Read on Twitter
A (long) thread about a video: Here is a video I made, it’s about England’s defence vs the All Blacks.:
It was posted back on the 9th of June.
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It was posted back on the 9th of June.
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It took 2 days to make. All my spare time in between family time and work I scanned the game, made an edit, wrote the script, recorded the voice over re-edited the video with the graphics made the thumbnail, wrote a short article supporting the video and then uploaded it.
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It might be good it might not but it’s had 700+ views and people left some nice comments and it got support on twitter from lots of people I admire.
On the 11th June World Rugby by way of Engage Media blocked it globally. Two days work down the drain.
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On the 11th June World Rugby by way of Engage Media blocked it globally. Two days work down the drain.
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It was a manual takedown, which means someone has viewed my video and decided I’m ripping off their rights by using it. They bizarrely claimed 1 minute in the middle of the video (yet the whole video was from the same footage).
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When you get these claims you have a few options but essentially you can just accept it, or you can challenge it on certain grounds - such as fair usage.
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This basically means I’ve re-appropriated the footage on the basis of educational purposes (which hopefully the video is) and the fact it's not monetised. (Not a single one of the 100+ videos I've made are monetised by me - by the rights holders yes, but by me none).
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On this occasion, having had enough I decided to challenge it on fair use and commented on here about it, tagging in Dominic Rumbles, World Rugby and Engage.
I also contacted both Engage and World Rugby off Twitter.
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I also contacted both Engage and World Rugby off Twitter.
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Dominic Rumbles replied on Twitter with an understandably diplomatic reply and I got a reply from World Rugby by email assuring me someone would come back to me.
Neither have ever followed up with me - I understand that they are busy people and this is low down the list.
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Neither have ever followed up with me - I understand that they are busy people and this is low down the list.
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So back to the video.
When you challenge the claim the video remains blocked. Suspended for 48 hours in which the claimant needs to respond if after 48 hours they haven’t the video goes live again and the claim stays on the video for 30 days
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When you challenge the claim the video remains blocked. Suspended for 48 hours in which the claimant needs to respond if after 48 hours they haven’t the video goes live again and the claim stays on the video for 30 days
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48 hours later my video was back online with no conversation or contact from the claimant.
30 days on there has been no follow up from the claimant and the video is now mine again,
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30 days on there has been no follow up from the claimant and the video is now mine again,
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I can now monetise it (I haven’t) and they’ve now lost their capacity to claim it and monetise it for themselves.
Engage never responded to my request to allow my video to remain on Fair Usage and to have a discussion around what was wrong with the video etc....
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Engage never responded to my request to allow my video to remain on Fair Usage and to have a discussion around what was wrong with the video etc....
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They didn’t leave the video blocked which while great for me makes me wonder what was the point in all of this?
Two days' work could have been eradicated and they don’t really even care enough to say why or enough to monetise it for their own gains.
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Two days' work could have been eradicated and they don’t really even care enough to say why or enough to monetise it for their own gains.
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My videos get some views but nothing on the scale of @SquidgeRugby or @conor_rr who deservedly get hundreds of thousands of views and put in weeks of work. They are literally producing documentaries that wouldn’t look out of place on TV.
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Media companies should be a bit embarrassed that there are a group of people able to produce better quality, more relevant and exciting content then their 1 minute clipped highlight often does
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Both creators have had issues with their videos, Squidge has suffered more than most in this, for many different reasons but is hopefully getting some dialogue going with World Rugby.
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The fact they haven’t spoken to anyone else, or haven’t reached out to people creating content speaks volumes about their understanding of what is going on and what could be possible.
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There are guys like @TwoCentsRugby, @DrivingMaul @CamJDPetrie all delivering great video content that isn't footage focused - there is a small community on youtube producing great content.
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There are guys from all over producing analytical content, there are guys all over producing highlight videos of incredible quality.
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Why would you not want to speak to these people about what is possible? You dont' have to provide work, you just need to understand what is hapeppning.
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Why not hold a creators summit, why you would not reach out and ask people for their thoughts (A simple questionnaire tagged to youtube videos would catch almost everyone) is ludicrous)?
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The fact these channels remain untouched (and i’ve got no issue with them more power to people doing what they enjoy) but channels like mine, @daviesGDD , @LinebreakRugby get their videos taken down is somewhat strange and flags to me that:
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A; they don’t really know what they are doing/what is possible
B: it’s pure bad luck as whether your video gets hit or not
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B: it’s pure bad luck as whether your video gets hit or not
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It seems there's little in the actual way of policy around the use/appropriation of this footage, which seems ludicrous for an organisation the size of World Rugby and the guidance they have set out for their media management company.
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There isn’t much more to say, I just needed to vent some frustration at the constantly ridiculous and futile situation many of the people trying to create helpful educational material face.
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At how media is managed (essentially pot luck) but if you want to understand a bit more about what COULD be possible then this article by the brilliant @bensmithrugby on Rugby pass is a great read and shows what could be possible: https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-costliest-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-rugby/
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Something that often comes back at me when I, or others face these issues is the idea we are stealing footage for personal gain (that’s usually from traditional media focused sources who are actually paying and using footage for media gain).
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I have always made these videos for a few reasons, the first is to learn more about the game as I’m a coach. 27/
The second is for personal reasons around public speaking and I write articles to try and help myself improve in regards to writing - I have never made any money off these videos and do not intend to.
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The videos have opened some brilliant doors and friendships for me and that's more than I could ever have hoped for and is the reason I continue to do them despite the constant takedowns and challenges (I have 5 videos blocked from this year).
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Rant over, but would make a final plea to everyone to just remember these videos people make take a lot of time and effort and are seldom done for anything over than love of the sport.
*phew a round 30*
30/30 - the end
*phew a round 30*
30/30 - the end
