Rogue428
New Member
Hey folks, you guys may remember that a while back I offered up a run on some extremely high-end replicas of the Nine Doors to the Kingdom of Shadows, the book from the film "The Ninth Gate" and the novel "The Club Dumas". For me, it was the culmination of about 3 years of research and hard work, and I promised my wife that I would only ever make 1 more. That 1 was supposed to be the one used to illustrate a tutorial on how to make a "cheaper" version, not 100% screen-accurate, but a nice replica none-the-less.
I've had the resources on how to make your own 'home' version on my site for a long time now and I'm afraid that the binding part of the tutorial keeps getting pushed to the perpetual back-burner, as new prop projects and 40K suck up my spare time.
Here comes the dilemma part. Recently, I was contacted by an expert prop-maker with an excellent reputation in production work, who was asked by several people to recreate the book. He asked me for help and it is quickly apparent to me that he doesn't quite know what he's gotten himself into. I mean this book is on the scale of a Grail Diary in detail (at least I think so....but I'm partial).
Anyway, I find myself with a small quandary.
Option 1: I could just tell him to use the stuff I have on my website, which would result in a nice looking replica but is just a start and he would have to do a lot of footwork....and I mean pretty much all the research I did...to get it close to screen accurate. The stuff I have up on my website is pretty much for folks that want something that looks like the Nine Gates, but isn't a page for page recreation.
Option 2: I turn him over all my research, files, etc. And allow him to recreate a 90% screen-accurate book. (for my project I was able to get the books bound by the actual propmaker for the film, so that gives my replicas an edge.) However, I only made 16 copies of my run and I wouldn't want these newer replicas to somehow devalue the one's currently in select collectors' hands.
Option 3: Something between Option 1 and 2. I give him some stuff, but not all the text and not all the research. I would only provide him with the stuff I actually developed. Parts of the project were lovingly crafted by other members here and that stuff, until I hear otherwise, I'm treating as proprietary and will not go to anyone else (same for Option 2 btw...only my stuff).
Just so we're clear. I do not intend to work on this project ever again. It was great to work on, but it was very expensive and time consuming and I want to move on. BUT. As a devout follower of the hobby, I want everyone to be able to get the props they want. And apparently there is more demand for this than I thought.
Advice? What seems the correct way to go? Is there a precedent for this kind of thing?
I've had the resources on how to make your own 'home' version on my site for a long time now and I'm afraid that the binding part of the tutorial keeps getting pushed to the perpetual back-burner, as new prop projects and 40K suck up my spare time.
Here comes the dilemma part. Recently, I was contacted by an expert prop-maker with an excellent reputation in production work, who was asked by several people to recreate the book. He asked me for help and it is quickly apparent to me that he doesn't quite know what he's gotten himself into. I mean this book is on the scale of a Grail Diary in detail (at least I think so....but I'm partial).
Anyway, I find myself with a small quandary.
Option 1: I could just tell him to use the stuff I have on my website, which would result in a nice looking replica but is just a start and he would have to do a lot of footwork....and I mean pretty much all the research I did...to get it close to screen accurate. The stuff I have up on my website is pretty much for folks that want something that looks like the Nine Gates, but isn't a page for page recreation.
Option 2: I turn him over all my research, files, etc. And allow him to recreate a 90% screen-accurate book. (for my project I was able to get the books bound by the actual propmaker for the film, so that gives my replicas an edge.) However, I only made 16 copies of my run and I wouldn't want these newer replicas to somehow devalue the one's currently in select collectors' hands.
Option 3: Something between Option 1 and 2. I give him some stuff, but not all the text and not all the research. I would only provide him with the stuff I actually developed. Parts of the project were lovingly crafted by other members here and that stuff, until I hear otherwise, I'm treating as proprietary and will not go to anyone else (same for Option 2 btw...only my stuff).
Just so we're clear. I do not intend to work on this project ever again. It was great to work on, but it was very expensive and time consuming and I want to move on. BUT. As a devout follower of the hobby, I want everyone to be able to get the props they want. And apparently there is more demand for this than I thought.
Advice? What seems the correct way to go? Is there a precedent for this kind of thing?
