BY JANET WEST
NAB Show
Rights, Drones, Amateur or
Pro production…
food for thought at NAB
As we recover from our chocolate heaven indulgence at Easter, thousands of people from all corners of the globe will be flying into Las Vegas for NAB 2015, anticipating new products, new solutions and a chance to enjoy the company of friends and perhaps solicit orders from clients. For many years the main attractions at shows like NAB and Europe’s IBC were the variety of transitions from one format to another or one workflow improvement to another. Studio cameras went up and down in size depending on the format and smartphone cameras are regularly used for news broadcasts and they always offer ever increasingly stunning images.
Today we have a very different product and system landscape but with it comes a new set of issues beyond simply changing the equipment. Display screens have changed in size, resolution and portability but they are no longer used for traditional broadcast programs where certain levels of content controls were in place. Consumers are watching new content but now from other consumers. Over 300 hours of video are now uploaded onto Youtube every minute, content is shared with little controls as to topic as we have seen with either Islamic State videos, criminals caught on camera or the general public caught in compromising situations without their knowledge.
Long gone are the days a production manager carried several release forms to get permission, in case a member of the public was going to be used in a broadcast production or commercial,. Today smartphone selfies, with whoever else is in the vicinity have become a way of life and the general public upload videos, edited or not and few are aware of where their images are being seen.
If you upload a video who’s IP is it? If CBS sells a program or format, they receive compensation from whoever shows it but what about the growing number of amateur videographers? From a cute woodpecker flying with a weasel on its back shot by amateur photographer Martin Le-May, from Essex to explaining the tackle in a football game, we must question whether the rightful owners of the IP are adequately protected.
Although both private and large production companies have uploaded videos to increase their audience sizes, the rights issues still seem a little fuzzy. An amateur aiming to be a pro film-maker might report on a concert of their favorite band but when they upload their report if their audience is large enough to be a Youtube partner, they will benefit from the advertising revenue but will their band benefit from the revenue? On the other hand if a feature film movie is filmed secretly in a theatre this is clearly recognized as piracy with associated penalties.
Broadcasters spend substantial amounts of money for the rights to film major sporting events such as the World Cup, the Super Bowl or Formula One but what are the legal implications if a drone equipped with a state of the art lens starts transmitting the images? After all the FAA state that drones cannot fly higher than 400 feet and must remain in line of sight of the operator? We have technology evolving quicker than Government legislation to control it, which puts the content rights in question. Over a million drones have been sold globally with many in operation in the US and only recently has Congress pushed the FAA to issue permits for commercial companies that have lobbied to get the ban on commercial use banned. But what about our amateur operator wanting to emulate commercial helicopter use, What regulations should be in place for drone filming, but more importantly what makes sense for the safety of athletes and spectators. When Bradley Wiggins was cycling down the Champs Elysees to
Commentary
Broadcast Beat Magazine / Apr-Jun, 2015
22