Clearances Unit 1 LO4 Mr Southworth

Pre-production documentation.

MCPSRPS: License organizations to do things to do with media. For example in the music industry they give them permission to play, perform or make available copy right music on behalf of the musician or there production team. They distribute the royalties fairly and efficiently. They promote and protect the value of copyright. If I wanted to start a radio station I would need to get in touch with the MCPRPS to be allowed to broadcast the music, I would have to pay royalties, which go to the musician.

Clearances:  Doesn’t matter what you choose to use, whether it is in the music industry, film industry or anything else you have to contact the right people; MCPSRPS, equity or pact and if a musician the musician union and arrange a sum of money for the use of what or who ever you want to use. From the people who own the copyright to the piece of music i.e. lyrics and composition. You should note that for this kind of copyright, copyright exists only when the music or words have been recorded or written down. This is the publishing license. An example of how clearances work are certain companies who are purely set up to sort out clearances ‘ASAP clearances’ they are based in Los Angeles, and offer the one stop shop solution for all your music, clips and image supervision needs. They cover all creative and legal areas of music, clips and image provision: From sourcing, licensing and clearance to original compositions, creative consultancy and overall project supervision.(http://asapclearances.com/)

Clearances for showing your film on Film Network:

If you submit your film to Film Network, it's your responsibility to ensure that you have obtained all the necessary clearances in writing. If somebody claims your film breaches their 'copyright' (e.g. you have used them/their identity/their work in some way without their consent), it is you, as well as the BBC, who are liable. If you have breached copyright, at the very least you will not be able to continue to show your film and you could end up being sued. Please check that the clearances you have obtained include internet use ('All media' covers internet as well) and should ideally be for use in territories throughout the world, in perpetuity (indefinitely).

Make clearances as you go along, as soon as you can, rather than trying to get permission retrospectively after you've shot your film. You may find that you encounter unexpected problems getting clearances for music or images, the most common one being how expensive it is to license well known music tracks. If you can't obtain a release for anything, use an original substitute instead. All areas in your films such as music, actors, script, content and locations require clearance before you can screen your film in public. Making a film always involves getting clearances in writing from all participants during the pre-production and production process. It’s much easier to get clearances at this stage rather than retrospectively once the film is completed as once you have completed the film it may be difficult/expensive to go back and clear work.