Molotov &/or Ecstasy

It was interesting to see today the topic of copyright infringement and the endless possibilities we as filmmakers really do have this day and age. it seems so overwhelming in fact that starting from scratch could seem easier than scrubbing thru hours and hour of footage picking and choosing the little building blocks you want to assemble into your image. with the readings, i saw how the specific case of the molotov man and his rendition of a photograph in paint calls into question what is defined under the laws of owning rights to ideas and art. personally, i think it would be ridiculous for a photographer to try and win a legal battle with a painter for the direct inspiration of an image she herself captured or possibly even "stole from the world" as it were. it is true that all things especially pertaining to art and creativity is influenced in one form or another. this fact can make some artists seem silly for locking their fresh and shiny work in a cage or legal protection instead of allowing to it pass openly from one person to the next, feeding into the mass pool of thought and creativity all people draw from. in response to this stingy attitude towards art, we have the capability of nibbling at any resource we can find. in a way, it is an understood commune all artists share. sure, many people may become sore upon seeing their inspiration uncredited but in a way they should use that as a motivation to excel further into new ideas, trying to explore, in contrast to those who dwell on old recyclables. however, i can see the desire and feelings present as we try and protect our movies some may even see as important as hiding a child from the world. there seems to be a sense of offense and possibly even paranoia surrounding how we handle media. that somehow if its mass produced the value isnt present, no matter the quality or amount of work gone into the production. but in a sense there are many people who take things too far when they should be honored that something they made has influence and been processed to create something new. each person sees things differently in their styles and techniques, reflected in the vast variety of art seen all over the world. in this way i think people need to lighten up and really step back and visualize the scope of media available for inpiration. thinking about it further, the whole copyright thing simply comes down to money or any kind of profitable experience one can achieve thru their work. if art was always practiced as a creative outlet with no real material gains or advantages, none of this would be an issue.