SaveCoH Message From Space?

TimtheEnchanter · December 05, 2012, 11:00:16 PM

The image of VV flying around in a lawn chair tethered to balloons (a sarcastic publicity stunt suggested in NCsoft stock watch) gave me a particularly insane, but still very possible idea. In case you haven't seen any of these videos before, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoMN-zg7r3M

Amateur space photography has only recently become possible thanks to ultra-light video recording devices, and is probably on the verge of turning into a fringe hobby. But at the current time, it's still rare enough to get a lot of attention.

So what I'm envisioning is: Video record a custom Statesman action figure at the edge of space, carrying a SaveCoH message.

All things considered, as long as the right materials are used for the vehicle, and top-of-the-line apple products don't get used for hardware, this can be done with a surprisingly small budget.

Also, AFAIK, the only time a superhero has ever hooked up to a space craft was Buzz Lightyear, and that was done by NASA/JPL. How cool would it be if the first superhero to be recorded on an amateur space flight was a CoH character?

corvus1970 · December 05, 2012, 11:04:08 PM

"To Infinity (server), and beyond!" :D

Xieveral · December 05, 2012, 11:23:33 PM

Lord Recluse must lay claim to outer space before Statesman!

The space race is on!

Colette · December 05, 2012, 11:37:41 PM

Well, we could ask the guy to do it, and go the donation route like the dev dinner, yes? I'll chip in.

Blitzwing · December 06, 2012, 12:05:46 AM

I approve of this idea....

...we could Kickstarter the project and probably have it funded in less than a day! :D

DrakeGrimm · December 06, 2012, 01:58:11 AM

My name is Hawthorne Grimm, and I approve this message.

* DrakeGrimm gives a thumbs up

Victoria Victrix · December 06, 2012, 01:58:45 AM

I am ALL about this idea!

Just action figures, not me in a lawnchair, kaythanxbai.

DrakeGrimm · December 06, 2012, 02:02:44 AM

Quote from: Victoria Victrix on December 06, 2012, 01:58:45 AM
I am ALL about this idea!

Just action figures, not me in a lawnchair, kaythanxbai.

...does this mean I should take these lawn chairs back to home depot?

Daimyoshi · December 06, 2012, 02:29:03 AM

After Christmas I will have cash!

dwturducken · December 06, 2012, 03:38:18 AM

There are plenty of videos on Youtube, many even with the "How To" at the beginning. The hard part, from the ones I've seen, is gonna be the Statesman action figure. The cape shouldn't be too bad, and the colors can be done in model paint, but the helmet is gonna take some thought.

downix · December 06, 2012, 12:20:42 PM

I have a statesman and recluse heroclix I can donate for the cause.

And this is easy to do. Not that expensive either.

SkyStreak · December 06, 2012, 12:34:40 PM

Maybe someone could customize a Mickey Mouse figure with a Statesman shirt?

Segev · December 06, 2012, 01:29:44 PM

And Donald with a Recluse one?

Sleepy Wonder · December 06, 2012, 06:42:15 PM

If someone can contact the guy and see if he would be up for it, as well as getting a price estimate if so, I'd be all for donating. It would be a nice video to send to Disney.

I wonder if we can somehow attach a Micky Mouse figure to Statesman's hand (tightly wrapped kite string around their wrists with superglue?) as if he's holding on http://cdn.webshopapp.com/f/z12a4n/mickey-mouse-miracle-action-figure.jpg, then maybe conclude the video with something like "City of Heroes would take Disney to new heights!"

SARobb · December 06, 2012, 07:00:12 PM

Quote from: Sleepy Wonder on December 06, 2012, 06:42:15 PM
If someone can contact the guy and see if he would be up for it, as well as getting a price estimate if so, I'd be all for donating. It would be a nice video to send to Disney.

I wonder if we can somehow attach a Micky Mouse figure to Statesman's hand (tightly wrapped kite string around their wrists with superglue?) as if he's holding on http://cdn.webshopapp.com/f/z12a4n/mickey-mouse-miracle-action-figure.jpg, then maybe conclude the video with something like "City of Heroes would take Disney to new heights!"

Not to be the stick in the mud, but I have an artist friend that did some work with Disney a couple years back and they are very touchy about how the mouse gets used. I'd think we'd want to go easy on using images like that until we hear something from the big 'D' themselves on a decision, lest we get a 'cease use' letter (or whatever the legal jargon is for it)...

TimtheEnchanter · December 06, 2012, 07:03:19 PM

Quote from: SARobb on December 06, 2012, 07:00:12 PM
Not to be the stick in the mud, but I have an artist friend that did some work with Disney a couple years back and they are very touchy about how the mouse gets used. I'd think we'd want to go easy on using images like that until we hear something from the big 'D' themselves on a decision, lest we get a 'cease use' letter (or whatever the legal jargon is for it)...

Can you actually get in trouble for posting a video containing a Mickey figure? Has society actually fallen that far?

Anyway, I don't know if there needs to be a Disney plug. Might be better to keep it generic, so it still has merit even if the Disney plan doesn't work out.

SARobb · December 06, 2012, 07:20:39 PM

Quote from: TimtheEnchanter on December 06, 2012, 07:03:19 PM
Can you actually get in trouble for posting a video containing a Mickey figure? Has society actually fallen that far?

Anyway, I don't know if there needs to be a Disney plug. Might be better to keep it generic, so it still has merit even if the Disney plan doesn't work out.

Yeah, they can force you to stop using the video, and take it down.

Segev · December 06, 2012, 07:40:30 PM

Hm. It is a good point: unless and until Disney announces their interest in buying the IP, they probably won't want to see their IP and CoH IP comingled in the public eye, as posting to youtube might do.

They still might appreciate seeing it as part of private appeals meant for their eyes only, though, so go ahead and include such in your packages and letters to them! Just don't post them on general-public viewing sites.

dwturducken · December 06, 2012, 11:33:02 PM

My mother is a library director. She has to make sure that proper permissions have been obtained before anything Disney-related can be displayed (aside from reading or viewing materials, of course). Said permission is free, but The Mouse will come down like the Hammer of Utak on anyone who uses their material without permission. Or, at least that's how it was about ten years ago. They, like Lucas, may have developed a sense of humor WRT the sorts of things being proposed here.

TimtheEnchanter · December 08, 2012, 03:34:33 AM

I am now trying to get a cost estimate for a basic flight.

An issue to consider though is winter flights have a tendency to be more quirky because of high wind velocities. Not necessarily a major problem, but it makes retrieving the package afterward more of a problem, because it may travel much further from the launch side.