On the Transformativity of Fanworks
Feb. 10th, 2010 07:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alixtiiMy naive intuition is that podfic falls somewhere between remixing or otherwise writing fanfic of fanfic (which I most strongly maintain does not require permission) and archiving fic (which does, generally). Now while all the podfic meta I've ever read stresses the transformativeness of podfic, that's not necessarily at odds with my naive intuition. After all, I don't think I've ever heard anyone's describing OTW's mandate as including unlicensed audiobooks.
So I don't know.
And so, in the spirit of the original discussion post, a poll.
On a scale of 0 and 10, with 0 being "not at all transformative" and 10 being "the most transformative I can possibly imagine," how transformative is fanfiction as a genre?
Mean: 7.42 Median: 8 Std. Dev 1.87
| 0 | 0 (0.0%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 2 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 3 | 3 (7.0%) | |
| 4 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 5 | 5 (11.6%) | |
| 6 | 2 (4.7%) | |
| 7 | 8 (18.6%) | |
| 8 | 14 (32.6%) | |
| 9 | 5 (11.6%) | |
| 10 | 6 (14.0%) |
On a scale of 0 and 10, with 0 being "not at all transformative" and 10 being "the most transformative I can possibly imagine," how transformative (in relation to the original fic, not the canon) is podfic as a genre?
Mean: 3.86 Median: 4 Std. Dev 1.89
| 0 | 0 (0.0%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 (11.6%) | |
| 2 | 6 (14.0%) | |
| 3 | 10 (23.3%) | |
| 4 | 5 (11.6%) | |
| 5 | 9 (20.9%) | |
| 6 | 4 (9.3%) | |
| 7 | 2 (4.7%) | |
| 8 | 2 (4.7%) | |
| 9 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 10 | 0 (0.0%) |
When taken as genres, podfic is ___ transformative when compared to fanfiction.
On a scale of 0 and 10, with 0 being "not at all transformative" and 10 being "the most transformative I can possibly imagine," how transformative (in relation to the remixed fic, not the canon) are fanfiction remixes as a genre?
Mean: 7.07 Median: 7 Std. Dev 1.61
| 0 | 0 (0.0%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 2 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 3 | 1 (2.4%) | |
| 4 | 1 (2.4%) | |
| 5 | 5 (12.2%) | |
| 6 | 8 (19.5%) | |
| 7 | 8 (19.5%) | |
| 8 | 11 (26.8%) | |
| 9 | 4 (9.8%) | |
| 10 | 3 (7.3%) |
When taken as genres, fanfiction remixes are ___ transformative when compared to fics which are not remixes.
When taken as genres, podfics are ___ transformative when compared to fanfiction remixes.
On a scale of 0 and 10, with 0 being "not at all transformative" and 10 being "the most transformative I can possibly imagine," how transformative are fanvids as a genre, in relation to the images?
Mean: 7.33 Median: 8 Std. Dev 1.83
| 0 | 0 (0.0%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 2 | 1 (2.4%) | |
| 3 | 1 (2.4%) | |
| 4 | 1 (2.4%) | |
| 5 | 4 (9.5%) | |
| 6 | 3 (7.1%) | |
| 7 | 10 (23.8%) | |
| 8 | 12 (28.6%) | |
| 9 | 5 (11.9%) | |
| 10 | 5 (11.9%) |
On a scale of 0 and 10, with 0 being "not at all transformative" and 10 being "the most transformative I can possibly imagine," how transformative are fanvids as a genre, in relation to the music?
Mean: 5.34 Median: 6 Std. Dev 2.81
| 0 | 2 (4.9%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 (7.3%) | |
| 2 | 3 (7.3%) | |
| 3 | 5 (12.2%) | |
| 4 | 1 (2.4%) | |
| 5 | 5 (12.2%) | |
| 6 | 7 (17.1%) | |
| 7 | 4 (9.8%) | |
| 8 | 5 (12.2%) | |
| 9 | 4 (9.8%) | |
| 10 | 2 (4.9%) |
On a scale of 0 and 10, with 0 being "not at all transformative" and 10 being "the most transformative I can possibly imagine," how transformative is (static) fanart (other than photomanipulations) as a genre?
Mean: 6.68 Median: 7 Std. Dev 2.27
| 0 | 0 (0.0%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 (4.5%) | |
| 2 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 3 | 2 (4.5%) | |
| 4 | 4 (9.1%) | |
| 5 | 3 (6.8%) | |
| 6 | 10 (22.7%) | |
| 7 | 3 (6.8%) | |
| 8 | 10 (22.7%) | |
| 9 | 6 (13.6%) | |
| 10 | 4 (9.1%) |
On a scale of 0 and 10, with 0 being "not at all transformative" and 10 being "the most transformative I can possibly imagine," how transformative are manips as a genre?
Mean: 6.62 Median: 7 Std. Dev 2.30
| 0 | 0 (0.0%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 2 | 3 (7.1%) | |
| 3 | 2 (4.8%) | |
| 4 | 3 (7.1%) | |
| 5 | 6 (14.3%) | |
| 6 | 3 (7.1%) | |
| 7 | 7 (16.7%) | |
| 8 | 10 (23.8%) | |
| 9 | 3 (7.1%) | |
| 10 | 5 (11.9%) |
Is there a specific threshold of transformativity which is required to create fanworks without the original works' creators' permission?
If so, what is that threshold?
Mean: 3.69 Median: 4.5 Std. Dev 2.17
| 0 | 3 (18.8%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 2 | 1 (6.2%) | |
| 3 | 3 (18.8%) | |
| 4 | 1 (6.2%) | |
| 5 | 5 (31.2%) | |
| 6 | 2 (12.5%) | |
| 7 | 1 (6.2%) | |
| 8 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 9 | 0 (0.0%) | |
| 10 | 0 (0.0%) |
From the OTW FAQ: "A transformative use is one that, in the words of the U.S. Supreme Court, 'adds something new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the [source] with new expression, meaning, or message.' A story from Voldemort's perspective is transformative, so is a story about a pop star that illustrates something about current attitudes toward celebrity or sexuality."
Evaluate a genre's transformativity as a genre in whatever way makes sense to you, whether it is by singling out something you think is essential about that genre or by just taking all the fics you've read in a genre and taking their average transformativity.
Obviously the numbers you come up with will be somewhat arbitrary, and the whole process a bit overly schematic, but hopefully as an exercise it'll prove enlightening. If not, still a poll! Polls are fun! (Sorry for the lack of ticky boxes.)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-11 09:48 pm (UTC)Fanart varies a lot, a lot of people seem pretty comfortable posting what are basically straight traces/copies of photos or official art but you also have huge epic paintings done in a unique style, or OCs or stuff based on books etc. Plus fancomics *waves little fancomics flag*
I think the fact that most fanworks seem to be based on visual media makes it easier to create not very transformative fanart, I have for example been happy making fanart for shows I've never seen or read fic for etc based on reference images but wouldn't feel able to do that with fic or for book fandoms. But maybe I'm just biased by finding art easier!
And maybe I think manips and podfic aren't very transformative because I don't tend to like them and thus haven't encountered the full variety of their awesomeness :D
I think you can CREATE fanworks that are as transformative or not as you like (If drawing mustaches on magazines makes me happy it doesn't hurt anyone). Whether or not you should be able to publish them in any given public sphere is a different question, I say as I wait for the creator of a fancomic I made a fancomic for to get back to me about whether or not she's cool with me putting it online.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-26 10:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-02 12:50 am (UTC)XJXRPfDZKVYOwujRzJi
Date: 2012-05-07 03:28 am (UTC)PlekDeuyUJlKwRvApi
Date: 2012-07-27 09:08 am (UTC)izcvfSenWAB
Date: 2012-07-27 09:52 am (UTC)rPqTdCPYQfChJOTGqoM
Date: 2012-12-23 09:19 am (UTC)IPvGmLOcHZmt
Date: 2012-12-23 11:39 am (UTC)