Proposed new Tape Tree

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (chris williams)]

Chris here,

    Ok, a couple of things: I'm glad for the enthusasim that everyone
is showing for the Love-Hounds Collection idea. But, for a number of
reasons, it cannot happen immediatly. 

IED proposes: 
> Marcel Rijs asks whether anyone would like to send him a PAL copy
> of all the Fruitopia ads.  As IED has now had several other
> requests for same (from Europe-based Love-Hounds), and is sure
> there are many U.S. fans who would be interested, he suggests
> that a Love-Hounds Collection Volume 2 might well be in order
> sooner rather than later (?). Thoughts on the subject, anyone?

    Yes.
 
> The video for "The Man I Love" would be a welcome addition (does
> anyone have it?), as well as Kate's recent appearance on the UK
> children's programme, "Record Breakers", which was supposed to
> have aired on October 7th (did no one see it? Will anyone report
> on it?) That said, let us move on to the issue at hand:

   Yes, we now have the _The Man I Love_ video, thanks to Uli.

Marcel suggests: 
> As for the "Love-Hounds Collection Volume 2" I have a proposal
> which might interest many of you.
> IED has spoken in the past of a chronological video collection to
> be made from the beginning of Kate's career until the end, which
> will, hopefully, be far away from us yet, so in the mean time let's
> use the term "now".

   As useful as this will be, I have my doubts about the popularity
of a video featuring 11 versions of _Wuthering Heights_ in a row,
and I doubt that anyone other than IED will want to watch 11 versions
of _Wuthering Heights_ in a row. I think the pesudo-random approach
has more popular appeal. I'm not ruling it out, but I'd have to cart
about fifty tapes to and from the editing studio.

> In this suggested tape-tree we might as well try and take an
> advance on that, by making a video totally devoted to "The red
> shoes". Therefore, this tape should include every KT-related
> program from 1993 and 1994. We may assume there won't be much more
> to come, but if it does it can of course be included.
> Now, what should be included on this tape, apart from the above-
> mentioned Fruitopia commercials? Here's an effort to an inventory:
 
> - Kate's appearance at "Aspel & Company" (of course).
> - The U.S. clip of "Rubberband girl" - one may assume the other
> (UK) clips should also be a part of this collection, but they're
> included in the TLTC&TC film which is now available commercially so
> it wouldn't be a good idea to include the film. If we'd decide to
> do it despite the moral objections, we should of course use the
> Swedish TV version...

   Sorry, but no fucking way am I going to distribute _The Line, The
Cross and The Curve_. The fact that it was broadcast on Swedish TV
does, *IN NO WAY* get around the fact that it is currently available
for sale in most Kate-speaking parts of the world and available via
mail in the other parts. 

   This is *Kate's* film, made with her own money. We have a dubbed
copy, as we couldn't wait for the NTSC copy, but we will be buying
an NTSC copy on both VHS and Laser (and a PAL VHS copy as well.)
We are Kate fans, *not* pirates. The Love-Hounds Collection exists
to make videos available to those fans not lucky enough to have
been recording video all those years ago, and effort was taken to
avoid including anything that is on any of the commercial tapes.
It is not, and never will be, intended to deprive Kate of her
rightful earnings.

    It may seem a bit disingenious to defend the Collection, basically
a whole pile of copyright violations. But the videos on the tapes, 
while copyrighted by their respective broadcasters are not currently
available for purchase. If the BBC was likely to make a commercial
version of _Kate - A Christmas Special_, they would have done it well
before now. If they would, I'd be in line to buy it. I realize that
this is not a lawyer's definition of copyright, and I could be sued
up one side and down the other, but that's a risk I took.

    We did violate Kate's copyright on the music, and there is no
avoiding that, but everything we have heard from the Bush camp
indicates that they understand the promotional nature of our projects.
We sent Kate the info about the video presentations we did back in
Missouri, and she printed a mention in the KBC Newsletter. She liked
the _The Infant Kiss_ video, and was not annoyed that I hadn't asked
for permission to use her music. We haven't heard anything from the
_Homeground_ folks about Kate discouraging video trading. The KBC
Newsletter even carried swap ads for people looking to trade tapes.
Obviously, this is *not* carte blance to copy everything, but she
does understand the difference between fans trading tapes of unavailable
TV appearances and bootlegging.

    The most important element in our collective defense is this:
*nobody* has made a single cent off the Collection, and we intend to
keep it that way. Fact is, almost everyone involved spent a considerable
amount of their own money to make it happen, and even more time. It's
not the sort of thing that a bootlegger would do. It's also one of the
reasons why I'm not really fired up to do another Tapetree really
soon.

    In order to make a tape, I have to borrow time at a couple of
different video production studios. I cannot make a tape on standard
consumer gear; it would never survive the generations needed to
get into the final viewer's hands. I make the master tapes from
NTSC VHS, NTSC U-MATIC and PAL VHS onto NTSC U-MATIC (3/4"). The
graphics are produced at home on my targa system. The studio with
the broadcast-quality PAL (British video format) to NTSC (US format)
doesn't have a S-VHS or BetaCam recorder. So I have to get time
at another studio with both of those to make the dubbing masters.
Anyone who has edited videotape from a variety of different sources
knows just how long it takes to make a 4-hour set of tapes. I managed
to make it in two (long) nights. The last night started at 5PM and
ended at 3AM. It takes a bit of weedling to let someone leave you
alone with hundered of thousands of dollars of video gear. It's
not the sort of favor I like to ask more than once or twice a year.
In order to do it, I gave them two days of my consulting time, at
$250 each. And yes, it was time that I would have otherwise been paid
for.

   So, I spent ~$125.00 on Betacam tape stock (now presumably in the
hands of Canadian Customs), ~$60.00 on 3/4" tapes, ~$90.00 on S-VHS
tape stock, ~$100.00 on mailing costs to the Austraila, the UK and the
US. And two paid days of my time. I'm not crying, and I would, and
*will* do it again, and most of the expense was due to my own insistance
on maintaining the highest quality standards. If I'm able, the next one
will be even better quality. Just not right now.

   BTW, I'd like to publically thank the folks at sonymusic.com for
not threatening any legal action, and just plain being nice folks
and fellow fans. 

> - The "The man I love" clip
> - Kate's telephone interview on MTV Europe's "Most wanted", a show
> hosted by Ray Cokes. He shows the highly unaffordable promo red box
> "Red shoes" promo, as well as talking to the Goddess herself, at a
> time where she's still working on the film.
> - Kate's appearance at the London film festival... I for one have
> a short bootleg video (about 5 minutes - maybe longer) where she
> arrives, presents the film and leaves the scene. It's like being
> there.
> - Random reviews, interviews and material from the Red Shoes
> period. I know there isn't much around, but we should at least be
> able to fill one 120-minute tape.
 
    Without _The Line, The Cross and The Curve_ it's not even an hour.
We do have enough other stuff to do several other collections. BTW,
we would *really* like a very nice American _Eat The Music_ (different
edit than the one in /+) ((nice one!)) and the US _Rubberband Girl_.
The ver top of the "want list" is a top-quality copy of the unedited
MTV HOL interview, probably the best video interview ever, 40 minutes
long, and maybe 30 seconds were actually aired. The second highest is
the Japanese videos, including the dreaded _Sound in "S"_.

Peter Manchester comes up for air:
> I have to thank Chris Williams for covering for me a couple of times this 
> past month, pointing out that I am more or less overwhelmed with a new layer 
> of responsibilities this semester, and I don't see it getting any better 
> before January.

   Remember: "Never let 'em see you think." Competence is it's own
punishment.

> But sadly, it is all too much for me at this point even to dream about taking 
> any part in a tapetree before New Year.  And from observations contributed 
> since Andy's query, it appears that it may be too soon now even from the 
> point of view of collecting the material.

   Somebody will have to take over the job of coordinator. I'm am not 
suited for the job, either tempermentally or organizationally. My job
sometimes requires me to leave town for weeks at a time, often on a 
moments notice. 

> Tapetrees can perfectly well function without me (though I suppose I could 
> *always* be a node) and so I don't want to discourage anyone.  But I have to 
> sit it out for the time being.

   I, for one, would not be too happy about a tapetree without Peter's
input. He is not the simply the oldest love-hounds. He is the most
mature.


                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)

P.S. If anyone finds out about anyone offering the collection
commercially, please let me know. It was not intended to line *anyones*
pockets. If it could be done as a commercial project with Kate's
blessing and co-operation, that would be wonderful. But I doubt that
it will ever happen, and frankly 300 copies of a videotape hardly
indicates that enough interest exists to justify a commercial venture.