Babylon 5- The Lost Tales *SPOILERS*

[Jan]

Looks like it must have been pulled. It was there yesterday and I checked the link over at B5TV and got the same message. Drat.

Jan

[b5finland]

Over on B5TV.com, Shabaz posted a link to an .mp3
Jan

Link says "Sorry, no posts matched your criteria"

[Jan]

Over on B5TV.com, Shabaz posted a link to an .mp3 of JMS's spotlight at NYCC. It appears that the audio portion of the Director's Video Blogs is included so be aware that there are going to be some minor SPOILERS. It's a lot of fun listening to JMS at these things.

Jan

[KoshN]

When the original B5 wrapped, all the wireframes, set pieces, wardrobe, designs, and renderings of the station, ships, planets, and everything was handed over to WB, which requested nothing be copied for personal archives.

What makes you think they'd act otherwise?

This:

http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-16663

"That's the logical thing, but logic and show business rarely dine at the same
table.
....
Studio logic is kind of like looking at the gorgon...too close and you're
turned to stone."

When it comes to companies, I'm naturally pessimistic and paranoid. I tend to wear steel plate on my back to prevent getting stabbed there. I'm reminded of "The Scorpion and the Frog."

http://allaboutfrogs.org/stories/scorpion.html

It's the nature of companies like Warner Brothers to act like the scorpion.

The bit that you quoted is no more than standard business practice as is complying with same. What they produced was work for hire and had as much business being taken home as the memos or spreadsheets I produce at work - none.

Yeah, I guess you could look at it that way. I came up against that once, and had to turn everything in, which I did. Still, I kept a copy of a few things (programming routines where I came up with something clever that I thought I might need again), and I've adapted them for use in my personal databases.

My reaction to that paragraph was kind of a wink-and-nod, though. Seems to me that if some personal archives from the former staff were quietly collected and used, it'd be a bit of protection for those folks to publicly claim that recreated fan files were used. Who knows, might be a mixture of both.

Interesting. If it results in some of the original files being used, I'm all for it. It'd be good to see common sense find a way around a studio Catch-22.

[arius]

great article, look forward to the next ones. cant believe the spoiler, will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[B5_Obsessed]

If you've looked at the storyboard, that sequence is pretty much what the spoiler is.

Keep your eyes SHUT! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH......................*gurgle*

[B5_Obsessed]

What's funny is that this is the kind of thing that was suggested online, like "Hey, they should just go to the the guys who made "In the Pirkinning" and all those great old Spacebattles.com movies and use their meshes and wireframes as a starting point." But who really thought they would do it? I think it's very cool for all parties involved. The fans come through again.

[iamsheridan]

If you've looked at the storyboard, that sequence is pretty much what the spoiler is.

Thanks a lot! I'll read the rest then.

[Edit]HEY
The spoiler part was in the last paragraph of "Tim Earls, storyboard artist"!

And HEY
There is a page two to the article!
[/Edit]

[Jan]

[QUOTE=KoshN;36299][quote]When the original B5 wrapped, all the wireframes, set pieces, wardrobe, designs, and renderings of the station, ships, planets, and everything was handed over to WB, which requested nothing be copied for personal archives.

If Babylonian wasn't permitted to keep any of the CGI, what makes you think that Warner Brothers would be easy on the fans having any of the CGI, even if they made it from scratch themselves?

What makes you think they'd act otherwise? The bit that you quoted is no more than standard business practice as is complying with same. What they produced was work for hire and had as much business being taken home as the memos or spreadsheets I produce at work - none.

My reaction to that paragraph was kind of a wink-and-nod, though. Seems to me that if some personal archives from the former staff were quietly collected and used, it'd be a bit of protection for those folks to publicly claim that recreated fan files were used. Who knows, might be a mixture of both.

Jan

[KoshN]

I'm not sure that's fair, KoshN. From the very beginning, WB has been good about allowing images on websites as long as the proper copyright info was included. Yes, JMS went to bat for the fans to get them to take that attitude, but I've never heard of any unjust Cease & Desist letters going out from WB against fan websites like I have about Paramount and Trek sites.

Jan

The thing is, using the fan creations pretty much forces Warner Brothers to look at and be aware of those fan creations, and prior to this it seemed to me that they were just tacitly looking the other way. When The Eye is forced to stare at these things is when you can have trouble. Like I said, I'm GLAD that they acted the way they evidently did, but it wouldn't have surprised me if they'd have taken a spiteful stance, especially given this:

When the original B5 wrapped, all the wireframes, set pieces, wardrobe, designs, and renderings of the station, ships, planets, and everything was handed over to WB, which requested nothing be copied for personal archives.

If Babylonian wasn't permitted to keep any of the CGI, what makes you think that Warner Brothers would be easy on the fans having any of the CGI, even if they made it from scratch themselves?

[Shabaz]

Hi!
Could you please tell me where the spoiler is situated!?

I've read the first introduction, and everything under "J Michael Straczynski" except for the very last paragraph, as well as looked at the pictures including the storyboard (knowing that Galen is in the movie, I don't think we should put too much into it ).

So, what else can I read without reading the spoiler???

Regards

If you've looked at the storyboard, that sequence is pretty much what the spoiler is.

[iamsheridan]

Wow! Serious spoilers indeed! This is definitely the kind of spoiler that is worth avoiding! Unless this ends up being yet another instance of things not being what they at first appear. Either way, part of me wishes I hadn't read it, but the other part of me finds myself exponetially more eager now for this thing to be released so I can buy it!!

Hi!
Could you please tell me where the spoiler is situated!?

I've read the first introduction, and everything under "J Michael Straczynski" except for the very last paragraph, as well as looked at the pictures including the storyboard (knowing that Galen is in the movie, I don't think we should put too much into it ).

So, what else can I read without reading the spoiler???

Regards

[Kevin]

while paramount has done it the worst offender of this type is fox and lucas on star wars stuff. they had fans arrested for doing little videos wearing storm trooper outfits and other such shinagins, as well as C&D letters, forcing sites down, etc

I don't know if I really agree with that, Lucasfilm has been very supportive of the fan film competitions, and has typically supported and worked with a lot of the major SW sites out there. George Lucas himself even appeared and participated in Stephen Colbert's Green Screen Challenge, which was most certainly *not* authorized ahead of time.

Hell, the fan community of the 501st even got themselves worked into the official Extended Universe for christ's sake. I don't really feel like SW fans have a whole lot to whine about.

[Lunan]

I'm not sure that's fair, KoshN. From the very beginning, WB has been good about allowing images on websites as long as the proper copyright info was included. Yes, JMS went to bat for the fans to get them to take that attitude, but I've never heard of any unjust Cease & Desist letters going out from WB against fan websites like I have about Paramount and Trek sites.

Jan

while paramount has done it the worst offender of this type is fox and lucas on star wars stuff. they had fans arrested for doing little videos wearing storm trooper outfits and other such shinagins, as well as C&D letters, forcing sites down, etc

[Jan]

I'm GLAD it happened, SHOCKED but GLAD. I would have never believed that Warner Brothers would have gone for that. I'd see them as more likely to sue the fans for creating/having that stuff. Yes, I know it'd be them cutting off their nose to spite their face, but companies act like that, and Warner Brothers is dysfunctional (composed of spiteful fiefdoms) and pretty much devoid of common sense.

I'm not sure that's fair, KoshN. From the very beginning, WB has been good about allowing images on websites as long as the proper copyright info was included. Yes, JMS went to bat for the fans to get them to take that attitude, but I've never heard of any unjust Cease & Desist letters going out from WB against fan websites like I have about Paramount and Trek sites.

Jan