Using video games in my movies

M

Movie_Dude_3

Well-known member
Hey guys, there's something I've been wondering about when it comes to the specifics of copyrighting.

Say I have a character in my movie who's playing a Wii. If you just see him swinging the controller around, logo not visible to the audience, is that breaching copyright? If the logo comes out, does that change anything? What about a game that's shown onscreen?

And can movies be shown onscreen in the background? How would that work out?

One more question, even though I know I'm asking a lot: how about using copyrighted names in dialogue, like if one character asks "Who do you think you are, Batman?". Is that allowed or do you have to get the rights?

I know it's a lot of questions, but thanks for anyone who clears this up for me! :beer:
 
You can make jokes about characters all you want, that stuff is fair use. Otherwise the Wall Street Journal couldn't write about Coca-Cola without getting permission. It's considered non-commercial, editorial use, regardless of whether it's commercial or not, doesn't make any difference. I wrote two books about Star Wars, non-fiction, and it's not a problem to mention brands, characters, etc. because it wasn't a fictional work but a commentary upon the franchise. In your case it's just an off-hand popular culture remark.

I don't believe there are any problems with showing just someone swinging the controller around, as long as it's not visible what it is, that seems to be within your rights. But showing a video game on screen or a movie in the background, those issues require permission. One idea is to take work you've already done and have it on the TV behind a character, that's always easy enough, or a friend's work, etc. Because then you can secure copyright easily, if it's not too important what the character has on. Of course if the point is to show him/her watching a major film, you'd have to get clearance.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
Keep in mind also that the SOUNDS from the video game are copyright protected. So use your own sound effects instead. I got fairly good ones from www.sounddogs.com
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Oh yeah, good point. I hadn't even thought about that, but you're right. There are a lot of good sound effects libraries out there, I highly recommend the 3 volumes from Digital Juice. They are fantastic, loaded with sweet sound effects.
 
I personally would LOVE to see more games represented accurately in films, so if it were me, before I faked it I'd approach the companies about using their stuff and see what they say. I'd imagine Nintendo might be a stickler, but other companies may not be (I'm thinking of you, Valve!).
 
Andrew Lee said:
I personally would LOVE to see more games represented accurately in films, so if it were me, before I faked it I'd approach the companies about using their stuff and see what they say. I'd imagine Nintendo might be a stickler, but other companies may not be (I'm thinking of you, Valve!).
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I wouldn't know where to begin when it comes to getting in contact with a developer like Valve. I could imagine it being easier for an independent game developer, something like the guys behind World of Goo.

I'll just have to keep the camera off the TV for now. :thumbsup:
 
Valve has a great community team. I bet a polite email to the right address would get a helpful/clever response. I mention them as they aren't beholden to publishers as much as, say DICE or even Blizzard.

I agree about World of Goo. Or maybe Jonathan Blow's games, etc.
 
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