engines. Newzbin was a public search engine at this time. In May 2008, after being contacted by the MPAA, Newzbin closed it's doors as a public search engine. The version of RotS was a version of the time coded workprint by a release group called ViSA. (file name 'Star.Wars.Episode.3.Revenge.of.the.Sith.WP.DVDR-ViSA' "swe3.scr-visa") Their logo a reworking of the credit card company except with lowercase 'i'. The .nfo for this release shows that ViSA probably re-released a version they found, many of the .nfo categories were filled in with 'dunno's. Quoting the .nfo "WEEEEEE, ripper named the rare funny, inst' he a hoot. nuke this if you want. it's real. check a rare or two could be a SCREENER, looks more like a finished Workprint, since there's 2 fuck off big timers :) Another release from ViSA:about time ViSA actually did something for YOU!" Ok 'John' Movie Downloader or someone else is highlighting the Viewed category, which is the number of times the .nzb was searched for, not the actual downloaded versions.
Clip : 27.073
Duration : 00:11:12
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : Right Now
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker : Paul Dergarabedian (Box Office Tracker)
Quote : "You know, I don't know that that will, obviously it hasn't hurt the box office thus far. But I think the true fans, they don't want to see it on some bootleg DVD. They want to see it properly in a theater on the big screen."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Besides the first statement is is all wrong. Can't confirm the hurt box office idea since the predetermined outcome can't be enforced is the leak never happened to find out where the box office would have ended up. What the heck is a true fan? Some will watch these movies in any format at any time, they can appreciate the material how ever it is dished out to them. Again this is the push for the public to appreciate quality. But they faultier the argument by claiming that theaters are the correct presentation. Criticizers of bootlegs often point out that in bootlegs (which remember are recorded in theaters) have distorted pictures, people's heads in the way, noises of people around the recorded, etc. Why not realize that the theater experience is about seeing it with other people and their change in emotion. It's tons of fun to go see a movie opening day with a roaring crowd, of even then you go and the movie turns out to be not what everyone was expecting so people start yelling at the screen. Makes for a story to tell. The wider the spectrum the more attention might be given. Embrace tiered systems. Allow for as many variables as you can. Some people might want to watch a movie but they have an old machine so like with online trailers, have several sizes available.
Clip : 27.074.01
Duration : 00:18:08
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : American Morning
Air Date : 2005.05.26
Speaker :
Quote : "There's no company behind this, no individuals, sorta organic software. So they are targeting users."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : After their initial mistakes with their understanding of Bit Torrent, they get closer. But what's the difference between an individual and a user? So in the RotS leak case, the MPAA collected information in which they were able to differentiate between when the downloaders did what they did, and were able to track, locate, and eventually arrest many involved. So why did they not cast a wider net and collect funds from the tens of thousands who they caught in the act. Both content industries headed by the RIAA and MPAA have repeatedly made examples of certain infringers. The RIAA has taken the lead and attempted the hard push legally, while the MPAA has bided it's time since their content has the weight of significance and is a larger file size. I wonder if the time will come where the general public will become more cognizant of the split between information and entertainment. And as that happens will they drift away from content perceived as entertainment. For instance if everyone had their home videos online, would more people watch that material over the latest television broadcasts. If individuals used their phones to record events would people watch less of the infauxnews opinion programs. How do things shift when everything is recorded and made available for review and comment.
Clip : 27.074.02
Duration : 00:18:08
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : American Morning
Air Date : 2005.05.26
Speaker :
Quote : "Still makes a record this past weekend."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.074.03
Duration : 00:18:08
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : American Morning
Air Date : 2005.05.26
Speaker :
Quote : "yeah, all the people who steal it, are probably going to see the movie anyway, and go buy it as well. But we know about people who are that into it. Ah... Ah let's talk about."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Oh these are the moments I hope for watching television, the moment where you sense that someone is going to speak what they believe. Unfortunately this individual caught themselves and moved onto another issue. But a more defined explanation about 'those people' who steal, go see and buy a movie would have been fascinating TV.
Clip : 27.075
Duration : 00:09:00
Source Network : FoxNews
Source Program : Fox 5 News - NYC
Air Date : 2005.05.20
Speaker : Andrea Day
Quote : "Counterfeiters costs the movie industry million of dollars every year. But when we saw what was on this foney DVD. Your best bet is to see it here."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : The worst part of counterfeiters is that it's a waste of materials. These copies are generally thrown out, very few survive, they are seen as disposable. This culture of disposability is a product of the consumer product culture, where objects are made as cheap as possible to reach a wider audience, but also leading to the use of worse components which leads to less wear and tear these devices can endure in a normal life time. Also the voiding of warranties to fix products is beyond the reach of most users. This leads to more items in the landfill etc. So a generation or two has grown up buying a series of products they re-buy every 5 years. This disposability on a one hundred dollar device, means that a two dollar movie will receive the same treatment. So who knows how many counterfeit items are piling up in landfills. The footage in China and elsewhere of bulldozers destroying mountains of discs also leads to the disposability of media. Shifting most media consumption away from a physical medium will be very great for the environment.
Clip : 27.076
Duration : 00:06:06
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : Right Now
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker : Paul Dergarabedian (Box Office Tracker)
Quote : "There's this notion of maybe releasing films day and date, both on DVD and in the movie theater, to avoid the pirates."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Also most five years later and some of this is starting to happen.
Clip : 27.077
Duration : 00:02:29
Source Network : MTV
Source Program : Total Request Live (TRL)
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : (visual Hayden Christensen wearing a Darth Vader helmet enters a Blockbuster)
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : This transition worked well, guy talking about day and date release. Flip to main actor of said movie entering video rental chain, then cut to clip of said main actor in actual movie going...
Clip : 27.078
Duration : 00:04:03
Source Network : SkyOne
Source Program : Feel The Force
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen)
Quote : "I want more. And I know I shouldn't."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : We go to school for the first major portion of our live, and we're told to learn more and more, yet all of a sudden we should stop wanting to learn more.
Clip : 27.079.01
Duration : 00:02:22
Source Network : various
Source Program : Pepsi TV Commercial
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Yoda (Frank Oz)
Quote : "You do not want."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Another critic of the Star Wars phenomenon needs to speak about it's advertising. Yes advertising make money, but it also undermines the legitimacy of your material. Here we've got Yoda stealing sugar water from someone.
Clip : 27.079.02
Duration : 00:02:22
Source Network : various
Source Program : Pepsi TV Commercial
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "I do not want."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.080
Duration : 00:02:00
Source Network : various
Source Program : Pepsi TV Commercial
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Yoda (Frank Oz)
Quote : "Desire you not."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.081.01
Duration : 00:04:08
Source Network : various
Source Program : Pepsi TV Commercial
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "I do want."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.081.02
Duration : 00:04:08
Source Network : various
Source Program : Pepsi TV Commercial
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Yoda (Frank Oz)
Quote : "Want do not."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.081.03
Duration : 00:04:08
Source Network : various
Source Program : Pepsi TV Commercial
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "Do."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.081.04
Duration : 00:04:08
Source Network : various
Source Program : Pepsi TV Commercial
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Yoda (Frank Oz)
Quote : "Do not want."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.082
Duration : 00:04:25
Source Network : none
Source Program : backstroke of the west
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Anaking Skywalker (James Earl Jones)
Quote : "NNNnnoooooooooooooo!"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Here's a clip from the backstroke of the west where the english term 'No' was translated into 'Do not want' as seen in the subtitles. Weird coincidence that even through the cross cultural current that the same motif that people should not desire is portrayed? This 'No' goes from RT03:08:50:08 to RT03:08:55:02. Almost 5 seconds.
Clip : 27.083
Duration : 00:04:22
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Anderson Cooper 360
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : Anderson Cooper
Quote : "For our money though, why break the law when you can simple download the Star Wars Kid."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Notice how he says 'for our money'. Here's an individual blessed with unlimited media consumption, he works for one of the few (4?) major media organization, he never has to worry about ever 'NOT' being able to see anything. He's got an organization working to bring everything he wants/needs to his attention. The internet brings this a step closer to everyone. And what does he then do, he sends his audience to watch a viral video internet meme who's origins has brought significant pain to the one being taunted. A prominent case of cyber-bulling. Classic taunting power trip by the high and mighty of the media elite. Since the Star Wars Kid video was released in 2002 and gained popularity and meme status in 2003, how no one at CNN could have not seen the insensitivity of airing the clip and having the announcer comment further is another document of the rift growing between internet culture and the controllers of media. So anyway %20 replaced the Star Wars Kid segment with a cut scene from Star Wars of Harrison Ford saying 'Schmuck'. The internet attempted to get the Star Wars Kid into Episode III, the petition gained almost 150,000 signatures.
Clip : 27.084
Duration : 00:01:06
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : at the Movies
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker : Han Solo (Harrison Ford)
Quote : "Schmuck"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.085
Duration : 00:02:14
Source Network : CNN
Source Program : Anderson Cooper 360
Air Date : 2005.05.19
Speaker : Anderson Cooper
Quote : "Ahhh the Star Wars Kid."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.086
Duration : 00:01:06
Source Network : MSNBC
Source Program : at the Movies
Air Date : 2005.05.21
Speaker : Han Solo (Harrison Ford)
Quote : "Schmuck"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information :
Clip : 27.087.01
Duration : 00:02:22
Source Network : SkyOne
Source Program : Feel The Force
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Peter Serafinowicz
Quote : "I don't like you either."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Here's the voice of Darth Maul doing an interpretation of Dr. Evazan. Edited in to reinforce the displeasure with the previous douchiness of a major media opinionews anchor.
Clip : 27.087.02
Duration : 00:02:22
Source Network : SkyOne
Source Program : Feel The Force
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Dr. Evazan (Alfie Curtis)
Quote : "I don't like you either."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : And the actual movie clip.
Clip : 27.088
Duration : 00:12:12
Source Network : none
Source Program : backstroke of the west
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : Obi-wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor)
Quote : "Who.... Who could have done this?"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Ok this clip is used as a pause for reflection. The scene is filled with dead bodies strewn around, symbolically like the lives affected by the activities played out in the chapter. The backstroked subtitles ask the pertinent question, "This is what who fuck". What just happened? Who did this? Oh phuck. Now will this reflection ever happen, will society look back at the lives manipulated by their activities and the action/response of others. Track record says no, there have been several rounds of industry vs internet vs individuals and all those 'i's don't form an 'us' or 'we' just yet. and before we can catch out breath, back into the conflict.
Clip : 27.089.01
Duration : 00:07:22
Source Network : none
Source Program : l33t Subtitled Trailer of Revenge of the Sith
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : l33t m4r(
Quote : "Who could have done this?" (crapXXor! We got pawned!!!1!)"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Here was a chance to show the same clip as interpreted by different creative entities. The original shows Obi-wan attempting to deal with the appalling actions of his apprentice. The backstroked subtitle imply what Yoda would have said next, that he knows but just won't deal. While the l33r subtitles go with the interpreted realization, that Obi-won's been duped by his apprentice.
Clip : 27.089.02
Duration : 00:07:22
Source Network : none
Source Program : l33t Subtitled Trailer of Revenge of the Sith
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : l33t m4r(
Quote : "Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become." (A dirty haXXor that Anakin punk is!)"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Jack Valenti, long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) had this opinion: "The excitement of unlimited access to untold quantities of information has blurred in the mind of some that taking what is not yours or what is not freely offered to you is stealing, period." And that's really not debatable, but there is a climate where significant portion of society will allow for their creations to be freely offered and reworked. The Creative Commons is the licensing policy which attempts to create this database of information. Viewing everyone as 'A dirty haXXor' will only get you left out of the Creative Commons revolution. So there's the thesis, this presentation shows how media could be reused to inform if people willingly gave too the system. I think people should be excited about unlimited access to untold quantities of information, if you can learn everything, would you not?
Clip : 27.090
Duration : 00:06:00
Source Network :
Source Program : TFocus
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "Eigen fleischer de Star Wars fans. Vieten de exclusivite di schletsetvisen"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : I don't have any clue what's being said, but the clip of the monitor makes for a good transition.
Clip : 27.091
Duration : 00:03:24
Source Network : Nippon TV
Source Program : Zoom-in SUPER
Air Date : 2005.07.05
Speaker :
Quote : "Star Wars Episode Three Cokiadiedess"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : I don't know how to spell that so this translation is incorrect, it's a try.
Clip : 27.092
Duration : 00:12:23
Source Network :
Source Program : Today
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker :
Quote : "It's the final installment of the arguable the greatest movie saga ever told. Episode Three Revenge of the Sith. The third prequel which leads us into the Original Star Wars."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : and a nice slow read of the focus of these stories.
Clip : 27.093
Duration : 00:03:01
Source Network : MTV
Source Program : Total Request Live (TRL)
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Alani "La La" Vazquez
Quote : "We're hanging out at Skywalker Ranch, it's really really interesting."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : %20 thought the MTV coverage of Star Wars was atrocious. And this individuals expression and statement reinforce this notion. Plus the 'interesting' term is one of those words which is said when not meant, as a way to deflect. I should count the times this project got the interesting label.
Clip : 27.094
Duration : 00:01:00
Source Network : Animal Planet
Source Program : Animal Icon's "Star Wars Creatures"
Air Date : 2005.05.00
Speaker : George Lucas
Quote : "That didn't really work."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : So here %20 used the creator to reinforce his previous notion. See above.
Clip : 27.095
Duration : 00:00:25
Source Network : none
Source Program : l33t Subtitled Trailer of Revenge of the Sith
Air Date : 2005.XX.XX
Speaker : l33t m4r(
Quote : "ROFL"
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : Then use the l33t trailer to laugh at the joke.
Clip : 27.096
Duration : 00:03:18
Source Network : G4
Source Program : Electric Playground
Air Date : 2005.05.XX
Speaker : Julie Stoffer
Quote : "Stay tuned, cus we're going to be right back with more Star Wars excitement."
Commentary Review Continued Insight Information : and end the segment with a 'be right back' clip.
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%20 Honors C&D l33t Week with an interview with RotS l33t Trailer creator m4r(.
One of the ephemeral internet creations which could be attributed with compounding the viral video craze which would spawn free video sites like youtube or dailymotion is the l33t subtitled version of the Star Wars Revenge of the Sith trailer. Created by m4r( (Marc Nuar) an avid gamer. As the internet culture expanded, it left a confusing adjustment period for all involved. Lucasfilm in the depths of the Prequel Trilogy releases felt it necessary to cease and desist m4r('s l33t'd trailer. That letter can be read on m4r('s site along with the translation into l33t sp33k. (http://nuar.lunarpages.com/) The Cease and Desist (C&D) is a tool in the belt of everyone with litigative aspirations or when you find something you don't or can't appreciate and want that action to halt all propagation. %20 interviewed m4r( on his experiences:
%20 : What made you create the trailer?
m4r( : As a Star Wars fan I was very excited when the trailer was released. After watching it several times with friends, all gamers of various sorts, we began making goofy comments about it. Those 'peanut gallery' comments inspired me to create the 133t subtitles for the trailer.
Seems like you had a full month before getting the letter?
Yes, the 133t trailer was up for just over a month before gathering enough attention for Lucasfilm to send the C&D.
How bad was the initial bandwidth hit? How did the setting of mirrors happen?
The first two days were not bad, as I just sent the page to a handful of friends. On the third day bandwidth started jumping upwards with over 1000 downloads, so a few friends volunteered to help by posting mirrors.
How many of them fell to the demand?
Suddenly, about a week after it was posted, it apparently went viral and the views exploded. All of a sudden I was getting hits from dozens of blogs, and even found that I was being linked from the front pages of huge sites like BoingBoing and Digg. In less than a 24 hours period it was downloaded over 10,000 times. My bandwidth (and the bandwidths of my first mirrors) crumpled. As the mirrors began failing, the internet community stepped in, with dozens of people offering to help by mirroring. The demand was too much for most mirrors, bringing down most within just a few days.
Any clue how many views it might have gotten in that first week, month, etc?
The first 5 days totaled about 10,000 downloads.
The first 7 days totaled about 30,000 downloads.
The first 14 days totaled about 120,000 downloads.
The first 25 days totaled about 200,000 downloads
By the time I took it down, after just over a month, it was downloaded an estimated 350,000 times across all mirrors. These number of course, only reflect downloads. I have no estimate for how many times it was torrented or viewed on sites lilke iFilm. All in all, it was quite amazing, considering YouTube didn't even exist yet, and online video was new to many people.
It sounds like there was just the one C&D contact, but how did that contact affect how you've worked afterwards?
Yes, I just got one C&D from Lucasfilm. I just made the whole thing for kicks and it had already gone WAY farther than I had expected, so I was fine with taking it down to avoid any possible legal complications.
Was the supposed violation ever explained further?
No. I even sent two emails to Lucasfilm, but they responded to neither.
Did any of the mirrors get the same C&D?
Not to my knowledge.
What's your opinion of the Cease & Desist process?
The current C&D process set in place by the DMCA may work for corporations, but it can, in essence, bully the individual or small developer by pitting them directly up against the faceless legal department of a behemoth. Lucasfilm was not required to respond to my inquiries and, since I have no legal weight to throw around, did not have to defend their stance.
Do you think you got contacted because of your paypal donation link?
I don't think so, as it wasn't mentioned in the C&D, and many of the mirrors were on business sites and sites with paid advertising. I ended up getting donations that were enough to cover my initial bandwidth overage charges plus another two months of my standard hosting plan
Or was the explosion of mirrors/hits causing a disruption to the official trailer, in your opinion? When you started offering merchandise?
At its peak, my 133t trailer page was showing up as the 3rd Google result when searching for Star Wars trailer. I think that this is probably what triggered the C&D. Even today a the page shows up on the first page of results when Googling for star wars revenge of the sith trailer. lol
Did you track the expansion of your piece as it migrated through the internet/bloggosphere?
I did look at my web stats quite often, especially the referring pages. Google, BoingBoing, and Digg were the top referring sites by volume. There were probably hundreds of forum threads and blogs linking to it.
Any odd places in your opinion where it ended up?
There were links and discussions on it from the official Lucas forums and theForce.net. Many posters there were upset when Lucasfilm sent the takedown notice.
Were you able to discuss the issue with a lawyer? What were their suggestions?
No. I wasn't interested in getting a lawyer, as I had nothing to gain from it. Lucasfilm's lawyers did not respond to my emails. I had just done the whole project as a laugh and I went much, much, much beyond what I had expected. I was pleasantly surprised by how many people had enjoyed it.
How was that process? Did you reply or just follow through with their request?
I just complied with their request. My work was already done. :)
With the 5 year anniversary of the trailer coming up, any plans?
lol. Not really. I've given thought to putting the trailer back up, but there isn't much point to it.
Your initial iFilm.com mirror is now owned by Spike.com which has an exclusive deal with Lucasfilm to air the movies, odd, weird neeto?
Amusing! I find it funny that I have to watch a commercial on their site before it plays the 133t trailer.
Did anyone ask you to l33t speak other trailers or projects?
A few people made suggestions, but I think it was best left as a one-time work.
What would you have changed, now looking back?
I would have changed a few of the translations. lol. A few of them I never really liked, but I didn't think it would matter, as I didn't expect it to become widespread at all. Other than that, it was a fun experience.
What's your opinion of video hosting sites which continue to play the l33t trailer?
Good for them. lol It wasn't my trailer to begin with, so I claim no ownership. The only ones that do irk me are the ones who have watermarked their website name on the bottom of the video or the ones who have replaced the closing credits with their own, claiming to be the creators. But the world is full of uncreative people whose only hope is to try to steal credit for themselves, so I don't pay those much mind.
Why do you continue to keep the take down page alive?
I left it up Because it still gets lots of hits. lol Even now, over 4 years later, it still gets several hundred hits a day (mostly from various google searches now) and I still get an email every few months from someone who enjoyed it or wants to find it.
Well, that was an entertaining trip down memory lane.
mARC
Many thanks to m4r( for his time. And if you seek it out, one of the mirrors is still active spreading the subtitled L33t trailer luv.
To continue the re-appropriation spirit of this work, the Intermission of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' takes the RotS Trailer l33t subtitles and composes them over a live performance of the Revenge of the Sith trailer performed at the 2005 Star Wars Celebration.
| Chapter | Length / Duration | Title : "Quote" :
(Video Available : Ogg codec - Theora.org developed by Xiph Org
| Play Options : Download |
| 26. | 01:44:38:25 - 01:47:26:10 | Trailered Intermission : "crapXXor! We got pwn3d!!!1!" :
| Play : Play+ : Mp4 : Ogv |
The Cease and Desist is a tool for anyone. To deny it exists or believe you don't use it is teh suxx.
According to Lucasfilm Representative Steve Sansweet Quote: "Other studios filing cease and desist orders, going after the fans, this isn't what Lucasfilm was about." (quote via: http://www.digitalcity.com/2009/07/28/comic-con-steve-sansweet-on-star-wars-fandom/)
Here is a random selection from teh Lucasfilm Cease and Desists archives.
http://nuar.lunarpages.com/
Quote: "Notice: As of 4/25/05 Lucasfilm Ltd. has requested that all potentially copyrighted materials and links be removed from this site."
http://www.seattlepi.com/theater/192350_lucasfilm.html
Quote: "Jet City, which is part of Wing-It Productions, has been screening old movies and redubbing them live for about seven years. The cease-and-desist letter they received from Lucasfilm Ltd. on Sept. 15 was their first."
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/missed_it_lucasfilm_ltd_sends_cease_and_desist_to_diesel_sweeties_creator/
Quote: "It looks like the issue that drew LucasFilm Ltd's attention to Diesel Sweeties creator Rich Stevens is a selection of t-shirts by Stevens that LucasFilm believes reference trademarked Star Wars material, albeit in a slightly obtuse way in some cases."
http://news.cnet.com/Lucasfilm-fights-for-the-rights-to-Tatooine.com/2100-1023_3-235678.html
Quote: "Lucasfilm today confirmed it is trying to gain ownership of the domain name from Mount.
"This is not at all unusual We send many cease-and-desist letters to people using domain names that are our registered trademark properties," company spokeswoman Jeanne Cole said. "We vigorously protect our trademarks.""
http://www.echostation.com/features/lfl_wookiee.htm
Quote: "The stories abound across the net, and fear strikes all of us -- another webmaster receives a Cease and Desist (C&D) letter from LucasFilm's (or an affiliated company's) corporate attorneys to pull graphics or a storyline featured on his site."
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/starwars052505.htm
Quote: "This morning, agents of the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed 10 search warrants across the United States against leading members of a technologically sophisticated P2P network - the final entry in the Star Wars series, "Episode III -Revenge of the Sith," was available for downloading"
http://fancinematoday.com/2008/10/01/who-killed-star-wars-the-dark-redemption/
Quote: "The fall-out of Lucasfilm's C&D on the fan film would play out for a few years, although now the company sponsors the annual fan film competition beloved by many fan film fans. Still, it's fair to wonder how popular TDR could have become had it not been stalled by Lucas' lawyers. Would it have reached Troops-level icon status?"
But there are also examples of Lucasfilm attempting to key into internet alternatives, like this Obama/Star Wars Luke 'A New Hope' t-shirt design:
http://tcritic.com/archives/a-new-hope-obamastar-wars-spoof-now-available-as-a-t-shirt/
General Cease & Desist Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cease_and_desist
http://www.chillingeffects.org/
A joint project between the Electronic Frontier Foundation and several universities to monitor uses and abuses of intellectual property rights on the internet. Contains a database of cease-and-desist letters to which either senders or recipients can contribute.
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Please fill-out the :F:L:I:M:S:I:P:L:A:S:T: :D:A:T:A:B:A:S:E: Questionaire?
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:F:L:I:M:S:I:P:L:A:S:T: :D:A:T:A:B:A:S:E:
Questionaire - Page 01
A Message from a Maker of Films.
After each of my previous feature presentations, in interviews i've mentioned my desire to return to my roots and continue the experimental direction of my film school education.
The abstract presentation you now hold is one of these projects brought about through a collaborative effort by my Learning Division, several internet companies, media producers and other willing participants in the expansion of human exploration through learning.
Lucas Learning has in the past focused on the promotion of K-12 educational development. This project is the beginning of the Adult Education and Research Expansion Pack*. The enclosed material is a first look at the end product of a possible interactive video experience which mines the depths of societies media output. Taking that detritus and searching / cutting up / recompiling that material to seek out themes and memes of society. This version caters towards the Star Wars phenomenon, but hopefully any topic can get the same treatment, just as simply as using a textual search engine.
Thank you for participating. May the Search Be With You.
Also at this time, i'd be appreciative if you could fill out the below questionaire which is the beginning of an investigation into creating a dedicated TV channel to showcase Star Wars and other Lucasfilm Licensed Material.
Please select your preferred method for watching the Lucasfilm / Star Wars TV Channel?
Would not subscribe ___ Monthly Subscription ___ On-Demand ___
Would you change cable / satellite / internet / phone service provider to gain access to the dedicated Lucasfilm / Star Wars TV Channel?
Yes ___ No ___
Please check the type of programming you'd be interested in watching.
Star Wars Movies : Episodes 1-6 (A New Hope : Empire Strikes Back : The Phantom Menace) ___
Star Wars : Live Action Features (Holiday Special : Ewok Movies : GL's Super Live Adventure) ___
Star Wars : Animated Features (The Clone Wars : Ewoks and Droids Cartoons) ___
StarWars.Com Web Videos (Lynne Hale Diaries : Making Ofs : Rancho Obi-wan) ___
Making of Specials - Official (The Making of Star Wars : Special FX ESB : Classic Creatures) ___
Special Effect Programing (Clapperboard ESB : Horizon - How To Film the Impossible : ) ___
Award Programming (Academy Awards : Visual Effects Society Awards : MTV Awards) ___
Video Game Programming (Gaming Features : Speed Runs) ___
Collector Programming (Hasbro Features : Lego Programming) ___
Movie Reviews (Ebert & Roeper : Local Broadcasts) ___
Cast & Crew Interviews ___
News Segments (60 Minutes ; Local News Segments) ___
TV or Movie Reference Clips (30 Rock, : Buffy : Clerks : Independence Day : Space Camp) ___
Commercial Material (Trailers : Kenner Commercial : Food Tie-Ins) ___
SW Rip Offs / Take Offs (Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam : Star Crash : Uchu Kara No Messegi) ___
Fan Documentaries - Culture (Tatooine Or Bust : Heart of an Empire : StarWoids) ___
Fan Documentaries - Film Production (Deleted Magic : Building Empire : Returning to Jedi) ___
Fan Movies (Revelations : IMPS : Pink Five) ___
Fan Edits (Adywan : Jedi Love) ___
Special Features (ANH : Lost Cut : Archive Material : Cut Scenes) ___
Other - Please Specify
__________________________________________________________________________________
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Questionaire - Page 02
* NOTE : The enclosed DVD's presentation is the first step in a longer process. Comments provided at this juncture will have significant weight to the future of this project. Also it's not recommended to be watched in one sitting. Peruse the chapter titles and if one sounds interesting try it out.
After watching some of the DVD please continue with the questionaire.
Would you be interested in using an online search engine which could compile a video program on your desired topic utilizing online video repositories?
Yes ___ No ___
Since the video search feature will be highly computational, how long would you wait for the search result program to be returned?
Max. 5 minutes ___ Max. 30 minutes ___ Max. 2 days ___
Where you able to comprehend the audio commentary track?
Yes ___ No ___
Did you view any of the non-native tongue subtitles?
Yes ___ No ___
Did you view any of the non-native tongue subtitles?
Yes ___ No ___
Please rate your interest in a similarly construction DVD but who's dedicated main topic was media programming from the Original Trilogy Era. (ANH : ESB : ROTJ - 1977 thru 1987)
No Interest ___ Partly Interested ___ Very Interested ___
Please add any other comments you find appropriate:
__________________________________________________________________________________
If you would like your answers responded too, please provide contact information:
__________________________________________________________________________________
Can we share these answers with our collaborative partners? (Lucasfilm Ltd. : Lucas Learning : Google : Microsoft : Yahoo : YouTube : Daily Motion : Archive.org : public internet)
Yes ___ No ___
Thank you for participating in a future exploration of media interaction.
Data collection & analysis to be conducted by:
Thee Backslacpkping With Media : noneinc.com
Contact : pl1x@earthlink.net (pee . el . one . ex)
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Please fill-out the 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Questionaire?
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Thee Backslacpkping With Media
Questionaire - Page 01
A Message from a Maker of Films.
To fullfil the Adult Education and Research Expansion Pack, who's video search component will hopefully go fully functional and available online in the near future. The enclosed presentation showcases how the search system can help inform those who want to be more informed.
Using 'Star Wars' as the main search query, and probing the depths of media released around the release of Revenge of the Sith, this presentation investigates societal themes and memes which surfaced in the media representation of the Star Wars phenomenon.
Please rate the coincidence factor, that the May 19, 2005 installation of John C. Richter as Acting Assistant Attorney General Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice as a precursor to the May 26, 2005 Operation D-Elite takedown of Elite Torrents, because of the leak online of 'Revenge of the Sith':
No coincidence ___ Semi-coincidental ___ Very coincidental ___
Please rate John C. Richter's May 19, 2005 Summit of Pornography: Obscenity Enforcement, Corporate Participation, and Violence Against Women and Children:
Not successful ___ Adequately Successful ___ Very Successful ___
Please rate Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's policy initiatives to prosecute and jail U.S. citizens because of internet communications:
Not successful ___ Adequately Successful ___ Very Successful ___
Please rate the FBI's Cyber Division's prosecution of the' Revenge of the Sith' leak case:
Not successful ___ Adequately Successful ___ Very Successful ___
Was the sentencing (jail time, home detention and fines) of the 'Revenge of the Sith' leakers:
Lenient ___ Appropriate ___ Severe ___
Should Lucasfilm Ltd. have carried out prosecution against the 'Revenge of the Sith'' leakers instead of the U.S. Government?
Yes ___ No ___
What is RTJKJAS?
F.B.I. website take-down code ___
Resident of Jabba's Sail Barge ___
Return To Justice, Know Jesus As Savior ___
Other ___
Has Lucasfilm Ltd.'s Cease & Desist-ing of the l33t trailer of Revenge of the Sith, sent the appropriate message to creators?
Yes ___ No ___
Should George Lucas's concern for the preservation of movies, be expanded to any Star Wars related media, even if not produced by Lucasfilm Ltd?
Yes ___ No ___
Should the MPAA and the Chinese Government combine their efforts to limit the stream of illegal movies which enter the public sphere?
Yes ___ No ___
Although Operation D-Elite occurred because of the leak of Revenge of the Sith, in some of the court cases against the leakers, Revenge of the Sith was not mentioned. Do you find this to be:
Irrelevant ___ Convient ___ Odd ___
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Thee Backslacpkping With Media
Questionaire - Page 02
* NOTE : This presentation is a continuation of the dialog between the final Star Wars movie, the actions which took place because of it (Cease & Desist of l33t Trailer, Operation D-Elite & backstroke of the west subtitles) and societies response. Please discussion continue.
Have you seen or read the 'backstroke of the west' subtitles?
Yes ___ No ___
Can you read Galactic Basic?
Yes ___ No ___
Would you consider 'Thee Backslacpking With Media' a Video Mixtape?
Yes ___ No ___
Do you view the contents of this DVD as Willful Copyright Infringement?
Yes ___ No ___
Do you consider this DVD presentation as an example of 'Classic Fair Use'?
Yes ___ No ___
Do you agree that since this DVD is dedicated to the Public Domain : Creative Commons License Zero that you are able to freely distribute copies without the creators authorization?
Yes ___ No ___
Would you consider the Support Creatives initiative?
Yes ___ No ___
Please add any other comments you find appropriate:
__________________________________________________________________________________
If you would like your answers responded too, please provide contact information:
__________________________________________________________________________________
Is %20 more:
Consumer Whore ___ Corporate Shill ___ Wannabee Cultural Chimera ___
Data collection & analysis to be conducted by:
Thee Backslacpkping With Media : noneinc.com
Contact : pl1x@earthlink.net (pee . el . one . ex)
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Is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' a Video MixTape (VMT)?
That's for the Video MixTape traders to decide. But %20 has been influenced by the Video MixTape scene. In addition to the varied sourced media onslaught and hard cut pacing, 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' assigns no category to it's recycled presentation, anything was at play and hard content combinations/juxtapositions do occur, often the hallmark of VMTs ability to play with content on opposite ends of the age scale. tBSWM also continues the complex bizarre titling tradition other Video MixTapes have used to carve out their space in the videoverse database. According to the VMT wiki entry, "video mixtures are released for the video geeks", this might explain why the Star Wars internet culture have predominantly ignored/shy'd away from tBSWM, so far. This is where tBSWM begins to verge from the VMT culture, it's a bit over structured. It also abuses the internet video resources which are often seen by VMT creators as not obscure enough, but it also has reviewed those databanks so thoroughly that forgotten or little viewed clips might gain VMT editor approval. Either way, is it really that interesting... Probably not, it could be like the Fan Edit terminology, the 2000+ internet generation is creating their own terms to promulgate their creations. If the works garner enough interest/creativity to create a split off the Tree of the Appropriated Arts, is something only time will tell. Is Video Compilation any better a term then Video MixTape or Video Mix Tape? Blah.
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"The Battle Over Mediascant"
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"Shifting Mediascant Horizon"
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"tBSWM Viewer at the Mediascant Media Temple"
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Please Help Celebrate 'Beginning of Recording' April 1st Giving/Selling Day.
To Celebrate the 'Beginning of Recording' please download 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media', burn a copy and give away or sell copies to anyone willing to watch.
Good places to give away or sell the disc are Tianan Square, Beijing; Time Square, New York; Main Street, Anywhere.
Images courtesy of : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/200401-beijing-tianan-square-overview.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Times_Square_New_York_City_FLIKR_1.jpg
http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A2977/297751/300_297751.jpg
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Please Help Celebrate Annual 'End of Recording' June 4th Backslacpkping Giving/Selling Day?
To Celebrate the 'End of Recording' (I.E. the death of the Magnavox VCR) please download 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media', burn a copy and give away or sell copies to anyone willing to watch.
Good places to give away or sell the disc are Tianan Square, Beijing; Time Square, New York; Main Street, Anywhere.
Images courtesy of : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/200401-beijing-tianan-square-overview.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Times_Square_New_York_City_FLIKR_1.jpg
http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A2977/297751/300_297751.jpg
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Chapter of the Week - Viewing Schedule - 2009.05 thru 2010.05
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' because of it's length and breath, might be better digested in smaller chunks. Below is a schedule so that over the course of a year, in which one chapter a week is watched, by the 5th anniversary of 'Revenge of the Sith' you'll have a better understanding of the media created by anyone/everyone about the Star Wars phenomenon at the time the film franchise closed it's curtains.
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'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' was produced for the memory/dedication of?
In Memory of: 1337 m4r(; Jason Everett Spatafore; Albert Valente, Jessie I. Lumada, Ramon G. Valdez, Michael J. Fousse, Dwight Wayne Sityar, Stephani Reiko Gima, Joel De Sagun Dimaano, Marc D. Hoaglin; Scott McCausland, Grant T. Stanley, Daniel Dove, An Duc Do, Scott D. Harvanek, Samm Kuonen & unknowns & the subtitlers in chinese of 'the backstroke of the west'.
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DVD mules WANTED 4 S.D.C.C.
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The Plea:
Help 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' by taking a few copies (burn your own or i'll send you some) to San Diego Comic Con. Give to the type of individual who might appreciate an experience such as this one. %20 Results : Success! %20's essential being is now dedicated to thee DVD mules who offered up their valuable time and energy to complete this plea. Thee DVD mules have performed beyond all reason, truly exemplary actions have been carried out, and %20 is humbled to know that such valuable individuals still exists. Thank You. |
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Order 725
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The Plea:
Help promote alternative/independent Star Wars fan film / fan edit / fan video / fan media culture. The Play:
The Ploy:
The Not:
Success can be viewed in different forms. 1. Longevity, 2. Location, 3. Size when on screen. So bring a logo, (a portable device playing the actual film is ok too.) and 'do what must be done'.
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(00:00:00) What is the opening blip-vert? :
As stated on all badges, all attendees of Celebration III and Gen Con Indy, consented to being recorded (by audio, visual, and/or other means) for exhibition and exploitation by any means in all media.
This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States of America and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition may result in civil and criminal prosecution.
How long did the production of "Thee Backslacpkping With Media' take?
Why did 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Trailer not meet the criteria for the Official Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge hosted by Atom Films and Lucas Films Limited? (website error is as was sent)
"Dear Star Wars Fan Movie Maker,
Thank you for submitting your Star Wars fan movie!
While it didn't meet our criteria for this round, the Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge now accepts submissions year-round.
In many cases, some simple edits may make your film eligible. For example:
Unfortunately, we cannot speak with each filmmaker individually or make specific recommendations. If you're looking for advice, watch the films that are accepted (http://stawars.atomfilms.com). See what they have in common. Learn from what they do well.
The Force is with you, and we look forward to seeing what you can create!
-AtomFilms"
Why is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' not in the LucasFilm Ltd. Star Wars fan movie library?
A courtesy copy was sent (2009.03.13) to Lucasfilm Ltd, so that they were aware of the impending release, with the following letter.
Enclosed please find a copy of the fan production "Thee Backslacpkping With Media" for you Star Wars fan movie library. If one does not exist, then please give to someone who likes to watch tv.
Everything was returned on 2009.04.30 (post marked 2009.04.27) with the following correspondence.
The material you sent to George Lucas has been forwarded to me for a response. We appreciate your interest in our company; however, because your correspondence contains unsolicited creative ideas or projects, we must return your material to you unread. Accordingly, you will find your materials enclosed.
Lucasfilm has a long-standing policy of returning any unsolicited submission, idea, or project without reading or reviewing it. We hope you understand our need to consistently apply this policy.
We appreciate your interest in our company and hope you maintain your enthusiasm for our productions. Thank you for your interest in Lucasfilm.
Sincerely,
What is Thee next project by %20 & :F:L:I:M:S:I:P:L:A:S:T: :D:A:T:A:B:A:S:E:?
"...retire from professional filmmaking and go into making my own kind of movies, my own sort of abstract, weird, experimental stuff."
"...go off and direct my own little experimental films"
Has 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' been reviewed by tOftMoGITC?
: Authorized for distribution through the Great Golden Shield : to be sold at man stands down tank Square :
: Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Commission for the Comprehensive Management of Social Security :
: The Great Firewall of the People's Republic of China : Modifying your Digital Versatile Disc Menus : is a Posse, Stealing your star wars :
How has the 'Support Creatives' initiative helped the creator of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
On 2009.06.20, %20 was given a dollar. (SN: D93936887F)
Where should comments/e-mail be sent?
E-mail Address : p-l-1-x-@-e-a-r-t-h-l-i-n-k-.-n-e-t (pee el one ex)
(00:03:09) What is 'Star Wars'? : ....
Quote: "I am very concerned about our natural heritage, and I am very concerned that films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them." -George Lucas"
(00:06:51) What is 'Attack of the Blynth'? : ....
(00:19:42) How much money is mentioned in the '$' Chapter? : A Jabba-sized $99,635,000,162.70 and a bajil-gazillion dollars more.
(00:23:42) Who likes to Mod little girls? : Kevin Rose of digg.com.
(00:28:30) How does Democracy, Liberty & Freedom die? : Thunderous Applause!
(00:48:10) Are all of the 501st Stormtroopers represented? : Maybe, join the count in the audio commentary...
(01:03:48) Who likes Wookiee love? : Seth Green of Robot Chicken.
(01:10:55) Who is the Unsmiley Face Guy? : The SUPER SUCKLORD aka Morgan Phillips creator of 'Star Wars Breakbeats' & the radical GAY EMPIRE: HOMO-TROOPER action figure. (http://www.suckadelic.com)
(01:11:15) What are the Vaders trying to spell out? : (don't know)
(01:16:15) Who is this guy acting out Star Wars dressed in black? : Charles Ross of the 'One Man Star Wars' theatrical production.
(01:19:22) Are faggots really everywhere as mentioned in 'Revenge of the Fag'? : Depends on who you ask...
(01:22:09) Nerf-Herders Anonymous Star Wars Reference and Actor Database Author, L. Mangue
(01:29:14) Who is fighting with the Saber-Spoons? : John Lasseter of Pixar & ?.
(01:39:00) Who are these two? : Chris Gore & Dr. Michio Kaku
(01:46:58) When the studios won't give permission
(01:47:25) Michael Rubin who wrote 'droidMAKER: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution'
(01:49:23) What did that blip-vert say? :
(02:02:40) What is the G.N.A.A.? : The Gay Nigger Association of America
The characters and events in this photoplay are ficticious. Any similarity to actual events and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
(02:05:25) Who is this "Tool of Satan" guy? : "It's no JOKE - if you believe in The FORCE, you will go to HELL"
(02:10:58) What is that blip-vert? : Star Whore's 3 : 'Revenge of the Syph' screen cap
(02:18:19) What is that great song and who sings it? : Princess Leia's 'Life Day' Celebratory song from the Star Wars : Holiday Special.
(03:06:24) What is the 'Next Film'? : "The Empire Strikes Back"
(03:14:44) Who wrote the 'Geeking out' vs. 'Vegging out' piece in the commentary track? : Neal Stephenson - Op-Ed New York Times - 2005.06.17
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2001
2001 - 'Star Wars : A Quicktime File' experimental fan film created (bonus feature)
2005
2005.03 - 2005.06 - Recorded tv using couple vcrs and a miniDV camera, would let them run for 6 hours recording several channels which might have SW content. Then after work and in the morning before work, would watch those recordings on FFD looking for mentions. When found those would be dumped to the miniDV camera and moved to iMovie. Also looked for Star Wars media on websites.
2005.09.04 - Began preliminary editing
2005.09.05 - Continued editing
2005.09.10 - More editing
2005.09.11 - Yet even more editing
2005.09.17 - Some editing
2005.09.18 - Yeah editing
2005.09.21 - Continued editing
2005.09.22 - One edit finalized today!
2005.09.23 - Continued editing
2005.09.24 - Continued editing
2005.09.25 - Continued editing
2005.09.27 - Continued editing
2005.09.29 - Continued editing
2005.09.30 - Continued editing
2005.10.01 - Continued editing
2005.10.02 - Continued editing
2005.10.07 - Continued editing
2005.10.08 - Continued editing
2005.10.09 - Continued editing
2005.10.22 - Continued editing
2005.10.23 - Continued editing
2005.10.24 - Continued editing
2005.10.26 - Continued editing
2005.10.29 - Continued editing
2005.10.30 - After Effects work begins - modify online help file to create crawl
2005.11.04 - Illustrator - set Chinese tBSWM logo
2005.11.05 - After Effects work
2005.11.06 - After Effects work
2005.11.16 - After Effects work
2005.11.17 - Continued editing
2005.11.18 - Continued editing
2005.11.23 - Continued editing
2005.11.24 - Continued editing
2005.11.25 - Continued editing
2005.11.26 - Continued editing
2005.11.27 - Continued editing
2005.11.30 - After Effects work
2005.12.01 - Continued editing
2005.12.03 - Continued editing - After Effects work
2005.12.04 - Continued editing - After Effects work
2005.12.08 - Continued editing
2005.12.09 - Continued editing
2005.12.10 - Continued editing - After Effects work
1005.12.11 - Photoshop / Illustrator work - begin working on cover design
2005.12.12 - After Effects work
2005.12.13 - After Effects work - first pass at credits - figure out how to export frames for cover
2005.12.31 - Continued editing - After Effects work
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2006
2006.01.02 - Continued editing
2006.01.08 - Continued editing
2006.01.15 - Continued editing
2006.01.21 - Continued editing
2006.01.22 - Create Trailer by cross cutting Henry Hills' "Money" with "$" Chapter
2006.02.02 - Continued editing
2006.02.11 - After Effects work
2006.02.12 - After Effects work
2006.02.18 - Began Transcribing
2006.02.19 - More transcribing - First attempt at subtitles. Researched online, tried Belle Nuit Subtitler 1.7.5.
2006.02.20 - Transcribing Finished
2006.03.04 - After Effects work
2006.03.05 - After Effects work - Photoshop logo ideas
2006.03.06 - Logo ideas
2006.03.09 - Cover work
2006.03.12 - After Effects work - Convert crawl to be video snippets - Cover work
2006.03.16 - After Effects work
2006.03.17 - After Effects work
2006.03.18 - After Effects work - Begin menu animations
2006.03.22 - Menu work
2006.03.26 - After Effects work
2006.03.27 - After Effects work
2006.03.28 - Chinese babelfish Translation Begins - After Effects work
2006.03.30 - After Effects work
2006.03.31 - Chinese Translation continues
2006.04.01 - After Effects work - Illustrator crawl ideas
2006.04.02 - After Effects work
2006.04.03 - After Effects work
2006.04.04 - After Effects work
2006.04.07 - After Effects work
2006.04.08 - After Effects work
2006.04.09 - After Effects work
2006.04.10 - After Effects work
2006.04.14 - After Effects work
2006.04.15 - Attempt to create Audio Commentary, fails miserable - After Effects work
2006.04.22 - Cover work - Illustrator
2006.04.23 - Cover work - Illustrator
2006.04.25 - After Effects work - realize that the crawl is phucked as new material is added to the editing process - Illustrator credits
2006.05.06 - Continued editing
2006.05.07 - Continued editing - second attempt at Audio Commentary... fail
2006.05.09 - Continued editing
2006.05.13 - Continued editing
2006.05.14 - Continued editing
2006.05.15 - Continued editing
2006.05.17 - Continued editing
2006.05.20 - Continued editing
2006.05.21 - Continued editing
2006.05.24 - Continued editing
2006.05.26 - Continued editing
2006.06.09 - Learned that iMovieHD does not accept the old iMovie file names... Contemplate manually fixing every link to correct some odd transposing textual error. - Web searching for help/fix.
2006.06.16 - Found "iMovie file fixers for OS X" (turns out the problem is that since the project was on an external HD which was formated in a way iMovieHD didn't like so it didn't re-find the clips...) - Continued editing
2006.06.17 - Continued editing
2006.06.25 - Continued editing
2006.07.03 - Continued editing
2006.07.04 - Continued editing
2006.07.15 - Continued editing
2006.07.16 - Continued editing
2006.08.19 - Continued editing
2006.08.20 - Continued editing
2006.08.29 - Continued editing
2006.09.06 - Continued editing
2006.09.07 - Continued editing
2006.09.08 - Continued editing
2006.09.09 - Continued editing
2006.09.16 - After Effects / Illustrator work - version 2 of the crawl begins
2006.09.23 - Continued editing
2006.09.30 - After Effects work
2006.10.01 - Continued editing - Added "Spat Cave" clips
2006.10.08 - Chinese Translation continues - After Effects work
2006.10.10 - After Effects work
2006.10.11 - After Effects work
2006.10.14 - Began learning Final Cut Pro - After Effects work
2006.10.15 - After Effects / Illustrator work
2006.10.28 - Began learning DVD Studio Pro
2006.10.28 - DVDSP work
2006.11.04 - DVDSP work - Chinese Translation continues
2006.11.12 - Chinese Translation continues
2006.11.24 - Continued editing - Added "George and Me" & "A Great Disturbance" clips
2006.11.25 - Chinese Translation continues
2006.12.09 - DVDSP work - Chinese Translation continues
2006.12.10 - DVDSP work
2006.12.18 - DVDSP - began Subtitling
2006.12.19 - EDITING FINALIZED
2006.12.20 - Subtitling - Chinese Translation continues
2006.12.21 - Subtitling
2006.12.29 - Set up Chapter Markers - Subtitling
2006.12.30 - Subtitling
2006.12.31 - Subtitling
.
2007
2007.01.05 - Chinese babelfish Translation Finished
2007.01.06 - Subtitling - Chingrish Translation Begins & Ends
2007.01.07 - Subtitling
2007.01.09 - Subtitling
2007.01.11 - Subtitling
2007.01.13 - Subtitling
2007.01.14 - Subtitling
2007.01.20 - DVDSP work
2007.01.21 - After Effects work
2007.01.28 - After Effects work
2007.01.31 - DVDSP work - After Effects work
2007.02.01 - After Effects / Illustrator work
2007.02.03 - After Effects work
2007.02.04 - DVDSP work
2007.02.10 - DVDSP work
2007.02.11 - DVDSP work
2007.02.18 - After Effects work
2007.02.19 - Subtitling - After Effects work
2007.02.25 - Subtitling - After Effects work
2007.03.03 - Subtitling Preliminarily Finished - After Effects work
2007.03.04 - DVDSP work - After Effects work
2007.04.01 - First post about project to OriginalTrilogy.com
2007.04.28 - After Effects / Illustrator work - Realize that the menus i've created are going to get serious cropped off when shown on an typical tube tv... phuck
2007.04.29 - DVDSP work
2007.05.05 - DVDSP work
2007.05.06 - DVDSP work
2007.05.07 - DVDSP work
2007.05.09 - DVDSP work
2007.05.11 - DVDSP work
2007.05.12 - DVDSP work
2007.05.13 - DVDSP work
2007.06.02 - After Effects work
2007.06.09 - After Effects work
2007.06.10 - After Effects / Illustrator work
2007.06.16 - After Effects work
2007.06.19 - DVDSP work
2007.06.20 - DVDSP work
2007.06.30 - DVDSP work - Collect Audio Commentary transcripts
2007.07.01 - Write / Collect Audio Commentary transcripts - text-to-speech Audio Commentary Information
2007.07.02 - DVDSP work - Write / Collect Audio Commentary transcripts
2007.07.03 - Write / Collect Audio Commentary transcripts - text-to-speech Audio Commentary Information
2007.07.04 - Write Audio Commentary
2007.07.08 - Write Audio Commentary
2007.07.14 - Write Audio Commentary
2007.07.16 - text-to-speech Audio Commentary Information
2007.07.17 - text-to-speech Audio Commentary Information
2007.07.20 - text-to-speech Audio Commentary Information
2007.07.21 - Begin editing Audio Commentary track
2007.07.22 - Audio Commentary work
2007.08.26 - Photoshop Cover work
<-- Real Life (ie work that pays) Intervenes -->
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2008
2008.01.06 - Audio Commentary work
2008.01.26 - Audio Commentary work
2008.02.23 - Audio Commentary work
2008.04.01 - Second post to OriginalTrilogy.com
<-- Real Life (ie work that pays) Intervenes -->
2009
2009.01.19 - Audio Commentary work
2009.02.04 - Audio Commentary work
2009.02.05 - Audio Commentary work
2009.02.06 - Audio Commentary work
2009.02.07 - DVDSP work
2009.02.08 - Audio Commentary Finished
2009.02.10 - Photoshop stuff for webpage
2009.02.11 - FAQ work - screw up original version after working most of the day by resaving to include Chinese fonted information... now it doesn't load in browser...
2009.02.12 - FAQ work - After Effects work
2009.02.13 - FAQ work
2009.02.14 - FAQ work
2009.02.15 - FAQ work - Censor Clip work begins
2009.02.16 - Censor Clip work
2009.02.17 - DVDSP work - Censor Clip Finished
2009.02.18 - DVDSP work - After Effects modify credits
2009.02.19 - DVDSP work
2009.02.20 - After Effects work
2009.02.21 - DVDSP work, FAQ work
2009.02.23 - DVDSP work
2009.02.24 - DVDSP work
2009.02.25 - Audio Commentary tweaked - Credits tweaked
2009.02.26 - DVDSP work - Realized that the chapter markers are now one or two frames off... phuck. FAQ work
2009.02.27 - DVDSP work - trying to figure out dual layer break layer point. FAQ work
2009.02.28 - DVDSP work - trying to figure out dual layer break layer point.
2009.03.01 - DVDSP work - Audio Commentary tweaked - Gave up trying to fix chapter markers, focus on compression settings to get disc to fit.
2009.03.02 - FAQ work - Spend most of the morning coming to the realization that none of the software i've got FCP, DVDSP, VLC, quicktime... none of them will burn in subtitles. End up screen capturing to get chinese burned in subtitles for chapters which will be available from the FAQ. But do find out Ogg has a new video codec named Theora (after the character from Max Headroom!)
2009.03.03 - Website work
2009.03.04 - Fiddling with compression settings to fit onto DVD. FAQ work
2009.03.05 - Fiddling with compression settings to fit onto DVD
2009.03.06 - Manipulate settings to fit DVD_ROM material, and figure out Break Layer point.
2009.03.08 - Finalize cover / disc / insert artwork
2009.03.10 - Thee Backslacpkping With Media has been compressed and a successful test burn has been completed. Start to burn copies to send out... Turns out the new Sony media discs don't work.
2009.03.11 - Roxio Toasts has an upgrade, installed, still the discs won't burn. Go to Staples buy some Memorex, they work. Burn copies (at a blistering 2x) to mail out while printing out the cover and inserts. Each disc is about 30-40 minutes and the printing is about the same. it's a slow printer.
2009.03.12 - Finish burning and printing, 20 copies. Sent out e-mails to offer free copies to people. (19 e-mails, 4 people accept a free copy...)
2009.03.13 - Mailed out 11 copies. Two to the copyright office, 4 to the people who accepted the offer and 5 to several unsuspecting people or organizations.
2009.04.01 - 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is officially released!
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Starring - SW People- George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Jonathan Rinzler -SW Actors- Hayden Christensen, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Samuel Jackson, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz, Ewan McGregor -Celebrities- William Shatner, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Steven Speilberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson -Late Nights- David Letterman, Paul Schaffer, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmell, Craig Ferguson -Fox- Penny Crone, Jodie Applegate -G4:AotS- Sarah Lane, Kevin Perrera -Today- (Jim Bell exec producer) Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, Al Roker, Bob Dotson, Jamie Gangel -Others- Xeni Jardin ABC people: -Good Morning America Robin -, Charlie _, Diane Sawyer, Guy, Sandy Kenyon, Steve, Laure, Sree, Joel Siegel, Diana Williams, Sade Baderinwa, Charles Gibson, Liz Cho -This Week- George Stephanopoulos Access Hollywood Nancy O¡Dell, Billy Bogg, Tony Potts, Shawn Robinson Bob Schaffer, Bill Whitaker -Attack of the Show- Kevin Pereira, Sarah Lane, Brendan Moran -Business Week- Brad Holbrook, Jill Bennett CBS News Bob Schieffer The Early Show Julie Chen, Harry Smith, Hannah Storm, Rene Syler, Dave Price Sunday Morning Nancy Giles, Bob Schieffer Wake Up Call CNBC Fox Brenda Buttner, Bill McCuddy -Ebert & Roeper- Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper Shon Gables -CNN- Anderson Cooper, -American Morning- Miles O'Brien, Soledad O'Brien -CNN Today- Daryn Kagan -CNN Headline News- Robin Meade, -Showbiz Tonight- A.J. Hammer, -CNN Sunday Morning- Bettty Nguyen, Tony Harris -Extra TV- Dayna Devon Summer Movie Magic David Sheehan Ellen Ellen Degeneras, Jimmy Smits Entertainment Tonight Mary Hart, Mark Steines, Leonard Maltin, Fox & Friends E.D. Hill, Steven Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, Kiran Chetry, Lauren Green, Julian Phillips Good Day New York Jodie Applegate, Fox People Dari Alexander, Jodie Applegate, Dick Brennan, Lyn Brown, Lisa Cabrera, Andrea Day, Naamua Delaney, Lisa Evers, James Ford, Stacy-Ann Gooden, Nick Gregory, Karen Hepp, Tracy Humphrey, Lucy Noland, Rosanna Scotto, Mike Woods Cavuto Neil Cavuto Icons X-Play Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb Filter Diane Mizota Electric Playground Tommy Tallarico, Victor Lucas, Julie Stoffer, Jade Raymond, Geoff Keighley Hannity & Combs Paul Hannity, Alan Combs -MSNBC- Dan Abrams, Lisa Daniels, Lester Holt, Keith Olbermann, Joe Scarborough, John Seigenthaler, Alison Stewart, Sharon Tay, Alex Witt, -NB-C Brian Williams, The O.C. Teen Kid News UPN News
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Quote :
Subject : Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge
From : aswfilm@mtvstaff.com
To whom it may concern,
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April 24, 2009
Lucasfilm Ltd., Business Affairs
In crawl form
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Quote :
"...experimental films and that sort of thing, maybe documentaries and that sort of thing."
George Lucas, 1968 - via : Academy of Achievement
George Lucas, 1977.05.25 - via : Rolling Stone
George Lucas, 2005.06.28 - via : Wired
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Public Officers, Yu and Mi, of the Office for the Maintenance of Global Integrity Thru Censorship have reviewed/cleaned this product according to the required standards of decency and moral integritude.
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Subject Heading : tBSWM (other subject headings will most likely be filtered out)
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What happened when %20 sent 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the Library of Congress and the United States Copyright Office?
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
What happened when %20 sent 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the Library of Congress and the United States Copyright Office?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the second Open Video Conference?
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the New York Comic Con?
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
What happened when %20 sent 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the ______ Film Festival?
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
What happened when %20 brought 'Thee Backslacpking With Media' to Star Wars Celebration V?
What happened when %20 asked the ForceCast to review 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What happened when %20 distributed 51 copies at 'The Next H.O.P.E.' (Hackers On Planet Earth) Conference?
What did %20 learn when FOIA's (Freedom of Information Act) Requests were made?
%20 Honors 'backstroke of the west' with an interview with Jeremy Winterson, finder and blogger of the engrish RotS subtitles.
What happened when %20 offered free copies to the individuals who's quote appeared on the CD sleeve print run version?
What is/are the budget/expenditures for 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
How has 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' been released?
What does the DVD Cover & Disc look like?
What were the issues involved in the pressing of 500 copies?
%20 Honors 'backstroke of the west' with an interview with Jeremy Winterson, finder and blogger of the engrish RotS subtitles.
What is a NoA? (Notification of Appropriation) How are they received?
Why did 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' go blank on May 25th, the anniversary of the Death of Star Wars?
What is Operation D-Elite?
What happened when %20 sent 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the ______ Film Festival?
What happened when %20 handed out thirteen copies w/ questionnaires at the 'Jedi Junkies' Premiere Party?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Chapter of the Week - Viewing Schedule - 2009.05 thru 2010.05 :: Is Complete - Thanks for watching!
A Donation option has been added.
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What happened when %20 asked 'People vs George Lucas' and 'Star Wars Uncut' to form the Star Wars Participatory Spirited Trilogy?
What happened when %20 asked 'RedLetterMedia' to review 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Discussion Group?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What happened when %20 asked 'People vs George Lucas' and 'Star Wars Uncut' to form the Star Wars Participatory Spirited Trilogy?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' & poster to the Adidas Launch of the Star Wars shoes with Special Guest?
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' & poster to the Adidas Launch of the Star Wars shoes with Special Guest?
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' & poster to the Adidas Launch of the Star Wars shoes with Special Guest?
Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be watched/downloaded?
What are the DVD Chapter titles?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
How often has 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' been viewed, downloaded, rented or bought?
What is a NoA? (Notification of Appropriation) How are they received?
How often has 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' been viewed, downloaded, rented or bought?
*Help Action* 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' DropLift Day - 2010.04.01.
Please Help Celebrate 'Beginning of Recording' April 1st Giving/Selling Day.
Which Chapter of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is watched the most often?
Which Chapter of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is watched the most often?
How often has 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' been viewed, downloaded, rented or bought?
Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be watched/downloaded?
What happened when %20 sent 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the ______ Film Festival?
What is/are the budget/expenditures for 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What happened when %20 took the OriginalTrilogy.com Petition and 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the George Lucas appearance on The Daily Show?
Are you interested in purchasing full ownership of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
How can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be rented or bought?
How could a User Defined Self Replicating Documediamentary produce itself?
What is/are the budget/expenditures for 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What did %20 submit to 'The People vs. George Lucas' Documentary in relation to 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is a Sequel?
What if 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' became a textual piece?
What happened when %20 sent 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the Library of Congress and the United States Copyright Office?
What have people said about 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
%20 Honors C&D l33t Week with an interview with RotS l33t Trailer creator m4r(.
What happened when %20 handed out copies at the 'Star Wars In Concert'?
What happened when %20 handed out nine copies w/ questionnaires at the io9.com meet up?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Please fill-out the :F:L:I:M:S:I:P:L:A:S:T: :D:A:T:A:B:A:S:E: Questionaire?
Please fill-out the 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' Questionaire?
What happened when %20 handed out nine copies w/ questionnaires at the io9.com meet up?
Reviews of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What happened when %20 replied to the Maxim Magazine request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
What happened when %20 replied to the Maxim Magazine request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
What happened when %20 replied to the Maxim Magazine request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
What happened when %20 link contacted the bloggin' backstrokers on Sept. 24 to honor past Media Premieres?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' a Video MixTape (VMT)?
What are the DVD Chapter titles?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What happened when %20 replied to the Epoch Times request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
tBSWM Subway Posters
What happened when %20 replied to the Epoch Times request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What happened when %20 replied to the Maxim Magazine request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
What happened when %20 asked the ForceCast to review 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What happened when %20 replied to the Maxim Magazine request for information on 'Fan Edits'?
tBSWM Wallpaper
Public Assignments - DVD mules WANTED 4 S.D.C.C.
Public Assignments - Order 725
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Public Assignments - DVD mules WANTED 4 S.D.C.C.
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What happened when %20 asked the label Illegal Art to release 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What material missed being incorporated into "Thee Backslacpkping With Media' but you should check out anyway?
Trivia
What is the significance of the Preservation Quote in Trailer 00a?
What are the DVD Chapter titles?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Public Assignments - Order 725
What happened when %20 took 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' to the Open Video Conference?
How has the 'Support Creatives' initiative helped the creator of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What is the designation of 'SC' (Support Creatives) for?
Why is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' not in the LucasFilm Ltd. Star Wars fan movie library?
What are the DVD Chapter titles?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Fixed some typos.
What is a NoA? (Notification of Appropriation) How are they received?
Fixed some broken links.
How can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be rented or bought?
How was 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' released?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Reviews of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
How was 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' released?
Fixed some random errors here and there.
Chapter of the Week - Viewing Schedule - 2009.05 thru 2010.05
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
What does the DVD Cover & Disc look like?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be watched/downloaded?
How was 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' released?
Please Help Celebrate Annual 'End of Recording' June 4th Backslacpkping Giving/Selling Day?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Where is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' being discussed on the tubes of Thee internets?
Reviews of 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' was produced for the memory/dedication of?
Why is 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' not in the LucasFilm Ltd. Star Wars fan movie library?
Is it true that 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' is a StarWars-sploitation film?
What material was used in "Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What material missed being incorporated into "Thee Backslacpkping With Media' but you should check out anyway?
Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be watched/downloaded?
What are the DVD Chapter titles?
Where can 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' be watched/downloaded?
Help for downloading/recompiling/expanding/burning 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
What have people said about 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media'?
How do you pronounce 'Backslacpkping'?
How long did the production of "Thee Backslacpkping With Media' take?
How was 'Thee Backslacpkping With Media' released?
