Copyright and Parody: BSA103 (Profs) Week 2
BSA103: Week 2
Copyright and Parody:
We were asked to find and analyse five examples of parody and how they were affected/not affected by copyright laws.
1. The Youtube channels Auralnauts, A Bad Lip Reading and others use actual footage from movies, sometimes spanning up to thirty or forty minutes, and records new voices and sound effects, taking the original film out of context and making it appear goofy or nonsensical.
This type of parody seems more extreme than older parody movies, that simply used certain imagery or designs, for two main reasons:
1) These videos uses actual footage from the products they are parodying
and 2) Those older parodies usually took inspiration or jokes from a large array of popular movies (e.g. the Saturday Night Fever throwback in Airplane) here it focuses on one specific movie, shown usually in chronological order.
The reason these haven't been removed from Youtube by the copyright holders, even though some of them show major sections of footage from the originals, is because of how much the final product is changed. With new sound and editing, the context is completely changed and it doesn't really affect the viewer's experience or view of the original product. These parodies also aren't usually negative, instead opting for a neutral and 'goofy' standpoint. It's something that anyone can enjoy without any hidden agenda.
https://youtu.be/Tj-GZJhfBmI
2. The old SNL/MTV skits wherein the creators insert actors into footage of a movie, where they don;t belong. This was seen pretty often with award shows e.g. the Batman Begins/Jimmy Fallon MTV skit called "Tankman Begins".
- Same case with the Auralnauts example, by changing up the context, by taking a nuetral standpoint, they avoid copyright infringement, just with a more clearly defined beggining and end to the new creative input.
https://youtu.be/BTLHiWVQpYc
3. Using someone's likeness or a character design in a parody or comedy movie.
- Usually people are pretty unforgiving when it comes to their likeness being used in movies, which leads to unneeded legal disputes, but a parody gets away with it - no matter what light (negative or positive) you shed on them. A great example of this is Michael Jackson's likeness being used in Scary Movie 3, in which the creators more than infer that he is a pedophile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAeofWDUArU
4. Parodies/Jokes using actual trade marked fonts, colours or symbols, for example this fake McDonalds ad:
This uses many trademarked McDonalds features, and sheds t5he company in a poor light, but since it's a parody (and commentary) it slips by.
5. The most beloved Minecraft cover songs, in which people on Youtube take a popular song, replace the lyrics with something relating more closely with Minecraft and makes a Minecraft themed music video.
These take an established, and copyright owned song, and re-records it with new lyrics, and gets away with monetizing it. Technically this is parody, although I'd say it's really riding the line. Once again by making it "funny" and nuetral the creators can get away with it, although admittedly this one can actually be harmful to the original creators - as they are diverting traffic and potential customers away from the source content and towards this free alternative, As hard as it may be to believe I am sure that there are people who prefer these versions over the originals simply for their novelty.
https://youtu.be/X_XGxzMrq04
Copyright and Parody:
We were asked to find and analyse five examples of parody and how they were affected/not affected by copyright laws.
1. The Youtube channels Auralnauts, A Bad Lip Reading and others use actual footage from movies, sometimes spanning up to thirty or forty minutes, and records new voices and sound effects, taking the original film out of context and making it appear goofy or nonsensical.
This type of parody seems more extreme than older parody movies, that simply used certain imagery or designs, for two main reasons:
1) These videos uses actual footage from the products they are parodying
and 2) Those older parodies usually took inspiration or jokes from a large array of popular movies (e.g. the Saturday Night Fever throwback in Airplane) here it focuses on one specific movie, shown usually in chronological order.
The reason these haven't been removed from Youtube by the copyright holders, even though some of them show major sections of footage from the originals, is because of how much the final product is changed. With new sound and editing, the context is completely changed and it doesn't really affect the viewer's experience or view of the original product. These parodies also aren't usually negative, instead opting for a neutral and 'goofy' standpoint. It's something that anyone can enjoy without any hidden agenda.
https://youtu.be/Tj-GZJhfBmI
2. The old SNL/MTV skits wherein the creators insert actors into footage of a movie, where they don;t belong. This was seen pretty often with award shows e.g. the Batman Begins/Jimmy Fallon MTV skit called "Tankman Begins".
- Same case with the Auralnauts example, by changing up the context, by taking a nuetral standpoint, they avoid copyright infringement, just with a more clearly defined beggining and end to the new creative input.
https://youtu.be/BTLHiWVQpYc
3. Using someone's likeness or a character design in a parody or comedy movie.
- Usually people are pretty unforgiving when it comes to their likeness being used in movies, which leads to unneeded legal disputes, but a parody gets away with it - no matter what light (negative or positive) you shed on them. A great example of this is Michael Jackson's likeness being used in Scary Movie 3, in which the creators more than infer that he is a pedophile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAeofWDUArU
4. Parodies/Jokes using actual trade marked fonts, colours or symbols, for example this fake McDonalds ad:
This uses many trademarked McDonalds features, and sheds t5he company in a poor light, but since it's a parody (and commentary) it slips by.
5. The most beloved Minecraft cover songs, in which people on Youtube take a popular song, replace the lyrics with something relating more closely with Minecraft and makes a Minecraft themed music video.
These take an established, and copyright owned song, and re-records it with new lyrics, and gets away with monetizing it. Technically this is parody, although I'd say it's really riding the line. Once again by making it "funny" and nuetral the creators can get away with it, although admittedly this one can actually be harmful to the original creators - as they are diverting traffic and potential customers away from the source content and towards this free alternative, As hard as it may be to believe I am sure that there are people who prefer these versions over the originals simply for their novelty.
https://youtu.be/X_XGxzMrq04
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