SOMEBODY get Henson on the phone, pictures!

[tedbragg]

For the Farscape ad in USA Today to be successful, we're gonna need PICTURES, hi-res TIFFs or photoslicks we can scan in.

And permission from Henson Co. shouldn't be a problem.

Anybody here with ph #'s and contact addresses for Henson Co.? WE need to get all the legal mumbo jumbo outta the way FAST.

The USAToday ad would be THE way to get attention. But I think we should try to find some rich folks who will help us. Imagine a double page COLOR spread. Jaw dropping, yes. Effective? I dunno. It's the longest of longshots, but it's our best one.

Here's some ideas:
1. Get permission/excemption from Henson Co. and acquire high-res TIFFs or photoslicks of RECENT costuming/makeup. This is CRITICAL. We need this to look BETTER than the stuff Sci-Fi would make.

2. Contact ALL parties involved in the licensing of FS, like ADV Films, the toy companies, trading cards, the magazine publishers, etc. See if we can get their support and put their blurb into the ad. WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CO-OP THIS THING!!! They all have a stake in Farscape. this would not only show their support, but it'd go a LONG ways to stay favorable with potential new clients.

3. Send out press releases announcing the ad. Stir up as much media interest as possible.

Find some wealthy people, get them hooked on FS, then hit em up for some cash. It never hurts to try. Or beg.

[tedbragg]

The Co-OP thing might give us legs. I don't know of any company who wouldn't want to have an ad in USA Today. The chance to get in on a full page ad for a mere FRACTION of the cost would be too enticing.

I say we hit the licensees up for some jack. If we can get just a handful of companies to go in with us, it'll be much easier, plus they get a sharp looking AD in USA TODAY!

A win-win situation.

[thedscman]

Yes, it may be cheaper but it may reduce additional free media exposure because the ad may be viewed as funded by those that a financial encentives to see Farscape succeed. Just a thought.

Anyone else have thoughts on this.

[skinnyman27]

is'nt that what has caused this problem in the first place.
funding.
these are the people we need on our side.they are the ones who at the end of the day pay the bills at scifi.
not meant to be a knock.. just my view.

[thedscman]

We do need these people on our side. We just don't need to put in the ads... "This advertisement was funded by the Fans of Farscape and ADV, the DVD Distibutor, and Toy Vault, the Action Figure Distributor, and The Henson, the production company..."

I just think we loose some of the meaning the viewer community is trying to achieve. Although if we had funds from those companies, it would be considerably easier to do the needed advertising.

[tedbragg]

humor me:

Let's say we manage to get ADV to help out, the Official Magazine, Blockbuster and the novel publisher. At the bottom of the ad, we could have a BLURB for each of them: ADV would have a picture of the latest DVD release, book pub'ber would have latest novel release, magazine, and Blockbuster could have something along the lines of: "Available for rent or purchase Best of Season One" etc.

It's take some coordinating between all the parties, but I don't think it'd be as hard as some think.

And having big guns in our corner, even folks who have a stake in the show and stand to make money...the very FACT we managed to get those guys to help us SCREAMS louder than what we could do on our own.

It'd show we're resourceful, intelligent and dangerous if messed with. :p

[cincygal]

I think that we could even persuade Henson to 'sell' to us, a limited Licence for even as low as a buck, to use ONLY in say like the USA Today Ad, and also the TV guide ad.

It would benifit Henson to do this, and they could still say that the Fans paid them for the use of the Graphics, and they still wouldn't risk making those images become 'Public Domain', as we would of paid for the right to use them.

It's worth a try ... if someone has the phone numbers to contact Henson, and DK with, they should pass that info on to say, Angie (http://benbrowder.net/news.htm), as well as Deneba and the other leaders.

That way the needed permissions could be obtained.

[Sunni]

I am an artisit who has done celebrity drawings in the past, such as characters from Star Trek and X-Files. I wanted to put them on t-shirts or other items and sell them. So, I asked a lawyer friend about copyrights, etc. He told me that original drawings, no matter what the subject, belong to the artist.

I wonder if you can confirm this info. and possibly create your own original drawings/paintings or even graphic art to use in the ads instead of relying on permission from Henson. I'm sure it is quite costly to use their images if they even will give permission for it.


Sunni

[justanotherFSlvr]

Originally posted by Sunni
I asked a lawyer friend about copyrights, etc. He told me that original drawings, no matter what the subject, belong to the artist.

Sunni

Sunni-- Let me preface this by saying that copyright law can be quite complicated, and it's probably best to consult an attorney specializing in copyright law in such matters. Perhaps the attorney you spoke with didn't have a complete understanding of the entire scope of the matter, because while he is correct as far as he went, there is more to this particular matter than just the rights of the creator of original artwork.

The problem lies in that, even though any artist owns the copyright to any artwork created by that artist, the FS characters are also copyrightable creations. Henson, and perhaps others as well (Henson may have designed the characters, but someone else may have concieved of the idea of the characters, so there may be either a joint copyright or multiple copyrights involved) are given specific rights to those characters, which includes control over all images and likenesses of those characters. This precludes any use of those images or likenesses by a third party, effectively making an illustration of any Farscape characters by you or me a copyright violation.

(I'm not an attorney BTW, just a photographer who has picked up some of this while dealing with it in the normal course of business, but I think you can see the logic behind it.)

[AerynWannabe]

Hey -

off the line of copyright a bit - but I think the ad campaign idea rocks. If you did get all the sponsors to put their names at the bottom etc. then surely it shows:

1. to the general community that Farscpe is loved and encourages viewing

2. To the media channels ('cos they get magazines at home too) that this is a viable option.

You get a double hit.

I know copyright can be a pig but where there's a will there's a way.......;)

Has anyone tried mailing the magazines to ask if there are Scapers in the house? There's loads lurking out there and inside contacts can often help....esp. with lower rate fees etc.

:think:

Hey - I'm new around here but ready to help on the ideas front.....

[DarkScape]

Well I can answer one thing about the Henson copyright ... they won't give us permission - here is the mail I got from them after sending them a fax about the use of their copyrighted graphic material:


Dear Una XXXXX,

Thank you for your fax regarding Farscape. Everyone at The Jim Henson Company has been greatly touched by the outpouring of support from our fans with regard to this project as it is a true testament to both the admiration felt for the program and the loyalty of the show’s fan base. We have received your request regarding use of Farscape images and promo shots and regrettably, we are not able to grant your request.

Like you, we are hard at work in our efforts to continue the Farscape franchise and as such we must continue to respect and protect the copyright and trademark rights in the property. As importantly, we must also be sure to honor all facets of the legal arrangements and contractual relationships for the series, which involve obtaining the approval of several production companies , the on screen talent, our product licensees, etc. Although it sounds complicated, the contributions of each of these partners have in their own way been an essential component of the show's success, and it would be wrong to for us to act without them. As a result, although we wish it were otherwise, we cannot grant or imply authorization to make use of any of the elements of the series.

Once again, we wish we could assist you more in your efforts, but given the complexity of the issues involved, we simply cannot. On behalf of everyone at The Jim Henson Company, thank you for your support and enthusiasm for Farscape.

Very Truly Yours,

The Jim Henson Company

Even though they would be willing they can't ... which is understandable as so many factors come into play here ... magazines, photographers - all have their copyright and it would be hell to ask each and everyone.

[waltersgirl]

what a great reply you got.