The Open Video Conference looks like an interesting couple of days for anyone interested in online video and the future of open and participatory culture on the web. From their description: Open Video is more than just open codecs. It’s the growing movement for transparency, interoperability, and further decentralization in online video. These qualities provide more fertile ground for independent producers, bottom-up innovation, and greater protection for free speech online. The conference will showcase awesome cultural works, inspiring talks, and…

I’m really excited to see Brett Gaylor’s Girl Talk documentary, RiP: A Remix Manifesto, which recently won the audience award at IDFA. The more I read and learn about Creative Commons, debates around fair use and the amazing work of people like Lawrence Lessig and Cory Doctorow, the more I realize what a vital debate this is to be having at this time. The ability to re-use and re-mix has always been part of our creativity. With innovations in technology…

Archival Storytelling: A Filmmaker’s Guide to Finding, Using, and Licensing Third-Party Visuals and Music is a new book from the hard working folk at Focal Press who publish so many essential books on filmmaking. Copyright and clearance is such a minefield for filmmakers who are frequently faced with the double whammy of complex legal rules and enormous licensing expenses. This book is a great resource because it surveys the entire landscape from ethical/creative considerations to fair use to changes in…

The good people at the Center for Social Media have published a Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video. Here’s what they say about it: This document is a code of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances. This is a guide to…

It has been so frustrating not having time to blog about all the films and other events I attended at HotDocs and then Tribeca. Work has foiled me every time. It has just been a nutty couple of weeks – full of good things but no time to sit and think and write. Yesterday I got home and was so tired that I watched the end of Music and Lyrics and then the end of Just My Luck before crashing…

You’re not alone! But the Center for Social Media at the American University have some really helpful resources on their website. Check out the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use in particular. Note: This applies to the US, not the UK.