I definitely think that there’s going to be a clash between the ideals of Creative Commons licensing and the reality of turning your labor of love into a paying gig.

To me, the effort to get copyright law back to the constitutional model written by Thomas Jefferson and away from the model written by Walt Disney, Inc. is a realistic goal, especially since in the web world seven years or so of content protection feels like a lifetime.

The good news is that there’s an ever growing library of great Creative Commons-licensed content, like music, that documentarians and other filmmakers would be well served to explore. Maybe even ITVS might convince their productions to think about it.

Real world copyright management is an area where most film and broadcast schools totally fail to prepare their students for the real world.

The recent documentary on kids taking ballroom dancing course spent half its budget just on music clearances–and they only managed to keep it that low by convincing the ballroom program to use cheaper music. Rights costs are outrageous–guides on how to keep costs down would be very useful.

How about Part 2, turning the tables on what to consider when applying a copy license to one’s own work? We’ve been strict about not infringing on others’ copyrights, and so far our show has been a labor of love. As we complete one year and 365 episodes (Saturday!) we are creating financial models to keep it sustainable. And there are plenty more like us, wanting to “monetize the show” in some form or fashion.

Thanks and aloha!