The Stormtrooper Scandal (1080p, soft English subtitles)

This stranger-than-fiction documentary uncovers the tale of an audacious get-rich-quick scheme from inside the art world. / / When a London-based curator and artist called Ben Moore announced in 2021 that he was about to launch a sale of digital artworks known as NFTs, with images based on the iconic stormtrooper helmets from Star Wars, interest was sky-high. In the Covid lockdowns, NFTs had become the latest investment phenomenon, with some pieces selling for millions. This sale had the potential to be one of the most lucrative to date; not only was there the connection to a world-famous movie franchise, but individually customised helmets by some leading contemporary artists, such as Damien Hirst and the Chapman Brothers, appeared to be included. / / When the sale went live on 6 November 2021, the 1,138 NFTs in the collection sold out within seconds. Ben and his fellow organisers became instant cryptocurrency millionaires. / / But within days, it became clear that all was not what it seemed. Disgruntled collectors began to air their dismay at the poor quality of some of the NFTs, and rumours started to circulate that many of the featured artists were not even aware their artwork was included in the sale. Despite the emerging problems, there was healthy post-sale trading - with hundreds of the NFTs being bought and sold for the crypto equivalent of tens of thousands of pounds each. Ben and his colleagues made 5 per cent on the value of every single of these trades - an income stream they were determined to keep going as long as possible. / / Despite their efforts to keep things on track, over the next few weeks the sale unravelled in spectacular style. Aggrieved artists demanded their work be removed, Lucasfilm (now part of Disney) waded in, and the NFTs were rendered worthless. For the collectors who felt duped into wasting thousands, Ben became their public enemy number one. / / The film has access to key figures at the heart of the story, including Ben Moore, the charismatic London curator, as well as artists who had their work featured without their knowledge - including Jake Chapman, D*Face and Chemical X. Collectors who were caught up in the frenzy - before being left with nothing - also tell their side of the story. / / The Stormtrooper Scandal is a story of speculation, greed and betrayal that played out on a new digital frontier - an unregulated world of art that doesn't physically exist, traded in cryptocurrency, where the participants are often known only by their online handles, and where appearances can be deceptive. But was this a scam or a well-intentioned bid to make a fast fortune that spiralled out of control?

First broadcast: 20 June 2024
Duration: 90 minutes
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Media info:-
General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 2.32 GiB
Duration : 1 h 28 min
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 3 740 kb/s

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : [email protected]
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 1 h 28 min
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 3 605 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 12.0 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.035
Stream size : 2.23 GiB (96%)
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
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Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 1 h 28 min
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 128 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 131 kb/s / 131 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 81.3 MiB (3%)
Language : English