Use of potentially copyrighted clips - any advice?

[John Roberts]

Hello to everyone!

I'm currently putting together a short video which may or may not contain very short clips (i.e. 1 or 2 seconds) of material that isn't mine. The idea I have in mind is for someone to 'channel hop' a TV in the corner of a room, which will then show the clips. Not many will be needed, and I'm thinking older material such as black and white obscure films (nothing instantly recognisable.)

I'm a stickler for copyright issues and don't want to fall foul of them, so can anyone give advice regarding 'Fair Use' or the supposed 'copyright free' (as many people are citing on YouTube for old films, although I take their comments with a pinch of salt) films? I should be able to avoid the use of music if needed, although I do have the IAC licences which might help.

Many thanks in advance - John

[Dave Watterson]

I am NOT a lawyer and this is only my person opinion.

Fair dealing under UK copyright law allows certain restricted rights to copy material:
Research and private study
Instruction or examination
Criticism or review
News reporting
Incidental inclusion
Accessibility for someone with a visual impairment

Incidental cover things like a shot happening to have in the background a copyright poster.

I have seen cases where people use amateur film from themselves or their friends (with permission) on the tv screen in the background.

There are several places on the web which claim to have work that is out of copyright or in the public domain. Chances are that any of those glimpsed in the background of a shot would not worry anyone. Trying to find out whether a film is available in this way is a huge task that even professional film researchers find daunting sometimes.

[col lamb]

I'd avoid using anything other than my own video.

You could use your own footage, convert it to black and white and use it with a track matte.

You resize the b & w vids to cover slightly more that the TV screen and position then correctly and the matte covers precisely the TV screen.

[TimStannard]

What sort of material are you after?

I bet if you put a request here, several of us would be more than happy to let you have some of our own footage for inclusion.

[John Roberts]

OK - thanks for the advice and tips

I'll try and see if I can cobble together enough random clips from what I already have from previous films, if not I'll put out a shout for any specific 'style' of film clips I'm lacking.

Thanks again

[Lee Prescott]

'Lo John,

Only just picked this up - been onme travels! = So....For what it's worth:----------A true account:

A few short years back I made a short video in part of which, in the background, the domestic TV was
showing "Coronation Street" (God help me). Being a bit on the ball at the time I had written to Granada / Producer re © explaining my "amateur" status, referred him/her/them to the IAC and got an immediate reply, I still have it, which says, "pleased to help, help yourself, not interested"!

I would just add that when it went FWD to a certain Comp. the only crit., inevitably, came from, at the time a well known IAC "smart ass" judge, who accused me of "stealing the 20 seconds footage" - I still have the crit.

I sent him a photo copy of Granada's letter and reminded him where the Clifton Suspension Bridge was!
(Never got an apology)!!!

The point is that I always ask in advance quoting my IAC Membership - I have never been refused and usually replies reflect the above Granada one. Same goes for Sounds and other material - to date. Some just ask for a credit.

Keep smiling, Life's a gasp!

LEE. .....

[John Roberts]

I agree, Lee. On the occasions I have asked for permission to use copywritten works I have not to date been told I can't!

I think the issue I will have is as Dave W pointed out - finding out for certain who holds the rights to give permission to use part of a film clip is almost impossible these days, and the relatively low importance of the brief clips in the project as a whole doesn't warrant an awful lot of time spent on it.

Some of my old stock footage can be effected to give me the results I'm after - only I'll be slightly disappointed knowing that I've taken a short cut and 'cheated.' I do however have a need for 'ecological or natural disaster' footage, or something that can be presented as such, and I've put out a call for this in another post in this section

Regards - John

[TimStannard]

only I'll be slightly disappointed knowing that I've taken a short cut and 'cheated.'

Going a little off topic here, I'm interested in why you'd consider using your own (or other supplied footage) either a shortcut or cheating. In my view only a live action documentary is not "cheating" as any other form has to be constructed in some way. One could make the case that even the live real-time action documentary itself is a form of cheating because that can only show what the camera itself is looking at, which can be highly selective (something which even realism and cinéma vérité couldn't truly overcome)

[Frank Maxwell]

John, is there any other way you could get your message across by showing,turned over cars or wind and using sound effects.
It seems a lot of trouble to go through to get the balance of your project.
I do apologies if i'm on the wrong wave length.
I need once a H.Bomb going off and showing the after effect. I used the wind hitting the corn field and found some burned out tanks on Salisbury Plain.
Good luck with your quest.

[John Roberts]

Hi Tim - I think I got my words a little jumbled haha! I was referring to how I'd personally feel inside if I used my own footage from an old drama or holiday film I'd shot and tried to make it look as if it was news reportage - every time I looked at it I'd know that I'd used said drama or holiday footage. The illusion of reality is just as important for me, but I suppose only I'd know and in the absence of 'real' footage it would have to suffice. It's the same reason I never look at the 'goofs' list on IMDB - once you see a goof in a film it's there forever in your mind!

Frank - the footage I need is for a music video, the song itself is about ecological disasters caused by mankind's use of industry and pollution. There are certain iconic images we're all used to from the news, such as factory chimneys belching out smoke and deforestation, and this is the kind of effect I'm after but the images will be so fleeting and really must be visual as it's unlikely that sound effects could make any impact over the volume of the song. I agree though, it's a lot of trouble to go to but apart from the 'channel hopping' footage, which has no real bearing on the video as a whole, the 'disaster' footage is a key issue. I feel a trip to my local modellers supply shop looming

All the best - John