I have finally found some time and updated the Frequently Asked Questions section pinned at the top of this forum. The old one (originally written by @Vektor) had a lot of things in it that were obsolete by now, so I took the liberty to edit all of it for accuracy and clarity. I also added a short historical overview of the forum and the long list of past contests I created some time ago. My goal is to collect all that stuff in one handy thread instead of multiple locations around the forum. At some point I also would like to incorporate a comprehensive list of tips and inspiration resources. What do you think? Does some of the wording need to be changed further? Do you have something to add to the history part? I'm looking forward to your feedback!
What kind of credit should be assigned when, for example, using screencaps from TrekCore as the basis for image manipulation?
My view on screencaps from sources other than your own DVDs/Blu-Rays is that on the one hand it's cool to credit them (i.e. “Screencaps by Trekcore.com”), because they obviously put a lot of work in their screencaps collection. But on the other hand it's pretty clear most of the time when something is a screencap and the copyright of the images clearly lies with CBS (or Paramount) anyway, so I'm not overly bothered by not crediting them all of the time. But again, it would be nice and respectful to do it. I don't want to be super strict on credits, but when you post something that incorporates work done by creative people other than yourself, it goes without saying that you should give them due credit. @Vektor seemed to put much emphasis on putting the credits on the image itself, which of course makes a lot of sense, but I feel that giving the credits in the accompanying text is alright, too.
Piracy? Piracy? of course I promote piracy! pillaging and plundering too! TAKE WHAT YOU CAN! NEVER GIVE BACK! and RUM! you'll never take my RUM landlubber!.. Anyhow... I for one apreciate the cleaning and update action, makes the forum fresh and positive, also keeping track of the history of this fine ship, eh, forum, I like as well, you can add that I once participated in a contest, shortly afterwards the board collapsed and we switched to different board software, I swear it wasn't me! I'll do my best to post advice, suggestions, wanted and unwanted of course.. compliments too! you'll never get rid of me..
indeed. It's something to be proud of, I think. I mean, wow, you won 10% of all the contest ever in this forum! Yeah, I too like the feeling of a tidied up forum. And I think with the history it's cool for new users to learn a little bit about where this forum is coming from. And I'm convinced that it encourages more participation and visitors to have a look around when you are not hit over the head with half a page of sticky-ed threads at the top. And again, I meant what I said, if anyone has anything to add to the history, I'll gladly put it in there, too. I'm hanging around this place for a decade now myself, but I'm sure there are a lot of things I missed. For example, does anyone know when exactly the art challenges started? And who had the initial idea? What were other important things that happened around here? (I do, for example, remember the Trek Comic Project a lot of people participated in a few years ago. That was one of the best experiences I had around here. We never finished up the story, but it sure was a fun project many people took part in.)
I finally found the time to incorporate the information from the old “Inspiration” thread into the FAQ thread. I took the liberty of updating and checking all the items and also expanding it with new stuff. You can find it here. But I need your help: What other links, tools and books would you like to see included? I will gladly add anything you can recommend.
Been looking through some old stuff but can't find anything new (old) to add, Andrew Probert also posts here on TrekBBS once in a while. in the past you could summon him with: Probert Probert Probert Kinda like Beetlejuice.
Ah, you are right. I added that piece of information to the thread. Thanks! What I would like to include is more information about useful tools and programs. Personally, I'm a Photoshop and Illustrator guy, but what are other (free?) apps people can use? What are the best 3D programs to recommend?
I am on Linux so I do use Gimp, for stuff like wallpapers and avatars, like the one I have now, if you need a more simple program on Linux you can go for Pinta which I also use, I think Blender is also available on Linux but since I am a talentless hack I never looked into it..
Excellent FAQ, thanks. A couple of things I was wondering about though are Instagram embeds (since I already have art up there) and some of the stuff I do is collage based. Is that ok? Instead of magazines I use google image search and try and keep to public domain or creative commons images, but it's not always easy to tell. I do use screen shots from movies/tv too though. None of what I do is for commercial purposes and just for fun/learning.
Art is art, no matter the medium or the way it is created. Don't forget to list in the image who the original creators are though. Especially because some people (like me) depend on others to use their models to get some exposure...
None of what you are describing sounds problematic to me and I think you should be fine posting your art here. As @BorgMan says, just make sure to alway credit other artists' work where possible.
Thanks. Totally understandable. I wish I had kept better track of the sources of the things I have used. I wasn't thinking I'd post this anywhere people might actually see it, but I'll try and track down the stuff I can. I like to stay away from other peoples models and full works, and mainly stick to using elements from photos and screen caps. Not that I wouldn't be up for a collaboration if someone was into it.
Is there a policy on crediting source material on works of audio art? The FAQ says that "Proper credit should appear on the image for elements that you yourself did not create." But what about audio files? To give context, I am a big fan of movie soundtracks - the music in a movie. One of the challenges is that even when the soundtracks are released, some portions are different from what played in the movie - or even excluded entirely. So I have very recently started trying to edit back together or recreate the soundtrack using source materials like the commercially released soundtrack, footage from the film, or other additional effects. So first, would such work even be allowed or welcome in this Forum? If so, what would be the proper way to go about crediting the original sources. Most of these were available for free on Youtube and in fact, that is where I sourced my files from (not the ideal quality I know but I work with what I have). Let me know if more information is needed. Thanks!
Upthread I made a point that I think applies here, too: So, in a nutshell: If there are other people that put creative effort into creating an aspect of the work you are posting, please credit them wherever possible. If it's from official sources (say a composer, a movie or an official soundtrack), naming them would be nice as well. Just be sure to not make any official stuff available for direct download. We don't allow that here. With an audio file (linked here by way of a YouTube video, a Soundcloud link or something similar, I suppose?) you obviously can't give credit on any image, so a note in the accompanying text is fine. In general we welcome any kind of fan work, that includes songs or sound effects. If it's just stuff cut from movies, though, I'm not sure I'd see the creative effort. Does that help?
Hi Michael, First, let me thank you moderators for all your help keeping this board running. There aren't that many of these left so everything you guys are doing to keep this place alive is appreciated! This helps, thank you. Anyway, I might not post anything - I haven't decided yet whether I will actually upload something. This was just clear the idea with admin in advance in case I do decide to post. I can certainly post all the credits in the description. Is it creative? I guess it would all depend on whether or not editing and sound mixing could be considered an art. If we go by effort... it certainly takes a lot of time and attention to detail to extract, synchronize and mix different elements. I find that I easily lose myself for hours doing it. Going by appreciation however is probably another story. I think 99.9% of the population would hear it and say "hey, that's just the sound from the movie!" It would probably be more for the 0.1% (or maybe 0.0001%) that would actually hear it the way I hear it. And like it. Maybe that percent needs more 0's in front of it.