1.5 - Identify materials that may be subject to copyright

What materials may be subject to copyright?

There are a great number of materials which could be involved in the film-making process that may be subject to copyright. One of these is literary materials for example, such as lyrics manuscripts, documents, newsletters and articles. Another is dramatic materials, which could include plays and dances which could be being replicated in a project and thus would require clearance for use.

Musical materials are probably the most prominent materials subject to copyright as recordings and scores are often wanted and re-used in film and television. Sometimes the songs used appear on soundtrack tie-ins to the film or TV show they were featured in. Other sound recordings such as sound effects may also be subject to copyright, though perhaps less extensively than musical materials.

Additionally, artistic materials may also be subject to copyright. This could include photos, paintings and architecture, along with technical drawings, logos and even maps. Even published editions, such as magazines and articles, can be subject to copyright. Finally, film itself can come under copyright legislation through broadcasts and programmes, perhaps more likely to have been aired on television.

How has copyright regulation affected your film production?

Copyright legislation has affected our film production in several ways, the most obvious being that we have needed to create all of our own content for the finished film. This included composing our own score using our own instruments and our own sound effects, some of which included a 'witch's cackle' and a 'cup smashing'. However, there is also plenty of copyright free content available for use if any of our own sound effects or score didn't come out as well as hoped. As long as you credit the source of this content - which can come from numerous sites, such as freesound.org or incompetech.com - it is free to use.

Fortunately, the folk stories revolving around the 'Mad Jack Mytton' figure that we have used as the story of our film production do avoid copyright regulation and are completely free for us to use to our liking. This is because the stories come from over 70 years ago, going past the point of copyright law's validity according to the 1988 Copyright and Patents Act and making the stories part of 'public domain'.