Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! - Thanksgiving Leftovers
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2678 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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Really interesting questions brought up, especially the one about airing anime on Public Access Television without the proper rights. It kind of reminds me of the time when Media Blasters was trying to get Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix on PBS, which is why it ended up taking so long for the anime to be released on DVD. You can do it when it's on your own, but when you try to get anime on the biggest name in public television there's nothing but trouble.
I was also hoping to see my Answerfan reply, but oh well. But in hindsight, it would have been weird to see my answer brought up since my pre-order of B't X Volume 16 hasn't shipped yet, so my answer really wouldn't have been truly fulfilled yet when this Answerman column got put up. |
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Mad_Scientist
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 3013 |
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That hentai question reminds me of a situation regarding a California law designed to restrict violent video game sales, a law that was recently brought before the US Supreme Court.
One thing that got brought up during oral arguments is the fact that the law was written in such a way that it would only apply to humans. Thus, as one of the Justices commented on (I think it was Scalia), if the violence in question was being committed against, say, Vulcans, the law wouldn't even apply. Though it wasn't brought up, I suppose that if the violence was being done to cat girls and cat boys, the law also probably wouldn't apply. I believe that type of exception is what the hentai questioner was wondering about, but I don't think it would work in this case. I'm not 100% familiar with the exact text of any of the laws that can get people into trouble for hentai, but I don't think any of them are so specific in requiring that the characters depicted be human. |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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To the person who wrote the question: I disagree with this answer and you should contact your local government (or visit their website) with copyright questions or concerns. Most copyright laws have exceptions for universities and this one may fall under this category. As for you Brian... sorry you had to visit a hospital on a day where gorging is mandatory. Any plans for a make-up day? Well, that's all I have. Bye-nee! |
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s.alsa-man1991
Posts: 137 |
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After years of writing prose and poetry, I started writing scripts for a half-hour comedy series, just to amuse myself and a couple of my friends. Of course, I wasn't expecting it to go anywhere, but it was a good exercise in character-building and trying to be funny on command (which, I have learned, is exceedingly difficult).
It was a pretty pleasant surprise to find an artist that liked it enough to try and turn it into a comic-book. We just sketched out the first chapter last week. Even if we never finish it, I've learned some pretty valuable things about working as part of a creative team. So, I say: screw it. Go all out. Find someone who understands what kind of story you're trying to tell, who shares your passion for science-fiction or fantasy, or who has your sense of humour. So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with an artist, even in those times we don't exactly meet eye to eye. Or maybe I just like doing stuff other than watching TV all day. Dunno. Your mileage may vary. |
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 1685 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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There are DMCA exemptions for breaking copy protections on DVDs and the like for displaying SHORT CLIPS for EDUCATIONAL USE. It doesn't even approach the neighborhood of letting them broadcast complete works nationwide without paying. Universities don't work like Indian reservations. The law at large still applies to them. Honestly, as someone who used to negotiate national cable broadcast rights and had to pay actual cash money for 'em, I find this appalling, and if I were a licensor I'd sue that university into the ground. (The broadcast itself might not be monetized, but it's part of a large educational program that usually is run for profit.) Also, when you want legal advice, you talk to a lawyer, not your local government. General rule of thumb. (Especially since copyrights are federal laws.) |
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tuxedocat
 Posts: 2183 |
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From the Q & A:
How about asking your editor friend how to make it more like a Young adult book? If this person is a book editor, they might have some helpful suggestions. From what the editor said, it sounds like you need to learn more about the mechanics of storytelling. Take writing classes. Read novels (the kind without pictures). A lot. I know some very successful and published authors. They are all prodigious readers. My understanding is that the known comic publishers don't ever hire writers who do not have some sort of resume. The hirees are always known and published somewhere. Usually they are novelists first. A few are screenwriters. In any case, it is hard enough just to make it as a writer. It is a good idea to give away your product as free downloads and develop a following. If you develop enough of a following you may be able to start charging a little for your downloads in the future, or be attractive to a publisher. People are self publishing a lot lately, and making their work available on e-readers. Some of them actually make good money. Young Adult novels and supernatural romances targeted toward women are the hottest sellers. |
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Wetall
Posts: 70 |
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I have to praise Brian for his comments about the absolutely idiotic amount of fear and paranoia that resulted from the Handley case. I mean, seriously, the number of people that were convicted for any material in anime/manga is so miniscule in comparison to what people have viewed. How the hell could everyone reasonably assume that Handley is somehow the beginning of the end, as opposed to an isolated case?
But I have to be honest here, I can't say that you guys at ANN aren't part of the problem, either. I mean, you guys were the ones that gave the Handley case such a grossly unbalanced exposure, what with you guys publishing nothing but either doom 'n gloom press releases from activist organizations like the CBLDF, the opinions of panic-stricken industry representatives (Peter Payne/Icarus Manga), or people that were actively involved in Handley's defense. I mean, I understand that it would only be natural for you guys to lean somewhat in favor of those who oppose Handley's conviction, but would it have killed you to maintain even a shred of objectivity or balance in your coverage? Would it have been so difficult to have an independent legal firm research and analyze the Handley case, or get a law professor at a local university to contribute a professional opinion? I don't expect you to publish opinions of anyone who wants loli/shota stuff banned, but how hard would it have been to consult someone who didn't have a major stake in the issue and wouldn't benefit from resorting to sensationalistic fearmongering? I mean, if your coverage on the case is grossly skewed towards activists with agendas who try to instill fear, rather than show the big picture, is it any surprise that your audiences (which include fans AND localization companies) would have such a massive persecution complex about the whole issue? Brian, I really wish you would've said the same thing to your colleagues at ANN when the Handley case was still in the spotlight. It really would've saved the fandom and the industry a lot of headache. |
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teh*darkness
 Posts: 901 |
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To the guy who wants to try and get his story out there, I agree with the poster above, and his own attempts.
I'd recommend trying to find a partner who can draw to help you create the visuals for your story, if you think you want to take it in that direction. If you can find someone and it works out, great. Then, with actual, physical copy in hand, you could go to publishers, comics or manga, with your book. But in order to keep working like that, you and your artist partner would need to agree on working together. It's not unheard of for both comics and manga to have one person writing the story and another person drawing the art. You just need to reach out, maybe in some online communities, for someone to work with you. Good luck. |
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Elves
 Posts: 269 Location: USA |
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Lainofthenet's answer to Answerfans is empowering. My best to you, good sir, for your upbeat attitude at a time of major disruption to your family's lively hood.
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Lainofthenet
 Posts: 44 Location: Canada |
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Felt good to respond. A lot of good things have happened to Karah and I in the last couple of years and at times we forget. BTW I'm female last time I looked. Last time someone at work called me sir I said "Don't call me "sir" ...I work for a living."  Someone has to there.  We were married at Toronto City Hall 2 years ago.
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BleuVII
 Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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I pretty much agree with this wholeheartedly (including the parts I didn't include in my quote). If an editor for a book is telling you that it would work better in a different medium, it probably means that he doesn't want to deal with the massive amounts of effort it would take to get it off the ground. I'm curious as to how "anime influenced" it is. There are some things that anime (and heck, Japan in general) do with their stories that are completely anathema in Western writing. A lot has to do with pacing. I have rarely seen a Japanese story that doesn't have INCREDIBLE pacing issues. Another issue is anime's willingness to do cut-outs from the main plot for one-line gags. Last is anime's tendency to put style over substance. I'm sure there's more, but when I hear the words "anime influenced" coming from young authors, in the back of my mind, I am only thinking, "Oh dear. I'd better start figuring out how to let them down NOW." But, after saying all that, I can safely say that those rules DON'T APPLY to self-publishing. Somewhere out there, there is an audience for your book. Giving it away for free helps you to build that audience while honing your skills and finding out what does and doesn't work. |
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DavidShallcross
 Posts: 1008 |
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Still, it certainly sounds like the questioner is neither a citizen nor resident (nor visitor) of the US, thus not subject to US law, therefore should ask these questions to the relevant people in his/her own country, and not to ANN, who is hard-pressed to remember that any countries other than the US and Japan exist. |
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LordByronius
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 861 Location: Philippe for America! He is five. |
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here's the thing on that; i'm editorial. i don't really have a say in what goes on with the news and our reporting thereof. nor do i want to. the handley case was given a preponderance of coverage because, hey, y'know, people were freaking out. it was (and in many ways still is) a big event in our little sheltered bit of fandom. because everybody had an opinion on it, everybody was obviously interested in it, and so that's where the coverage comes from. it's not part of any sort of narrative-based piece of Fox News-esque fearmongering to drum up pageviews, if that was your concern. anyway. not to derail this whole forum into Handley-land once agan. so let's not do that. |
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Imperial_Commander
 Posts: 44 |
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Hey LordByronus, who's real and true identity I'm sure is quite mysterious and hard to figure out :p
When you answered that one guy who was asking about the screenplay or graphic novel, you said that the best thing to do is to "make some noise" and write short stories, play, prose, for radio, for a sketch comedy troupe and for a crappy college film project. Since you've got experience in all of that (or at least I'm presuming you do - and I know for a FACT at least you've got the play and sketch comedy thing down for pat) how do you go about doing that then? I am very legitimately curious, My Lord 
...also, I'm kinda surprised that the post count for this discussion is pretty low. The other recent ones got to 4+ pages pretty quick, we're still stuck at just one 
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LordByronius
ANN Columnist
Posts: 861 Location: Philippe for America! He is five. |
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uh... being sociable? i mean having a solid group of friends with similar interests is a good way of making all of these things happen eventually. the playwriting and the comedy is simply my own experience that sprouted out of the friends that *i* have. maybe your friends would be more interested in starting a webcomic or a podcast or a short film or something. who knows. my point was to just let things happen as organically and naturally as possible and to never be afraid to take risks without the allure of financial gain. |
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