Jesse the K (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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podficmeta2010-01-22 02:02 pm
jesse_the_k) wrote in podficmeta2010-01-22 02:02 pm
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Should readers get permission to make podfic?
While I just argued that the act of podficcing adds "fannish value" to a work, I'm unsure that readers must obtain an OK from the writer to make a recording.
Since I'm a newbie, I did some research. While I don't think it's possible for a podfic to fundamentally change a source in the same way, I started with remixes, since there's the same "permission" issue there. It seems most remix challenges are based on a mutual remix: by participating in writing, each fan also permits their work to be remixed (with one "safe" work held inviolate).
The Fanlore Wiki told me:
Current metadata don't state whether the podfic's reader has the writer's permission. Would the absence, permission or refusal of writer's OK change how you'd choose or read podfics?
Since I'm a newbie, I did some research. While I don't think it's possible for a podfic to fundamentally change a source in the same way, I started with remixes, since there's the same "permission" issue there. It seems most remix challenges are based on a mutual remix: by participating in writing, each fan also permits their work to be remixed (with one "safe" work held inviolate).
The Fanlore Wiki told me:
begin quote
Though remixing in both fanfiction and vidding has become enormously popular, not all fans embrace the concept. [... snip ...] Though some fans feel any story is fair game for remixing, others believe that permission should be gained from the author first before using their work as a jumping-off point. Many fans feel it's hypocritical to reuse the original creations of the copyright holders in the canon while protesting that anyone should be allowed to remake their fanworks.
quote ends
Current metadata don't state whether the podfic's reader has the writer's permission. Would the absence, permission or refusal of writer's OK change how you'd choose or read podfics?
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I'm encouraging people to not hesitate to record /whatever they want/, regardless of this consideration. If you prefer to pick stories that have never been recorded, you're obviously free to.
I just think the words 'a waste of time', though of course they're always a personal assessment, tend to often carry with them the underlying assumption of podfics as an accessibility feature rather than as a fanwork in themselves. When you say 'I don't see the point' I have to wonder if you've ever loved alternate covers of songs, you know? As an artist you're perfectly entitled to never cover any song, but to say that you don't see the point seems odd to me.
I don't have, personally, an ever growing list, and most of the stories I'd really love to record have been recorded already. So I'm in a completely different boat, and it gives me a different perspective. *shrug*
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My perspective comes from having a long list of want-to-record fics and having limited recording time in which to do them, so given those parameters, recording a story which is already available in audio form doesn't make sense to me. But then again, I totally see podfic as an accessibility feature and don't really consider myself an artist.
If someone else chooses to record a story that has already been recorded, that's certainly their prerogative - I wasn't attempting to speak for others, merely expressing my own feelings on the subject.
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This isn't just a fan-specific thing for me. There's a company - Black Hill or Black Thorn, Black something - who produced a set of Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series. I consider it a waste of their time and resources, because the versions Barbara Rosenblatt performed for Recorded Books are infinitely superior. And I have this conversation with my mother every time I tell her about going to any kind of fan convention. She thinks it's a complete waste of both time and money, but I enjoy doing it so I go when I can. Then again, she thinks anything fandom related is a waste of my time.
I don't look down on people who do things I consider a waste of time, possibly because I know my mother thinks I'm an idiot for doing things she thinks are a waste of my time and I don't want to treat other people that way, because I know how it feels. I don't generally tell others I feel this way for that reason, and because it's really none of my business what others choose to do with their time. But this is a meta comm, and the subject came up, so I gave my perspective on it. :)
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I totally grok that you can have an opinion that seems to imply others are 'doing it wrong' *g* without actually wanting to make them stop or anything like that. I know it won't stop me from rerecording anything or advocating my own pov, so no harm done, heh.
At the same time, I find it interesting to read you saying "I consider it a waste of their time and resources, because the versions Barbara Rosenblatt performed for Recorded Books are infinitely superior." When I read this, what it shows me is not that you think rerecording is a waste of time generally (even if you also do think that and say so on the side); your explanation gives me a /different reason/ than that to justify why you think it was a waste of time.
And the reason is predicated on the quality of the result as compared to the quality of the pre-existing recordings! Which implies a/ a judgment that can only be passed after the fact, and b/ that if they'd done a GREAT job, they might have produced a version YOU would find superior to the first one.
So... isn't that a form of implicit support of my position? If a recording sucks, whatever the reason - or, let's not frame it as an objective value thing - if YOU think a recording sucks; if it sucks for you - wouldn't it be a good thing (for you as a listener) that someone else produces another recording at some point?
Even if you remove all desire on the producers part and all considerations about artistry from the equation; considering podfic purely from an accessibility standpoint: when the only recording available of a story is by a reader with a thick accent that x% of listeners don't understand, or is laden with music or sound effects that ruin auditive comprehension for Y% of the listeners - isn't it then a good reason for rerecording in your opinion?
I am genuinely curious about what you think, and I don't mean to bludgeon you or anything. I'm honestly trying to understand. :)
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But to be honest, I hadn't put this much thought into the idea of rerecording, because, in my fandom at least, it's sort of understood that once someone records something, it's done and somehow theirs. It just seemed redundant to redo, especially as, as I said, I have limited time and so many I want to do. And then someone did another recording of one I had done without, as far as I can tell without asking her, saying anything to the author. And she didn't say anything to me either - not that she was obligated to do so, of course. I was both stunned and really hurt that she would consider my recording not good enough, and that reaction on my part reinforced my idea that rerecording is a bad idea. That's totally insecurity on my part - I'm not a prolific writer and don't do icons or graphics, but I podfic, and have been told I do it very well, so I feel like a one trick pony, if you will, and that's my trick, my way to contribute to fandom.
But I've been thinking over what you've said today, and I have to admit that yes, there are times when there is reason to rerecord. The reason I started podficcing in the first place was because someone recorded a story I adore and I cringed my way through the entire thing. The pacing was off, there were weird pauses for no reason in the middle of sentences, no expression in her voice - things like that. I soldiered through and when it ended I actually said out loud (I was alone in the room), "I can do better than that." I have frequently wanted to do my own version of that story, and have planned to do so even if I'm the only one who ever hears it, but again, there are so many other stories out there to do that it is a really low priority. And recently, there was another story I loved that was recorded by someone with an accent I find difficult to understand. In that case, I was actually upset that the story was "taken" but never considered doing my own version. And since I was so upset to run across (through sheer chance) that other recording of one I'd done, I am somewhat reluctant to risk hurting someone else's feelings. Then again, they may not care. If I ever did decide to do my own version, I can't imagine going ahead with it without talking to the person who already recorded it first.
This is why I rarely get involved in meta-type discussions. I tend to run on feeling and reaction and not delve too deeply into the reasons behind those feelings. I may have to think about this some more.
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