One of the most disturbing aspects of tutoring film students was the cavalier attitude they took towards copyright. One student who used Elton John tracks extensively in her documentary thought she had the right to use the music worldwide because she had purchased the CD. Most students were blissfully unaware that the filming of posters, billboards, street musicians or performers can also lead to a copyright challenge by the owners, whilst countless others plundered the internet or copied book pages, photographs and graphics on a regular basis without once considering that this was a form of theft. Ignoring the fact that downloaded material is generally unacceptable quality anyway, the ultimate cost of being taken to court if their films were made available for public consumption could have been ruinous. It prompted me to add more detailed sections to both my seminars and my film reference book, warning of the dangers of plagiarising other people’s work.
The general rule is to tread carefully. When I made my documentary series on the art and craft of theatre for Discovery a few years back, I was careful NOT to include extracts from any known written works. It didn’t mean I had to avoid discussions about Shakespeare or contemporary authors; I just had to avoid making direct quotes or filming any readings or performances from these works. And if I needed music I contracted one of the many hundreds of freelance composers who supply original tracks on a buy-out at a fraction of the cost of commercial music. Whilst it is always an option to approach an author or a publisher directly to obtain permission to quote extracts, I opt for the far easier - and safer - route of writing my own lines of dialogue. When I wrote my reference book I avoided including quotes from any previously published works; every proposal, treatment and line of script being self-created, the copyright owned solely by me and any performances assigned to me contractually by the actors.
Many writers use quotes quite legitimately from other literary works, usually with permission, or at least acknowledging the source. It is something I have never considered, primarily because I believe there would have to be a very good reason for me to borrow someone else’s creative inspiration when I can write my own. Okay, it won’t be Shakespeare, Pinter, or Hemingway, but at least it’s mine. In fact, I would find it difficult to consider myself a real creative if I had to resort to knowingly plagiarising the craftsmanship of others in order to enhance the reading experience.
There are numerous books available discussing copyright. One I found particularly useful is Writers’ Guide to Copyright, Contract & Law by Helen Shay, published by howtobooks.
