Documentary Ideas

[StewTech]

So, as a soon-to-be theatre major, I am involved in the Video Production classes at my high school. We have to do this senior documentary.

I want to do it on theatre, or something theatre-related, because that is what I love and know.

I was thinking I would take a small film crew to a local theatre where I interned this summer and filming the production of a show from start to finish.

I'd look at the selection of the show, the casting, the designing processes, and the rehearsal and construction of the show, as well as the front of house business that is done for a show, and follow it through to opening night.

Here is my only concern; the logistics. They are doing the show Chicago, so I couldn't very well film rehearsal numbers or use music or clips of the show, because of the copyright.

So how do I film the show without actually filming the show?

 

[chausman]

Shoot from backstage. If the person talking is loud enough, and the ambient noise of quiet enough, you wouldn't be able to make out the show. As long as it wasn't a very specific scene/song being shot.

 

[shiben]

Do it as a personal drama about a specific group of the people involved, taking cues from such docu-dramas like Deadliest catch and the like?

 

[MarshallPope]

As an educational project, wouldn't that be covered under Fair Use? It's been a while since I've read up on the specifics, but you may want to check into it.

 

[MarshallPope]

I've spent a bit more time loking into Fair Use. Apparently, I have forgotten everything I learned in Communication Law last semester as soon as (Or slightly before) I took the final. Figures.

Anyway - the law is:

Sec. 107. - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

I am thinking that the "scholarship" exemption would apply nicely to this. Looking at the four factors:
1. Purpose and character - "Nonprofit educational purposes"
2. Nature - The original work is creative in nature as opposed to factual, so that could possibly present problems, though I am not sure how the educational aspects may outweigh it.
3. I'm assuming that you wouldn't be using large portions of the show, so you should be fairly clear here
4. Will your documentary cause someone to forego seeing or producing or etc.ing the show? Hopefully not.

DISCLAIMER - I have only had one semester of a law class, so by no means go by what I am telling you. I'm just bringing this up for discussion.

 

[gafftaper]

Fair use is good to know, but the real question is what does the contract say. The easiest thing to do is call Tams/MTI and ask them what rights did the teacher give up when signing the contract.

 

[StewTech]

Well, my biggest issue is that is is community theatre, so the show isn't in an educational setting. I want to be able to use this documentary as demo reel stuff, as well as demos on my website. So would it be better to fundraise the grand or so it would cost to get the video rights? I don't know about Fair Use, simply because the show isn't in an educational setting.

 

[rochem]

I go to Ithaca College, which has an excellent theatre program as well as an excellent Television/Video/Communications department, and for our first mainstage show this year, a crew from the Communications school did a mini-series that followed the process of the show from the very beginning to opening. They came to each design meeting starting with the first one in April, then came to every production meeting starting in September, and then started dropping in on occasional rehearsals and shop build days to get more footage. They also spent a good amount of time filming during load-in and spacing. Once we went into tech, they were there for at least a few hours every day, and then they finally shot a bit of the final product. In addition to this, they shot interviews with the director, the choreographer, the MD, the SM, most of the designers, some of the department heads, and a couple members of the cast. I haven't actually seen how it turned out, but supposedly they were getting fantastic feedback from their professors in the communications school, and it was a very successful project. The vast majority of the footage they shot didn't actually involve using the intellectual property of the script at all, as they focused more on the technical parts of the process that most people don't see.

 

[gafftaper]

Well, my biggest issue is that is is community theatre, so the show isn't in an educational setting. I want to be able to use this documentary as demo reel stuff, as well as demos on my website. So would it be better to fundraise the grand or so it would cost to get the video rights? I don't know about Fair Use, simply because the show isn't in an educational setting.

Again, call the publisher and ask them about this. Fair use only works when you haven't signed a contract that specifically says, "I will not video the show for any reason." What does the contract say? Will you be violating it if your video is of the rehearsal and creation process and not of the final performance? Lots of questions only they can answer.

 

[derekleffew]

No first hand knowledge or experience, but I think it has to do with the duration of the clip of the performance/rehearsal. How many times have we seen a snippet of a show on a TV news program? And then the starts usually perform a number from the show live (or lip-synced). Or the Tony Awards for that matter.

For an example of one "the making of" documentary, see the feature film Every Little Step about the making of A Chorus Line revival.

 

[StewTech]

Okay, so here's the email from MIT:

Film, video and photography of the show are not permitted with the current royalties package. You can always upgrade to include video rights, which is the safest option ... If videos surface from one of our productions without the rights to do so, the normal course of action includes barring the organization from any transactions with MTI or sister companies, with the occasional case of copyright infringement.

I contacted the Director, and he said he did not want to take any chances with the group being barred from MTI...

How extreme is this, though? If you only see a snippet of a dance number, or a clip of a song, would that be worthy of any of the above punishments?

 

[chausman]

How extreme is this, though? If you only see a snippet of a dance number, or a clip of a song, would that be worthy of any of the above punishments?

Know that you've talked with them about it, they will most likely be keeping an eye on that group, and things that may involve them. I would follow their advice carefully.

 

[shiben]

How extreme is this, though? If you only see a snippet of a dance number, or a clip of a song, would that be worthy of any of the above punishments?

Sounds about right. You gotta remember that this show is pretty much their way of making money (along with other shows they license). In this day and age I know that copyrights can seem pretty flexible, as Im fairly sure that most people dont actually "own" half to all of the music on their computers, you can go watch ripped off crap on youtube or download full movies on torrent sites, and whatnot, but the reason all these things exist is that someone is making money off of it. No band would have multiple albums out if no one thought they could make money off of it, no one would produce movies on a large budget scale if they didnt think the same, and running a copyright on a play is the same sort of deal. Whats the point of holding the rights at all if they are not making money? Whats the point of even existing? Their IP is how they make money, and the strict control of it is pretty much the only way they can make sure they continue to make money. It seems harsh to you because its not a big deal, its a few dance steps and a few bars of music. To them that is pretty much money in their pockets, right? And they have to be aggressive, whats to keep you, in reality, from just scanning the script and posting it, along with the video, on a Ukrainian server? They might seem like jerks, but they are in a really horrible situation too, it would be like if you could just refine gasoline in your back yard so you just punched a hole in the TAP and funneled off some oil. These guys are not monsters, and they certainly dont want your production to have problems, banning your company is a terrible plan of last resort for them because you wont be buying any more of their IP. In all actuality, they are probably willing to work out some sort of deal with you on the documentary. You could probably get the director to call them (not an email) and talk to one of their reps, tell them exactly what you want to do (make a "making of" documentary, how much of the actual show you want to include, what kind of things you want to do) and exactly who the documentary will be screened for (a school project, non commercial and non-distributed) and they might be willing to work something out with you. Nothing for sure, but its much easier in this situation to just ask and find out rather than do it and have to deal with the consequences. These guys are not monsters, they are just trying to remain competitive in their market, which can be hard.

 

[StewTech]

I had my director call MTI this morning, but the local office was closed. Go figure. I'll keep you all posted!

 

[shiben]

I had my director call MTI this morning, but the local office was closed. Go figure. I'll keep you all posted!

You surprised?

 

[StewTech]

So, here is the issue. The rep from MTI said my filming would be completely legal so long as we didn't see any thing connected with the musical; music, a script, a scene, a set piece, a dance number, anything that would make it obvious that the show was Chicago. To be on the safe side, he recommended that I not even mention the shows name. However, he informed me that if the only people to see the film would be my video production class, I could film what I wanted, but the moment it was released to the public, I could be in lots of trouble.

 

[rochem]

So, here is the issue. The rep from MTI said my filming would be completely legal so long as we didn't see any thing connected with the musical; music, a script, a scene, a set piece, a dance number, anything that would make it obvious that the show was Chicago. To be on the safe side, he recommended that I not even mention the shows name. However, he informed me that if the only people to see the film would be my video production class, I could film what I wanted, but the moment it was released to the public, I could be in lots of trouble.

This confuses me. It's explicitly stated every time you do one of these shows that you're paying for the rights to the words and music as written by the playwright/composer/lyricist, but NOT the rights to the scenic design, lighting design, choreography, or any of that. If I design a set for Chicago, take a photo of it, label it "Chicago", and publish it, I'm not breaking any of MTI's rules. So why am I suddenly breaking a rule if I put it in a video? The dance part I can somewhat understand, but not even being allowed to show the set or allude to the name of the show seems wrong to me. Can anyone else help explain this?

 

[StewTech]

It is of my understanding that there are certain looks and or sets that are directly related with the show-I think they were going with the pit tower onstage, but the idea was that if I was showing a clip from a scene, even if there was no audio, if you could still look at the costuming and set and lighting and identify the show, there could be a potential problem.

However, it seems so vague that can't imagine it would cause a huge problem. There are so many Fosse style shows out there that you could argue it would be identified as anything.

It seems to me as though everyone is trying to cover themselves, so if a problem arises, MTI can say, 'Well, you did know there was a potential to be an issue'.