Many thanks Barbara - an excellent piece of work.
Loz x
If you want to see Episode 1 of the new XJW documentary, "Belief," here are links
by AndersonsInfo 37 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
augustOne
to leavingwt
Hi this is Mani - creator of "Belief." Thank you for bringing up a topic that has been concerning me a bit. First I'd like to say that like you I am a huge Beatles fan - so using their music for me was an expression of the things I really love - which was important for me in doing this work since it was very difficult in many ways (The end of "Cry Baby Cry" is tacked on to the end of Helter Skelter by the way - so its 3 songs - I'm a HUGE fan). It would be nice if that was enough to get professional musicians to back a project like mine - but I live in the real world so realize that is not the case.
I did not get permission to use the music. Since I created this to initially be shown at my university purely for educational purposes (I, or anyone else for that matter, will never make a cent off "Belief.") I didn't worry much at first. What I didn't anticipate was the response I have recieved to the project - which prompted me to put it online as a test - and again it is more well recieved than I ever aniticpated. This has shown me that I was more shortsighted than I realized when doing this.
For Episode 2 I already have been making arrangements with independent musicians to feature thier music for credit - which I prefere to do anyway. This includes my own recoreded music as well. I have sent out a request to musicians and artisits to help me replace the popular music in Episode 1 with music of equal quality and feeling. You can read my request at: http://vimeo.com/forums/topic:28524. If you know of anyone that would like to participate in this please spread the word.
I have bled a lot for this project. I feel it may be one of the most important things I do in my life. Based on the correspondence I receive on a daily basis - it is VERY needed. I would hate mistakes I made in underestimating its wide appeal to hold it from reaching its true potential - so welcome insights and warnings on how to avoid pitfalls and make this the quality it should be.
A critial part of expressing the emotion I feel is absolutely critical in telling our stories is the music, and other art forms included in "Belief." It is what has kept me going through my worst times. I am commited to bringing the best - the right way! Stay tuned for more information...
~ Mani
-
augustOne
Thank you so much for your comments. They mean the world to me! Yes you will survive - not only that - you will THRIVE! I celebrated my 8th year of freedom this past August 1st - and I am so much stronger than I have ever imagined. I felt when I started this project that I needed to put myself out there in a real way so others could have what I did not have when I was so weakened by the loss and transition I experienced. Before I asked anyone to interview for me - I taped my own therapy sessions in an effort to lead the way in SHOWING how this affects us - rather than just talking about it...much more of that will be featured in future episodes.
Important is that I am working to make this applicable to people in all stages of leaving Jehovah's Witnesses. While it is my hope that the more years people have away from this - the less they would need to watch something like "Belief," my experience, research, and converstaions with people who have been out for many years tells me that it is something we will in some ways deal with all our lives - in different ways of course. Hopefully by the time it is all over there will be enough in all my episodes to help anyone at any stage.
More trailers for Episode 2 are being released soon...I'm working hard to make it much better than Episode 1 - hopefully I will suceed!
~ Mani
-
SixofNine
You probably have very good standing to use the music you want, Mani. Afterall, the places in the film the music is used in are about A) you, B) a social/religious construct, and C) a certain historical time period. You chose the particular music you chose for specific reasons, and there is long-standing law to protect those reasons.
You'll probably get a lot out of the following (much more at http://www.current.org/doc/doc0521fairuse.shtml ) :
Doc-makers get specific about copyright fair use
Originally published in Current, Nov. 21, 2005
By Steve BehrensFriday afternoon, things changed for producers who need to use somebody else’s footage and music in their documentaries.
Clearing rights may still cost a lot and take too much time, as in the past, but Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi believe producers now have a solid rationale for not paying excessive and confounding fees for copyrighted materials in certain cases.
On Nov. 18 [2005], the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, the Independent Documentary Association, public TV’s Independent Television Service and the series P.O.V., and other media groups endorsed a Statement of Best Practices defining four kinds of situations when a producer, under the “fair use” provisions of copyright law, need not pay for a film clip, a shot of a painting or a snatch of music.
Aufderheide, director of the Center for Social Media at American University in Washington, D.C., and Jaszi, an intellectual property expert at the university’s law school, convened groups of experienced filmmakers around the country to look closely at the producers’ (and their lawyers’) working definition of fair use.
The statement hammered out by producers contains none of the outrage of many Internet-generation consumers who thumb their noses at copyright laws. Documentary makers, after all, want to protect their own work from piracy and immediate devaluation.
Because the statement is based on a fair-use definition consistent with recent court rulings and filmmakers’ actual fair-use decisions that weren’t challenged by rights owners, it should prove a secure guide for producers, Jaszi said.
Suits over fair use are rare anyway, he said, and almost always decided in favor of producers, but the statement would discourage marginal lawsuits because a judge would routinely determine whether the producer acted reasonably and in good faith within general practice in the field. That’s what last week’s statement describes.
Michael C. Donaldson, general counsel to the International Documentary Association, copyright textbook author and an advisor to the project, said publishing the statement is a “giant leap” for producers. He hopes it will reintroduce the idea of fair use to program decision-makers and other “nervous folk who want much more [copyright clearance] than the courts require.”
“What all these people need is less ambiguity,” says Aufderheide. The statement aims to help on that score.
The Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use highlights the most common situations where producers have fair-use rights:- “Employing copyrighted material as object of social, political or cultural critique.” Whether the documentary comments directly on the copyrighted material or parodies it, fair use generally applies, the statement says, so long as the producer isn’t just taking the opportunity to use much of the material for free.
- “Quoting copyrighted works of popular culture to illustrate an argument or point.” The producer uses the material for a new purpose, with proper attribution, and doesn’t take a free ride on the merits of the original, or use more of it than necessary, or use it simply to avoid the expense of coming up with something else.
- “Capturing copyrighted media content in the process of filming something else.” The producer unintentionally catches incidental sounds or images, such as pop music playing on the radio in the background or a family singing the copyrighted “Happy Birthday” song. Fair use can’t be a cheap way to cop a soundtrack.
- “Using copyrighted material in a historical sequence.” The producer must show that a certain image, music or speech is crucial to tell a story from history, and there’s no suitable substitute and getting permission to use the work is impossible or excessively expensive compared to the doc’s budget. However, the producer can’t be simply building a doc around the material to exploit it, using more than necessary to make a point, using it without attribution or relying disproportionately on this single source.
[Examples of each of the four categories are posted online by the Center for Social Media.]
Producers could cite fair use in many less common situations and sometimes use more than one of these rationales at once, Jaszi said.
Because fair use is a stranger to some producers, the statement takes pains to argue against common misconceptions. To have fair use, for example, a documentary doesn’t have to be exclusively high-minded, unpopular or boring. Indeed, it can be entertaining or even commercially successful, according to the statement.
-
augustOne
to whereami
Thank you for your comment! It really means a lot to me.
While I understand why you would want to link this project to any JWs to get them thinking (and I certainly think your heart is in the right place), I ask PLEASE that it not be used this way. I don't have a lot of strong views - but I am against telling people what to believe - even when I don't agree. There are several people I communicate with who are still involved with the JWs that I think it would be a mistake to encourage to leave - for a variety of reasons. In simple terms, for each person its a loss/gain situation - and if they will not gain enough to help them withstand the massive loss they will experience on every level of thier existence - I personally don't think its best for them to leave.
Most important to me is the health and happiness of people who have had experiences like ours - which I believe comes through education and choices - the two things we were so VERY deprived of. For that purpose please spread the word about "Belief," but please not to those who are not ready to make their own decision to think about what they believe.
Thank you!
~ Mani
-
augustOne
Wow! What a great compliment. Thank you so much! Though for exposure reasons I would love that - since I will never allow this to become a project for someone's profit I pretty much wrote off the idea from the outset. If I could get the Hollywood types to buy into the idea and people could always have access to what I release at no cost it would be wonderful - a dream come true.
I'm working hard to network and spread the word to as many people as possilbe - please do the same so people can truly UNDERSTND and know how this FEELS - which is of paramount importance to me!
~Mani
-
augustOne
to Lozhasleft
Thank you for your comment! Every positive comment gives me more confidence that I am on the right track.
~ Mani
-
-
augustOne
Barbara - your support means so much to me - thank you! I have gained so much strength from your example of tireless work to educate and bring comfort to others. I will pour it into this work so I will hopefully have a large impact like you have!
~ Mani
-
jwfacts
Mani, your documentary is sensational. It sent shivers up my spine and brought tears to my eyes. With your permission I would like to embed it at jwfacts.com. I really loved your poem as well:
freedom is not independence from control it is the ability to choose - within reason what to believe and therefore allow - to control us
~ mani