Is it worth... About camera's and copyright

[shabz.xo]

Hiring a pro camera to shoot my film or should I just the school's 550D's?

+ Anyone know anything about getting copyright clearance?

[Tobias Funke]

I've had a look at some stuff, depends on the label and stuff.

If it's low-tier, it's more likely to be relatively fine, but say with something like Grizzly Bear, I checked out the label they were signed with (Warp) and they told me having copyright clearance would cost a minimum 150 quid regardless of circumstance.

Need to check with the band if they're unsigned, and with the label if they're signed.

[shabz.xo]

So Rihanna would be a ridiculous amount I'm guessing =.='

[Tobias Funke]

Music video?

Yeah I'm sure.
But who cares about top screen anyway?

[CaptainAwesome]

I think some companies might allow you to use their stuff for educational purposes.. but you'd have to e-mail them and get it okayed if possible..?

[Joshwahr]

I shot my film on a Sony XD EX3 which is a high end camera, but I only did this because I had access to it for no cost.
I got an A+ and yes it looked amazing, but that was because I have a good eye for cinematography and made my shots look good.
I could've easily made it look that good on my Canon 40D.

Don't go and hire a camera

Do the best you can do with what you have! Shoot on whatever you have available

Take the director Robert Rodriguez, he shot El Mariachi on a cheap digital rig for next to nothing and the film looks awesome! Also the new film Act of Valor was shot with the majority on Canon 5D MKII cameras!

Also, the best films from Top Screen in the 2010/2011 year were shot on 5D cameras!

It's not what you have it's how you use it.

[Lasercookie]

There was a guy at my school last year who managed to get copyright clearance with EMI. I'm not sure what kind of money was involved, but I know that he ended up getting a 5 year license to use the music (and that it took a long time to get it)

[Joshwahr]

Try not to use popular music.
It takes forever to get clearance, and costs a fortune!
Often the music companies such as Sony BMG or EMI only give you a short license for educational purposes, but if you want it on youtube or shown at Top Screens, that won't work because you're not allowed to use it for them and you could get sued, and you don't want that!

If you don't get copyright clearance you can NOT show it at Top Screens!
And that would be a shame because if it's a good film you should want it to be able to be shown!

I was fortunate enough to have a band that I have friends in, so I used their songs and it fits perfectly! So if you know any good musicians or bands, ask them nicely and they may give you copyright clearance free of charge!

I suggest you look at production music libraries.
XTreme Music Director's Cuts are very good and you don't have to pay much at all. I used a track from this and licensing was easy and cost a little, but nothing compared to what the music companies such as BMG or EMI charge for you to use their music.

I also got clearance for a song which is very popular, "La Mer" by Charles Trenet which is an older song (I didn't use it in the end as it didn't fit the tone of my film).
After emailing the copyright people, they said I could use it free of charge and for as long as I like. I believe this was because it was a very old song and the artist is dead, so it's possible that the copyright stuff had expired.