Know the Law: Face blurring available at YouTube

YouTube recently released a new feature that allows the uploader to "blur" faces in a similar manner to many reality or hidden camera shows. This feature is a huge advantage to both an amateur or professional videographer.You now have the option to censor faces of people you catch in your videos that you did not receive releases from. Hence, you can avoid lawsuits, or even more serious consequences, like possible retaliation for activist activities in places like Egypt and Syria.

In the good ol' days, when people stepped out in front of a camera and that image was displayed to the public, fair use could be argued. Especially if that artist or hobbyist did not expect to make money from the image. Nowadays, when Johnny-Come-Sue-You slaps you with a lawsuit, you will need all common usage laws at your disposal to fight the suit. Because of the invent of viral videos, memes, and the like, even a cat pretending to play the piano can make money. Blurring faces in your videos can save money and lives. If you are planning to promote your video and wish to not censor the background faces, it might be worthwhile to draft a standard release. If you neglect to do that, good luck....

Happy Filmmaking!

Know the Law: Animals

It's been a while since I have done one of these. But one legality that has been kicked around lately due to the cancellation of HBO's Luck is the inclusion and safety of animals in productions. Luck was canceled after a third horse involved in the production died.

Animals, like children, are touchy subjects. If you don't want to get these guys after you, you probably need to follow the rules.

What are the rules? Well, similiar to children, animals need registered trainers or handlers on set. Every. Single. Animal. Even a roach. There are exceptions, such as shooting wildlife or documentary-style filmmaking, but for narrative filmmaking, you usually need a registered trainer. Another big rule: No animals can be killed on set. Need to step on that roach? Swat that fly? Better hire a good editor.

If you want to film your own dog, you have to prove the dog is trained enough to not cause harm to himself or others. Think about if one of your human actors gets bit by Cujo's little brother, Juco. You will have a messy lawsuit on your hands.

What about the "No animals were harmed" yadda, yadda, yadda? Guess what? You can't just use this phrase. It's trademarked. You have to get the approval of the American Humane Association, in particular, the Film and TV division.

As you can imagine, an animal on set can be an expensive expenditure. If you thought having a talking dog in that drug trip scene was a brilliant idea, you might need to sit down with your line producer, film accountant, or unit production manager and consider the cost. Otherwise, write another gag; talking dog has been done.

A complete list of laws can be found here: http://www.americanhumanefilmtv.org/guidelines/

Happy Filmmaking!

Know the Law: Child Actors

Ever wonder why the actors in all those “teen” comedies or dramas look like they are in their 20s? Because shooting youthful-looking actors posing as teens is cheaper than shooting real teens. Real teens are for the Jerry Bruckheimers and Harvey Weinsteins of the world. And even then, Mr. Bruckheimer and Mr. Weinstein know that casting an 18-year-old instead of a 17-year-old means huge savings for the company and/or studio.

All actors under the age of 18, although adorable, add to your project’s budget almost exponentially. Oftentimes, a child actor may be an unknown, meaning you can sign him or her on a project for cheaper. However, many beginning filmmakers do not factor in the hidden costs of having such a young individual on-set.

Some of the laws (yes, LAWS!) regarding child actors involves the all-important studio teacher. In case you haven’t seen Brüno or Little Miss Sunshine, or have never worked with children before, the generalized reputation of the so-called “stage parent” is an infamous one.

Although obviously not true across the board, stage parents have been stereotyped as overly anxious, overbearing, and dismissive of the child’s welfare for the sake of fame. Real life examples include the public’s perception of Lindsey Lohan’s parents, Joe Jackson, Kris Jenner, and Matthew Knowles.

A studio teacher’s job is to ensure the child actor continues classes during the shoot, to promote a safe environment for the child, and to oversee the child’s working schedule. So, in short, a studio teacher will most likely not allow you to shoot your 11-year-old actor hanging out of a moving car at 10:30pm on a Wednesday night. Studio teachers can cost somewhere between $150-400 a day! Also a studio teacher must be certified in accordance to the law. No hiring Uncle Jeff to watch the kiddies, unless Uncle Jeff is a social worker. You can search for California certified studio teachers here.

Since acting is technically a job (despite what your parents and ex may tell you), there is one more thing you’ll have to worry about with child actors: child labor laws. Good news: the state of California makes exceptions for child actors. Bad news: getting permission involves a lawyer and paperwork. In addition to an actor release, you’ll need a minor release signed by the parent and a permit to hire and work with minors for your production. Your young actors will also need a permit to work, which, depending on the child’s age and school year, will require other official paperwork. In general, children can only work between 5am and 10pm on school days, and up to 12:30am on non-school days. In addition to these restrictions, the allowed hours on-set for minors due to age are in this chart. Note how little time you have with babies and toddlers. This is why twins or triplets are cast as one baby. That's right: child labor laws made the Olsen Twins famous.

If—even with the legal requirements, strict scheduling, and price of studio teacher—you still want a 15-year-old actor for practical reasons, plan accordingly and work tightly. You may also want to consider only hiring a true teen for principal actors only. Examples of this strategy include Bring It On, Heathers, and Mean Girls. Also, don’t forget the obvious: no drugs, no booze, and especially no nude scenes.

Happy Filmmaking.

Know the Law!

Introducing a new mini-series topic: "Know the Law!" There are many, many, MANY laws governing the entertainment industry, and unfortunately filmmakers dive into the industry with very little legal knowledge. "Know the Law" will cover some basic laws enforced in the film industry, in layman's terms. Please note I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, so please use my advice for informational purposes only. It is still worthwhile to seek legal counsel, if you can afford it.

I also realize I have a few out-of-state and international readers (thank you for your support!). Most of these laws are California state laws, but many states will have similar laws governing employers, creative industries, and the like. California is the gold standard, so many film industry laws carry over to other states. You should check with your state's (or nation's) film commission.

Happy Filmmaking!

Another mini-series topic: Best Advice I Received While In Film School.

In addition to "Do I smell a SCAM???", I've decided to start another topic series called "Best Advice I Received While In Film School." In this topic series I will concentrate on those little pearls of wisdom I received from mentors, professors, and Industry Insiders.

And, yea, I pass on this scared wisdom onto you. The first pearl:

HIRE A LAWYER!!!!!!!

Or at least have access to one. Entertainment law is big business, and for good reason. Whether you are starting a production company, selling a script, buying distribution rights, or simply paying taxes on your residuals, you will need an attorney.

Finding an attorney is not hard if you happen to live in New York or Los Angeles. Elsewhere, maybe not so much, but it's not improbable. Trust me on this one. Last thing you'll need is someone suing you because you promised to compensate them for his/her services.

Happy Filmmaking.

Legal permits vs. good ol' fashion shoot-and-run

Coming home from work today, I noticed a "Notice of Filming" posted on the front door of my apartment building. I am very familiar with these signs, and every time I see one, my face lights up. They bring me back to my film school days, when students always ran into one universal problem: permit, or no permit?

Fundamentally in Los Angeles, it is illegal to shoot a film in a public area without securing a permit. Especially if you would be obstructing the normal traffic or pedestrian flow. Thus, Los Angelinos expect the notices. If you don't have one of these, there is nothing you can do when some asshole decides to take a shortcut straight through your shoot.

But permits take time away from your shoot, they cost money, and sometimes you find a locale you love, but you can't secure the location through a permit. What are you gonna do? Go guerrilla, of course! Guerrilla filmmaking tends to happen quite often in indie and student films. I did it myself. And despite the clearly laid-out rules at USC about shooting without permits, the school itself turned a blind eye to it in regards to its students. There was even a class at 'SC about Guerrilla filmmaking. Guerrilla filmmaking only works if you have a small cast and crew and very few equipment, or if you are shooting a documentary. That way you can shoot and move more quickly.

If you are caught by authorities, however, you could face legal issues. Big legal issues. And who wants that when they are trying to make something meaningful to humankind? The compromise is to secure a permit with a small crew. Here in LA, if your crew is small enough and you have no stunts or SFX, your permit may be free. Small crews are favored over large ones, and you can control the locale to your liking. In other cities, you may even get the support of the local chamber of commerce or film commission, and even some soft financing (that's price cuts and in-kind donations). Sometimes it's worth following the rules. For a list of film commisions, click here.

Happy Filmmaking!