SDS armor

[TD-1536]

Here i will get things back on topic.....Wow SDS armor is real nice and shiny...LOL

how about that right shin/leg? Pretty weird huh?

[1970s]

Hey - I own a set of that shiny armor - it's so milky white I feel like having a glass of milk every time I look at it. LOL

jack v

[Midnight Trooper]

Er... I'm just a guy in college. I have some art talent, but I could be more skilled

Sometimes I wonder what Im doing here in school.

I like to have a cold shower every morning just before I go mad.

And then I go mad one, mad two, made three....

[1970s]

[TD-1536]

Mike, I think we have some stuff in common.

A lot of people I went to school with had aspirations to do work for the film/commercial industry including myself. Once I realized that I'd have to move to Cali and work for slave wages moving from job to job quickly set my sights on a more marketable career in advertising.

I still get to live out my dreams (to some degree) as a costume/prop maker but as my hobby and not profession so that skill set does not go to waste.

back around 1995 I think it was, I looked into the Production Design program at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Working with set and movie props intrigued me. It wasn't until years later that I realized so many movies were filmed in other countries because they could get cheap labor. And like you said, it would really suck to have a flashy degree in production design and spend years barely getting by on hourly wages in Hollywood, while all the cool movies are being made in Canada and Australia.

[bearden6521]

Tunisia too

And like you said, it would really suck to have a flashy degree in production design and spend years barely getting by on hourly wages in Hollywood, while all the cool movies are being made in Canada and Australia.

[SethB6025]

WOW,the last time i mentioned recast,i was flogged severly by Seth..now its a open topic??????

If I remember right there wasn't a flogging, and it wasn't for "mentioning" recasting. Pretty much everything is an open topic.

While we're WAY off topic, I spent a year in graphic design class in a vocational high school, before figuring out I was bored to death. I put some of the skills to use for almost 8 years as a kitchen and bath designer before leaving the career for financial services, but I've always enjoyed doing art for myself, and of course props.

[Rolf]

Here is a picture of a off topic trooper.

I´m born in 73.

Ive been painting ever since i can rember, in 84 i got into the hip hop culture as a graffiti writer. Not as a vandal, i wanna make beautiful stuff for people to look at ex. I never quit, and i´m still doing it when i can find the time for it.

I also went 2 years to art school, and later on education as a socil care taker/pedagogue over 3 years and 6 mounth.

For the last two years i work whit young kids from age 10 to 18, i got my own space at work where i do art on paper/canvas ex whit them all most every day.

I´m also a member of two art shops where i sell my art from.

Well what can i say, we are all creative in some way.

Cheers brotherhood.

Rolf

[Burt Landcaster]

I never being one to miss a chance of adding somthing that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. I myself have done a few indepent flims acting, also in the time i spent in Hollywood in my teens i learn flim editing, sound work, photography. and for a short time i was the assistant to Steve Kaufman.... To those in the art world he was known for being taken under the wing of the famous Andy warhol. I still have some of his art laying around my house.

[TD-4510]

I was heavily into cars and mechanics as a kid. Once I turned 18 I joined the Army and did a 7 year hitch. When I left the Army I became a cook full time at Northrop Gruimman for 4 years. After that I went to Los Angeles Recording Workshop to learn pre and post production of video and audio and interned at one on one studios with X-Japan for a year. After all that I realized that Hollywood will have you working for peanuts until they decide that you are "in". I did freelance graphic design and that turned out to be a bad idea too, as nobody was willing to pay very much for my efforts. I went into the printing industry and became a Mac prepress operator. So far the money has been really good and sometimes I get to pull out the creative juices again.

Star Wars and prop building has fascinated me over the last couple of years, and I really enjoy being in the 501st.

But enough about me.....

I thought Gino was going to post the history of the ROTJ armor and how all this came about. I still want to hear what he has to say. It would be cool to know how all these cool props came about.

[weiBes trooper]

X-Japan ROCKS!!! cool

[Burt Landcaster]

After that I went to Los Angeles Recording Workshop to learn pre and post production of video and audio and interned at one on one studios with X-Japan for a year.

Dude Thats fu*cken awsome You met X in there prime! My band almost had a shot of doing somthing with the drumer from X Yoshiki but never came to pass now he just shows up to con's and is chased by fan girls LMAO! anyway did you met HIDE what was he like? or PATA for that matter

[clutch]

Wow. I thought I was the only one that had heard of X-Japan.

[Burt Landcaster]

Wow. I thought I was the only one that had heard of X-Japan.

lol i had some of there song lyrics as my Quotes On the RPF and the TSU how did you miss that lol

[TD-4510]

I did meet Hide and he was very kind. An absolutely awesome musician as well. Its been like 8-9 years since his suicide. I never would have guessed that he would do that.

Yoshiki is an odd individual. He was very pampered. Got daily full body rubs from his personal assistant. I had to vacuum his "room" every night after he left. I was not allowed to leave any footprints in the room, so I had to vacuum my way out after completely cleaning it. When he did his drum practice to get ready for the tours, he would come in around 11 am. You could hear the track beaping at doubletime outside of the live room and he would be just beating the **** out of the drums for hours. I was not allowed to watch him practice and they would put up sound barrier walls to block all views. Its funny, in person he was very kind and shy, but behind the drums he was a madman.

Pata was very laid back and...It seemed like he drank alot, although I never saw him do it. He was always hanging out waiting for Yoshiki. Yoshiki was "The Man" and everybody knew it. So all the band members would show up when he said to and sometimes wait for hours on him.

I was a production assistant at One on One....also known as a huge pee on. By then X-japan had already bought the studio. I just missed Metallica and all the other great bands that had recorded there by like a year. That was what was cool about working there. Just knowing that all those great musicians had been there. I never knew how big X-japan was until I had been there several months.

It was a great experience. I wish I could have stayed in Music and Video, but as I said before....Peanuts.

[TD-4935]

tell me about it. i've been scraping a living with music for years. still, gotta love it

[Burt Landcaster]

I did meet Hide and he was very kind. An absolutely awesome musician as well. Its been like 8-9 years since his suicide. I never would have guessed that he would do that.

Yoshiki is an odd individual. He was very pampered. Got daily full body rubs from his personal assistant. I had to vacuum his "room" every night after he left. I was not allowed to leave any footprints in the room, so I had to vacuum my way out after completely cleaning it. When he did his drum practice to get ready for the tours, he would come in around 11 am. You could hear the track beaping at doubletime outside of the live room and he would be just beating the **** out of the drums for hours. I was not allowed to watch him practice and they would put up sound barrier walls to block all views. Its funny, in person he was very kind and shy, but behind the drums he was a madman.

Pata was very laid back and...It seemed like he drank alot, although I never saw him do it. He was always hanging out waiting for Yoshiki. Yoshiki was "The Man" and everybody knew it. So all the band members would show up when he said to and sometimes wait for hours on him.

I was a production assistant at One on One....also known as a huge pee on. By then X-japan had already bought the studio. I just missed Metallica and all the other great bands that had recorded there by like a year. That was what was cool about working there. Just knowing that all those great musicians had been there. I never knew how big X-japan was until I had been there several months.

It was a great experience. I wish I could have stayed in Music and Video, but as I said before....Peanuts.

thats pretty intresting!

[The Dirty Trooper]

Litigation with Lucas Film Licensing.

Following the DEFAULT judgemnet obtained by Lucas against us, in a small district court in LA , we have now successfully brought the case to the UK High Court, where we have entered a counterclaim against Lucas. We are claiming our Intellectual Property rights for the characters and councel`s opinion is that we should win the case… Watch this space…..

This is an update I received from an email from AA this morning. I hope this does'nt turn into a battle between us (MEPD). I have'nt put this up to stir it, I have done it as an update.

[SethB6025]

Thanks Marc, he certainly would be set if he wins!

[bearden6521]

Thanks for the info Marc

[BingoBongo_275]

Its turning into a VERY interesting case

Cheers

Jez

[Scooter]

I did meet Hide and he was very kind. An absolutely awesome musician as well. Its been like 8-9 years since his suicide. I never would have guessed that he would do that.

Yoshiki is an odd individual. He was very pampered. Got daily full body rubs from his personal assistant. I had to vacuum his "room" every night after he left. I was not allowed to leave any footprints in the room, so I had to vacuum my way out after completely cleaning it. When he did his drum practice to get ready for the tours, he would come in around 11 am. You could hear the track beaping at doubletime outside of the live room and he would be just beating the **** out of the drums for hours. I was not allowed to watch him practice and they would put up sound barrier walls to block all views. Its funny, in person he was very kind and shy, but behind the drums he was a madman.

Pata was very laid back and...It seemed like he drank alot, although I never saw him do it. He was always hanging out waiting for Yoshiki. Yoshiki was "The Man" and everybody knew it. So all the band members would show up when he said to and sometimes wait for hours on him.

I was a production assistant at One on One....also known as a huge pee on. By then X-japan had already bought the studio. I just missed Metallica and all the other great bands that had recorded there by like a year. That was what was cool about working there. Just knowing that all those great musicians had been there. I never knew how big X-japan was until I had been there several months.

It was a great experience. I wish I could have stayed in Music and Video, but as I said before....Peanuts.

Wow that's awesome. I hadn't heard of X-Japan until now, I will have to have a look into them. What kind of music do they play?

I am also fortunate enough to have close friends who manage and run the Studio that Bass player from Gary Beers from INXS owned. The studio does all soughts of top bands including Silverchair and the likes. The studio is so beautiful inside. I often go up there to play ping pong and have a listen to different stuff happening up there.

[The Dirty Trooper]

Can I ask that we keep this thread OT. If you want to divert off I can move it for you. That way it stops it getting full of OT stuff.

[BingoBongo_275]

Litigation with Lucas Film Licensing.

Following the DEFAULT judgemnet obtained by Lucas against us, in a small district court in LA , we have now successfully brought the case to the UK High Court, where we have entered a counterclaim against Lucas. We are claiming our Intellectual Property rights for the characters and councel`s opinion is that we should win the case… Watch this space…..

This is an update I received from an email from AA this morning. I hope this does'nt turn into a battle between us (MEPD). I have'nt put this up to stir it, I have done it as an update.

Given what AA is saying he appears to have serious financial backing on this case, as I just cant believe he would have the funds to fight a civil case like this. Since this could end up at the Old Bailey I'd expect costs to be >£1m given recent IPR cases (Procul Harum, Da Vinci Code etc.)

Any partners would clearly be interested in the use of "his" IPR by LFL in all the movies, toys and games since ANH, the value of which would be millions.

I've just found the following article in a Law Society Journal which makes interesting reading...

However matters are not that simple. Shepperton Studios produced some of the first helmets and body armours for the original Star Wars films back in the 1970s. Mr Ainsworth of Shepperton Studios claims he did not have a contract with George Lucas governing production of the costumes and that he has never surrendered his rights over the designs. Further, this is no attack of the clones as he is continuing to use the original moulds. On the other hand Lucasfilms alleges such claims are misleading and that Shepperton has no rights in the designs. It claims that as Shepperton is not entitled to recreate the costumes, this constitutes copyright infringement.

Copyright in the UK is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Under these provisions copyright will attach to the author of any original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. The original designs of the Stormtrooper costumes may well be protected as an artistic work under this regime. Such copyright protection is not limited to two-dimensional drawings and has extended to items as diverse as jewellery and toys. Previously the costumes and prostheses for the film Frankenstein have gained the protection of copyright. If copyright protection is established for the Stormtroopers costumes it entitles the author to the sole right to copy the work for a period of 70 years. Any unauthorised copying by inference amounts to infringement.

Matters consequently turn on establishing who the author is. In most cases the author of the work is the creator, who automatically obtains copyright protection. However an exception to this principle is where the work was created in the course of the author's employment. Such an exception could only be invoked here if Mr Ainsworth was an employee of George Lucas. In this case it appears that while Shepperton Studios were hired to create the helmets, Mr Ainsworth was not an actual employee. Much will depend on whether there was an actual written contract and in the absence of this what was verbally agreed between parties. These are all matters of fact which would need to be established by a court.

Given the tight control Lucasfilms now exerts over its intellectual property rights, such a potential loophole would never transpire today. Indeed all businesses should ensure that they have contracts in place to govern the supply of services by direct employees or other companies providing a service. This is particularly critical where it involves the design of a new product or service and authorship issues may arise.

Cheers

Jez

[The Dirty Trooper]

That took a bit of reading and thinking to get round the legal jargon . So what they are saying is that the guy or girl that drew the design has the © of the stormtrooper armour?