A Brief History of the Global British Comedy Collaborative and How It Works
The History of the Collaborative
In May 2001, I was comparing the holdings of several general collectors
of British Comedy. I was struck by the fact that while there were many
shows and episodes held in common by more than one collector, there were
also many examples of synergy -- holes in one person's collection filled
exactly by the holdings of another person. From this was born the idea
of an "inner circle" for British Comedy traders and collectors where trading
was not the norm but collaboration toward a loftier goal was.
After six months, I think the collaborative is succeeding. The "inner
circle" includes generalist and specialist collectors in the United Kingdom,
Canada, United States, Australia, and New Zealand. A dozen or more shows
have been started and are in varying states of completion. Many more opportunities
to improve the quality or completeness still exist. One outside observer
called us "the audio equivalent of Project Gutenberg" and while many differences
exist, I'll accept it as the compliment it was intended to be.
New members in the "inner circle" are still possible. Qualifications
include
-
interest and an ability to put aside the trading mindset within the Collaborative
to work toward a shared goal
-
holdings that can add substantially to the general collection
in quality or uniqueness
-
and above all, a willingness to work. Listening to multiple copies of every
episode to pick the best sound and most complete performance takes time!
Cataloging the contents and cast credits of each episode takes even more
time. Burning multiple copies of CDs and posting them around the world
takes time and resources.
How the Collaboration Works
This is the normal life cycle of a "project" within the Collaborative:
-
A member volunteers to take the lead in working on a show. Additional members
or outside specialists may be added to assist the effort.
-
The leader collects the individual holdings of the members for that show.
For every episode, the best sounding and most complete copy is chosen and
added to the "master collection." Documentaries, specials, and other collateral
material are added in the same way to document the context and history
of the show and cast.
-
The leader issues a "Rev.A" master collection for review by the members.
Each member gets a chance to compare the episodes with his or her own collection
and suggest replacements or additions.
-
After any feedback is received, a "Rev.B" master collection is issued to
the members. This represents the most comprehensive and best quality collection
that can be achieved from known material. It is not necessarily
complete in either the number of episodes or in the quality of each episodes.
If missing episodes are found or incremental quality improvements can be
made, subsequent revisions may be issued.
-
Members are free to use the "master collections" in whole or in part as
trading material outside the Collaborative.
More than a dozen other shows are "in progress" or "in review."
Last Edited: 23-Feb-2002
Contact: john.lucas@attbi.com