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Kansas firm sells candid Wal-Mart videos
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After this goes through the court system, I guess we’ll find out who owns the rights to the footage. I just saw a huge court case in Arizona this past year that determined that the shooter MAY own the footage but the shooter does not have a right to do a damn thing with it. The client, on the other hand, has the right to use the footage for any purpose that they choose. And this came from the highest court in the state.
I wonder how much cash Flagler has in his war chest. He should have taken the half mill and got into another business. His only hope is that WalMart decides to throw cash at it so it goes away.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
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[Jim Hyde] “Again as Mark said, the guy had nothing left to lose, I really don’t think he cares about his credibility at this point and nor should he.”
When we have no material things, what we have left is our honor. Anyone who agrees with Flagler has none.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD . -
Jim, I would not hire you to mow my yard.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD . -
I’m sorry to see this happen. I’ve always prided myself on discretion and loyalty to clients — and to anyone I’m taping, for that matter. Despite the success and entertainment value of the Michael Moore doc’s and “Borat,” they make me uncomfortable for the people who are being held up to ridicule.
All the same, there are reasons to be cautious about overstating the importance of Flagler-Walmart. I suspect that the existence of YouTube, more than this case, has made companies much more cautious about videotaping.
There is a legal saying about unusual cases making bad law, and there are a lot of weird nuances here: Flagler selling his company just before it loses its main customer (coincidence??); Walmart urging Flagler to reuse tapes (=erase the old scenes from the tapes? or just more cheap-Walmartism?); the tapes’ legal status as evidence (even if Walmart bought the tapes, wouldn’t it be obliged to honor subpoenas for them?).
I’m sorry about one thing in this thread: a remark by our Esteemed Leader. I admire Ron tremendously for what he has accomplished with the COW, and for his morals and ethics. And I agree with the substance of his ideas in this thread; but I was disappointed by what I saw as overly personal remarks in one of his posts. Ron owns the store, and if people start getting attacked in this way by the “proprietor,” it is bound to have a chilling effect on the whole scene.
Although maybe a chilling effect is a good thing. It is good to remember, everybody, that google-bots are continually indexing what you write on the COW, and your potential clients can look up your posts when they are considering whether to hire you.
Fascinating thread. Thanks for bringing this to the forum’s attention.
bob C
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[Mark Suszko] “Still, do you think fifty grand is a fair offer on thirty year’s worth of stock footage that chronicles from the inside, the evolution and true workings of the biggest company ever? “
It’s 500 thousand But, didn’t WalMart get a bill for the raw stock? And if so, they own the tapes and whatever is on them. It seems to me as though Flagler is nothing more tan a pathetic thief.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD . -
[Randy Wheeler] “Mary Lyn Villanueva and Gregory A. Pierce. “
Seems like Mary Lyn Villanueva and Gregory A. Pierce need to be suing Flagler. I imagine they bought the company based on the WalMart deal. Kind of like Flagler knew it was coming or did WM dismiss the company because Mr Flagler sold the company.
So, Flagler sells his company to two employees who see big $$ based on the previous 30 years and then he keeps the library. Thing thing smells worse by the minute.
Either way, Flagler is going lower and lower in my book and ten minutes ago, I didn’t think that was possible.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD . -
[Mark Suszko] “The law up here is that, absent a written contract that says otherwise, he owns the tapes. Not Walmart. “
Sorry Mark, not true. If he billed them for the tape stock and they paid, they own the tapes. He MAY own the copyright to the footage but it a useless copyright because he does not have the rights to use any participant’s likeness or voice without their consent. I just witnessed a huge court case in Arizona and this was the outcome. Because I was called as an expert witness, I cannot give any plaintiff-defendant identities.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD . -
[Mark Suszko] “Is Flagler immoral for asking arguably the world’s richest corporation for a larger share, to buy what he technically had a right to sell?”
How can you even think such a thing. Exactly how does he have a right to blackmail someone else? As I said in another post, he was perfectly fine in taking their money for 30 years. IMHO, he is a low life, backstabbing thief who deserves nothing less then to be stripped of any money he stole from his employees that bought his worthless company and jailed for extortion. I wonder if he offered to give them their money back when WalMart dumped them 9 days after buying the company. He’ll probably sue me over my inflammatory posts. I can guarantee that we would settle outside the court room.
It’s corporate blackmail any way you look at it.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD . -
[tommy d’angelo] “When we end a relationship with a client, all tapes including masters and field are given back to them. “
Who needs a court of law to agree that Mr D’Angelo does the right thing? I would do a job with him based on a handshake.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD . -
[Steve Wargo] “It’s corporate blackmail any way you look at it.”
Amen to that and all the other comments you’ve been posting in this thread.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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