Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine Issue #1

MAGAZINE Issue #1

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Thought Rocket Publishing presents….

“Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine” Issue #1 - "How To Turn An Old Public Domain Movie And Into An Underground Cult Classic Smash Hit!"

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Introduction Dear Reader, Welcome aboard the maiden voyage of "P ublic Domain Treasure Treasure Hunter Magazine", the only digital magazine exploring ingeniously creative and outrageously lucrative ways to profit from the public domain! This magazine is dedicated to exploring unique and little known ways to repackage and republish public domain material for fun and profit. You may already know that using copyright-free public domain material is without a doubt the fastest, easiest, and least expensive way there is to create your own products with the least amount of effort but, when most people think of the public domain, they mainly envision old books and such. Granted, there are tons of great public domain books out there (millions in fact) that you can republish as e-books, printed books, and content for your websites and blogs but did you realize that there is also a vast treasure chest of films, television shows, cartoons and all sorts of other visual media waiting for you as well? It's true! The sheer amount of movies that are in the public domain is mind-blowing and the best part is that just like public domain books, you can use them any way you want. You can use public domain movies and other visual media to create your own line of DVD's, streaming videos from your website, to use in advertising - literally any way you want! In this premiere issue of "Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine" we will be discussing many specific examples of a very unique method of breathing new life into a public domain movie that is so creative and so powerful, that it if applied correctly practically guarantees you legions of adoring fans (and paying customers). Not only can this method be extremely rewarding but it's also a great deal of fun as well! We're not talking about winning academy awards here by any means but when done right, this method will have you using copyright-free public domain movies to create video products that will be fun, memorable, and extremely viral in nature. Apply this method and you'll be producing the kind of movies that critics hate (so what!) but the fans love. Grab your beverage of choice, take the phone off the hook, and lock your door because I'm about to reveal "Ho w To Turn An Old Public Domain Movie Into An Underground Cult Classic Smash Hit!" Read on and profit my friend!

Logan Andrew Editor & Contributor, “P ublic Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine”




" How Turn An Old Old Publi Publi c Domain Movie I nt o An An Undergr Undergr ound Cul t Classic lassic Sm Sm ash Hit !" What I am about to reveal is by no means a new idea although it is a very creative and little used idea. Woody Allen’s done it. Jay Leno’s done it. National Advertising Agencies have done it. Heck there’s even been entire T.V. shows built around this concept. But what I really love about this idea is that anybody can do this! Well, that is anybody with a computer, some video editing software, and a little bit of creativity. I know you at least already have a computer or you wouldn’t be reading this magazine! Video editing software? You’ve probably already got it loaded on your computer. Creativity? You’ve got that in spades… So what’s this idea that can breathe new life into old forgotten public domain movies? The concept is simple (not to mention fun!) – take a public domain movie and completely remove the original audio, then replace it with your own new comedy audio. Some people call this “spoofing” or but I prefer to call it “redubbing” . “reimagineering” This only works when you’re using humorous dialog and funny sound effects to replace the original audio. There’s something about old public domain movies that practically beg you to make fun of them. The cheesier the better! Take a look at Hercules over there from the film “Hercules” (1958) – replace his original dialogue with some zingy one-liners, some funny sounds effects, and some snappy music, and suddenly you have a wholei wholeinewi newimovie!

Steve Reeves in “Hercules” 19 58




The magic ingredient here, of course is the humor. It’s the humor that makes this method work. People love to have a good laugh. If you make people laugh, not only do you have a new friend, but a loyal new customer as well. With the right video editing software it’s very easy to remove the original soundtrack from a public domain movie and the replace it with your own new comedy soundtrack. There are thousands of great public domain movies to choose from. Certain movies lend themselves easily to this method – you’ll know the ones I mean when you see them. Sci-fi and Horror work particularly well as you’ll see in the examples I’ll provide in a moment. Granted, this method isn’t for everyone but if you have a good imagination and lots of creativity you can have a lot of fun with this and make some good money too. There have been roughly a dozen films released using this method that I know of and each one of them has gained a “cult status” and their own legion of hardcore fans. I’ll show you a few of them in just a second. You have to have a thick skin to use this method as you’ll likely receive a lot of criticism. These kinds of movies appeal to a certain crowd but believe me, that crowd is definitely large enough to support a business venture. There are only two responses a viewer will have to this type of movie – they’ll either love it or hate it, no in between. They’ll either or they won’t. The ones that get it will become fiercely loyal customers. “get it” My advice is to just focus on the people that will “get it” and forget the rest. It’s the people that “get it” that will love your movie and tell all of their like-minded friends about it. They’ll pass along your video clips (you should release some) or direct friends to your website. If your clips are funny, your videos will have a “viral” effect, spreading around the internet like wildfire, driving traffic back to your site and producing sales. Humor can be a very powerful tool. When people see your video clips and it makes them laugh, they naturally want to laugh some more so they’ll most likely buy your DVD. Humor is also a very powerful bonding agent – if you make ‘em laugh they instantly like and trust you which is critical for making sales and building your business. Just imagine – your own video production company reimagineering classic public domain movies into hilarious new films each one building its own cult following! If done right, this is the kind of thing that can gain you a ton of exposure. You’ll sell truckloads of DVD’s.

And if your stuff is really good, you could even land a contract with a cable T.V. channel to produce a weekly T.V. show! It’s been done before. See Fractured Flickers and Mad Movies with the L.A. Connection. I caught every episode of Mad Movies when it was on the air in 1985 – these guys were masters at reimagineering old films and making them laugh out-loud funny! Take a look at some of the following films. films. Each of these "reimagineered" films have developed cult followings of their own . These films will give you an idea of what I’m talking about and illustrate the power of this idea….

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“ Hercules Recyc Recycled” led” The Movie: “Hercules Recycled” 1994 Bogus Reality Productions Original Movie: “Hercules”, 1958 & “Hercules Unchained”, 1959 Plot Outline: Two famous wide-screen blockbusters, Hercules and Hercules Unchained have been re-edited into one, fast-paced, outrageous comedy-adventure - Hercules Recycled. It's 2024 A.D. Technology has vanished. MTV is but a memory. And commuters travel by horse-drawn chariot. But one hope remains - a lost, secret energy formula written on the back of a golden bath mat which can restore civilization to its former splendor! Only one man is buff enough to stand against blood-thirsty special interest groups, battle savage fast-food mutants, and capture the formula - that man is TV exercise show host Burt Galaxy (Steve Reeves)! Written by V. Walker (SOURCE: Internet Movie Database - IMDB.com) To watch a scene from the original “Hercules Unchained”, Click Here. For another, Click Here.

“ What ’s Up, Tiger Lily ?” The Movie: “What’s Up Tiger Lily?” 1966, Benedict Pictures Corp Original Movie: "International Secret Police: Key of Keys", 1965 Plot Outline: In comic Woody Allen's film debut, he took the Japanese action film "International Secret Police: Key of Keys" and re-dubbed it, changing the plot to make it revolve around a secret egg salad recipe. So you want Plot? Woody Allen bought a Japanese spy movie, removed the voice track, and replaced it with one of his own. He doesn't seem to have bothered with the original script at all. Typical Joke: "Back off! My secret spy camera has taken pictures of you all through your clothes. Unless you release me, your naked photos will be sold in every school yard in Tokyo within the hour. Unless you are totally comfortable with your body, you must release me." Very funny, but also very unusual. Written by John Vogel {[email protected]} (SOURCE: Internet Movie Database - IMDB.com) => To watch a scene from the film Click Here.




“ Revenge Of Of The Sun Sun Demon” The Movie: “Revenge of the Sun Demon”, 1983 Original Movie: "The Hideous Sun Demon", 1959 Plot Outline: Z-grade horror flick "The Hideous Sun Demon" redubbed and re-edited into monster-movie spoof about a suntan lotion that works from the inside out (it also has a certain side effect). (SOURCE: Internet Movie Database - IMDB.com) The Hideous Sun Demon was a typically awful really low budget 1959 sci-fi monster movie which B-movie actor Robert Clarke produced, directed, and starred in. The current feature simply takes the original film and dubs in hip, funny, self-mocking dialogue to replace the old, stiff, self-conscious original dialogue, much in the manner of Woody Allen's creative redubbing of What's Up Tiger Lily?. Among the uncredited voices is that of comic Jay Leno. A small amount of new footage, carefully shot to match the original, has been added to fill out the story. In the original, a research scientist (Clarke) has been exposed to a radioactive substance which makes him turn into a reptile monster whenever he's exposed to sunlight. After this, he falls in love with a beautiful nightclub singer, but a series of mishaps result in his being killed while his love remains unconsummated. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide (SOURCE: movies.nytimes.com). movies.nytimes.com). Sorry, no trailer or clips available.

“ J-Men Forever!” The Movie: “J-Men Forever!” 1979, Curtco Original Movie: A Mish-mash of many different serials from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. Plot Outline : The Lightning Bug has a multi-prong scheme to enslave the earth. First, rock and roll, which the JMen counter with Muzac, then marijuana. Finally, the JMen build a bomb to blow up the moon with, but the Bug beats them to it by self destructing the moon by playing his rock and roll too loud. Written by a.d. jensen {[email protected]} This film features edited scenes from 1930s and 1940s serials, re-dubbed for comic effect, combined with explanatory scenes with Peter Bergman and Philip Proctor as federal agents. The explanation given for the constantly changing appearance of the film's villain, The Lightning Bug, is that he is a master of disguise. J-Men Forever is the epic tale of the Secret World War waged by the J-men against their alien nemesis, the Lightning Bug. Armed with trance inducing rock music and a nebula of hash smoke, the Lightning bug seeks to change the world's lifestyle before our very eyes. The J-Men field a constellation of our nation's greatest heroes. Under the inspired leadership of Admiral Ballsey they struggle to thwart this menace.




Movies used in this films creation: Undersea Kingdom (1936), The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938), Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940), Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), Spy Smasher (1942), Captain America (1944), The Crimson Ghost (1946), Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), Radar Men From The Moon (1952). (SOURCE: Internet Movie Database - IMDB.com)

“BloberMouth” The Movie: “Blobermouth” , 1990, L.A. Connection Productions Original Movie: The Blob of course, 1958 Plot Outline: Hilarity ensues as a giant blob like creature from outer space attacks a small town and develops a raging sweet-tooth for human flesh. The only human being powerful enough to stop this jelly shaped fiend is – Steve McQueen! Not only did they reimagineer this film with a new comedy audio track but one really clever thing they did in this movie was to add a pair of animated lips to “the blob” and have him tell corny jokes throughout the film! Note: “The Blob” is not public domain, L.A. Connection Productions secured rights.

=> To watch a scene from “Blobermouth” Click Here. => To watch the trailer from the original “The Blob” Click Here. So, what do you think? Want to create your own movie? Let’s get started!

Here's All You Need To To Take Take An Old Public Dom ain Movie And Turn I t I nt o Y Your our Ow Ow n Undergr Undergr ound Cult Cult Class lassic Sm Sm ash ash Hit ! 1 ) A good imagination and a twisted sense of humor. 2 ) A public domain movie that is cheesy enough to be easily made fun of. 3 ) Audio / Video editing software. 4 ) A computer that with enough horsepower to handle video editing. 5 ) Some public domain sound effects or the ability to create your own. 6 ) Some public domain music to add drama and suspense in key scenes (and of course the opening and closing credits as well). 7 ) A couple of your closest friends to use for voice-overs (c'mon everybody has at least one buddy that can make funny voices and sounds). 8 ) OPTIONAL: case of beer and one large pepperoni pizza. Page

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© 2007 Thought Ro cket Publishin g. All Rights Reserved. www.PublicDomainTreasureHunter.com Unauthorized duplication or distribution is strictly prohibited.



Here’s A Simple 6-Step Success Formula For Taking An Old Public Domain Domain And Turning Turning I t I nt o A An n Unde Underground rground Cult Classic lassic Smash Hi t : 1) Find a good high-quality digital version of a public domain movie. This is very easy to do – there are several websites where you can download public domain movies either for free or for a reasonable amount of mullah in very high-quality formats. SciFi and Horror work best for this but you can use just about anything or a combination of several public domain films or television shows. HINT: The cheesier and campier the movie is, the easier it will be to make fun of (which is why sci-fi and horror work so well). 2) Remember the rules – Anything produced before 1923 is automatically in the public domain. Anything produced between 1923 and 1963 is in the public domain only if its copyrights were N OT renewed. If you stick to the download sites, you should be ok provided that the site is reputable and trusted (read the fine print). If converting a movie to digital format yourself, then keep the above rules in mind. To learn more about how copyright law works and how to find lots of great public domain movies for instant download, see the Public Domain Treasure Hunter’s Kit. 3) Gather up a few friends and watch the entire movie at least once with the sound on so that you can start brain-storming ideas. Then watch the movie again a few times with the sound off. Encourage your crazy friends to add their own dialogue or make fun of the movie and see what happens. Either pause the movie and make notes when you have a good idea or tape record the whole thing for later reference. Don’t force anything – many times the best one-liners and ideas come when you just let things flow. It’s all fair game. Nothing’s bad or good at this point, just let your imagination run wild. You’ll select the best stuff for your final edit later. 4) Use video / audio editing software to strip the original sound track off of your movie. I prefer Adobe Premiere just because I’ve been using it so long and I’m very comfortable with it. It’s a pretty pricey piece of code though and there are alternatives. The absolute best alternative is Techsmith’s Camtasia Studio . Click Here to download a 30-day evaluation copy. Using software like Camtasia it is very easy to remove (or mute out) the film’s original soundtrack and replace it with your1 your1own. Another thing that I love about Camtasia is that t hey make it very easy to produce1 produce1your1 your1movie1 movie1in1 in1Flash1 Flash1format1 format1for1 for1streaming1 streaming1from1 from1the1 the1web. If you are a Windows XP user, you already have a built in video creator …it’s called Windows Movie Maker! If for some reason it is not installed, you can get it here1 here1(and1 (and1learn1 learn1more1 more1about1 about1it):

http:// / ww w .micros http: microsoft. oft.com/ com/ w ind indo o w sxp/ using/ moviem moviemaker/ aker/ defaul default. t.mspx mspx

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I’m not going to argue the pros and cons of one video editor over another here – just find what works for you and roll with it.

5) Ok, it’s time for the real fun! Use the ideas you generated in Step 3 to create your own comedic script for the new soundtrack for your movie. Fine tune it, plan it all out. This is the time to add in any new jokes you may have thought of and make sure that your script makes sense. Remember, even though your going for laughs here, you still have to have at least a loose plot! Now gather your friends up, turn on your microphone and play your silent movie while recording your new audio track. Add in sound effects and public domain music for dramatic effect. Just have fun. You don’t have to do the whole thing in one take. That’s what’s cool about these video editors – you can do your recording in chunks and then just “drag and drop” them into your movie at the right points. Just drag in dialogue, sound effects and music wherever you need it. This process of editing is half the fun! Once your movie is done and everything is tweaked out to your liking, you can render the final version in whateveri whateveriformati formatiyoui youineedi needi-i.AVI,i .AVI,i.MPG.i .MPG.iori orieveni eveni.SWFi .SWFi(flash1 (flash1format). 6) Promote, Promote, Promote! Get your video out there and get some eyeballs on it. Create a killer funny trailer and upload it to all of the popular video sharing sites like YouTube and Google Video with a link pointing back to your site so that the viewer can purchase your movie on DVD. By the way, producing and distributing your movie on DVD is very easy. There are many Print-On-Demand vendors out there that can do this for you when you are just getting started. These POD vendors can produce professionally packaged DVD’s for you one at a time and even ship them directly to your customers for a reasonable fee. Then later, you can hire a company to mass produce1 produce 1them1 them1after1 after1you’re1 you’re1making1 making1plenty1 plenty1of 1sales.

Here Are Some Examples of Public Domain Movies That I Think 1 Would1 Would 1 Make1 Make 1 Great 1 Reimagineered 1 Cult 1 Classic Comedies!

“A Bucket of Blood” Blood” 1959




“Attack of the Giant Leeches” 1959

“M r. Wong, Detective” Detective” 1938

“Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe” 1940




“Reefer Madness” 1936

“The Guy With The Secret Kung Fu” 19 78

The above movies are just quick examples of the thousands of public domain movies you have to choose from. I found each one of these in literally less then five minutes. With so many options, you could easily create a whole line of DVD titles to promote to your customers. You know the line – “Collect ‘em all!” Any public domain movie is fair game as long as it’s visually interesting enough and lends itself well to adding a comedy track. Some movies are just begging for this (unintentionally, I’m sure)! Can you think of any old science fiction or horror movies you may have seen in the past that would make great “reimagineered” comedies? How about pirate movies? Or hard-boiled detective movies? And don’t forget about classic T.V. shows. I love to poke fun at old episodes of the Andy Griffith Show! Think of the old movies you loved as a kid – you never know, they may be in the public domain!




I n Closing…. losing…. Well, there ya go – as promised, a new way to breath life back into an old public domain flick that if done right, can turn it into an underground cult classic smash hit! It’s another great example of an ingeniously creative and outrageously lucrative way to profit from the public domain. If you are thinking that this method sounds like a lot of work – well, you’re right! But few things that are worth doing are effortless. Even when you’re using public domain stuff, you still have some work to do in getting it prepared. But I’ll tell you one thing – it’s a helluva lot less work and a lot less expensive than if you were trying to create your own new movie from scratch! A couple of years ago James Riffel, the same guy that spoofed “N ight of the Living Dead” a few examples back, released a sequel entitled, “ Night of the Day of the Daw Daw n of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, (he apparently has a thing Hellbound, Flesh-Eating Subhumanoid Zombified Living Dead, Part 3” for ridiculously long titles). In this sequel, Mr. Riffel reimagineered the 1962 public domain film, “The Brain That . I read somewhere that he put the whole thing together for $99.00 . Wou ld Not Die” Die” Yup, 99 bucks. Try that Mr. Spielberg! And if James Riffel can do it, you can do it too - probably better. All it takes is a little imagination and a willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed. What we’ve discussed in this issue is just one of the nearly endless creative and profitable ways to make money and have fun with public domain material. If this method appeals to you then take it and run with. Go nuts! Create something that’ll set the internet on fire! Just don’t forget to send me copy…. Hey, do me a favor – if you enjoyed this issue of “Public Domain Treasure Hunter , drop by our blog at PublicDomainTreasureHunter.com and leave a Magazine” comment for us. Let us know what you think! If enough people leave positive feedback, we may get motivated to quit watching “Mad long enough to put together Issue #2! Movies” Until next time, let’s go plunder the vast treasures of the public domain! To your success,

Logan Andrew Editor & Contributor, “P ublic Domain Treasure Treasure Hunter Magazine”


"How To Make Money Republishing Republi shing Copyright-Expi CopyrightExpire re d B ook s, Magazines, Pho tos, & Mo re .. ..." ." Once You K now Ho w To Identify, Identify, Repackage and Market These Copyright-FREE Copyright-FREE Treasures, Y ou’ll Have A Ser ious GOLDMINE Of Unlimited Unlimited Niche Content On Your Ha nds!

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Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine Issue #1

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