AMVs may not cahnge the world, they may not mean much to anyone else and they dont have the same protection as truly unique creations that we can copyright and patent and call our own. They are just trivial things made out of fandom for fun.
However, despite this, there are people who work very very very hard in making them. Because of this, there should be a certain amount of respect for the hard work put into such amvs and projects. This is also my argument against using other people's footage. When we make amvs they are mainly in homage of the anime - when someone makes an amv using someone elses footage that is not in homage.
With the DDR project, it has started quite small really and has overcome many hurdles. Everything is in place for allowing vast numbers of new creators in the future projects and the project has gained a notoriety to the extent where it is very desirable to be an editor of a ddr video as part of the project.
Now of course there are no laws to say that someone can't come along and want to do the next one first before the (for lack of a better word) 'official' one is done it is in a way disrespectful to the hard work put into the project.
In the real world, if I was to make a movie called Star Wars: Episode 3 and finish Lucas' story before he could I wouldnt be allowed because of copyright. It's his original work and I'd be busted for copyrigth infringement. However, even without the legal problems it would be rude and slightly disrespectful.
Now, to bring it all back to the problem at hand we have TommyRude who really wants to do a project of his own. Good luck and godspeed to him. However, it is undeniable that doing this particular project will undermine the hard work of the original ddr project organisers. It's not about heirarchy or anything like that - it's just a case that it's going to be a big let down for people working on the ddr project.
Nobody really wants a situation where we have two different versions of the 5th mix, one organised by Tommy and one by Brad, Quu and Hsien. For starters there's soooooo many tracks. I honestly dont think there are enough creators to spread around
Also, I can't really see the ddr project editors wanting to make their 5th mix tracks when there's already one out there. The DDR project was a grand scheme that has been developing year by year. Within this grand scheme there is the idea of adding more and more creators and finally having a whole range of mixes done to anime music videos. It's a great idea and one that really works well as a project that grows and develops year by year. But that all gets fucked up. When TommyRude makes the 5th mix project, that grand scheme which wasn't his idea gets trashed. - it undermines the whole thing. It's not only the hard work done by Brad, Quu and Hsien but the work of all of the creators on those projects.
Again, I'll reiterate that there is nothing stopping TommyRude or anyone from doing this but it still doesn't make it a good thing. I honestly think that this undermines all the hard work done in making the ddr project the success it is. It might not look much from the outside - 'a bunch of videos, how hard is that?' - but the reality is that it's been a LOT of work for all involved.
I don't expect everyone to see it like this but that's how I see it. If it was a different project I'd be behind it all the way but to use the popularity of the ddr project and to then go and undermine all the hard work that has been put into making the project a success... well, I just don't think that's right.
I know "it's only amvs" but work and effort are the same however you look at it. I wouldnt like to build a house only to have someone else want to come and sleep in it just because they think it's fair game. :/
