Can I put this on my reel?

EDV

EDV

Well-known member
Any of the following:

3D animation (done by freelance 3D animator)

Time-Lapse (done by freelance Time-Lapse photographer)

Graphic effect (done by freelance graphic designer)

...which I comissioned as it was part of the project - for example, a music video.
These days is common for the video producer to also do the compositing so I guess
I was involved in the process. My understanding is that by buying the non-exclusive
rights to that particular effect, you could use it as you wished and it would be perfectly
legal.
 
If your company is capable of producing the work, then IMO it's ok. When someone specifically asks, then I'll tell them I have other guys helping me with 3d animation and graphics etc.

Look, if you run a large production company or design agency where you have all sorts of people producing different types of work for you, are you not going to use any of it just because you didn't make them hands on yourself?
 
It is legal, but it could be misleading, depending on how you represent yourself. If the reel has your name and an attached title like 'Cinematographer', people will assume you shot it yourself. If you use a title like 'Director' or 'Producer' it's not the same.
 
I agree that if you're not careful it could come across as misleading. Taking credit for somebody else's work is considered bad form.
Something as simple as a credit at the end of the demo reel can help offset any confusion regarding the creator of the work.
 
It's not a matter of the legaility of using it - if you acquired non-exclusive rights there's no violation of copyright. But your reel is supposed to represent YOUR creative work. If your creative input was merely telling an artist you had commissioned what you want or picking something out of his body of work to license, signing off accepting the result when it's delivered, and handing them a cheque for the work, there's not much of your creativity or artistic skill involved. Putting it on your reel would be a misrepresentation of your personal skills and vision.
 
Steve, I did the compositing, filming and editing. Anyway this was just a question, I always prefer to put my own creations in the reel. But it kinda gets more collaborative at the higher end, where you can have many skilled people working on one project.
 
EDV said:
Steve, I did the compositing, filming and editing. Anyway this was just a question, I always prefer to put my own creations in the reel. But it kinda gets more collaborative at the higher end, where you can have many skilled people working on one project.
Click to expand...
True, I fully understand the collaborative nature of higher-end projects. Just saying that selecting and licensing work from others, which is what I understood you to mean when you said you had acquired non-exclusive rights, is not collaboration where you are interacting creatively with the other party. If you were actually collaborating in the production of those program elements, you would already HAVE part ownership in the results since you would have been one of the creators of the intellectual property. IMHO, if you actively participated in the creation of the program element in question, then it represents, in part, your work. But if your role was to acquire it for a project you're creating, while the PROJECT represents your work, that ELEMENT does not.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top