<<Ladies and Gents,
I work in TV news as a Photog and this is what I understand, if it's is a
news item say a Man on street interview then they know that you area news
reporter and have a camera that most of the time has the station logo, also
a mic flag and news Truck with a logo they know after you tell them it will
air on say 5-o'clock news then it's ok; But if it is used for a TV AD are a
promo that the station will say make money on then you need to get proper
paper work on each person.>>
---This jives with what I said earlier. I've never been "employed" by a
station but I did a brief stint as a freelance news "stringer" in LA years
ago and the same rules applied then as now.
I've had twenty years experience as a videographer doing corporate, event
and commercial, and also low budget features and music videos.
If you are photographing a person for the purpose of using their likeness
for profit, you need a release/contract or both.
Using their likeness for profit defines that person as an
"artist"...specifically a "television or film artist" and if it is part of a
dramatic photoplay then they are defined as a "screen actor".
Using their likeness as a part of an interview in a "documentary" piece is
different than using their "talent". Documentary producers might decide to
compensate a person for their consent but it boils down to how crucial that
particular person is to the success of the docu piece.
If the documentary piece is broadcast for profit the person has the right to
demand a contract that covers that area but as you know, not everyone thinks
these things through on the spot.
If you get them to sign a release that indicates that they give permission
to use their likeness as the producer sees fit and the release form
"RELEASES" the producer from all further future liabilities....well
then......you have what constitutes the DEFINITION of a "release".
What makes a "screen actor" different is that the SCREEN ACTORS GUILD...AND
the AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS (SAG and AFTRA) have
specific clauses in their bylaws AND in their contracts that address this
issue with great clarity. SAG and AFTRA artists are instructed specifically
NOT to sign releases but instead to DEMAND that producers sign SAG or AFTRA
CONTRACTS INSTEAD.
Those contracts demand that the producers compensate the subject for a
specified period of time for all future uses of that said artist's likeness
and for their "performance" as an artist.
If you are photographing them in the course of a news event as an interview
they are fair game and only need give their consent. They cannot demand
payment but they can refuse to speak on camera.
If you are photographing them in public as a part of the surroundings in the
course of filming a news piece, you are free to use whatever you want, as it
is the focus on the scene as a whole and not a particular person....simple
"passers by" cannot hold up a news photographer simply because they were
rolling tape when they happened to be on the street walking by, or in the
crowd.
If the person IS the "focus" of a news story and they are in public then
again they are pretty much fair game as well...they are "news worthy"...they
ARE "the news".
Persons on the street and those persons who are the subject of "news" and
events are NOT "performers" or "artists" and furthermore since they are not
members of unions that protect artists and performers they do not have the
bargaining power to demand further compensation, but only the power to
refuse to be filmed or the right to avoid being photographed.
Private property owners and persons in charge of property have the power to
request that news media leave their premises and local law enforcement have
the power to enforce the wishes of property owners (homes and businesses)
and property users (businesses). Local governments have the power to issue
permits to film CREWS who will be actively filming scenes which could
reasonably be expected to affect the normal course of business and impede or
alter the natural flow of "traffic" and commerce.
Property owners and "proprietors" also have the right to demand that their
"property" be compensated for its use in profit making film ventures as
well.
Again, this is all a part of the marketplace and not a subject of law.
You own a majestic house that sits atop a hill that overlooks the city
skyline? You can charge whatever the market will bear if a film crew wants
to use your piece of property.
It's all up to how well you haggle as a property owner.
If the crew films from the street and does not impede traffic or the natural
flow of persons going about their business, or they have a FILM PERMIT, then
you are out of luck.
The example that I use constantly when explaining this to crew members is
the fact that NO ONE in O.J. Simpson's neighborhood received a DIME no
matter HOW MANY times Court TV showed up to do documentary pieces and
dramatizations about the OJ trial over a period of TWO YEARS.
The same neighbors were having their homes photogaphed on a daily basis for
two years and there was nothing they could do about it because Court TV had
a permit and as long as they did not photograph specific persons INSIDE
their homes, the law decided that Court TV had every right to do as they
wished from the street.
On the other hand there WERE at least a half dozen homeowners who erected
large and ugly signs in front of their homes, protesting the fact that Court
TV was there, and all that happened was that the general viewing public
NEVER saw those homes on television because Court TV "shot around" those
homes and avoided using those homes in any of their coverage.
What has started to change in recent times is that courts are starting to
expand the definition of "reasonable expectation of privacy" to include
everyday life in public, but so far they have been largely unsuccessful and
have only muddied the waters for now...and the other side of the coin is the
overzealous use of "national security" that I referred to in an earlier
post.
JeffH
CHS
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Adobe-Premiere/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
