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Legal issues on sound.

U

Utopia

Question:

There have been earlier posts about filming in public and getting people's consent to be in your films and release signing and what have you,

but what about sound?

Case in point: Benjamin Button. One of the SFX recordists went to different retirement homes in the south and recorded incognito and stealth with microphones. These ambiences (and mostly just voices) were used for the house Benjamin grows up in.

So, my question is what legal issues may arise if you're recording ambiences and someone is prominently close to the mic and it sounds like a great walla line that you use in a big-budget feature? Is that person down the road going to recognize his voice in that scene and ask for money or complain that he's in the movie?

I'm interested to what your guys' take on this is.

While I was on my northwest trip I captured interiors of bars and places where talking is key to have in the ambience with microphones on a fake pair of glasses. This captures natural ambience and people aren't startled by the microphone set-up. It also keeps them unaware that I'm capturing their voices for a feature film.

What do you guys think?
 
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Interesting. Be it there was no prior warnings to the recording, it should be judged upon the very same premise as filming, meaning the public should be notified.

However, to put it in context, i believe it may be down to what is perceivable and how we perceive ourselves. How we look, is unmistakable. You could pick yourself from a crowd if such a situation was to arise. But could you recognize your voice, from a hundred folk with the very same accent, amidst numerous conversation?

I think not. "Identification" is a prime example, a still image to represent billions of people. How we are indentified as singular entities.

It's a precaution film has seemed to neglect, that appears to have become routine, certainly after following still images to film, it was never a problem. I can imagine the measure of notification has been taken, but certainly never enough to become mandatory.
 
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General ambiences of people - walla - contain no specific lines of dialog. They are specially recorded and edited to contain no specifically recognizable individual voices.

To address your concern about an accidentally recorded great line... As far as I know you need a signed release form; a film is a for-profit venture and the person would have every right to sue if they were not compensated for their contribution. However, if the line was that good I see no reason why an actor or member of a loop group could not perform the line again.
 
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de minimus is the legal term.

inconsequential, insignificant, meager, moderate, modest, negligible, of minor imporrance, of no account, paltry, petty, obscure, scanty, slight, trifling, trivial, unworthy of serious consideration

Same goes with paintings seen way in the background. They don't need to be cleared.
 
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Right, but like in Benjamin Button there is a line from an actual person in a retirement home that was used and they used this pretty prominently in the mix - and I don't think that person knew or signed anything.

Ren said he didn't want to ADR it because that kind of spontaneous reading couldn't be duplicated
 
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