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Beyond The Phantom Edit: A Critical History and Practical Analysis of Fan Edits By Joshua Wille Submitted to the graduate degree program in Film and Media Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ______________________________________ Chair: John C. Tibbetts, Ph.D. ______________________________________ Matthew Jacobson, M.F.A. ______________________________________ Kevin Willmott, M.F.A. ______________________________________ Ronald Wilson, Ph.D. ______________________________________ Kij Johnson, M.F.A. Date Defended: July 19, 2017 The Dissertation Committee for Joshua Wille certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Beyond The Phantom Edit: A Critical History and Practical Analysis of Fan Edits ______________________________________ Chair: John C. Tibbetts, Ph.D. Date Approved: July 19, 2017 !ii Abstract Fan edits are essentially unauthorized alternative versions of films made by fans, whom I define as people with intense interest in films and related media. Unlike traditional film editing, which is characterized by a new assemblage of original film or video content, fan editing is a form of recombinant filmmaking that reactivates existing arrangements of audiovisual material. Fan edits are noncommercial transformative works that illustrate the mutability of digital cinema as well as the potential for new media artists, experimental filmmakers, and diverse critical voices to emerge from a networked public. The Phantom Edit (2000) is a seminal fan edit based on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) that established a model of production and distribution for fan edits. As a central research problem, this study recognizes that the failure of previous scholarship to account accurately for the history of The Phantom Edit, as well as an evident lack of close engagement with contemporary fan edits, have hindered the ability of scholars to grapple with significant developments in fan edit culture. In general, film and media studies have failed to account for both The Phantom Edit and nearly two decades of progressive work. This study builds upon the limits of previous scholarship in order to illustrate a historical trajectory of fan editing from The Phantom Edit to its more diverse present state, which is exemplified by Raising Cain: Re-cut (2012), a fan edit based on Raising Cain (1992) that was eventually endorsed by Brian De Palma and sold as the official director’s cut. Furthermore, this study examines practical trends of fan edits and effective means of classification. Combining archival research, interviews, practical fan editing experience, and textual analysis of fan edits !iii collected over several years of participation in the fan editing community, this study offers a foundation of knowledge about the technology, legal contexts, and cultural practice of fan edits. !iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the members of my dissertation committee for their continuous support during the development of this project. I am especially thankful for the guidance of my committee chair, Dr. John C. Tibbetts, who offered enthusiastic support for this research from the beginning of my doctoral studies. This project represents the culmination of several years of research and practice in an emerging area that is underrepresented in film and media studies, and I wish to express my appreciation for the insights and support of many members of the fan editing community. In particular, I would like to thank fan editors L8wrtr, Neglify, Blueyoda, and Reave, as well as Mike J. Nichols. Additional thanks to Dr. Henry Jenkins for his advice in navigating as both a researcher and a practitioner. Finally, I must thank my wife, Stephanie Wille, and my mother, Diana F. Wille, for their relentless support throughout my doctoral studies. This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my father, Dr. James H. Wille. !v Table of Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................v Introduction: Digital Cinema and the Persistence of Revision ........................................................1 The Limits of Fan Edit Scholarship ..........................................................................................11 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................13 Methodology .............................................................................................................................17 Chapter Outline .........................................................................................................................18 Chapter 1: The Phantom Edit Revisited .........................................................................................21 The Phantom Editor vs. The Genius of the System ..................................................................22 A Critical History of Fan Edit Studies ......................................................................................47 Pre-texts of Fan Edit Studies ................................................................................................48 Participatory Culture and Policy ..........................................................................................55 Questioning Authors and Authenticity .................................................................................86 Going Beyond The Phantom Edit ......................................................................................102 Chapter 2: A Remix by Any Other Name ....................................................................................107 Fan Editing Communities .......................................................................................................113 OriginalTrilogy.com ...........................................................................................................113 FanEdit.org .........................................................................................................................116 Other Fan Editors ...............................................................................................................117 The Tools and the Trade ..........................................................................................................117 Fan Edit Production ...........................................................................................................118 !vi Fan Edit Distribution ..........................................................................................................122 Legal Contexts of Fan Editing ................................................................................................129 Fair Use and the Game Genie Case ...................................................................................131 The Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Exemption Game ....................................138 The Writing on the Wall ..........................................................................................................141 Chapter 3: Toward an Aesthetic Study of Fan Edits ....................................................................145 Generic Classification in the Internet Fanedit Database .........................................................147 FanFix ................................................................................................................................147 FanMix ...............................................................................................................................150 Extended Edition ................................................................................................................154 Shorts .................................................................................................................................155 TV-to-Movie ......................................................................................................................156 Special Projects ..................................................................................................................157 Preservation ........................................................................................................................159 Documentary/Review ........................................................................................................160 A Preliminary Taxonomy of Fan Editorial Strategies .............................................................161 Chronology Cut ..................................................................................................................162 Genre-mix ..........................................................................................................................164 Book Cut ............................................................................................................................165 Character Reduction ...........................................................................................................166 Character Concentration ....................................................................................................167 Music Replacement ............................................................................................................168