Obtaining High Quality Images Under 'Fair Usage' Laws.

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Mastermind

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Under the "fair usage" laws, filmmakers are able to use images created by other people, regardless of copyright status, in their films as long as those films are documentary in nature. (This is speaking very generally.)

I'm trying to create a short documentary, to be made in high-definition video, using mainly still, journalistic/editorial style images under such fair usage laws. The thing is, though, that the images I use need to be of high technical quality (clear, high-resolution photos, etc.) but the image banks that lease the rights for the pictures I may be interested in (Associated Press, etc.) want to charge for each image used (and, when all is said and done, there could be hundreds used in this project). I also looked briefly at Google Images, but those are optimized for web display, not hi-def video usage.

There's really no budget to do this film, so spending $600 for rights to use a single image is out of the question.

What suggestions do you have?
 
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Mastermind said:
Under the "fair usage" laws, filmmakers are able to use images created by other people, regardless of copyright status, in their films as long as those films are documentary in nature. (This is speaking very generally.)
Click to expand...
I believe you are incorrect. I don't think that "fair use"
includes documentaries. Even speaking very generally.
I think this might be why AP and the like charge for each
image used. Each image is covered under copyright and
you need permission to use these in a documentary.
 
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Speaking as someone who is dealing with similar stuff (and Directorik has been wonderfully patient my questions :)), I can only offer my limited experience thus far. I've so far only been inquiring about single use photos from various people who own the rights to their photos, and it's been okay(maybe a minimal charge or simply due credit)-mind you these images are pics people take and post on the internet of themselves or their own creations. I haven't tackled bigger materials yet that gets into the 600 range for a photo as you suggest. I wonder how much of a documentary budget is usually attributed to simply obtaining permissions? Also, thank you about the fair use with documentary info-I didn't know that.

For example, I'm wanting to write a book about masks in culture, with a chapter on masks in films-needless to say I've got a whole minefield of this issue to deal with, wanting to use stills from movies, ect (see previous Directorik comment ;). I have a feeling by the end of it, I'm probably going to have to spend some money if I want to use these images. But I continue to learn and ask questions.

You can take what Directorik suggests as solid, reliable information.
 
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directorik said:
I believe you are incorrect. I don't think that "fair use"
includes documentaries. Even speaking very generally.
I think this might be why AP and the like charge for each
image used. Each image is covered under copyright and
you need permission to use these in a documentary.
Click to expand...

Actually, I had obtained that information from an attorney who specializes in copyright law and he made a point of saying that fair use applies especially for documentaries, as opposed to, say, a work of fiction. Also, I know of some instances in which footage was included in documentaries by way of fair use. Credit is still given to the source of the image in any case.

But, how to obtain images of sufficiently high quality... That's the question. I may just have to ask some of the image banks for steep discounts off their fees.

In the meantime, I'll keep digging around for images online, I suppose.
 
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Tinalera said:
Speaking as someone who is dealing with similar stuff (and Directorik has been wonderfully patient my questions :)), I can only offer my limited experience thus far. I've so far only been inquiring about single use photos from various people who own the rights to their photos, and it's been okay(maybe a minimal charge or simply due credit)-mind you these images are pics people take and post on the internet of themselves or their own creations. I haven't tackled bigger materials yet that gets into the 600 range for a photo as you suggest. I wonder how much of a documentary budget is usually attributed to simply obtaining permissions? Also, thank you about the fair use with documentary info-I didn't know that.

For example, I'm wanting to write a book about masks in culture, with a chapter on masks in films-needless to say I've got a whole minefield of this issue to deal with, wanting to use stills from movies, ect (see previous Directorik comment ;). I have a feeling by the end of it, I'm probably going to have to spend some money if I want to use these images. But I continue to learn and ask questions.

You can take what Directorik suggests as solid, reliable information.
Click to expand...

I suppose the amount of a documentary budget specifically for permissions depends on how many works need to be obtained via permission and not just fair use. It's ironic that although fair use exists you may still need to get permission to use high-quality versions of the images. (At least that's the way it seems to me right now.)
 
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Update: I've been taking another look at Google Images. I just noticed that if do an advanced search you can limit the results to images that are sized to larger than 1024 x 768 pixels. This seems to be good news. The only thing with Google is that it's sometimes difficult to determine who actually took a given photograph and who owns the copyright, etc. Even though the images would be acquired via fair use, I still want to give credit to the photographers and/or owners of the work (at least where I can).
 
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Mastermind, I would say that based on my experience, you are doing all the right steps. You have consulted with an attorney, you're making an effort to see if footage is obtainable via the copyright owners... good for you.

I'd suggest you read through the document located here: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org...-filmmakers-statement-best-practices-fair-use

It's a very enlightening look at what filmmakers can do to take advantage of the fair use principle to help them make better films and stay on the right side of the law in most cases.

Good luck.

Kevin Tostado
Producer of "Under the Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story"
http://www.MonopolyDocumentary.com
 
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