2020 photo project
The 2020 Photo Project is an effort to finalize the selection of community-created photos for the 2020 edition of the rulebook. The project has two parts: first to select, edit, and create photos to fill the sections of the rulebook that need them, and second to make sure all the copyrights, captions, and credits are in order.
Contents
Image Notes
Many of the current BrikWars draft update pages have a link in the upper right corner labeled "Image notes." If you click on this, it'll show the notes for each the photos and illustrations on the page. Green means good to go, yellow means needs work, and red means it's got to be removed.
I'll be updating these notes over time as we get permissions and work gets done. Later I'll want to mark spots in the rules where we need images and don't currently have any. Don't let that slow you down - if you see a spot that you think needs a photo, feel free to suggest one.
Good Photos
There are lots of factors to consider when selecting photos. Not every photo has to nail all of these, but the more of these a photo hits, the more likely it can be used. If you're creating new photos, looking through the photo archive on Pinterest, or looking for a favorite moment in a forum thread, aim for these targets:
Image quality
Images should be high-quality and preferably high-resolution. Sidebar images should be at least 800px, while main page images should be at least 2400px.
Most images are not posted at these high resolutions, so a lot depends on whether the photographer still has access to the originals. If you're looking through other people's photos and threads for pictures to suggest, remember that recent photos are a lot more likely to meet this standard than older ones, due to the inexorable advance of digital camera tech.
Relevance
Images should relate to the rules section they're illustrating. Ideally they'll have a funny story for how a player tried to use the adjacent rule and it went wrong.
Engagement
Photos should have enough story attached to them that readers get hooked and either want to know what happens next or want to try it themselves. Bonus points if the photo story links to a kanon that's referenced in other photos in the chapter or elsewhere in the book, making readers want to know more.
The best photos have dramatic staging and lighting with the main action standing out against the background.
Community Pillars
Photos from well-known and well-regarded community members are better for reader engagement. If they're inspired to google up a user or do a forum search for their posts, it's better if they find a lot of great content and get hooked in further rather than two posts that went nowhere and a bunch of forum drama.
Good Background
Photos with a clean background are easier to use than photos of your basement with a bunch of dirty laundry wadded up in the background. This can't always be avoided, and can sometimes be fixed in photoshop, but it takes extra time.
A scene entirely surrounded by a blank white background is often best of all, as BrikWars uses this style heavily.
No Corporate IP
Corporate IP creates legal risk. Mountain Dew logos, Star Wars scenes, etc. is risky. The bigger the IP, the riskier it gets.
Copyrights
All images, characters, and models are the copyrights of their creators, and that means we have to get specific permissions for all of them. We also need to make sure they approve the captions on their work, and that they're credited the way they prefer.
Currently the plan is to start with an informal agreement ("can I use your stuff?" "sure") to help decide on image selection, and then set up written agreements for specific content items as things start to finalize. Most likely the agreement will include a promise of a free copy of the final PDF once it's made.
Current Permissions
Currently we have permissions from the following people:
Informal Permissions
Blanket permission, via Facebook Messenger 1/18/2018:
Blanket permission, via Discord #rules 5/28/2020:
- RedRover
- Archduke
- Space Bunny
- Duerer (but undecided about credit)
- Falk
- aoffan23
- ninja_bait
- Bookwyrm
- Arkbrik (except photos of his butt)
- Spectral
- shaggy
- Infinity
- Gorvoslov (except photos of his butt)
Blanket permission, via Discord #rules 5/29/2020:
- lordintype (no feet pics)
- Cracjaw
Blanket permission, via Discord #general 5/29/2020:
Blanket permission, via Discord PM 5/29/2020:
- Zahru II (with specific exceptions)
- Quantumsurfer
