Hi,
We are a group of student filmmakers who have used excerpts from a not very well known TV show in our graduation film. The excerpts feature a person talking during an interview. Well, we're very happy with the final outcome and we want to send the film to a couple of festivals. The question is, if we re-shoot the TV footage where we keep the lines exactly as they are but have another actor play the part of the person being interviewed can we get away with not having to pay for any usage rights? Or would we have to also change the lines in order to be completely safe? (Because the content of the interview is kind of important to the story, we'd rather keep the lines as they are).
Thanks in advance for any feedback.
This is probably something to discuss with the people who run the film department at your university or film school, since ultimately they will be the ones who have to make the decision about the level of risk they're prepared to take.
In saying that, you should probably either try and obtain permission to use the original footage (pleading the "student filmmakers" situation may allow you to get this for free), or change it enough in the reshoot that it clearly doesn't resemble the original. Unfortuantely this will mean significantly changing the dialogue as well as the action.
Ben C.
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filmmaking.net
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Please note the opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not constitute legal advice. The author cannot accept and liability whatsoever for inaccurate or outdated information contained within.
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Benjamin Craig
Editor-in-Chief, filmmaking.net
quote:
Originally posted by filmmaking.net
This is probably something to discuss with the people who run the film department at your university or film school, since ultimately they will be the ones who have to make the decision about the level of risk they're prepared to take.In saying that, you should probably either try and obtain permission to use the original footage (pleading the "student filmmakers" situation may allow you to get this for free), or change it enough in the reshoot that it clearly doesn't resemble the original. Unfortuantely this will mean significantly changing the dialogue as well as the action.
Ben C.
--
filmmaking.net
(Incorporating the Internet Filmmaker's FAQ)Please note the opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not constitute legal advice. The author cannot accept and liability whatsoever for inaccurate or outdated information contained within.
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Thanks, Ben. We have re-shot the excerpts in a way that doesn't resemble the original.
I have one other question: in 1 or 2 scenes, the logo on an alarm clock is visible. I am assuming that we should somehow blur or remove the logo so the brand name is no longer recognizable but I am not sure whether this is necessary for submitting to festivals. What would you advise?
See the FAQ for an answer to your second question. ?url?/faq/answers/faq94.asp?/url?
Ben C.
--
filmmaking.net
(Incorporating the Internet Filmmaker's FAQ)
Please note the opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not constitute legal advice. The author cannot accept and liability whatsoever for inaccurate or outdated information contained within.
--
--
Benjamin Craig
Editor-in-Chief, filmmaking.net
