Permission Needed to Use Blackhawk Footage?

blazer003

blazer003

Well-known member
As part of my film I'm planning to use some footage that I shot (I didn't shoot it specifically for this project but it's going to fit in nicely) of a coast guard Dauphin helicopter and a military Black Hawk doing search and rescue training exercises. But now I need to know if I need to have full written permission and the like to use this footage in my film. We're going to be making the short film circuit, we hope, so we need to make sure we're doing it right. Where would I go to find out more on whether or not I need a release? They were on a public river and I was on my own land if that makes any difference. Thanks for the input!

-Matt
 
You probably need to start working your way through the US government. I'd start with the PR officers for the bases the aircraft were staged from, or see if there's a regional PR officer.

My understanding is the military is very helpful for projects that are sort of "pro military" - so if your choppers are shooting innocent civilians to protect drug lords, you may have to get someone to CG it for ya... but if your script is not negative towards the military or the US overall, it seems like you'd get an OK. Especially since it's all done and all they have to do is say "OK", and likely give a credit.
 
Never heard of any film festival requiring ANYTHING regarding clearances or permissions for short films. I know on my last project I wasn't asked for a single thing from any festival.
 
Snazzy Flapper said:
Never heard of any film festival requiring ANYTHING regarding clearances or permissions for short films. I know on my last project I wasn't asked for a single thing from any festival.
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Well, festivals don't care as it's not their problem or responsibility in any way. But you can get into all kinds of legal trouble if the film maker doesn't have proper permissions and the property owner / whatever decides to sue. These kinds of things do happen surprisingly often, and can result in a film you can't distribute or sell, need to partially remake, or delay the release, or other bad... things. Probably more likely the more publicity the film gets.
 
Here's a little tidbit of info re: US military footage.

If it was shot by a US service-member while they were serving, during their "duty hours", and it is publicly posted.......... it is fair game. It falls into public domain usage. How you get it is where it gets sticky. Because a government employee shot it while doing their job, and it was posted publicly, they lose all "rights" of ownership to it. That sucks for them, but it does fall in the loophole.

If you have friends in the military that shoot vid while on tour........you may want to let them know.
 
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blazer003 said:
As part of my film I'm planning to use some footage that I shot (I didn't shoot it specifically for this project but it's going to fit in nicely) of a coast guard Dauphin helicopter and a military Black Hawk doing search and rescue training exercises.
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If you shot it yourself and everything was visible from public land, then the footage is yours to do with as you please. Sell it, use it in a film, put it on youtube... anything. The only caveat is if you have people in the footage and their faces are shown. Then you'll need a written release form from them. Otherwise, you can do anything you want with it.
 
ErikTande said:
If you shot it yourself and everything was visible from public land, then the footage is yours to do with as you please. Sell it, use it in a film, put it on youtube... anything. The only caveat is if you have people in the footage and their faces are shown. Then you'll need a written release form from them. Otherwise, you can do anything you want with it.
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I'm not sure that's completely true. I've shot footage of aircraft for stock footage sites before. Aircraft have identifying numbers on them. Just like car license plates, these identifying numbers make it difficult to sell footage for commercial purposes.

Consult a qualified attorney for answers to legal questions.
 
Ah, good point! I didn't think about that. Yes, licence plates and identifying numbers could be an issue.
 
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