Delay on The Phantom Menace compilation

After six weeks of assembling the 12 hour conclusion to the TPM compilation, and despite all of the effort we put in to make sure there were a lot less probable copyright hotspots, we still got a detection on the final version.

Resolving a copyright detection in a video this large (214 GB) and this long (12 Hours) is a complex affair. Re-rendering the entire video could take 3-4 days, so we generally render larger videos in numerous smaller chunks and then join them using a script we created. The process goes something like this:

1) Upload the 214 GB joined video to test
2) Observe copyright detection failure
3) Spend 2-3 hours editing to fix the detection, and making sure nothing else sticks out in that chunk of the video as being something the copyright detector may have an issue with
4) Re-render the video chunk, which typically takes 1.5 hours
5) Re-join the full video, costing approximately 1.5 hours
6) Re-upload the full video, which takes around 2.5 hours
7) Wait 12 hours for the video to process on YouTube, and if a copyright detection happens GOTO STEP 1

This meant that each repair of a copyright hotspot cost us 24 hours. We spent most of December and the first few days of January using this method to gradually whittle down the copyright detections. It got to the point where we could upload two six-hour halves, and they'd pass. Or a nine hour chunk and a three hour chunk, and they'd pass. It was only when trying to process the 12 hour full video that issues arose.

Luckily, we had enough foresight to see the writing on the wall: that the copyright system is probably ill equipped to deal with an upload of this size and length, especially with the sheer quantity of reference material we use:

We disputed the initial copyright claim on the version we were most happy with approximately 20 days ago. The dispute resolution takes 30 days, which means we have just over 9 days remaining until the video is hopefully manually cleared by Disney Entertainment. Manually removing the copyright hotspots failed. The fact is, they were all invalid detections anyway. Half the time the footage had been heavily edited and had narration over it. We believe this is a clear example of Fair Use, so we're feeling good about the dispute resolving in our favour.

Note from ED-1TA: I would like to personally apologize to our supporters for the lack of new content. This has been extremely demoralizing, and all of my energy has been focused on getting our TPM compilation released. I've burned the midnight, 2 am, 4 am, 6 am oil almost every night since the first detection. We're very proud of it, and it represents almost a year of full-time labour for DZ and I. We want people to see it. It's important for the growth of our channel, and long-term financial sustainability.

It's almost over, folks. I promise we'll be back to our usual content and regular schedule once we've got this sorted out. We hope to have another new video out just before the compilation drops in 9-10 days. Thank you for your patience.

Rest assured, if you cancelled your Patreon Membership in the last 30 days your name is still in the compilation.

Thank you,
DZ & ED-1TA (Sham)