Media Law for Producers, 4th Edition

4

Getting Permission: Copyright Concerns During Media Production

Most media productions actually are a mix of materials that a producer has pulled together from a variety of sources. In developing a video documentary, for example, a producer might commission a freelance writer to write the script, an animation house to prepare a title sequence, and an outside video facility to produce special effects segments. The producer might also buy or borrow existing materials to enhance the production: stock footage, still photographs, music, excerpts from other video or television programs, and so on.

Chapters 2 and 3 examined how contracts can help define the relationships between a producer and the various performers, writers, and crew members ...