<div class='quotetop'>(Noeland @ Nov 16 2006, 01:23 PM) [snapback]1359013[/snapback]</div>
I guess my point is, recasting seems to be taken on a case by case basis, and it is usually discussed and debated and folks make up thier own minds ultimately, even if the mods get involved and ban a member.
I hope that wasn't too all over the place. :confused
[/b]
Yeah, it was all over the place, Noeland...But it's such an odd issue, that I don't know how you can address it thouroughly without BEING all over the place, (and while it was all over the place, it was as consise and eloquent an answer as I've ever seen on the subject.)
Now, recasting is not something that really effects me. I am not a prop-maker. I have no talent for such things, and am not really interested in trying my hand at it. I am here strictly as an admirer and patron of the wonderful artists whose work is here on the RPF, and to occasionally help someone track down information that I have the privilage of being familiar with.
But, it's a weird thing. I'm a media developer, and tend to work as a freelance video producer. I have, (and still do,) worked in direct video production, where I go out, shoot, edit, and sell directly to an audience, (event videos mostly.) It's amazing the number of people who will come up to the sales table and say, "we'd like two of these, please," and the other person says, "no. Let's split the cost and I'll make you a copy."
What do you do? That's clear copyright infringement, but tell them that, and see what happens?
Do you go after them? How? They're not taking your product, and then selling it to someone else. They're not making a profit, and in that case, they don't feel like they're stealing, (and by the letter of the law, it's such a gray area, that you couldn't convince a judge or jury of it anyway,) but you've lost a sale that you would have otherwise had.
Now, people can talk about piracy, and rant and rave about big business losing a couple bucks not being a big deal, but for a small producer like me who's putting wear and tear on equipment, raw materials, (videotape, DVD media,) software and hardware to put it together, it's a slap in the face.
Just like it's a slap in the face of a person who spends countless hours researching a prop, extrapolating dimensions, sculpting, and creating a work of art. If he decides to share that with people who want it, and someone just simply lifts a cast from their scupt and sells it themselves, or even just makes a copy for himself or a friend. Same difference.
But what do you do? Stop producing or stop selling altogether? Stop doing what you love to do? Stop sharing your passions with others, (and maybe making some money at a hobby that you can dump right back into your equipment so you can go out and tackle bigger projects. Funding the love of the work. That's what I do with video.)
No. You plow forward, and continue to do what you've always done.
But, the way I've dealt with the people who say, "just give us one video," is I refuse to sell to them, and calmly explain why. If they get huffy, I explain how much work goes into these things, and that copying it for distribution, even to just one other person, is not only illegal, but immoral.
I've lost buisiness, but it's buisiness I could afford to lose for taking the high road.
By branding recasters as such, we run the risk of descending into Witch hunting. Branding people we disagree with or have had bad experiences with as such, or the risk of truly being mistaken and claiming their own hard work as yours, (hard to prove one way or another.) But, by pointing out that a person has recast their work we send out a warning, not just to the recaster, but to other artists who might otherwise sell an original scupt that they've spent countless hours on, only to have knock-offs of it appear on e-bay 3 weeks later, costing them potential sales of their product.
Slippery Slope.
And I think the choice is a personal one. Recast if you feel the need or desire, but be willing to accept the consequences of that choice. You can't recast what people won't sell you.
Sell to an accused recaster if you feel the need or desire, but don't expect special treatment of your work.
Buy from a recaster if you feel the need to, but know that while you might be saving a couple bucks, you're taking funding away from the artists who could use it to make the next prop piece of your desire.
All the best,
-Dan
