film clip Licence in UK

[cpaton1993]

Hey all,

 

So we are putting on a production and the director has asked to have 30 second clips from 5 or six filmed projected on the back cyc.

Does anyone know the rules on licensing clips from films, I as I recently found out that the 30 second "fair use" clause is an American rule and we do not do anything like that here in the UK.

So far, looking it up I can only find licensing for film showings, and nothing on using short clips form them.

Thanks for any help in advance.

 

All the best,

 

Chris

[Jivemaster]

Using someone else's material as part of your show might well need individual negotiations with lots of rights owners, including showing what is the intended context of the use. It will be very much cheaper to create the clips, unless the real clip is fundamental to the plot. Expect a Holywood lawyer's fee built into each licence.

 

If the piece may be for licensable production later then consider how the cost of the licences will affect it's saleability.

[ImagineerTom]

There's a huge difference between showing films as a "cinema", using clips in an educational or reporting/reviewing context (fair use) and using clips within a production for pure commercial exploitation and the costs/fees involved vary wildly. In every case though you will have to contact the rightholders (key words - the "distributor" in your country is almost certainly the one controlling the copyright and licensing for all commercial exploitation) directly and speak to their licensing department to find out how they want you to seek approval & what their fees will be. They will control all copyright in the visual aspects of the film but if it incorporated music (and even more so if the music has been released commercially outside of the film itself) then you will need separate rights clearance/permissions relating to the music from the publisher and representatives of the performers. You may also have to make separate arrangements to pay a royalty for the physical clip itself (ie rent an official print or hi-def broadcast copy) from whoever holds broadcast rights to the version you have taken the clips from

 

This is a huge legal can of worms and gets expensive really quickly. If we're talking about a mainstream film being used in a production that charges for tickets then you'll be looking at thousands of pounds per clip - if only because each separate company will have to pay a legal department to check any agreement carefully.

[Junior8]

And that's if the rights holder is willing to licence the content in the first place!

[mal421]

It may be a good idea to contact Filmbank Media at www.filmbankmedia.com.