Ideally, all the material in your film should have been created by you, and are thus free of contracts, right restrictions and fair use questions–however, the reality is that this is very difficult to achieve, especially in a documentary. The topic of rights and clearances is complex, but here are few things to get you started.
Copyrighted Materials Policy
The Vanguard University Communication Department has a strict ‘no copyrighted materials in student work’ policy. This means that any materials you did not create yourself–photos, music, footage, etc–must be cleared before you can use them. Note: Exceptions may be made for specific class exercises, so always ask your professor.
Getting Permission/Purchasing Rights
What does it mean to be “cleared?” That means you have permission from the original creator to use it in your project. This is often not as hard as it sounds. Many content creators license their work under the Creative Commons, so if you follow the rules of the license, you can use the work. Other times, purchasing rights may be possible, especially for materials available on stock photography, sound or music websites. Purchasing the rights to music, even hit songs, can sometimes be affordable for student films. See the Music section in this handbook for more information.
If you like the work of an independent artist (someone who is not signed to a label or selling their work through a third party), then it is always worth asking for permission to use their music or images. Asking a photographer on Instagram or a musician on Soundcloud for permission to use their work in your film is often flattering to the artist and as long you are not making money by selling your film, many will grant that permission. See the Music section in Completing Your Film for more information. Another copyrighted work we often don’t think about is a brand or logo. But these are everywhere and should, if possible, be avoided in your film. That means you can shoot a character using a Macbook, but avoid getting the Apple logo in the shot. The general rule of thumb is to make your best effort to keep brand names, logos, advertising, and anything else that is copyrighted out of view or out of focus in your film. Buy generic soda pop, not Coca-Cola. Tape over labels or make your own. Blur or modify things in postproduction. Err on the side of caution.
Understanding “Fair Use”
A separate but related topic is the issue of fair use. What happens if a subject in your documentary is playing a Beatles song? Can you use that footage? Or do you have to pay thousands of dollars to license the song? In the case of something as obvious as someone performing a Beatles song, yes, you’d have to pay thousands to use that footage. But what if a car drives by with a loud stereo and you can hear the Beatles song for a moment as your interviewee is speaking? Then that might fall under something called fair use. Documentary filmmakers have published an official guide to fair use in documentary films that contains all the best practices for the industry. If you are planning to make a documentary, you should take the time to read through this document: https://cmsimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Documentary-Filmmakers.pdf
Keeping a Rights and Clearances Log
A good producer, especially a documentary producer, will keep a rights and clearances log to help prevent any surprises. As you observe the shoot or review the footage, make notes of anything that is copyrighted material that appears. Keeping an organized log from the beginning will make it much simpler to find and fix anything that could prevent you from screening your film at public festivals or even having it blocked from YouTube. See the Index of Forms for a Rights and Clearances Log template.