Filming Permissions
When filming in some areas, there are rules and regulations regarding if you are allowed to film there as well as what specific areas are acceptable to film at. For example, I will be filming at Pride London, so I need to make sure that I am allowed to film with my DSLR in specific places. Often, you may need a 'filming permit' for a specific area that signifies you are allowed to film there. If I do not do my research regarding filming issues, it could be vital for the rights of my music video being posted and it could be taken down. Also it means that you do not run the risk of upsetting people or breaking the law. Instead, it is very important to be respectful of others and places.
I looked up whether I was permitted to film and in which particular places in London, however it simply stated on the filmlondon website that I would need to inform the borough I would be filming in terms of when and where.
I wrote this in an email to Westminster Borough so I will go ahead with filming unless I am asked to stop filming at the event.
In order to be allowed to use around 20 seconds of footage from this video, I commented on the video using the comment section, asking if I were allowed to use it:
The channel who posted the video responded, stating:
Because of their response, I decided to go ahead and try and claim copyright of the footage so I clicked on the link and filled out a form:
Peer Assessment
I took to Instagram to gather some feedback on this post. I have many classmates on this social media platform so I created some 'polls'. This meant that my peers could anonymously answer and give their opinions on my post.
Firstly I tried to make sure that people only took part in the questions if they were in my class. Some others did take part but I assume they had seen my blog.
I asked whether this post was worth doing and waited for an hour until I could record my results. It turned out that 14 people had voted after an hour and 100% of people said 'yes'. This indicates that the footage i have gathered will be worth using and engaging, as well as help tell the story in my music video.
100% of people who took part in the survey also liked the layout of this post, which was good to know as I like to make sure that everything looks good on my blog because I think it makes a good first impression and makes a reader want to read on.
I then asked 'How would you improve the post?', which was what I was most interested to find out, because, instead of seeing figures, I was able to get comments. Despite this, I only received two messages however I made sure to take them into consideration.
One follower of mine suggested that I would state why the footage was so important to me to get hold of. I can answer this now - I had been searching the depths of the internet for a very long time back when I began to storyboard back in May because I wanted to find authentic, real life footage of a relatively old Pride march. This is because I wanted to include it in my own music video for multiple reasons. Firstly, it would show just how long we have been campaigning for gay rights. Also, it would show how far we've come such as the increases in masses and other factors compared to Pride in 1991. Most importantly, I wanted to show how being gay isn't a 'phase' - we have been campaigning for so long - and I want to inspire people to keep campaigning, not even for gay rights but for anything they are passionate about.
One of my followers suggested I should put all of the images that I post on my blog in boxes. I understand where this person is coming from, especially when there is an image with a white background as it can end up not looking like an image but as part of the text. From now on I think I will put images in boxes so that the layout is less confusing.
As well as this, there are other kind of permissions needed; for example, I am hoping to use old footage from the 1990's in my music video, which was posted by a YouTube channel. Therefore, I will need to receive copyright so that I can post it without the music video being taken down.
Firstly in this post, I decided to research into the filming permissions of the locations I will be filming at, excluding my school photography studio because I have permissions as a student.
Pride Parade
I looked up whether I was permitted to film and in which particular places in London, however it simply stated on the filmlondon website that I would need to inform the borough I would be filming in terms of when and where.
I wrote this in an email to Westminster Borough so I will go ahead with filming unless I am asked to stop filming at the event.
Underground Tubes
There are new rules regarding filming permissions on the underground however you only need permission for commercial use. I will be filming non-commercially so I can use my small camera discreetly.
Copyright Issues
As well as this, I decided to make sure I was viable to use some footage for my music video. I found this YouTube video after searching for a while and decided that it would work very well with the theme, concept and aesthetic of my music video. Also, it looks very old fashioned and has a very vintage feel which will express in my video how all these years later we are still campaigning for gay rights so it feels like we are going round in circles.
In order to be allowed to use around 20 seconds of footage from this video, I commented on the video using the comment section, asking if I were allowed to use it:
The channel who posted the video responded, stating:
Because of their response, I decided to go ahead and try and claim copyright of the footage so I clicked on the link and filled out a form:
I found that filling out the form was quite difficult - do I use my address or my school's address etc. Also, some of the entities were quite confusing, for example, I didn't know what 'Province' meant. Also, it was not clear what the YouTube video's 'reference code' was so I made an educated guess, hoping for the best. I sent the form off and waited for a reply, presumably in the form of an email.
The company did not reply to me so I am going to include the footage for now however will have to take the music video down if the company find the video.
UPDATE: The company have replied to me since this post was uploaded, stating that I have permission to use the footage:
Creating this post has made me much more aware of the lengths that filming production companies have to go to in order to claim copyright of footage. I found that filling out the form was quite strenuous as well as trying to chase the company up as they weren't the best at replying.
In terms of filming permissions, I think that as an individual it is okay for me to film in London as I have done so before for my preliminary task video. I think that filming becomes a problem when it starts to disrupt events in London however when I will be filming I will only be carrying around a camera. Many other people film at Pride as a friend I know that has been before has told me; Pride encourage the use of filming, photos and social media to raise more attention about the event.
Peer Assessment
I took to Instagram to gather some feedback on this post. I have many classmates on this social media platform so I created some 'polls'. This meant that my peers could anonymously answer and give their opinions on my post.
Firstly I tried to make sure that people only took part in the questions if they were in my class. Some others did take part but I assume they had seen my blog.
I asked whether this post was worth doing and waited for an hour until I could record my results. It turned out that 14 people had voted after an hour and 100% of people said 'yes'. This indicates that the footage i have gathered will be worth using and engaging, as well as help tell the story in my music video.
100% of people who took part in the survey also liked the layout of this post, which was good to know as I like to make sure that everything looks good on my blog because I think it makes a good first impression and makes a reader want to read on.
I then asked 'How would you improve the post?', which was what I was most interested to find out, because, instead of seeing figures, I was able to get comments. Despite this, I only received two messages however I made sure to take them into consideration.
One follower of mine suggested that I would state why the footage was so important to me to get hold of. I can answer this now - I had been searching the depths of the internet for a very long time back when I began to storyboard back in May because I wanted to find authentic, real life footage of a relatively old Pride march. This is because I wanted to include it in my own music video for multiple reasons. Firstly, it would show just how long we have been campaigning for gay rights. Also, it would show how far we've come such as the increases in masses and other factors compared to Pride in 1991. Most importantly, I wanted to show how being gay isn't a 'phase' - we have been campaigning for so long - and I want to inspire people to keep campaigning, not even for gay rights but for anything they are passionate about.
You have put in a lot of effort to make sure that what you are doing is acceptable/legal, it is a shame that companies cannot get back to you however the Westminster Borough may have more important issues to deal with.
ReplyDeleteAfter filming at Pride, maybe you could comment in reply to this, how you found filming and if you were asked to stop by anyone.
Thank you! It can be frustrating waiting for responses yet I have until around September time for people to reply, otherwise I could use other footage and try and get copyright for it. In terms of filming permissions, Pride ran very smoothly and I wasn't stopped by anyone. Also, I felt very comfortable with filming because many other people were taking pictures and videoing. I also got away with filming on the tube.
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