"Who Invented Erika Spencer?" - A mentatDUKE Production

mentatDUKE

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DVD NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD!

 Watch "Who Invented Erika Spencer?" in full DVD quality with bonus features.
Special features include:
Blooper Reel
"The DV Negative"/"Melange Bath" Comparison
Promo Spots
Trailer
DVD Labels
Ipod/Web Versions

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mentatDUKE Presents...

Couple%20Ice%20Cream%20Poster.jpg



Synopsis:
His writers suck, but they've finally allowed him to meet a girl. Will our self-aware protagonist find true love?

About the film:
This film is for exhibition only. It is over 20 minutes long, uses copyrighted pop culture references/iconography, and has a Beatles soundtrack.
While we know that we are safe from lawsuits thanks to fair-use provisions, we understand that these violations are against the rules, and completely accept that.

We have since created a second film that actually follows all the rules, and will get a thread of its very own within the next few days. In the meantime, please enjoy the trailer, promo spots, and screengrabs for this overly ambitious film that wishes it were a feature. We will post a link to the actual film on Feb 10th.

Thanks for listening,
Your friends at mentatDUKE
 
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Promo Spots

Erika Spencer Promo Spot #1 - "Widescreen"


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YouTube Version


Erika Spencer Promo Spot #2 - "Boobs"


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YouTube Version


Erika Spencer Promo Spot #3 - "Bitter"


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YouTube Version


Erika Spencer Promo Spot #4 - "Even"


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YouTube Version


Erika Spencer Promo Spot #5 - "Excess"


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Erika Spencer Promo Spot #6 - "The Question"


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mentatDUKE said:
and has a Beatles soundtrack.
While we know that we are safe from lawsuits thanks to fair-use provisions
Click to expand...


i'm asking out of curiosity..which provisions make it legal to use the beatles soundtrack?

anyways, i look forward to seeing it. :)
 
Wow really cool stuff. Just watched the trailer. Actually looking forward to watching it. Images were very film-like as well. What'd you shoot it with?

-Kegan
 
Just watched your trailer and I must say, I'm intrigued. I do believe, however, you need to rethink your idea that the Beatles' songs are fair use. It's just not the case. That aside, VERY INTERESTING!!!:thumbsup:

Very clever promo spots, too.
 
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Hi guys. Thanks for checking out our thread and asking interesting questions.

Hunter, we shot on the DVX w/ an M2 adapter.

uga, Blaine, and Mark:
Regarding fair use, my research started here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

I then found examples of film students like ourselves being able to use copyrighted works in their student films. The biggest and most notable example I found was George Lucas himself.

While at UCLA, Lucas created a student film called "Look at Life" where he used several images from Life magazine with a soundtrack underneath.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look_at_Life
http://cinema-tv.usc.edu/Archives/lucas/look.html
He didn't need permission from Life magazine to do this as it was clearly allowed under fair use. He was afer all a film student, and he wasn't reselling the pictures. He was simply re-using them to create a derivative work.

Now for a more recent example, and one involving the Beatles. Upon the release of the acapella version of Jay-Z's "The Black Album", a producer named Danger Mouse, created a derivative work called "The Grey Album" in which he used samples from the Beatles' "White Album" to remix Jay-Z's songs.
Of course, Sony, EMI, et al sent him a cease and desist letter and he complied, but what were his rights exactly? Here's what the Electronic Frontier Foundation has to say about the case. They specifically mention Fair Use toward the bottom:
http://w2.eff.org/IP/grey_tuesday.php

Another thing I'd like to point out is this:
The Beatles performed many cover songs at the beginning of their careers (The most famous being "Twist and Shout")
I believe it was necessary for them to do this and is likely what helped them master their craft and take it to new levels. A keen understanding of their musical predecessors laid the foundation for groundbreaking work.
What if the Beatles weren't allowed to perform cover songs when they were a young, unsigned band playing bars in Liverpool?

I think it's funny that corporations have successfully scared many of us out of exercising our rights as citizens. Of course they don't want us to understand fair use. Why should we get better at honing our craft? We're just potential competition to them aren't we? All culture must be sanctioned and approved by them, right?

We can either be citizens or we can be subjects...

I hope my militant rant hasn't scared people away from watching our movie, or colored their perception of it too much. We're just young filmmakers having fun while learning this grand thing of ours. Sorry if I come off too self-righteous.

Thanks for the soapbox.
 
Good luck, man. Glad to see you in. I thought your last short for Hallows Fest was hilarious. I'm checkin' out your website now to look at the other flicks.
 
mentatDUKE said:
Now for a more recent example, and one involving the Beatles. Upon the release of the acapella version of Jay-Z's "The Black Album", a producer named Danger Mouse, created a derivative work called "The Grey Album" in which he used samples from the Beatles' "White Album" to remix Jay-Z's songs.
Of course, Sony, EMI, et al sent him a cease and desist letter and he complied, but what were his rights exactly? Here's what the Electronic Frontier Foundation has to say about the case. They specifically mention Fair Use toward the bottom:
http://w2.eff.org/IP/grey_tuesday.php

Another thing I'd like to point out is this:
The Beatles performed many cover songs at the beginning of their careers (The most famous being "Twist and Shout")
I believe it was necessary for them to do this and is likely what helped them master their craft and take it to new levels. A keen understanding of their musical predecessors laid the foundation for groundbreaking work.
What if the Beatles weren't allowed to perform cover songs when they were a young, unsigned band playing bars in Liverpool?
Click to expand...
Interesting.

I just wish that there was a master list of previous works that was "fair use". It would be nice know what you can and can't use.

As for the piece you used... it reminds me of the more recent trailer for Across The Universe. Probably just because it is filled with Beatles tracks. :)

Your trailer is pretty interesting though. Looking forward to the movie.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Thanks Lee. I'd love to hear your thoughts on our past work. Looking forward to your film also.
Zak, we didn't get pre-approved officially or anything. I don't think our film will be hosted on the official movie server. I think we'll be hosting it on our own site.
Kyser, I agree that a master list would be useful. I doubt we'll ever get clear cut answers though. The law seems to be deliberately vague and open to interpretation on this matter unfortunately. The list on EFF's site should suffice however. Scroll to the bottom and look at that criteria. If you can stay within it, I'd say you're gold.
Also, you're right. This did end up quite similar to the Across the Universe trailer.
 
Watched the first film on the site - thought it was hilarious! The other ones wouldn't play for me for some reason. You guys got a unique wit about you. Question - what does mentaDUKE mean?

Also, love the simplicity of the website and I like how you guys got everything set up. Hope to get mine like that one day. Read the script and the sides - all, very, very funny. Can't wait to see it. As an actor/filmmaker, definately keep me in mind for a collaboration one day. I got fam. in the Houston area even though I haven't been down there in 'ever.
 
Hey Marlon. Thanks for taking a look at the site. You need Quicktime 7 to play all the films. Or you can just check out the YouTube versions.
Thanks for reminding me I still had the script and sides up there. I better take that down. Wouldn't wanna spoil our movie. :)

mentatDUKE is a "Dune" reference. A mentat is essentially a human computer (thinking machines were outlawed after the Butlerian Jihad. Yes. I'm a nerd.)
Dune's my favorite novel and I swear my IQ jumped 30 points after I read it.

If you're ever in Houston, give us a holler.
 
mentatDUKE said:
Hey Marlon. Thanks for taking a look at the site. You need Quicktime 7 to play all the films. Or you can just check out the YouTube versions.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I watched the first one at youtube and it played fine, but the other ones didn't. I was trying to watch them at work, so maybe it's something going on with the computer up here.
 
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