GENERAL
I’ve made my position on YouTube videos for some time now. It’s not that I’m uninterested in the production of quality videos for Players and Game Masters; I’m simply neither in the possession of the tradecraft or the time to write, template, produce, and finalize videos. This is simply a recognition of my limitations. What I am capable of doing is rapid-fire research and written-form essays and reviews. The hope is that most of you are satisfied with the content and the presentation, accepting the constraints I work with. That said, I’ve been dabbling with the idea of short-form videos like this one.
DISCUSSION
Fair Use Policy and Legalities. Not to be avoided, certainly in the context of what has happened with the Wizards of the Coast (WotC) at Gen Con (The Bazaar #65: Surviving the Digital Gaming Frontier). How they handled the influencers that were provided advanced copies of the Players Handbook is a textbook example of good intentions and a solid marketing mechanism, ruined by poor planning, lazy execution, laced with ignorance among those involved. Considering this, I reached out to Sean Roberson and allowed him the opportunity to vet the video, confirming Fair Use was “in play.”
Imagery. This teaser trailer relies heavily on Rifts imagery, many of them found in the original Rifts Main Book, or cover art. There are a number of folks that use Palladium Books imagery, myself included. But these are all clearly within Fair Use territory (reviews and commentary). When talking about Fair Use Policy for a promo teaser, it ultimately is decided by the owner of the Registered Trademarks – in this case Palladium Books and Kevin Siembieda. With an overabundance of caution, I decided to include the "wall of text" for Registered Trademarks at the conclusion. As this endeavour is entirely non-monetized (both the video and this blog), I asked, and Sean approved. Thanks again Sean!
Music. The audio track is a piece is called 'Psycho,' by Alex Besss. As the score for this video, I grabbed it from Upbeat.io, which has several functions available in both a limited (free) function, but also unlimited for a monthly fee. The site allowed me to sample the songs beforehand, which ultimately allowed me to edit text and imagery to match. Win-win!
Development. As part of the development of military officers, one certain course (Army Operations Course, or AOC) is ‘affectionately’ known to produce many a PowerPoint wizard – zero P.P.E. gained, at a stretch a +10% bonus to Computer Operations. All kidding aside, this deck was initially created leveraging PowerPoint, audio playing in the background. A couple of run throughs to sync slide transitions to music, hit record, and voila. For anyone looking to get into this niche segment of creativity, this is NOT the norm – I’m sure video content producers out there are screaming into their coffee. I won’t blame you, LOL.
Imagery and Engagement. One of the biggest hurdles to getting new Players is engagement. What initially captures the interest of many Players and Game Masters alike are the visual elements of the game products. Often new Players are introduced by a friend to the concept of TTRPGs, invariably most of those discussions begins with D&D. What D&D certainly has in spades is great graphic artwork support (less the bits they generate from AI), and a massive Third Party Content support structure built up over years following the Open Game License, back in 2000. Let’s not discount Palladium Books in terms of artwork – they have some absolute greats who have contributed, and many more still doing so. One of my long-standing projects is doing individual Artist Reviews and discussing their individual works. A couple of samples, with more to come:
YouTube and Engagement. As indicated in the introduction, I’m most definitely not a video designer, audio engineer, nor a film producer. What I am is passionate about is the game and the setting. YouTube is definitely THE premier mechanism for a lot of TTRPG marketing. Content from Third Party Content providers get the most hits and traction, building on initial press releases and marketing campaigns by RPG producers. Just go look how many videos were created discussing the new D&D 5.5E Players Handbook. I’m more than content with the 1000+ visits per month to my blog. I’m sure with a YouTube content creation partner, that could expand, more so to provide further visibility to this great TTRPG, and my voice to promote the game and help out new GMs and Players. So if anyone out there is looking to chat on the topic, I'm certainly open to discuss.
Palladium Books Third Party Content. There are also a few Third Party Content providers out there as well, and I always take the time to promote their efforts as well. The teaser trailer aims to highlight some of the more evocative works, generating that engagement and interest. For those unaware of some other providers, I did a post (The Bazaar #25: Palladium Books Online Fandom) summarizing many of the online resources at that time (2022). Some of the links have since expired, while others need to be added. An updated post to follow.
Teaser Video
Without further a-do, thumbnail image brings you to the Scholarly Adventures Blog Teaser Trailer.
CONCLUSION
This was a fun little project. Ultimately, I’m relieved that Sean Roberson both approved the Fair Use of the imagery and appreciated the video. Given this context, and my general optimism with the teaser trailer, there will very likely be more forthcoming along the lines of a generic “Rifts Promo Pack,” which will be available for anyone to use (up to and certainly including Palladium Books). Hopefully, this kind of project develops some good traction and can be leveraged to help generate that buzz and interest in the Rifts RPG and the overall Palladium Books Megaverse.
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