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watch Woody!

Ok, i have managed to upload another film called Woody.

Now this guy is the Town Crier of East Riding of Yorkshire and i was asked to film his performance when he entered a talent contest back in 2004 as a stand up comedian.

Anyway all the action happened one night in a working mens club in Hull (East Yorkshire, UK) and his performance was not for the light hearted!
 
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This feature length film "Woody" was filmed inside a social club in Hull and now this guy Michael Wood is threatening to sue me as a result of this film, but initially he still has to win the case.
English law states the copyright belongs to the photographer therefore release forms are not necessary in law as there is no copyright on a person.

Does anyone think there is any commercial potential in "Woody?"
 
Yes thats correct.

Apparently i added one or two special effects of him burping and farting which i thought was quite funny. However he found it very insulting, does not have a sense of humour and has an ego bigger than the Empire State building!

This month hes been saying to my friends in Hull that hes going to sue for £10,000, and last week i started receiving some weird telephone calls from someone trying to manipulate me into sending all the orginal footage to some mail drop address down in London. I am quite certain this is one of his undercover stooges.

He asked me to film his comedic performance in a talent contest and there was another production day in Bradford when i had to be up at 6am. Now if i give my time for free i would like something to show at the end regardless of his opinion. So if hes going to sue i wish him the best of luck.

Imagine showing the Woody film to the jury? I think the whole court would turn into a farce!!!
 
Well, it's unfortunate that he's taking that kind of action against you. But you asked for comments, so here you go:

There are a few points where I chuckled out loud - and I'm a tough laugh. (But honestly, I skipped forward a lot because not much was happening, it seemed to me, so I probably missed some laughs) This guy takes himself pretty seriously and that can be pretty funny. The editing pointed that out a few times, and that's where I laughed. For example, near the top (which takes far too long to get going), you have a long, silent cut on him without your voice over. Then the voice over comes in and states exactly what I'm thinking. In this case, the silence worked, because it was a set up to a stronger joke which was a comment on the performer. (Howedver, it sounds like that kind of thing is what's getting you into trouble with this guy - editorizling on his personna/performance in a negative manner? Unless you were up front with him or he's got a great sense of humor and strong self image, that kind of treatment by the filmmaker isn't going to go over very well, IMO) I think the length of the film extends the depth of the material. Meaning, I was dropping out a lot because there were lengths where nothing interesting to me was happening. IMO, you should cut this WAY down. It's tedious to sit through at times, in all honesty. It feels like you haven't taken a real position on this subject matter, and are haphazardly throwing everything in. There's great stuff in there. This guy's kind of quirky and interesting at times. You spend a LOT of time setting him up, before his stage performance, so I'm expecting to be blown away by him performing on stage. And I'm not - he's just okay. He's got some funny jokes, but his payoff on stage isn't worth the set up time. The ending is jolting. Perhaps if you added music at the beginning and end, then I would know that the film was ending and not a mistake.

I hope this helps. Good luck with everything.
 
Do I think there's a commercial potential for this?

Not as it is now. It has a major interlace problem, which made me turn it off. It really yells, poor quality and/or amature home video. I think if you fix the interlace problem, then you may have something but not as it is now.



Also, since it's on iFilm, doesn't it not belong to you anymore?


The IFILM Network, including all content, media and materials.................................. are the property of IFILM.....
 
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I hate to say it, but he may have a case. If you altered the performance with sound effects and commentary, then released it to the public without his consent, he may have a valid complaint. I would start by pulling it from the public outlets if you don't have signed releases from him, then moving on to damage control with perhaps a re-edit without the commentary and sound effects. Whether you think its funny or not, if he feels it unjustly damages his appearance in public, he has the right to file claim. If you've released it without his consent, he probably has a right to file claim.

The jury viewing this is irrelevant. This would simply be a matter of did you have the rights to make and release this piece as it currently sits. The funniness of the content is irrelevant in court. Only the rights.

Always have everyone on set who is involved with the production sign a release whether they appear on camera or not. Location owners too.
 
Thank you all for responding, much appreciated.

Media Hero. I thought our dialogue before his stage performance was quite funny so used it as a build up and show all the various people who turned up on that evening. I suppose i was a bit naughty filming the smooth tittys of that blonde singer but shes a pretty girl and if your seen with her people would think your doing pretty well. However i did not intend to show him in a negative way as this is a comedy. Michael Wood had previously told me all about another filmmaker who was trying to make him look ridiculous by having people walking past him and calling him by a four letter word swear word. But in my view comedy is a ridiculous situation that people find funny. Did Tom Cruise feel insulted by Hot Shots? Possibly not.


Cootdog. How could i rectify the interlace problem?

Knightly. Hes also complaining about a postcard i printed with him on it! Last year i asked him if he could dress up in his town criers outfit for a photo shoot which would be used as a postcard. He agreed and the postcard was printed, but hes now gone around a few of the shops that market my postcards saying that i did not have his permission to use the photograph. Well English law states there is no copyright on a person and release forms are not a statutory requirement. Release forms merely state an agreement between photographer/artist that they have worked together, but the copyright belongs to the photographer. So if Michael Wood intends to declare war on me then i shall be waiting for him, but i hope he does not get his fingers burnt...
 
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