Re: [videoblogging] NYC Vloggers: IMPORTANT

[Adam Quirk, Wreck & Salvage]

Yes, please sign this folks!  Even if you only have a passing interest in
the U.S. Constitution and/or freedom.  Without the ability to shoot video in
public, NYC videobloggers will be reduced to strictly webcam and (indoor)
cat videos!

http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php

On 7/27/07, mcmpress <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Many of you have probably heard about this already but for those who
> haven't, please sign the petition (link below)or write to the Mayor's
> Office for Film and TV (address below) and forward it to any others who
> care about this important matter.
>
> PLEASE NOTE:
>
>
> All of a sudden we, as photographers, filmmakers, students and
> teachers, are facing serious restrictions by The Mayor's office about
> NYC street photography.
>
> Please sign the petition. We don't have much time with an august 3rd
> deadline.
>
>
> Here is the URL with the petition to sign: just
> click on this:
>
> http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php
> 
>
>
> Introduced quietly just before Memorial Day weekend,
> the regulations could severely impede the ability of even casual
> photographers and filmmakers to operate in New York City. A group of two
> or more people who want to use a
> camera in a single public location for more than a
> half hour (including setup and breakdown time) could be required to get
> a city permit and $1 million in liability insurance. According to the NY
> Civil Liberties Union,
>
> "these regulations violate the First Amendment right
> to photograph in public places, and open the door to selective and
> discriminatory enforcement."
>
> SAVE THE DATE:
> Friday, July 27th, 6:30 pm
> Rally for the 1st Amendment - Union Square
>
> Hope to see you there.
>
>
> Jem Cohen, Astra Taylor, Laura Hanna, Beka
> Economopoulos, Brandon Jourdan, and Julie Talen
>
>
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION:
>
>
>
> Original NYTimes article:
>   http://tinyurl.com/2scoog 
>
>  >
>
>
>
> PDF of the proposed changes:
>
>
>   http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/downloads/pdf/moftb_permit_regs.pdf
> 
>
>
>   >
>
>
>
> NYCLU Response:
>
> http://www.nyclu.org/nyc_photo_permits_pr_062807.html
> 
>
>
> < http://www.nyclu.org/nyc_photo_permits_pr_062807.html
>  >
>
>
>
> Excerpted from an email by artist and filmmaker Jem
> Cohen:
>
>
>
> The Mayor's Office of Film deals primarily with big
> film shoots (ie.
>
> commercials, features, t.v.) where permits and
> insurance are,
>
> understandably, a given. However, many photographers
> and filmmakers carry on
>
> an equally vital tradition in which spontaneous
> documentation of the urban
>
> environment is at the very heart of our work. Being
> a street photographer
>
> often means standing in a random location and
> waiting: for the right
>
> activity, the right light, the break in the traffic;
> the countless other
>
> unpredictable factors that need to fall into place
> to make a shot
>
> worthwhile...
>
>
>
> Permits would have to be obtained for specific dates
> and times and exact
>
> locations, and the insurance would be out of reach
> for many individuals. The
>
> fact is that we simply CANNOT predict where, when,
> and how long we are going
>
> to film or photograph; we CANNOT afford expensive
> liability insurance
>
> policies; we occasionally NEED to work with other
> people or to use tripods
>
> to support our gear. (The regulations would, for
> example, effectively rule
>
> out a great deal of time-lapse photography which
> depends on tripods and
>
> cannot possibly be done with time limitations of 10
> to 30 minutes, as well
>
> as the use of large format still cameras and long
> lenses).
>
>
>
> Especially in the current climate, official
> clarification of photographer's
>
> rights could be a positive thing. (Many of us have
> been shut down by police
>
> or other authorities who do not seem to understand
> that we DO have rights to
>
> film and photograph in public places). That said, if
> these regulations go
>
> through, it would invite if not require police to
> harass or shut down both
>
> professional artists and amateurs.
>
>
>
> Unfortunately, I believe that we must see the
> proposed regulations not only
>
> as a blow against New York as a city that welcomes
> and inspires art-making
>
> (and historical documentation), but as part of a
> continuum of broader
>
> attacks against civil liberties and free expression.
>
>
>
> Please contact the following person immediately and
> express your concerns.
>
>
>
> Julianne Cho
>
>
>
> Associate Commissioner
>
>
>
> Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting
>
>
>
> 1697 

[videoblogging] NYC Vloggers: IMPORTANT

[mcmpress]

Many of you have probably heard about this already but for those who
haven't, please sign the petition (link below)or write to the Mayor's
Office for Film and TV (address below) and forward it to any others who
care about this important matter.

PLEASE NOTE:


All of a sudden we, as photographers, filmmakers, students and
teachers, are facing serious restrictions by The Mayor's office about
NYC street photography.

Please sign the petition. We don't have much time with an august 3rd
deadline.


Here is the URL with the petition to sign: just
click on this:

http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php



Introduced quietly just before Memorial Day weekend,
the regulations could severely impede the ability of even casual
photographers and filmmakers to operate in New York City. A group of two
or more people who want to use a
camera in a single public location for more than a
half hour (including setup and breakdown time) could be required to get
a city permit and $1 million in liability insurance. According to the NY
Civil Liberties Union,

"these regulations violate the First Amendment right
to photograph in public places, and open the door to selective and
discriminatory enforcement."

SAVE THE DATE:
Friday, July 27th, 6:30 pm
Rally for the 1st Amendment - Union Square

Hope to see you there.


Jem Cohen, Astra Taylor, Laura Hanna, Beka
Economopoulos, Brandon Jourdan, and Julie Talen



FOR MORE INFORMATION:



Original NYTimes article:
  http://tinyurl.com/2scoog 

 >



PDF of the proposed changes:


  http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/downloads/pdf/moftb_permit_regs.pdf



 >



NYCLU Response:

http://www.nyclu.org/nyc_photo_permits_pr_062807.html



< http://www.nyclu.org/nyc_photo_permits_pr_062807.html
 >



Excerpted from an email by artist and filmmaker Jem
Cohen:



The Mayor's Office of Film deals primarily with big
film shoots (ie.

commercials, features, t.v.) where permits and
insurance are,

understandably, a given. However, many photographers
and filmmakers carry on

an equally vital tradition in which spontaneous
documentation of the urban

environment is at the very heart of our work. Being
a street photographer

often means standing in a random location and
waiting: for the right

activity, the right light, the break in the traffic;
the countless other

unpredictable factors that need to fall into place
to make a shot

worthwhile...



Permits would have to be obtained for specific dates
and times and exact

locations, and the insurance would be out of reach
for many individuals. The

fact is that we simply CANNOT predict where, when,
and how long we are going

to film or photograph; we CANNOT afford expensive
liability insurance

policies; we occasionally NEED to work with other
people or to use tripods

to support our gear. (The regulations would, for
example, effectively rule

out a great deal of time-lapse photography which
depends on tripods and

cannot possibly be done with time limitations of 10
to 30 minutes, as well

as the use of large format still cameras and long
lenses).



Especially in the current climate, official
clarification of photographer's

rights could be a positive thing. (Many of us have
been shut down by police

or other authorities who do not seem to understand
that we DO have rights to

film and photograph in public places). That said, if
these regulations go

through, it would invite if not require police to
harass or shut down both

professional artists and amateurs.



Unfortunately, I believe that we must see the
proposed regulations not only

as a blow against New York as a city that welcomes
and inspires art-making

(and historical documentation), but as part of a
continuum of broader

attacks against civil liberties and free expression.



Please contact the following person immediately and
express your concerns.



Julianne Cho



Associate Commissioner



Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting



1697 Broadway



New York, NY 10019



[EMAIL PROTECTED]




ph: 212.489.6710



fax: 212.307.6237


Professor Andrea Weiss
Film/Video Program
Dept. of Media and Communication Arts
Shepard Hall 471
City College, City University of New York
Tel: 212 650 5048



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]