Fan Videos: An Original Art Form That Builds Community

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Fan videos are much more than manipulation of an existing video: they are a contemporary art form involving a complex creation process that requires enormous dedication and community interaction. Fan videos are videos made from preexisting clips, such as from a movie or show, and heavily edited with added music and other elements to portray what the viewer of the original medium wants to emphasize. The creators work with original texts that range in available media, such as a two-hour movie or a television show that lasts seven seasons, and according to Francesca Coppa and Kristina Busse, they use the limitation of available original media to their advantage. These fans use software editing programs to create artwork with the same dedication and intent as those who create traditional art. Due to technological affordances, fans are now able to create artwork that responds back to the original text and create an ongoing community conversation and bond. Scholars such as Henry Jenkins criticizes these pieces of fan culture as “poaching” and stealing authorial ownership. However, Busse has pointed out that these are indeed pieces of art that are continuing a conversation and creating a communal bond. This presentation will demonstrate that fan videos are not about authorial ownership, but about creating an ever-growing art piece that elicits emotions and bonds with others within the