Mike Nobles <jmn[_at_]vax2.utulsa.edu> wrote:
>
> When personnel in a media production facility are assigned to obtain
> footage there are certain things that must be done first before footage
> is taken.
>
> 1) If you are going to interview someone or there are a few individuals
> that appear in your segment, they must sign a release form before you can
> capture their appearance on film.
>
> 2) If footage is to be taken in a high traffic area (mall, amusement
> park) arrangements should be made to let people know that if they enter
> the area during filming, they are agreeing to be included in the footage.
> Another words they choose to be in the area while you film crowd shots,
> etc. EX. You go to an amusement park to get footage of the new
> rollercoaster. After arrangements with management are made, a sign at
> the entrance says that admission into the park today gives implied
> permission to be shown on a local program, or something similiar to that.
>
> In both cases above, permission is required and both parties understand
> what is expected. In your case, making sure that the mall management
> is aware of filming and setting up a sign to let people know that
> filming in a certain area is proceeding should cover you. That is, as
> long as the people who decide to walk into that area are aware that if
> they see themselves on tv later, they have no recourse because being in
> the filming area constituted implied permission.
Although I am a lawyer (in-house counsel to a film production company) this comment is written with my "production hat" on, not my "lawyer hat".
I agree with the above - I would add that when filming on public streets where it is not possible to restrict access, and where there is no way of posting a sign at the "entrance", many production companies make sure to post one or more large posters in conspicuous places just outside of the field of view of the camera, stating that there is filming being conducted, that people's presence constitutes their agreement that their pictures may be taken, etc. etc. In these cases, the Director of Photography is usually asked to make sure that at the beginning of each roll of film or tape (or at the beginning of each take, if the company is more cautious) s/he pans the camera and zooms in to record the image of the poster, then pans away and zooms out (or whatever) to film the scene. This way, you have a record on film which shows that the notice was posted at the time of the filming, and that it was clearly visible to the people in the area.
I would be interested to find out if this practical approach really solves the problem it is intended to solve - which I suppose is to create a license in favor of the company doing the filming, allowing them to use the likeness of the people who are shown in the film.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0 : Mon Mar 26 2007 - 00:35:20 GMT