Unit 8 Task Three Research Doc.

(Contractual) 'There are different types of contracts available in the industry, confidentiality and
exclusivity contracts. Confidentiality is a contract that is made to keep projects and productions
under wraps from the public. An example of this is the Star Trek film, there was a mass of
confidentiality obligations used in this film as the public knew that there was going to be a
remake of Star Trek, but it was filmed on a closed set. The appearance of the characters was also
hidden from the public. In TV they use confidentiality by not allowing cameras or video cameras
on set, this is so that nobody can show spoilers or photographs of the set.
Exclusivity is another type of contract that is available; this is where a production company
secures the rights to produce an idea into a film or a TV show. The most common exclusivity
contracts are given out when the production company secures the right to produce a film
adaptation from a book. An example of this would be the recent The Hunger Games movie that
came out in 2012. The two different types of contracts used can determine what information
about the production is released and who has the right to produce the production.'
Examples range from: The Titanic (Planet Ice)
The Dark Knight (Rory’s First Kiss)
Pulp Fiction (Black Mask)
There are several forms of contractual agreements, one for each different occupation within
television and film. The upcoming list references elucidated examples of the way contracting can
be used in order to certify the film crew's agreement to the recipient.
Actor Contract - A contract signed by the actors in your project to show their consent and
willingness to work on your project.
Camera Department Deal - This contract applies to everyone working a camera on the set
which attaches them onto the project for the amount of time that it takes to shoot it.
Casting Director Agreement - This agreement remains between the casting director and the
production company that agrees that the casting director is allowed to depict who to hire in your
production.
Catering Agreement - A straight-forward contract that forms an agreement with the catering
company that provides the food for the cast and crew on-set.
Film Director Agreement - The director agreement is a symbol of the delivery and expectations
of service that the film director will provide to the cast, crew and project itself.
Film Finder Agreement - This is an agreement between the person who brought the premise of
the film to the filmmaker's attention and the filmmaker. This makes sure that the finder gets the
compensation from the film and credits for the film.
Film Location Agreement - An extensive agreement that usually consists of six individual
pages that covers all aspects between the production company and its shooting location.
Film Non-Disclosure Agreement - An agreement between the Production Company and crew
that protects the film to safeguard intellectual property.
Film Sales Agency Agreement - A boiler template as to what your agreement can contain
within a distribution company.
Location Release - A contract agreement that discusses a location.
Location Return Release - A contract that has to be signed when the location is finished being
used by the film company.
Model Release - A contract that is signed by both the filmmaker and the models being used in
their film.
Music Video Contract - A deal that is signed with the cast and crew when making a music
video.
Producer Representative Agreement - An agreement that is signed between the film producer
that acts as representative with the distribution company.
Product Placement Release - A contract that is commissioned with the company supplying a
license product in the film.
Production Crew Memo - A deal memo with the production crew
Screenplay Option Agreement - Whether or not the scriptwriter has to re-write or develop
another film will be stated here. The writer should read the contract and understand what is
required of them.
(Legal) Employment legislation is the terms and conditions of the employee’s rights within the
production company. Some of the terms in the contract are specific to production only and other
terms aren't so production specific. Health and safety is written into the contracts to make sure
the person understands that should any accidents occur on set the studio isn’t responsible for the
injuries caused to the crew member/s. Another obligation in the contract is employee rights. In
the contract that the employee signs it is clearly stated that the employee cannot be discriminated
against, whether it be age, sex or race discrimination, this is used in both the TV and the film
industries. There is also a set minimum wage as well as equal pay between males and females in
the industry.
Contract Types for Workers Full Time – Full time is where you work full time for one company,
for a set number of hours with no regular working pattern so this means that you should be
prepared to work different hours each week.
Part Time – Part time is where you work for an employer part time, you will work when they
need you to work and the hours can range all the time.
Permanent – Permanent work is work where you will be required to work a set number of hours
a week, this can range from anything in between 26 to 45 hours a week. The company will
employ you unit either party decides to part ways.
Shift Work – Shift work is where you work a set number of hours during the day to cover for a
24 hour period. This means that you could be called in for an early morning or a late afternoon
shift to make sure that the broadcast stays on air, this is usually applied to those who work on
news channels.
Freelance – Freelance work is where you hire yourself out to media companies and do work for
them. You will have to look for the work yourself and you are not guaranteed an income as you
have no fixed job. Working freelance could help you develop your skills as it allows you to move
from company to company and meet new people who can help you develop yourself. The hours
of work vary and if you have no projects on the go you have no work.
Voluntary – Voluntary work is where you work for free at your own will, this is usually to gain
experience in the media while you are just starting out and is usually used by graduates. There is
no pay for this work and the hours vary from company to company.
Temporary – Temporary work is short term work, it can be full time and it can be part time but
you will still only work for the company temporarily. You will work the set number of hours
that the company gives you and you are not guaranteed work for the company after the work is
complete.

What is Ofcom?
'The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved
regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal
industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-range powers across the television, radio,
telecoms and postal sectors. It has statutory duty to represent the interests of citizens and
consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive
material.'
Privacy: According to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act of
1998, the act is to give further effect to rights and freedoms guaranteed under the European
Convention of Human Rights; to make provision with respect to holders of certain judicial
offices who become judges of the European Court of Human Rights; and for connected purposes.
A different threshold applies to a politician or other public figure than to a person who does not
work in the public eye. A much higher threshold applies to children so that it will rarely be
appropriate to publish any image of a child without the consent of the child and/or its parents.
Data Protection: “The Data Protection Act of 1998 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament
designed to protect personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system. The
Act defined eight data protection principles to ensure that information was processed lawfully. A
simple image of a person can amount as personal data if the person can be identified. The
simplest way to comply is to obtain the consent of the individual depicted, either specifically
through a signed agreement or by displaying sufficiently prominent and clear notices warning the
public that filming is taking place and they should avoid the designated area if they do not want
to be filmed.”
Defamation: Depending on the way a person is depicted in the film one is shooting, will depend
on the reputation that the film gives the person depicted. If the statement is true, defamation can
be avoided, but filmmakers should ensure that they produce information of fact which is
applicable to the person - or if the information given is not factual, they must gain consent before
using it.
Ofcom Code: “Those making broadcast television programmes should note the provisions of the
Ofcom Code, which state that it is acceptable for broadcasters to film in a general manner in a
public place providing the footage is brief, incidental, and an individual is not engaged in a
personal or private activity.”
Filming Buildings: "Buildings are protected by copyright under English law but there is a
specific exception under section 62 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which
permits you to take a photograph or film of a building without infringing its copyright. This
means that you do not require the permission of the owners of the copyright in a building to
make a film or take a photograph of it.”
Copyright: “The law does not apply to buildings created before December 1, 1990 (so
architectural photos of such works can be taken and reproduced without permission).” Graphic
works and VHS diagrams are fine as they do not infringe the building’s infringement.
Filming On Private Land: Consent is required from the landlord. Many lands for shooting are
commonly private, some pieces of land are made open for the public so shooting on these lands
requires no legal observation. If you want to film inside a building, you will need to get
permission from the building owners. The exception under section 62 doesn’t mean one can
freely enter onto private land to photograph and record buildings. When seeking this consent
from landlords, one may insert a number of contractual restrictions on what you can and cannot
do with images of the building. “For example, whilst you could, under copyright law, make a
recording of the interior of the building without permission, it is likely to be one of the terms of
entry to the building that you will not take any such recordings, or that such recordings may only
be for personal use.”
Filming People: 'By virtue of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights
Act 1998 everybody has a right to a respect for their private and family life, their home and their
correspondence. The Court has held that “wrongful disclosure of private information” and
“misuse of private information” would breach an individual’s right to respect for their private
life, and, in certain circumstances, publication of an image of the relevant individual would
amount to the misuse of private information. Though it is unlikely that publication of an image
of a person carrying out an ordinary task in a public place (i.e. going to the shops) would amount
to misuse of private information, the key question is whether the person in question had a
reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of the image. This needs to be considered on a case-
by-case basis as the assessment will vary depending on what the person is doing and who they
are. A different threshold applies to a politician or other public figure than to a person who does
not work in the public eye. A much higher threshold applies to children, so that it will rarely be
appropriate to publish any image of a child without the consent of the child and/or its parents.'
Practical tips for filming people - 'Where possible, obtain written consent from anyone shown on
camera. If an individual is the focus of a particular shot or video then consent is essential. If you
have captured an individual in the background of a shot and they are clearly identifiable, you will
also need their consent. Remember that even if someone’s face is obscured, they could still be
identifiable in other ways (i.e. through their car number plate). Obtaining consent does not
always entail a detailed rights agreement. It can be a short, simple statement confirming the
individual has granted his/her consent for their image to appear in the production. Keep these in
a safe place with all the key documents for the production. You should ensure that the area in
which you are filming is clearly marked and sufficient, polite, warning notices are visible at the
entry points. These should be in plain English and a legible font. It is advisable to include contact
details for the production, should members of the public require further information. PLEASE
NOTE: Locations, land / building owners and borough film services may have different
procedures or preferred wording for ‘filming in progress’ signage. Use of such signs and
wording should be agreed with the relevant organization when obtaining filming permission or in
advance of the shoot. You should not include any images of people in situations which might be
regarded as private (i.e. coming out of a fertility clinic) without their specific consent, ideally in
writing. You should not show any images of children without the consent of the child and/or a
parent. You should not use images of an individual in a manner that could be defamatory and
lower their reputation. Avoid all manipulation of an image that suggests a context or meaning
that was not part of the original image and do not associate an individual with a negative or
damaging story unless such association is accurate and truthful. Remember that what you might
think of as harmless could be very damaging to a different person’s reputation (i.e. the head of a
bank wrongly associated with a story about credit card companies charging excessive fees).
Where you cannot obtain consent, either specific or generic, you should carefully consider
whether the individual in question is actually identifiable and whether they have an expectation
of privacy. You should also contact your production’s Errors and Omissions Insurance provider,
as they should be able to provide experienced guidance. If in doubt, seek specialist advice or take
sufficient steps to disguise the individual’s identity. Expired Copyright: If the architect of the
building has been dead for over 70 years, it is not an infringement of copyright to recreate it. If
recreating the interior of a building, you are likely to need to enter onto the property in order to
take photos and make sketches.
Visible Trademarks and Logos: Any trademarks on buildings must have permission to be used.
For example, the London Eye bears branding to include these trademarks if they are visible in
the film. Logo Copyright: Logos, designs and artwork visible on the building at hand will need to
give consent if they are to be used. If a logo is casual and of secondary nature, then it will be
overlooked. Including an image of a copyright work that is referenced in the screenplay is
unlikely to be regarded as incidental, for example. The incidental use exception is also unlikely
to extend to replicating artworks, designs and other works protected by copyright that are visible
on or in the building.'
Passing Off: A good example of this is the representation of Manchester United being depicted
through the use of Old Trafford. Thus meaning that it is arguable that certain buildings can be
used as symbolism associated with a certain part of the film amounting to the use of the building
being “passed off”. However, filmmakers should still proceed with some amount of caution.
Footage of such buildings should not be used in any of the marketing/promotional material.
Defamation: “To use the previous example, if the film suggested that a famous (albeit fictional)
football club was involved in a match-fixing scandal and used footage of Old Trafford to
represent the grounds of such football club, this might be considered defamatory.” Meaning that
using a building that is not associated with any entity and using it as the set for a criminal base
will be unlikely to be considered defamatory.
(Ethical Obligations) 'These obligations are important in the film and tv industries. Codes of
practice plays a big role in the this obligation as it allows filming to take place, as long as the
crew keeps to the code they can work on filming. An example of this would be if the film a scene
where guns are required guns for shooting (in the film), the police would need to be told that
they were planning to use guns as props on set. If they don't follow the rules it could jeopardise
the project and it could leave the crew out of work. Legal obligations are also important in the
film and TV industries.
In Britain there is a film regulator called BBFC (The British Board of Film Classification). Their
job is to watch a film and give it a classification rating based on ages; the classification is based
upon how the use of language, sex, violence and other themes such as drugs are used. The age
ratings are U, PG, 12A, 12, 15 and 18. Sometimes the distribution company will want the film to
achieve a specific age rating, this is so that they can widen the audience and bring in more
money which means there is more of a profit on the film. The company will send their film to the
BBFC and if the film achieves a rating that they didn't want they will re-edit the film taking out
parts of the film that the BBFC have noted are too strong for the intended audience and the
company behind the film will re-edit the film and send it back off to the BBFC to get the rating
that they wanted. A film wanting to be released in Britain must be classified by the BBFC,
without a classification rating the film can’t be released and this means that there is no money to
be made from the film.'
Codes of practice: A code of practice sets out how employees of a company may act. Though it
is not legally binding, the purpose is to stop employees behaving in unethical ways, ensuring the
creator of a piece of content behaves according to ethical standards. For example the BBC has a
commissioning code of practice that sets out the principles by which they should abide when
commissioning work from independent production companies. ‘The intention of the Code is to
ensure that relations between the BBC and independent producers are conducted on a fair and
transparent basis.’ The code includes guidelines for dealing with independent production
companies and covers issues such as payment, editorial control and rights over the programmes.
This ensures that the BBC has a good working relationship and behaves in an ethical manner
with producers.
Policies and procedures: TV and film companies will also have a number of policies and
procedures in place to maintain and encourage ethical practice. These can relate to business
conduct, recruitment, employment and records management. They are often informed by
legislation such as health and safety and equal opportunities laws. One of the most interesting
policies is the BBC’s on advertising. It states that advertising is not allowed in order to keep the
channel free from commercial pressures. This means they can truly serve the public without
having to make profits or have their schedules and programming dictated by external pressure.
They also have a policy on the safeguarding of children that they work with in their programmes
and also a watershed policy that ensures certain subjects, matters, issues and images are not on
the channel before 9pm. These ethical policies make the BBC avoid legal action and give them a
good reputation and standing in the country.
Emerging social concerns: A company’s ethical policies might extend to dealing with emerging
social concerns such as the treatment of people with disabilities, the sexual exploitation of
children and empowering youth. Channel 4 for example is committed to highlighting issues
around those with disabilities. They broadcast the Paralympics and have commissioned a range
of programmes dealing with disabled people and their lives. They also have documentaries under
the Dispatches series that tackle and highlight a huge range of very serious issues including
Britain’s sex gangs. These investigative shows fulfil ethical obligations to help the country
improve.
Representation: Finally broadcasters will always consider the representation of social groups in
their programmes. Channel 4 has come under fire for its representation of gypsy culture in My
Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and also for its titling of a show about disabled people dating called The
Undateables. These shows can damage the reputation of Channel 4 and lead to accusations of
racism and making people’s perceptions of certain social groups worse or they can be praised for
highlighting parts of culture that are not often represented on the television.

Research & Information Use Links

https://www.slideshare.net/ziggy455/legal-ethical-and-contractual-powerpoint

https://jessietaaymedia.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/contractual-legal-and-ethical-obligations-in-the-television-
and-film-industries/

https://danucleo.blogspot.com/

https://kyrawrightbtecfilm.weebly.com/research-document1.html

http://filmlondon.org.uk/filming-people

https://ilovethatfilm.blogspot.com/2013/04/ethical-obligations-in-tv-film.html