Reel music.

Finnegan

Finnegan

Well-known member
I'm putting together my DP reel for this year, and I was wondering what the deal with music is. Should I stay away from music that I do not have rights to? This reel is to promote myself as a Director of Photography, and it will reside on Vimeo, Youtube, as well as my personal website - but I am unsure because I'm not claiming the music to be my own and I am not directly making money from my reel, though the reel may help me to get work for which I will get paid.

So what's the verdict?
 
I'm always amazed that the same people who will jump all over you if you use copyrighted music in your film will go ahead and rip off music from Lord of the Ring or whatever for their reel. The same standards don't apply apparently. My take on it is that yes, you ARE profiting from the music and you're doing so without the permission of the artist. People keep saying that their piece is not really about the music, it's about showcasing their work. Well if it's not really about the music, why are they using it? You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I paid to have my reel scored and it was the best $250 I've ever spent. I asked that the track is made to cover a variety of genre, from drama to action so that I'm not constraint to the tempo of an existing track and I can better showcase my versatility. The result is just as good and I can use it over and over again. There's enough affordable composers out there that there shouldn't be a need to steal music for reels.
 
Finnegan said:
I'm putting together my DP reel for this year, and I was wondering what the deal with music is. Should I stay away from music that I do not have rights to? This reel is to promote myself as a Director of Photography, and it will reside on Vimeo, Youtube, as well as my personal website - but I am unsure because I'm not claiming the music to be my own and I am not directly making money from my reel, though the reel may help me to get work for which I will get paid.

So what's the verdict?
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Copyright infringment occurs when you make the copy, not when you make money off of it, and it doesn't really matter much WHY you're making the copy. It's just as illegal to burn a single CD copy to give to your buddy as it is to burn a thousand copies and sell them under the counter at the corner gas bar. The only real difference is the likelyhood of getting caught. And you're saying you're going to go public on the web with it, hoping it will be viewed by people who earn their living off of licensing their own intellectual property. Consider the message you're sending: "Hire me, I'll do a good job creating and respecting your intellectual property and to show you what I can do, here's some examples of my work incorporating elements of property I've ripped off from others in the industry." Not a career enhancer IMHO.
 
It is technically illegal but not taboo in the industry. That's the short answer.
I never use any music for anything without rights or permission. To me, it's an opportunity to create various relationships. When I used Ozzy's music, it was a way of repaving a bad happening after I pitched a show to his wife. When I used Kid Rock's, it resulted in more spots I got to do for him. The list goes on and on. Don't just bogart a track. Make some calls. You'll most likely still get to use the song of your choice and it can turn into something the benefits you both more.
 
Huy Vu said:
People keep saying that their piece is not really about the music, it's about showcasing their work. Well if it's not really about the music, why are they using it? You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I paid to have my reel scored and it was the best $250 I've ever spent.
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It is about the work. I think the music should support the work and give you a sense of how the shots feel when you watch them *in* the movie, more or less, or at least get you pumped up. But the music can't make you seem like a good cinematographer if the work is ****. It's up to the work to get you work, not the music.

I do think it's in bad taste to use something too recognizable, just because it'll distract from the shots. But I'm too poor to be sanctimonious about something that's such a gray area.
 
There is no gray area here. To record copyrighted material without consent is pirating.
 
Justin Kuhn said:
It is about the work. I think the music should support the work and give you a sense of how the shots feel when you watch them *in* the movie, more or less, or at least get you pumped up.
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Well, what do you think the function of music in film is? Film composers are hired to do just that; are you saying that they don't deserve compensation for what they do because the film is really about the story?

Justin Kuhn said:
But the music can't make you seem like a good cinematographer if the work is ****. It's up to the work to get you work, not the music.
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Oh please. So does that mean if your work is good then you don't need music? Simultaneously claiming that you don't "need" the music while using it to promote yourself is unethical.

Justin Kuhn said:
But I'm too poor to be sanctimonious about something that's such a gray area.
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How is it a "gray" area? When you make a movie do you say that you're too poor to license music but it's ok since it's about the work and not about the music anyway? I'm not exactly swimming in cash here but I saved and budgeted for music for a reel just as I would if I was doing a movie.
 
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