Frank Otto
Forum Replies Created
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Rights clearances are the reason so many docs are not being finished. A recent article in “Independent Film” has a rather long disertation on the burgeoning problem of securing rights. The truly independent documentarian can’t afford the staff to clear music, art, copyrighted architecture, logos and all the rest of the intellectual property that seems to end up in every shot that wasn’t shot in the Gobi Desert or the moon ( although NASA may have the rights to use of lunar lander images…)
It used to be that incidental, or natural sound that included music was deemed to be fair use. Or the old idea that if it’s in a public setting, it’s fair game.
Not anymore. Bulidings, such as Grauman’s/Mann’s/whoever Chinese Theater, The Flat Iron Building, The Gugginheim are copyrighed and trademarked. Virtualy every U.S. corporation has restrictions on use of it’s logos. And if music is heard that is in the least bit recognizable someone will have their hand out.
For me, it’s not the idea of user-pay…I’m willing to pay a creator a fair price for use. It’s the issue that there is no established fee structure – it’s based on whim, favor and greed.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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If a client signs a document that claims to have licensed the material, it is up to you to do the due dilligence and verify the veracity of the document. If you accept, “bald-faced” the document and it turns out to be false, then you get to be a party in the action. Worst case for you if it turns out to be false is a hefty fine…the minimum will be a trip to court and some days of scrambling over paperwork…still more hassle than it’s worth.
Let me repeat this…again…
There is no such thing as a release of liability or a liability waiver…PERIOD! You can lessen your liability in the above scenario, but only if you do your homework and verify the legitamacy of a document of that type.
You don’t want a document…you want a reciept showing a billing or payment for the use from the rightsholders or a clearinghouse.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Mike:
There is a product called the “Flickermaster” from GAM lighting (www.gamonline.com)
It can be set to create a flicker effect to simulate fire, tv’s and other devices.You might do a web search for similar devices.
Remember, your light should have a blueish cast to it as color tv screens give off light in a near daylight spectrum.
Alternatively, you might stack a couple of older CRT’s with the gains set higher/all using the same reception-image and just blast the light from that into your scene – an art imitates life imitates art real source light kinda thing.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Thanks, Bruce for the update!
I see the requirement for a larger specimen font has been eliminated…as I said earlier, my info was from 2001 so it’s good to get the correctyed info and link.
Thanks!
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Speaking of money, here’s my .02
Information from Treasury (via Secret Service) as of 2001 was that the filmic use of curency was allowable, however the bills shown must never be shown in a 1:1 ratio. There was a clause in the usage that prohibited currency being shown in such detail that embedded security material is visable, but changes in the formatting of currency has eliminated that issue. They also dropped the showing of consecutive numbering…what that had to do with shooting currency I haven’t the foggiest idea, and the agent I worked with didn’t seem to know.
As I understand the act, there are no restrictions, except that no representation or photographic images of in-service instruments of currency may be duplicated, printed, broadcast or represented in a 1:1 ratio, unless the word “SPECIMEN” appears in bold type, of a color in contrast with and 50% larger than the largest wording and must appear in two locations on each side of the instrument/currency.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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But seriously…
It shouldn’t. 1900mhz systems are in effect microwave emmissions and unless you’re using a city-link m/w system or the like then you should be clear. If you have equipment working that uses r.f. like network, wi-fi or radio mics at around 680 mhz you might encounter some spurrious “birdies” (a chirp noise in the reciever output).
I’d worry more about spurrious from the police site, especially if they are on an 800-900mhz trunk system.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Re: Buffett:
They’re pretty protective of his image as well. We shot a Buffett concert when the Flamingo opened the LV Margaritaville. His staffers ( seemed like a group of ol’ blue hairs – mommy types) almost went shot-for-shot over the concert tapes, deciding what we could or could not use…(no…looks too old…no, looks like he’s stoned…ok – up until he turns – we don’t like his hair that way…)
The concert was a hoot – they took a 6 acre pool site (three pools in a themed island setting) and filled them in with sand, creating a beach so they could do the concert. Ther real kicker was the guy who rented the sand traded out the sand and transport for ten tickets to the concert – that’s 150 large 32′ live well dumps full – about 25k worth of the stuff.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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This is hugely confusing…
What is the issue here? Do you have a work that was developed for some other party and you want to use it for your purposes? Are you saying that you have the rights to reuse anything you create? If you have retained full rights to the ownership/copyright, etc., then you can set whatever you feel is fair and reasonable. Is that your question?
Frankly, unless you are self published, everything we do is a work for hire. I know that I don’t generate images on the if-come…I get a work order and a fee structure and the legal terms hammered out prior to doing any work for anyone, regardless of the type of work or media involved. The few works I have created that I retain full control over have been sold as self published-self distributed material through a select retail outlet…and I’ve had to take legal action for copyright only a handfull of times.
You may work for a naive client that allows you to retain rights – rare, but there are still a few left who’ll let the artist retain full rights – but in my experience clients keep the rights or demand assignment upon payment.
So, what’s your question?
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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[tony salgado] “75% bars refer to saturation when bars are viewed on a vectorscope.”
No it does not.
Color Bars are always 100 percent saturated. The 75% refers to amplitude.
To repeat: The number refers to the amplitude of RGB into the encoder. One hundred percent color bars put an undue strain on transmission systems in that the subcarrier peaks for yellow (which sits atop the highest luminance value) go to 130 IRE. Blue, the lowest in brightness has subcarrier that sinks below blanking. But the math for 75% amplitude color bars works out to a signal that reached to just 100 IRE for the positive peaks of the subcarrier signal for both yellow and cyan.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Y’know, I should have quoted the earlier post…this one:
QUOTE:
Yes. You helped. 🙂 I hope you didn’t interpret me thanking you as sarcasm.I also posted on some other boards and got a few other responses that I’ll summarize here:
RESPONSE 1
Try using the Color Finesse Filter instead of the Broadcast colors, it has Luma and Chroma Limiting and some software vectorscopes where you can see how hot the video is, and how the histograms are responding.Setting it to something like this:
(snip)
RESPONSE 2
75% IRE white is RGB 191, 191, 191. However, on a SEMPTE 75% bars there is a 100% white square. So the scope will read the high end. 110 IRE is too hot… if that is what you sent them. 255 RGB?
Just go into your curve outputs and clip your spot down to 200 or so RGB and then out 75% bars on the head, I’ll bet they will accept it and it will look fine
(snip)
RESPOSE 3
At PBS, white is considered 90 IRE for graphics, so don’t assume it’s always 100%.
END QUOTEI’m not refering to messrs. King and LaRonde…just a clarification
Cheers,
Frank Otto