All US military video footage = Non copyright? = Free stockfootage??

justmarvin

justmarvin

Well-known member
In wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_footage ) it says "All videos produced by the United States military, NASA, and other agencies are available for use as stock footage."

And then this ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_of_the_United_States_Government ):

"A work of the United States government, as defined by United States copyright law, is "a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. government as part of that person's official duties."[1] The term only applies to the work of the federal government, not state or local governments. Such works are not entitled to domestic copyright protection under U.S. law, sometimes referred to as "noncopyright."

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Does anyone know anything about this? Does this mean that anything the military produces is non copyright? So all the old war footage, etc. I can use for any of my projects?

By the way, I am currently looking for some new/modern footage on our soldiers and their training. Anyone know a good place to get this stuff?

Let's say the History Channel or some other documentary stuff used Footage shot from the government, and it's non-copyright... so can I get my footage direct from that documentary? Just a thought.

Thanks,

JM
 
Tried finding stuff for a short I made. I found zilch. the good stuff was like 4 to 500 dollars a package. So if you find anything let me know!
 
Well if it is true that footage that the US produced is non-copyright, then any good solid documentary (even the History Channel) will have most likely gotten their hands on those US non-copyright footage, so just get a good docu that's related to the military, war, soldiers, etc. and extract from there? Of course, just double check which ones are the US produced footage. Works in theory, but not clear yet about the whole usage rights of this, and I wonder if anyone knows where we can get these non-copyright footage from the US. That would make some awesome stock footage I bet.

JM
 
Thanks Evan,

I just sent out an email to one of the military website branches.. there really isn't a "right" person to contact on the contact us page: http://www.army.mil/contactus/

Oh well, hopefully they will send back a reply.

I hope to get a hold of some professional quality photographs as well as some good stock footage to use in this project.


JM
 
Hi,

As one of the shooters (Vietnam era) and later one of the guys who managed content, one notion that is sort of false is that the US Army or the services in general have a complete repository of all footage and rights to all footage.

The footage is all over the place in different commands and worse was shoot by different sources and as such is 'owned' by different folks. Some footage is owned by contract shooters rather than by the services - in the case of recently shot footage. My stuff from Vietnam would be in the public domain if it still exists.

With all the public domain footage available, wading through it would take a lot of manpower that isn't funded either.
 
i've used a lot of military photos of stars in projects because it's a no brainer copyright wise.

i think you are correct in thinking that extends to video, but as mike noted, i bet it's pretty tough to get to footage and find what you're looking for...
 
You need to find the number for the public affairs office, every military installation has one. They will provide you with everything you need.

I had flight line authorization to film while I was active duty so I delt with those guys on a daily basis. I suggest finding an office on an Air Force base, they are much easier to work with then the Army.
 
Hi,

To be 100% clear - I retired from the US Army as an Infantry officer with PAO experience at major commands and from the Air Force's senior service school as professor. I have experience with both services and they (the services) are just made of folks doing their jobs.

The folks you deal with might be harder/easier to deal with at any base you go to ask for help which is different than the green/blue suit they wear. Every base has a different mission and work load. I wouldn't characterize one as easier/harder than another.

If you need Army footage, I doubt that the USAF can help you either.

FWIW, most folks want to cooperate and get the content out to you, but if you're trying to put 50 hours of work into a 40-hour workweek already, there just isn't enough time to do what's on your plate.

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to ask, either. Just don't be disappointed.

What I would do is be sure to have everything written out as to what your needs are. Be very clear. Be exact. You'll want to have a complete script.

If the project is going to show a failing of the service that is unfair - meaning that the service can't put up its side - refute the finding, you won't have a chance.
 
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