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57-420: The convention primarily showcases interactive activities related to the culture of Asian countries, most frequently Japan. Typical activities include panels hosted by enthusiasts and industry professionals, live game shows, an anime music video contest, an art show, artist alley, dances/raves, collectible card gaming , cosplay chess, cosplay contests, an exhibitors hall with both independent and corporate booths,

114-638: A blend that typifies a character from TV, film, or comic books or exemplifies their nature, or an aspect of it. Fan art is typically involved in the form of a custom designed label. NPR reports this started in 2012 and there are now "more than a thousand user-created 'fandom teas'" available. Having invested significant amounts of time, most fans provide their creative works for others to enjoy without requiring or requesting monetary compensation. Most fans are engaged in an economic model that rewards labor with "credit" such as attribution, notoriety, and good will, rather than money. Instead of monetary reward, one of

171-665: A character or scenario makes it a transformative work upheld by the fair use doctrine . The Organization for Transformative Works is a fan-run organization that advocates for the transformative nature of fan fiction and provides legal advice for fan fiction writers, vidders, and other fan labor practitioners. Chilling Effects is a joint web project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, University of Maine, George Washington School of Law, and Santa Clara University School of Law clinics, which covers

228-400: A connection to the media property itself (the "cultural ancestor" or "deity"). Through their fan labor, fans are able to replicate "the original creative acts of first-principle deities, ancestors or cultural heroes". Fans engage in skilled crafting, "routine acts" within a ritual economy. The types of material that fans produce and consume continually reproduce the structures and worldview of

285-528: A constant companion"; as a result, English-speaking fans tend to utilize and reconstruct existing anime to create AMVs whereas Japanese fans "are more intuitively inclined" to create or expand on existing manga and anime. Japanese culture is generally permissive with regard to the appropriation of ideas. Works such as dōjinshi , unauthorized comics continuing the story of an official comic series, are actually encouraged by many anime makers. These dōjinshi take an original copyrighted work and expand upon

342-415: A fashion show, Japanese cultural and presentations (aikido demonstrations, kabuki performances, kendama play, kendo swordsmanship, taiko drumming, tea ceremonies), Japanese pop and rock concerts, karaoke , masquerade ball, panels, table top RPG gaming, video gaming (arcade, console, PC), 24-hour video theaters. The convention runs programming for 24 hours a day. In 2002 the charity auction benefited

399-418: A form of cultural wealth, valuable also for their ability to interrelate the fan works, the fan-creators, and the original media property itself through conversation and fan work exchanges. Fans, in other words, are "affines" of media property and of other fans. From another economic anthropology perspective, fan creative practices are labor that is done in a relatively routine way and that helps to maintain

456-535: A matter of course [….] A new generation of media makers and viewers are [sic] emerging which could lead to a sea change in how media is made and consumed." The 2007 book Consumer Tribes is devoted to case studies of consumer groups, many of them media fans, who are challenging the traditional media production and consumer product marketing models. Companies, however, react to fan activities in very different ways. While some companies actively court fans and these type of activities (sometimes limited to ways delineated by

513-629: A nutshell, is NO." Additionally, some corporations co-opt user-generated content as "free labor". As fans recognize the commercial value of their labor, the issue of companies abusing these volunteer creators of videos, stories, and advertisements (such as the 2007 Doritos Super Bowl Ad contest ) by not providing an appropriate monetary reward is of concern. In recent years, copyright holders have increasingly sent cease and desist letters to vendors and authors, as well as requests for back licensing fees or other fines for copyright violations. Often, these cases are settled out of court, but usually result in

570-774: A profit. Fan art is one exception, in that artists have traditionally sold their works in public at conventions and other fan gatherings, as well as on their own web sites. Many fan artists have set up e-commerce storefronts through vendors such as CafePress and Zazzle , which allow customers to purchase items such as t-shirts, totes, and mugs with the fan design imprinted on them. Filking has also become more commercialized, with several filkers (The Great LukeSki, Voltaire , The Bedlam Bards, etc.) producing and selling filk cassettes, CDs and DVDs of their performances. Some companies purchase fan-created additions or game items. Other companies run marketplaces for fans to sell these items to other fans for monetary reward. Jenkins comments on

627-458: A proliferation of alternative meanings." However, this state of affairs may not last as companies become more aware of how fan labor activities can add to and affect the effectiveness of media product development, marketing, advertising, promotional activities, and distribution. A business report called The Future of Independent Media stated, "The media landscape will be reshaped by the bottom-up energy of media created by amateurs and hobbyists as

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684-491: A result of these rituals are imbued with social value by other fans. Fan works are valued as fandom products, and they also support the fan creator's desire to be valued by peers. There is a divide in fandom between those who want to see new models of remuneration developed and those who feel that "getting paid cuts fandom off at the knees". For example, Rebecca Tushnet fears that "if fan productions became well-recognized gateways to legitimate fame and fortune, there might be

741-686: A sort of free advertising. "The basic thinking going into fan videos is thus: if it whets the audience's appetite, we'll leave it alone. But if it sates the audience's appetite, it needs to come down," he says. In recent years there has been an increased demand, primarily on the part of the record industry, for the removal of AMVs from sites like YouTube and AnimeMusicVideos.org, with particular regard to YouTube due to its relative popularity as well as its for-profit status. Public discussions and perspectives give varying accounts of exactly how widespread these actions have become. Most notably in November 2005,

798-812: A subsequent talk in Google's AtGoogleTalks Author's Series, Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig specifically mentions AMVs as an example when dealing with the legality and creative nature of digital remix culture. Fan labor Fan labor , also called fan works , are the creative activities engaged in by fans , primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works ( fiction , fan fiction and review literature), visual or computer-assisted art, films and videos, animations, games, music, or applied arts and costuming. Although fans invest significant time creating their products, and fan-created products are "often crafted with production values as high as any in

855-422: A tradeoff between monetary and community-based incentives to create." By contrast, Abigail De Kosnik suggests that, since fans are inevitably part of a monetary economy in some way or another, fans should be able to profit from the people who are profiting from them. Fans who do their creative work out of paying respect to the original media property or an actor or to the fandom in general gain cultural capital in

912-589: A warm body attendance cap of 4,500 people. In 2005 Sakura-Con had to limit its attendance to 5,100 and turned people away, resulting in the convention's move to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center. The event ran for over 55 hours in 2007 and had 1,200 hours of programming, with only about half the attendees being from the Seattle area. Tatsunori Konno, the CEO of Bandai Visual USA,

969-561: Is Japanese for cherry blossom ). In 2002 the convention utilized 70 percent of the convention space at the Seattle Airport Hilton & Conference Center along with having county representatives and the local Japanese Consulate General speak at opening ceremonies. Several guests canceled appearances in 2003, Yoko Ishida and Maria Yamamoto due to Pioneer company policy on traveling during international strife, and Akitaro Daichi and Atsushi Okuda. The 2004 convention had

1026-406: Is a film or video inspired by a media source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan films vary in length from short faux-teaser trailers for non-existent motion pictures to ultra-rare full-length motion pictures. Fanvids are analytical music videos made by synchronizing clips from TV shows or movies with music to tell a story or make an argument. "Vidders",

1083-462: Is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom , involving the writing and performance of songs inspired by fandom and other common filk themes. Filking is often done in small groups at conventions, often late at night after other official convention programming has ended for the day; additionally, there are now dedicated filk conventions in Canada, England, Germany, and

1140-410: Is artwork based on a character, costume, item, or story that was created by someone other than the artist. Usually, it refers to fan labor artworks by amateur and unpaid artists. In addition to traditional paintings and drawings, fan artists may also create web banners, avatars, or web-based animations, as well as photo collages, posters, and artistic representation of movie/show/book quotes. A fan film

1197-419: Is equally common for fans to develop a unique game using another only as a template. Fangames are either developed as standalone games with their own engines, or as modifications to existing games that "piggyback" on the other's engines. Fans of video games have been creating machinima since 1996. Machinima creators use computer game engines to create "actors" and create scenarios for them to perform in, using

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1254-556: Is generally specific to Japanese anime, however, it can occasionally include footage from other mediums, such as American animation, live action , or video games. AMVs are not official music videos released by the musicians, they are fan compositions which synchronize edited video clips with an audio track. AMVs are most commonly posted and distributed over the Internet through AnimeMusicVideos.org, video downloads and YouTube . Anime conventions frequently run AMV contests who usually show

1311-515: Is good practice for corporations to engage in and encourage fan activities. Stephen Brown, in his article for Consumer Tribes , Harry Potter and the Fandom Menace , writes, "Fans, furthermore, are atypical. [….] They are not representative, not even remotely. Their enthusiastically put views are hopelessly distorted, albeit hopelessly distorted in a direction marketers find congenial. Isn't it great to gather eager followers? [….] The answer, in

1368-464: Is then uploaded to the internet for other fans to watch. Reanimated projects have been produced in honor of Looney Tunes , SpongeBob , The Simpsons , Kirby , and Zelda CDi , among others. Participants generally expect little or no profit. Fan labor in the software domain, especially for video games, exists also in the form of fan patches , fan translations , mods , fan-made remakes , server emulators and source ports . Filk

1425-561: The Make-A-Wish Foundation and raised $ 4,560. The 2010 charity auction also benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation raised $ 27,000. The convention before holding fundraisers at the 2012 event raised $ 90,000 for tsunami relief. The 2015 charity auction benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation and raised over $ 40,000. In 2016, a blood drive was held for Bloodworks Northwest . Sakura-Con's roots are from within

1482-491: The Organization for Transformative Works , which assert the transformative and therefore legal nature of fan labor products. In the fandom subgroups science fiction fandom and media fandom , fan labor activities may be termed fanac (from " fan nish ac tivities"), a term that also includes non-creative activities such as managing traditional science fiction fanzines (i.e., not primarily devoted to fan fiction), and

1539-626: The 2014 convention a cosplayer was held up at the nearby Freeway Park . Sakura-Con was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The Asia-Northwest Cultural Education Association (Sakura-Con organizers) were given the Foreign Minister's Award from Japan on May 30, 2012. The award was given at the residence of the Japanese Consul General Kiyokazu Ota. Sakura-Con in 2013 returned to host

1596-527: The Anime Costume Contest at Dragon Fest 2013 in Seattle, Washington's Chinatown for the fourth time. 47°36′41″N 122°19′58″W  /  47.61139°N 122.33278°W  / 47.61139; -122.33278 Anime music video An anime music video ( AMV ) is a fan-made music video consisting of clips from one or more Japanese animated shows or movies set to an audio track, often songs or promotional trailer audio. The term

1653-743: The USA. Some fandoms are known to produce music as a form of fan labor that is not usually classified as filk. In costuming or cosplay , creators assemble and sew costumes that replicate characters or fit with the setting of the target of fannish activity. Costuming often goes well beyond basic seamstress and tailoring, and may include developing sophisticated mechanics, such as hydraulics to open and close wings, or complicated manufacturing techniques, such as building Stormtrooper armor from scratch by using vacuum molding and fiberglass application. In fandom-inspired tea blends , creators craft unique combinations of teas, herbs, nuts, fruits, and/or spices to produce

1710-639: The administrator of AnimeMusicVideos.org (Phade) was contacted by Wind-up Records , requesting the removal of content featuring the work of the bands Creed , Evanescence , and Seether . While music labels and corporations generally see AMVs in negative light, often the actual musical artists in question do not hold the same views. A number of AMV editors report to having had positive contact with various artists, including Trey Gunn and Mae . Japanese electronic duo Boom Boom Satellites teamed with site AMVJ Remix Sessions to sanction an AMV competition to help promote one of their singles, going so far as to provide

1767-436: The company itself), other companies attempt to highly restrict them. The payments to fan creators of content that is used in upgrades to the model train simulator Trainz is an example of an original copyright owner being willing to share the potential commercial gain to be made from derivative works by fans. In Japan, doujinshi is often sold side by side with its original commercial inspiration, with no legal action from

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1824-402: The creators of these videos, carefully match the audio and video components to tell a story or set a specific mood. Fangames are video games made by fans based on one or more established video games; the vast majority of fangames that have been successfully completed and published are adventure games. Many fangames attempt to clone the original game's design, gameplay and characters, but it

1881-536: The current state of copyright-related law suits, and has a special section devoted to fan fiction legal action and how to fight it. Some copyright holders view fan work as free publicity, permitting them to the maximum extent. Recent years have seen increasing legal action from media conglomerates, who are actively protecting their intellectual property rights. Because of new technologies that make media easier to distribute and modify, fan labor activities are coming under greater scrutiny. Some fans are finding themselves

1938-446: The effectiveness of media product development, marketing, advertising, promotional activities, and distribution. They seek to harness fan activities for low-cost and effective advertisements (such as the 2007 Doritos Super Bowl Ad contest ) at the same time as they continue to send out cease and desist to the creators of amateur fan products—threatening legal action whose basis is increasingly being questioned by fandom rights groups like

1995-405: The fan vendor having to stop selling products entirely, or significantly modifying their wares to comply with the copyright owner's demands. Most fan labor products are derivative works , in that they are creative additions or modifications to an existing copyrighted work, or they are original creations which are inspired by a specific copyrighted work. Some or all of these works may fall into

2052-503: The fan-fan relationship, as well as attract unwanted legal attention from copyright holders. That fear has come true in more than one case, such as the removal from sale on Amazon.com of Another Hope , a commercial fan fiction book set in the Star Wars universe. However, some fans engage in for-profit exchange of their creations in what is known as the " gray market ". The gray market operates mainly through word of mouth and "under

2109-534: The fan-media conglomerate relationship, saying, "Here, the right to participate in the culture is assumed to be 'the freedom we have allowed ourselves,' not a privilege granted by a benevolent company, not something they [fans] are prepared to barter away for better sound files or free Web hosting. [….] Instead, they embrace an understanding of intellectual property as 'shareware,' something that accrues value as it moves across different contexts, gets retold in various ways, attracts multiple audiences, and opens itself up to

2166-533: The fandom subset of the authors and readers, for instance, in terms of which ships are popular. These choices also reflect the relationships fans construct of their view of their place within fandom, including how they relate to the media property and the corporate structures and products surrounding it. Fans are therefore engaged in "the individual and collective construction of overlapping and even conflicting practices, identities, meanings, and also alternate texts, images, and objects". The goods that fans produce as

2223-423: The fandom. However, those who attempt to sell their creative products will be shunned by other fans, and subject to possible legal action. Fans often classify other fans trying to sell their items for profit motives as "hucksters" rather than true fans. Fans are often also fearful that charging other fans for products of their creativity, such as zines, videos, costumes, art, etc. will somehow fundamentally change

2280-534: The film company Studio Ghibli ). AMVs should also not be confused with fan-made "general animation" videos using non-Japanese animated video sources like Western animation, or with the practice of vidding in Western media fandom , which evolved convergently and has a distinct history and fan culture. Parallels can be drawn between AMVs and songvids , animated fan-made videos using footage from movies, television series, or other sources. The first anime music video

2337-502: The finalists/winner's AMVs. AMVs should not be confused with music videos that employ original, professionally made animation (such as numerous music videos for songs by Daft Punk and Gorillaz , or Linkin Park ’s song “ Breaking the Habit ” which was animated by Gonzo ) or with such short music video films (such as Japanese duo Chage and Aska 's song " On Your Mark " that was produced by

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2394-769: The legal category of transformative works (such as a parody of the original), which is protected as fair use under U.S. copyright law. However, corporations continue to ask fans to stop engaging with their products in creative ways. Fan labor products may be protected by the Fair Use Doctrine of the U.S. Copyright Law , which judges if a work is copyright-infringing based on four tests : However, these tests are not absolute, and judges may decide to weigh one factor more heavily than another in any given case. Although some fan artists receive cease and desist letters or find themselves running afoul of copyright law, they may argue that their "artistic interpretation" of

2451-645: The local science fiction convention community. A number of anime fans, including Daniel Harrison, decided that there was not enough anime content represented at conventions such as Norwescon , hatched the plan for an anime convention in a Tacoma, Washington comic book shop. Originally named Baka!-Con, ( baka or ばか is Japanese for idiot ,) the first convention was held at the Double Tree Inn in Tukwila, Washington in 1998. In 2000, Baka!-Con changed its name to Sakura-Con, ( sakura or 桜 (alternately: さくら)

2508-407: The major rewards of fan labor is the formation of relationships between fan creators and other fans. The relationships created through fan exchanges are often as important, if not more so, than the products exchanged. The focus on relationships separates fandom economic practices from the capitalistic practices of everyday life. From an economic anthropology viewpoint, the products of fan labor are

2565-643: The official culture," most fans provide their creative works as amateurs , for others to enjoy without requiring or requesting monetary compensation. Fans respect their gift economy culture and are often also fearful that charging other fans for products of their creativity will somehow fundamentally change the fan-fan relationship, as well as attract unwanted legal attention from copyright holders. The skills that fans hone through their fan works may be marketable, and some fans find employment through their fan works. In recent years, media conglomerates have become more aware of how fan labor activities can add to and affect

2622-409: The oldest, beginning at least as early as the 17th century. Fan fiction stories ("fan fic") are literary works produced by fans of a given media property, rather than the original creator. They may expand on an original story line, character relationship, or situations and entities that were originally mentioned in the original author's work. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by

2679-400: The opening ceremonies a wedding proposal occurred between two staff members. The Dazzle Vision and High and Mighty Color concert had over 4,000 attendees. Exist Trace's concert in 2011 drew over 3,000 attendees. Before the 2012 convention around 12,000 attendees pre-registered. Sakura-Con 2013 had the second largest impact of area conventions, adding $ 19 million to the local economy. During

2736-478: The organization and maintenance of science fiction conventions and science fiction clubs . A more general and internet focused form of "fan work" is user-generated content , which became popular with the Web 2.0 , often also a form of virtual volunteering . Fans use all art forms to express their creativity with regard to their fandoms. Fan fiction is the most widely known fan labor practice, and arguably one of

2793-480: The original publishers. As an example, MiHoYo allowed fans to create and sell fan-made works based on its video games such as Honkai: Star Rail , Genshin Impact , and Zenless Zone Zero subject to terms of its Fan Creations guides. Companies are now building in room for participation and improvisation, allowing fans to essentially color-by-number with franchise approval. Some, however, disagree that it

2850-488: The original work's owner, creator, or publisher, and they are almost never professionally published. The rise of online repositories built to archive and deliver fan fiction has resulted in a new activity: fandom analytics . This fan labor practice is focused on the analysis and visualization of the use of content tags and categories, along with other metrics, such as hit and word counts in order to discuss and forecast trends and variations within and across fandoms. Fan art

2907-425: The physics and character generation tools of the game. The scripts, as performed by the computer-generated characters, are recorded and distributed to viewers online. Reanimated collaborations involve each fan animating a shot of an existing film in their own unique style. The clips are then stitched together to produce a collaborative tribute, sometimes with over 500 animators on a single film. The finished product

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2964-459: The source material for editors to use. The winner's video would be featured during one of the pair's tours. The first of this competition took place in January 2008 using the song "Easy Action" and the anime movie Vexille . A second competition took place later that year in November using the song "Shut Up and Explode" and the anime Xam'd: Lost Memories . In his book Code: Version 2.0 and

3021-576: The story, allowing the characters to continue on after, before, or during the original story. Most anime producers encourage this practice, as it expands their series. Some see it as a tribute while others see it from a business viewpoint that it draws in more support for the anime than it would have had otherwise. Some manga artists create their own dōjinshi , such as Maki Murakami's "circle" Crocodile Ave ( Gravitation ). In an interview with site AnimeNewsNetwork, FUNimation Entertainment copyright specialist Evan Flournay said they generally see AMVs as

3078-431: The table" sales, and provides products of varying quality. Even though these are commercial activities, it is still expected that fan vendors will not make a large amount of profit, charging just enough to cover expenses. Some vendors attempt to not mark up their products at all, and will use that information in their promotional information, in an attempt to secure the confidence of other fans who may look down at fans making

3135-602: Was created in 1982 by 21-year-old Jim Kaposztas. Kaposztas hooked up two videocassette recorders to each other and edited the most violent scenes from Star Blazers to " All You Need Is Love " by the Beatles to produce a humorous effect. The creation of an AMV centers on using various video editing styles to create a feeling of synchronization and unity. Some examples include: John Oppliger of AnimeNation has noted that fan-produced AMVs are popular mostly with Western fans but not with Japanese fans. One reason he cited

3192-497: Was heavily questioned about the company's pricing policies during their 2007 panel. In 2009 the event included five concerts, three dances, a large gaming area, seven theaters, and over 1,000 hours of programming. Registration line waits of three hours or more occurred due to the convention's growth. Sakura-Con in 2009 brought an estimated $ 13 million to the Seattle economy. The convention covered six floors in 2010 and included six gaming rooms, seven panel rooms, and five video rooms. At

3249-504: Was that Western fans experience a "more purely" visual experience in as much as most Western fans cannot understand the Japanese language, the original language of most anime , and as a result "the visuals make a greater impact" on the senses. The second reason he cited was that Westerners are "encouraged by social pressure to grow out of cartoons and comics during the onset of adolescence" whereas Japanese natives grow up with animation "as

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