As you may know, I am usually releasing my footage under the CC-BY 3.0 license. This license basically just asks for attribution if you reuse the work. There are some dangers though. What if some of your footage is used as an opening shot for a porn movie? Or what if a Neo-Nazi group uses some of your footage for their video propaganda? You see, if that’s not enough that controversial entities are using your footage, your NAME will be on their credits roll! Try to explain to CIA, NSA and FBI that you had nothing to do with it.

I had a long thought about this today, and I researched around a bit more. The CC-BY includes the following clause: “You must not distort, mutilate, modify or take other derogatory action in relation to the Work which would be prejudicial to the Original Author’s honor or reputation“. At first, this clause sounds good. But then, you realize that the artist’s “moral rights” (as this thing is called), are not defendable in every country. For example, in USA this protection does not always work because the “moral artist rights” here have a very specific meaning in the copyright law that only applies to some bizarre cases about photography. In Canada, some European countries and Japan, this clause could protect you. But in any case, you wouldn’t know for sure until you sue. But do you really want to go that far for a bunch of cheap footage?

So, realistically speaking, I have three choices:
1. Drop the CC-BY and use a more restrictive Creative Commons license (that’d probably be CC-BY-NC-ND, as the CC-SA does not fully protect me either). Public Domain does not help me either, because by default the PD license can be dangerous for some other reasons, plus I won’t be able to find good music to accompany my videos — using a CC-BY song with a PD video asks for trouble.
2. Hire a lawyer and write a custom license, that has bits from the CC-BY and a modified “moral rights” clause that explicitly prohibits a (legally defined) immoral re-use of the work.
3. Stop worrying about it and let the federal agencies figure out that I was not part of any “scheme” out there that might have used my footage because of its liberal license and has subsequently credited me for it.

I choose #3. Let’s live a little, give something back to the world, and let the world decide what to do with that something. You can’t babysit everyone in this world. Although I wouldn’t be happy if my footage is misused in ways that put me in trouble or defame me.

Update: My JBQ, who can read legalese as comfortably as reading Harry Potter, believes that the quoted CC-BY wording above is legally strong enough to protect the licensor from immoral adaptations of his/her works, even in US. So, we are all good. 🙂

I linked to these tutorials 1.5 years ago, but back then most of my readers were not video-related, plus the link changed since then. So, if you are an aspiring filmmaker, make sure you read these 9 lessons. The initiative was Nokia’s and Discovery’s, trying to market Nokia’s cellphone video capabilities. But the lessons are good for everyone really.

I suggest you save down the pages+pictures/videos, because this site will eventually go just as the original did. The new URL is simply an old backup you see, a (forgotten) demo by the web design team that developed it. Save down as “complete webpage” the “Printer-Friendly version” of each lesson, and also download manually the video(s) associated with that page (you will need to snoop on the HTML code to get the video URLs).

CameraGrip.co.uk sent me over their new product “MMC Hague Mini Motion-cam Stabilizer“, an affordable steadycam for small, consumer, camcorders. The low price and ease of configuration has created a pretty enthusiastic following over at HV20’s forum.

The MMC Hague steadycam is very light and it consists of a modern design similar to this of the Merlin (a steadycam that sells for over $500). You mount the camera on top and then you adjust the weight on the bottom: There are 8 big weights and 2 small ones (and you can purchase more if you like). When you find a good balancing point for the camera, and you use the right amount of weights, you can adjust the position of the bottom weights left or right, in order to balance the whole thing. For example, because the HV20 is pretty heavy on its right side, you can slightly turn the bottom weights towards the left, in order to balance everything out. The MMC Hague can support up to 0.8kg of camera weight, however many users have “overclocked” their configuration by adding heavy wide-angle lenses and microphones, without much problem. In fact, in some cases adding all that weight helped achieving better balancing.

The product sounds too good to be true at this price, and in fact it is. The MMC Hague tends to swing left or right way too easily — a problem highlighted by many on the HV20 forums too. Some say that by either adding some weight on the left side of the camcorder (e.g. some heavy tape on the back of the open LCD screen), or by using different weights, it minimizes the problem. The left/right problem is pretty apparent though, and my (very good in physics) husband claims that the real problem is the friction in the ball-type gimble, just above the handle. He insists that if a plain metal cone was used instead – to have as small of a contact patch as possible– the left/right turning problem would be less apparent. Additionally, there is no “quick release” ability, so you will need to use a marker to mark the exact position you need to attach the camera each time.

Nevertheless, with enough time to configure the product correctly, and also by training your arm to not move while operating the steadycam, you can still achieve a pretty good result. I found that the steadycam, when operated carefully, can offer some pretty convincing short dolly-like shots, pans and walking. It’s very useful to have a steadycam especially when the terrain is not smooth, and a dolly is not possible. Check other people’s MMC Hague’s videos here for more examples and configurations.

Hulu, NBC’s answer to iTunes and YouTube, is now out of beta. Users out of USA can also use it when using a VPN client. I got to say that I like Hulu a lot. Its quality is not HD, it’s definitely not as good as Vimeo HD for example, but it’s better than YouTube or Revver. They offer a lot of well-known TV series to watch free of charge (very few commercials), and the site is pretty well designed. If they add more series, go HD (it’s on their plans), and make it possibly more community-like, they have a good future. Me likes.

I watched “Arrested Development” for the first time today (I heard good things about it). The whole 3 seasons are available on Hulu for free.

And speaking of “Arrested Development”, the whole thing is shot with a digital camera in 60i. No depth of field, no 24p nonsense, no “cinematic look”. And it works.

I wrote a few days ago that RIAA must follow a Netflix-like model with a standard $5 per month fee that gives unlimited access to their catalog. It seems that they are thinking along the same lines, but they still don’t want to give up their old business model. They now want to surcharge all internet users with $5 via the ISPs, but of course, this is not the way to go. It really seems to me that RIAA knows how to proceed and do the right thing, but they are afraid to do so. They are definitely no idiots though.

Whoa! If all the restrictions were not enough, Apple is now rejecting (aka “indefinitely waitlisting”) potential developers for the iPhone! Not just random individuals, but even corporations with true interest on the SDK. It seems that they want to limit everything, so they can control everything.

Compare this to the open nature of Android development, and Windows Mobile (and even Symbian, if you don’t want to get digitally sign your apps), and see clearly how Apple is conducting business. Apple is STILL scared about allowing binary apps on the iPhone. That much is clear. I can’t wait for future jailbreaks and third party App Stores. Apple needs a good spank in the ass. They seriously need to get a clue and allow open development while at the same time they should FIX their OS to be more secure.

One of the true artists in the “American Idol” competition (rather than just a strong voice), Josiah Leming, released a new song as a free legal download. More songs of his here.

On YouTube he said that this March he will be talking to various labels, and hopefully sign and have an album soon. That’d be awesome. Such a nice kid.

The following 4 minute part is my favorite in all of “Lost”. It’s a kind of scene that only the writers behind “Lost” could have written. Deliciously creepy. Have a look and tell me what you think (even if you have never watched “Lost” before). Pay attention towards the end, as there’s a figure appearing for a split second, out of nowhere.

I stumbled upon Malcolm David Kelley today on the net, the young actor who plays “Walt” on “Lost”. I seized the opportunity to carry out a small Q&A with him. Thanks Malcolm!

1. How did you start acting? Was it something you always wanted to do?
Malcolm: Well, I was 5 so I really didn’t know much except from what I saw on TV. I just wanted to have fun like the kids on the commercials and I told my mom we got a manager and agent and everything started taking off.
2. How do you manage both acting and school? Is it difficult to do both at the same time?
Malcolm: Well I’m home schooled and its easier this way but I do miss public school. But I see my friends all the time so that makes up for it.
3. Do you find the show-biz industry too competitive? Do you feel secure-enough taking on acting full time after school?
Malcolm: Yeah, a little bit but mostly your are making friends throughout everything. I think I do I have thinking about that question all the time so I’m coming to a conclusion and I think I do want to continue.
4. You portrayed “Walt” in ABC’s “Lost”, mostly in the first season. Do you still watch the show as intensely?
Malcolm: Yeah, I try to watch the show as much as I can but you know its hard to catch every episode. Then if you miss something in the show you miss a lot so I try to keep up.
5. Are we going to see more of “Walt” in “Lost”? If yes, would you personally prefer “Walt” to be in the midst of intense sci-fi plots, or as as regular kid in his age?
Malcolm: Idk lmao can’t say.!!!! And it really doesn’t matter to me I take all challenges, lol, it’s up to the writers how they want to bring me back and I’ll deliver.
6. Who do you like hanging out with the most from the “Lost” team?
Malcolm: Um… To be honest everybody on that set had a big part of making that set so fun. But who I hung out with the most probably was Harold who plays my dad on the show and Dominic who played Charlie on the show.

Suddenly, I remembered of my high school sports teacher tonight. What a nightmare. He would put us on running for the whole 45 minutes of the sports class. Some of us would drop like flies. Math, chemistry? That was piece of cake compared to the sports class. We didn’t learn much during the 3 years we were assigned to his class, other than hating him.

The guy would live literally on coffee btw, and he would snap off extremely fast. No one dared to talk to him eye to eye (and he had hit children once or twice during class — these were different times). The funny thing was that when I started doing some sprinting and later javelin, the guy was much softer (he became my coach). Apparently, the secret was to show some interest for sports, that was the only way to get some respect out of him.