Filming hotels and general people question

K

kazze

I am gathering that I would have to ask permission from a hotel to film it (for a convention that is hosted there). I am sure that wont be an issue and currently I am asking permission to film certain parts of this convention.

Meanwhile I want to ask about people. If I am filming some parts of this convention do I need to ask permission of those in the film who happen to be walking by while filming? If I film a convention hall filled with vendors and people, do I need permission from EVERYONE there that ends up on film? If so, how on earth could I film something like this without getting people in the film?

(This is a convention for the work I do. I am currently filming different aspects of my work as a learning tool. In a way, I am using myself as a qunea pig for this project.)

Also on this subject, I was watching a documentary on Wal-Mart (not a favorable one too) and part of the footage was showing perhaps the ceo giving a speech to the higher ups at Wal-Mart and it was shot with a regular cheapstyle camera. I kept thinking, how is it this footage can be aired without legal action from Wal-Mart? Is it they have no legal suit against the filmmaker or chose not too? This documentary is currently shown on Comcast.
 
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I believe it comes down to whether or not people are recognizable. If they're way in the background or all you see is the back of their head then you probably don't need permission. Or it might come down to the laws of the state that you're filming in. In some states there are different levels of "expectation of privacy". For example if you're at a football game people know that there's cameras everywhere and so there's no expectation of privacy.

Are you filming on hotel property? If so then the most they could sue you for is for what they should have been paid for use of the location. They can't sue for copyright infringement.

Are you saying bad things that are untruthful about the hotel? Like "This place is full of bed bugs"?
 
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No. The hotel is for a convention that is hosted by this company. I am doing a documentary trial film on myself as part of my learning tool for filming. I want to film part of the convention as part of the documentary on what I do however I have to await permission from the hosts of the convention to film there as they themselves film this event for their own dvd's.
So, assuming they are okay with me filming (as I am not selling any dvd on their business but my business which happens to use their business) at least part of this convention - I know there will be hundreds of people there. Some people are there to see the latest products, enter competitions ect and then there are the sellers. I don't have intent on interviewing anyone or promoting anything but to film as part of an observation. The intent I have is to edit it down to a bit peice on the convention I attend once a year.

I do know as I mentioned above that the hosts hire out filmmakers and make their own dvd's that they sell and I do see cameramen (or women) there filming. I myself may have been filmed however overall I don't know.
I am to assume that it is legally okay. The attendees at this convention are aware they could be filmed by the host.

I just don't want to have Joe Schmoe say 'I see my face in that film and I did not give permission'. Even though Joe Schmoe would only be in the film if he happened to cross my path as I was filming.
 
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Even with documentaries when you film in public, you risk lawsuits. Anyone can sue for anything, that doesn't mean they'll win. Add to that, this is not public, but private. There are a few ways to go about this.

  • Everyone signs a release.
  • Put a sign up that says "By entering this room I understand I am being taped on video for... blah, blah." Take a picture of the sign in place.
  • Get releases from people you caught in a close-up, and if they refuse, blur them later.
  • Go guerrilla, and shoot it and release it. If someone objects later, blur them. Or don't.

There is no answer here, laws are different in every state, and everyone has a different take on expectation of privacy. The safest way, of course, is releases from everyone.
 
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It's not too hard, no.. It can be time consuming, but it's not terribly difficult. The easiest method is to use something like After Effects and track the object to be blurred, then apply a small blurred element to the track. If you dont have access to anything to track with, you can still do it, but you'll have to keyframe it all by hand.

Personally, I'd go for option #2 of what indie mentioned. As for getting permission from the hotel, assuming that you are only shooting footage in the convention, it's more likely you would seek permission from the convention organizer, rather than the hotel. Of course it doesn't hurt to cover yourself by having the hotel sign a release too...
 
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The release that you give for anyone on film to sign - is that a standard one that can be purchased or is there something I can download and print or just type up myself?
 
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I recienved an email from a giant hotel company (where the convention will be this fall) that to film on their premise I need to go through their legal department. They didn't give me an email address but rather a fax or a street address.
So later today I will start typing up some short request to send to them. I cannot imagine them declining it as long as I state my intentions. It's not an expose or anything.
 
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