[Denis Danatzko]

If you check around, you’ll find a wide variety of methods used to develop rates. IMO, the most “fair” ones include:
– a flat “rental” rate for your equipment, i.e. how much would it cost for your customer to rent the camera (for a day/half-day) you’d be using for the shoot? The tripod/dolly? The lights? Mics? Other?
– an hourly rate for your service, i.e. I presume you’re also providing the knowledge/experience about how to use your equipment without any unnecessary delay in set-up/breakdown.
– other costs you might incur, i.e. travel/tolls/parking, etc.
– an hourly editing rate, i.e. post production costs for editing, encoding, etc.
I’ve been led to believe there are folks who take on projects yet own no equipment; they rent what they need for every job, then add charges for their services.
Hope this helps.

[Denis Danatzko]

Martin,
Thanks for joining-in.
It’s my understanding that such notices supposedly are somewhere in the fine print on tickets purchased, or are supposed to be displayed in clear public view at the ticket or box office. (Though I’ll admit I’ve never looked closely enough at any admission ticket I’ve ever bought to verify that claim). Compounding that, they are still private property. Not being an attorney, I don’t know what gives such places the right to use your photo, or worse yet, potentially make a profit from it.

[Denis Danatzko]

I’m not an attorney, but I’m strongly inclined to reply that “yes, it does matter.”

The short version is “Do yourself a favor and either get releases, or don’t do the job”.

Following are my (admittedly lengthy) arguments:

I’ve been shooting a lot of promotional web spots lately, and those who employ me for that require that I get:
1 Location Release from the property owner or property manager and
1 Location Release from the business owner,(unless they are one and the same), and
1 Talent Release for each person whose face and/or voice is recorded (even though their image or voice may get cut and not used).
If a minor appears on camera, then a Talent Release signed by a parent or legal guardian is a must in order to protect yourself and your customer. I’ve done nearly 100 of these, and have gotten releases for every one.

Remember, you’re dealing with lots of minors. All it takes is 1 irate parent, chaperone, or teacher to raise a fuss (and once that happens, you can rest assured more will follow), and I believe you’re opening yourself up to a world of potential trouble.

I recently shot one of those casino-night fundraisers for an event producer’s promotional web spot, with approx 125 adult “gamblers”, and the only people whose face I could show were the employees of the event producer, i.e. the dealers, croupiers, and pit boss; everyone else had to be shot from the back to prevent their face from being seen. (Not easy in a crowded room full of Saturday night drinkers, for sure).
The event was held in a hotel banquet room, and I had to procure a Location Release from the hotel and a separate Location Release from the event producer. I got both without a problem, but without those, the footage would have been unusable and my night wasted. (Luckily, my contact at the event producer had experience as a shooter & producer, so he understood the importance).

When you say the event is to be held “…in a public place…”, exactly what type of place? You say it’s not school property. Is it a banquet hall, country club, hotel, restaurant, or similar business? (I strongly believe those are all considered private property). Unless it’s held on a public street, sidewalk, or in a public park, pavilion, or similar venue, it seems there aren’t that many places that are legally considered “public” anymore. (Did you know that shopping malls are private property)? And since 9/11, many towns, in my area at least, require a permit to shoot on public property. I also believe that…legally…if admission is charged, i.e. prom tickets, then it is not a public event. Example: could your neighbor buy a ticket and take their spouse? I doubt it.

Some may argue that in many of those places there is no “reasonable expectation of privacy”. However, that doesn’t automatically give someone the right to record video in those places. They are still private property and require permission from the property owner or property manager.

Another example: I once worked as a PA on a shoot for what would be a local cable TV commercial. I followed the producer/shooter into a high-end shopping mall, we set-up camera/tripod outside the business (a bridal chain) that hired us, and before we were finished setting up, mall security was on us like hornets. After about 45 mins of wrangling with them, and a visit to their security office, we were allowed to return to the business, but we could only shoot within the walls of the business, not from any of the “common” areas of the mall. (One of their concerns was that trademarks of other businesses might end up in our footage, and they were there trying to protect the other businesses). The producer/shooter had never checked with security prior to then, and we almost lost the shoot.

For something like your situation, you might want to put the burden of procuring releases on the DJ, and ONLY start shooting once you have the releases in-hand. And even then, you’re left to how thoroughly the DJ has done that.

An alternative that MIGHT be viable, but should still be put to an attorney, is to shoot slightly out of focus, (enough that no one can be recognized) except for the DJ.

Either way, I suspect you’ll still need some sort of written permission from the school if it’s a school-sponsored event, even if not on school property.

Shooting video seems like one of those rare instances where it’s probably easier – and certainly wiser – to get permission than to get forgiveness.

I’d bet others will chime in with other, and certainly less lengthy advice. If/when they do, heed the advice of those with the most experience.

Good luck.

[Denis Danatzko]

RE: Billing, I’m inclined to agree with grin. Reasons: YOU shot the footage, and presuming YOU own it, YOU are entitled to do whatever YOU want with it. This is a stretch of an analogy, but think of it as your own little pool of “stock video”…you own it and can sell it to whomever you desire, and can charge whatever you think it – and your time spent editing & authoring – is worth. With that in mind, if others want footage from the same game, you may want to consider charging only for your editing and authoring time. that’s entirely up to you. (Are you in this as a business, or to make friends)?

RE: ownership of footage:
I’m not an attorney, so this isn’t legal advice, however what you describe doesn’t strike me as a “work for hire”. If it were, then the parent who hired you could claim ownership of the footage. (Ownership is something that should be stipulated in all your future contracts, BTW).
My understanding of a work for hire is something created with a specific description of the end product with the description included in or attached to the contract. An oft-used example might be an oil painting that is a portrait of a specific size, showing a specific person, perhaps wearing specific clothing or costume, in a specific setting or location.
Given the variety of plays that occur in a game (I’m using football as an example), and (presuming that) only the coach new the game plan, it may not be arguable that a work for hire is even possible under those conditions, except, perhaps, by the coach. How could the parent describe a work for hire unless he knew the game plan, all the plays, and what the result of each play would be before it happened? (Again, I’m not an attorney, and the law can work in unexpected ways, so take this with a grain of salt).

Ethics are not the only thing you should consider.

RE: Warnings/Considerations you didn’t mention:
Again, I’m not an attorney, so this is not legal advice.
I’m presuming most of these players are minors. If so, I believe you may need to have signed parental releases for everyone who appears in the footage if you’re going to own the footage and use it for any commercial purpose.

Once this footage is out of your hands, you have no idea where it might end up being seen/used in the future.

While it may seem extremely unlikely, there may be potential for real ugliness here. Example: a player (who happens to be a minor) who sits the bench for the entire game (but thinks they should have started) appears in the footage, but you don’t have a signed release from their parent. If that player’s parents see or even learn of the footage and that someone made money from it, might it lead to a lot of headaches for you, i.e. potential law suit, and even if you won, could you afford it? (I know it’s extreme, but I suspect it’s possible). If it came to that, it would likely be a civil case, and you’d have no right to a court-appointed attorney.

Also re: releases: remember you have 2 teams to consider, as well as fans and other minor spectators.

RE: Footage of Other Players
While it seems inevitable that other (football) players would have to appear in the footage if it’s to be used as a highlight video, were you concentrating on your parent/client’s son? For example, were you following/zooming in on that player and those immediately around him? Do you have enough footage of other players, (like those away from the ball), to do justice to their play and make worthwhile highlights for them?

Some of this is food for thought. Others may say I’ve taken it too far using extreme examples. Whatever the case, these may be things you want to consider. You may or may not be gambling with potential problems.

I suspect there are many others in this forum who do highlight videos. Let’s hope they can help. Hopefully, others with more experience and/or knowledge will chime in here.

[Denis Danatzko]

Hi, Sebastian,

Basically, it’s arguable that your question(s) touch on legal issues, and require a response from someone with the legal knowledge and authority to issue a response, i.e. an attorney. You should consult an attorney for a definitive answer. Because only attorneys can provide valid legal advice, following what may seem like “legal advice” from anyone else will not protect you in the event of a law suit.
With that disclaimer out of the way, you may find it helpful to know the practices of other videographers. It is wise to obtain signed releases from anyone and everyone who appears in the video and is recognizable, even if they’re “only in the background”. If they happen to be minors, then the respective parents and/or guardians can sign for them. Also, a picky point but perhaps important in the seemingly arcane language of “legalese”, a “release” may provide different protections than a “waiver”. Again, you should consult an attorney.

On a broader note, yours’ is a rather basic question. Not to be offensive, insulting, or sarcastic, but, for your own protection, you should understand well the intent, purpose, and protections offered through signed releases well before you press that record button. You might want to do a bit more research before selling your services for money. Using footage in which people – and even places or things – can be recognized can, under bad circumstances, lead to a videographers nightmare.

Good luck with your business.