Day of the Dead 54 Card Poker Deck. Día de los Muertos Deck (KS)

[Rob Wright]

http://kck.st/18BuUkH

Project by: Matthew Rodela
First created, $3,000 goal, $10 per deck
Printer???  "Michelle Ramos who is helping me produce the decks. She is the printer that I have been working hand-in-hand with over the past 5 months on my other projects."

[Don Boyer]

He's actually using altered celebrity photos.  I wonder if he got the rights to the images...  And as is often the case these days, he's saving some of the faces cards as rewards.

I'm going to write to him and ask if he secured the rights to the photos he altered.  This could be entertaining.

Did you notice the last reward?  For $3,000, you get to fund the entire project and receive a brick of decks encased in plastic with special certificates of authenticity.  So, this whole project costs three grand?  And he set three grand as the goal?  With no thought to shipping and packaging costs?  Or is the printing just that insanely cheap and the three grand includes the shipping and such?

On the video, he states he's made poker decks before.  For whom?  Someone's quinceanera?  The auto body shop down the street?  His friend who's also the printer?

Honestly, though, it's hard to judge the deck - since there's no images of it actually in the project page...

[Don Boyer]

I posed this question to the creator:

You mentioned the use of several celebrity images in this deck. Did you obtain the rights for all of them?

This was his reply:

That would be no. I am doing my best to work with images that are in our public domain and part of our popular culture. I then add my artists tools to those images making them my own. If this project gets funded I will need to file with the fancy office in DC in order to technically own the copyright to these images that I create (That process took 18 months to complete the last time.) If I don’t file, I don’t own my images. This will not be done if I do not get funded and simply print up a few decks for my friends and family. On the other hand if you help me make this dream come true the following may happen
1) I get to create the images and you get some professionally printed decks for your collection. I use the funding to do more projects, and pass the savings on to you and others.
2)I get to create the images and you get some professionally printed decks for your collection. I get sued and lose all the funding to celebrity's and their lawyers.
In each scenario you get a great deal, and potentially a valuable/limited edition poker deck.
-Cheers

He seems to have left out 3) he gets sued after the project closes but before he goes to print, just like what happened to Bicycle Army Men, blows through all the cash on his legal defense, and we get jack squat.  Not to mention that he's also exposing his printer to liability issues.  There's no model releases, no releases from the original photographers, no actual rights of any kind granted anywhere - and this is all fine and dandy to him?

This has got to be one of the most insanely irresponsible projects I've ever seen.  It's so bad, it's virtually radioactive.  There should be warning signs hanging on this one.

[Michael]

This has got to be one of the most insanely irresponsible projects I've ever seen.  It's so bad, it's virtually radioactive.  There should be warning signs hanging on this one.

He assumes he's going to be printed which I think is pretty faulty seeing as he doesn't speak with much experience or authority behind his respond. I say no experience because everything is vague when it comes to printing the deck. I say no authority because everything said about the rights to the photos are hollow.

To bad people can't vote on Kickstarter to put warning signs on a project.

[Don Boyer]

This has got to be one of the most insanely irresponsible projects I've ever seen.  It's so bad, it's virtually radioactive.  There should be warning signs hanging on this one.

He assumes he's going to be printed which I think is pretty faulty seeing as he doesn't speak with much experience or authority behind his respond. I say no experience because everything is vague when it comes to printing the deck. I say no authority because everything said about the rights to the photos are hollow.

To bad people can't vote on Kickstarter to put warning signs on a project.

Actually, it appears that he's friends with the printer, or at least someone who works at or owns a print shop.  The fact that he's willing to expose a friend and business partner to the legal liabilities that he's opening himself up to is the height of stupidity.  I'm glad this guy isn't one of my friends, 'cause with an attitude like that he wouldn't remain one for long.

It's roughly equal to saying, "I'm going to fling this shit up on the wall to see what sticks," while Ms. Ramos is standing in front of the wall...

[Collector]

Why do people think that other people are ready to pay for their desire to play the fool?
The problem isn't even in his art... It is in his approach.

[Don Boyer]

Why do people think that other people are ready to pay for their desire to play the fool?
The problem isn't even in his art... It is in his approach.

Indeed.  Let's hope for his own sake and that of his printer that he doesn't get funded.

[Monkmatt23]

One of his sample decks got reviewed on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIPI4bjzhs8
His Relaunch got fully funded in 3 days.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/844263803/day-of-the-dead-52-card-poker-deck-re-launch
I do NOT think this deck is for everyone. It is good to see a video of what this guy and his sister can make. I think i am going to drop the 10 bux cause he is going to get sued and be put out of business. It will be a great story for my Friday night poker games that i got a deck by a this guy. 

[Sovereign]

I've worked on projects in the past which have involved licensing the images of celebrities for various uses - it's quite possible that the $3000 KS target wouldn't have covered even one of the images he is planning on using.

The project didn't make the cut though, so I guess he doesn't have to worry about that.

Phill

[Don Boyer]

One of his sample decks got reviewed on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIPI4bjzhs8
His Relaunch got fully funded in 3 days.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/844263803/day-of-the-dead-52-card-poker-deck-re-launch
I do NOT think this deck is for everyone. It is good to see a video of what this guy and his sister can make. I think i am going to drop the 10 bux cause he is going to get sued and be put out of business. It will be a great story for my Friday night poker games that i got a deck by a this guy. 

Hey, Monkmatt, welcome to the boards.  Drop by the "Introduce Yourself" board and, well, introduce yourself... 

I've worked on projects in the past which have involved licensing the images of celebrities for various uses - it's quite possible that the $3000 KS target wouldn't have covered even one of the images he is planning on using.

The project didn't make the cut though, so I guess he doesn't have to worry about that.

Phill

I was already in touch with this guy the first time around.  He did NOT obtain licensing rights.  I suspect he was going to try arguing "fair use" in repurposing the images, but I didn't think he'd have a leg to stand on here.  Furthermore, he knows the printer he's using - she's a friend of his - and the printer had no qualms about it.  He was probably trying to sneak this under the radar...failing to realize that posting a project on a funding site with an international reach hardly qualifies as "stealthy".