filming in public areas

G

Greg W.

New member
I have a legal question that I wonder if someone might be able to answer for me.
While I plan to have all of my interview subjects sign release forms, would this also be necessary for random people who are filmed in a public place?

My documentary is about secularism and the so-called "New Atheism" movement in America. I am planning to shoot footage of a group called the Beltway Atheists as they pass out flyers on the separation of church and state in downtown Washington D.C. I would have no way of getting signatures from all of the people who pass by and accept a flyer or (more importantly) those who stop to engage in debate or start a confrontation.


As I understand it, there is no legal right to privacy in a public area, so I'm free to tape whoever I want and use the footage as I see fit, but I just want to make sure that I'm covered legally. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of situation? Could you offer any advice?
 
This applies to Canada, so your jurisdiction's rules might be different, but maybe this could give you some idea:

About two years ago, I had an interesting confrontation with Global TV in Toronto on that very topic, even though they were trespassing on a private property at the time of taking the footage of my wife and later broadcasting it on TV, in a very negatively construed sensationalist story. I filed a complaint with the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council, and even though they agreed with me on several points and ordered the station to broadcast a correction, they made a rather longish explanation on the right to privacy vs. a story in the public interest.

Basically, if your film is in the public interest, people can't sue you if you include them in a streeter. Defining what is and what is not in public interest is a tricky thing to do, of course, but since your film is basically on the subject of constitutional rights, I'd say if that doesn't qualify, what would...

But I am not a lawyer, and as I said, it might be different in DC than in Toronto.

You can always blur their faces in post, if you want to feel safe.

Jerry
 
Greg W. said:
As I understand it, there is no legal right to privacy in a public area, so I'm free to tape whoever I want and use the footage as I see fit, but I just want to make sure that I'm covered legally. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of situation? Could you offer any advice?
Click to expand...

Honestly, and I know that this isn't the answer you were looking to get, but the best advice I can give is "talk to an attorney" - not just any attorney, but an attorney who does this kind of thing. An ounce of prevention and all that...

I'm an attorney. Almost every problem we deal with on a day to day basis could have been avoided in the first place if an attorney had been consulted. Compare the hourly cost of the few hours of consultation up front to the mess of fees that you will pay to get out of a mess after the fact, and I think you'll see what I am getting at.

Hope that helps.
 
Public Places

Public Places

Greg,
As a general rule, if the information exchanged was accessible to the public (i.e. the conversation could have been heard and seen by anyone passing by on a public street corner) then you're fine.If they are just in the background and add nothing to the scene, they're not a major player, and shouldn't need to sign anything. If they stop and argue/talk, they've been heard and seen by everyone on the street corner...HOWEVER...they may not want what they say broadcast to the whole world, and they may sue you, which will cost you money, even if you're right.
The best thing to do (better safe than sorry) is to get those people to sign releases...if they're the type of people who would stop and argue, they probably would sign a quick release.
For more information, this is a great page on legal precedent...http://cybercollege.com/frtv/frtv036.htm

Having said all this, I'm no expert, and I'm not a lawyer, you may still want to cover your hide with a short consultation.

Joel
 
Is your project seriously insured?

Is your project seriously insured?

In the feature film industry there is an insurance called 'Errors and Omissions'. This is the kind of scrutiny that gets the phone numbers changed to a prefix of 555. I would contact an agent that sells this kind of insurance and get some advise on your project. You may want to buy it if your taking on footage that involves the public in a very controversial subject. In perspective, if you produce a feature film without 'Errors and Omissions' insurance it won't even make to a 4th rate film festival screening room. If you have a commercial use for your project after it is completed they will ask you if you have insured for these considerations. No sense in going 5 miles down the wrong road and find a dead end. If your insured you will be given serious consideration if all of their other criteria is meet... Being insured has more recourse 'bang for your buck' than the same money spent on an attorney. He may give good advise but if you do have a problem then you just have to pay more to have him handle it, where as the insurance company that has viewed and certified the project is on the hook.
Good luck !
 
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