TITLES: Creative Commons: the Beat Goes On

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TITLES: Creative Commons: The Beat Goes On

Starring Mayer and Bettle

And introducing Flik

(MAYER sits at a café, coffee steaming in front of him.)

MAYER. So explain to me again why, after knowing you for so long, I had to book a month in advance just to catch up for a coffee...

(We hear BETTLE’s voice but we cannot see her)

BETTLE. (Off screen) Going out in public is so hard these days.

MAYER. What?! Why?

(We see BETTLE for the first time. She wears a feather boa and a huge pair of sunglasses)

BETTLE. Because I’m famous now.

I’m like fully a celebrity and everything. I have fans. They love me. I can probably get us a free lunch ‘cause I’m so famous.

MAYER. You are not famous.

BETTLE. Uh huh. My first album, ‘The Best Album in the World,’ has been in the Jamendo popular albums for weeks.

MAYER. Jamendo?

BETTLE. You never were cool were you? It’s a music download site that lets musicians put their songs out under Creative Commons licences so people can share them. Which means more people download it, so more people hear it, so more fans for me! If that’s even possible. By the way, if you give me 50 bucks, I’ll autograph your face.

MAYER. (Slightly confused) Um...thanks.

So does Jamendo use the new extended metadata protocols implemented through the Creative Commons licence generator?

BETTLE. Extenda-whaty-now?!

MAYER. (Sighs) Why don’t I just show you.

(MAYER pulls the ‘Licence your work’ button from the CC homepage out of his pocket. It floats above their head and he presses it. Suddenly there is a ray of light and Mayer and Bettle get blown apart. In a strange new land the ‘License your work’ button materialises. MAYER and BETTLE are dumped out of the button. They crash to the ground in a dream-like Creative Commons world)

BETTLE. Where have you taken me Mayer!? I hope there are no paparazzi. I’m not wearing my sunglasses.

MAYER: We’re inside the Creative Commons. Everything here, people can share. Stories, photos, websites, movies, sounds. You can tell; they all have the CC license symbols. (the various license symbols pop up on screen)

BETTLE. Ooooo. Pretty.

MAYER. But you’re still in control. See, you can let people use your stuff for non-commercial purposes, or only if they don’t change it, or only if they share with others. And they always have to credit you.

(MAYER pulls out a floating screen. As he speaks, he demonstrates the license generator, from clicking through on the ‘license’ button on the Creative Commons home page to answering the questions on the license generator)

The CC website helps you work out which licence is best for you. And it lets you add information about the thing you are licensing, so that information goes wherever your work goes.

(Presses ‘Click to include more information about your work’)

See you can add stuff like your name and how to get in contact with you if they want to do stuff that the licence doesn’t allow.

(Clicks through to Commons Deed to show the updates)

BETTLE. So my name goes wherever my album does. No matter how many times it’s downloaded?

MAYER. Yep.

(BETTLE begins to daydream.)

BETTLE: That means that everyone will know my name. Everyone will know my songs. I will achieve world domination!!! (Evil laugh.)

(Above their heads the ‘Find CC work’ button materialises and FLIK drops from it.)

(Cute) I should probably get a get a crown. Oooh! And a corgi!

(FLIK lands on top of them both.)

BETTLE. Huh what?!

FLIK. (Getting up, talking excitedly) Bettle?!

BETTLE. Flik! What are you doing here?

FLIK. I’ve almost finished our new film. I just came to find a few final photos from Flickr.

(BETTLE and FLIK start to walk off. MAYER interrupts)

MAYER. Hey, hey? Who’s this?

(BETTLE and FLIK turn around)

BETTLE. (To MAYER) This is FLIK, my fan and collaborator.

FLIK. A few months back I was looking on Jamendo for songs for my school film project. I came across one of Bettle’s which was perfect.

So I emailed Bettle and she liked my film so much that we started working together.

BETTLE. Flik’s just finished our new one. We’re gonna premier it on Revver. And we’re gonna make lots of money!!

(BETTLE and FLIK high-five each other)

MAYER. But don’t you give your stuff away for free?

BETTLE. Just because we’re letting people use our stuff doesn’t mean we can’t make money off it.

(As BETTLE and FLIK list them, the logo pops into screen)

FLIK. Like on Revver. It’s a video sharing site that puts ads into your video and you get some of the money. So the more people that watch it, the more money we get.

BETTLE. And that’s why my album is on Jamendo. People can share my music for free under the CC licence, but if they want to use it to make money, say on TV or radio, they need to pay. The site lets them do that.

FLIK. And there are lots of other sites that let you make money off your CC works.

(websites as text on screen - Strayform, blip.tv, Magnatune)

BETTLE. Pretty soon, everyone will use our stuff. (Things start getting dramatic like before) Every film, every advertisement, every home DVD. I will be rich. They’ll all scream my name. The world will be mine. MINE!!!

(Flick and Mayer stare at Bettle)

FLIK. How about we just take it one step at a time hey?

BETTLE. I completely agree, Flik. Hey Mayer…

MAYER. Yes Bettle?

(Bettle moves in front of Mayer. The sound of a squeaky Black Marker is heard. She moves out of the way and ‘Bettle’ is scrawled across Mayer’s face.)

BETTLE. You owe me 50 bucks.

ROLL CREDITS