By
Scott Shaw
I
was teaching one of my classes on filmmaking earlier today. As the class only
meets once a week, I try to keep the student very active in actual film creation
so I generally give them an assignment to make a short film for each class
session. This week’s assignment was to do a visual biographical piece. One of
my students did, what so many people have done before, was to intermingle
footage of his life with footage from very famous films. The short had him
talking to various characters from various films. This is always a fun presentation
as you get to peer into the mind of the person and view how they see themselves
in association with life. It was a good piece.
After
his presentation, he asked if I thought he should upload it to his YouTube
page. I said he could but he may run into copyright problems.
Now,
for anyone who knows me understands, I am an avid proponent of Intellectual
Property Rights. If somebody made something they are the only one who owns it
and other people can only use it if they are given permission.
But,
more than that… Each person should have the moral dignity to ask the creator of
a, “Something,” if they can use all or part of it. Maybe the creator will say,
“Yes.” Maybe the creator will say, “No.” But, every person who wants to tap
into the creation of another person’s creativity should have the honor to ask
if they can use it. That is just the right moral code of life. And, that is what
I explained to my students.
Now,
not everyone who infringes on another person's copyright gets sued. It's
expensive and it's time consuming. Not every copyright infraction is reported
to the FBI. So, some people get away with it. But, should they?
Have
you ever asked the creator of a project, that you have stolen all are part of
or have downloaded it for free from an illegal offshore website, how they feel
about what you have done? If you haven’t, what does that say about you? And, as
I always state, if you were the one creating the something that is being stolen
I am certain you would have a very different opinion about what is taking place
than you being the thief.
Many
people do not personally create books, movies, music, or art. But, they like
it. So, they want to view it. But, have you ever had somebody steal your bike,
your car, your wallet, or break into your house. If you have experienced that
feeling then you will know what the artist goes through when their creation has
been stolen.
Okay…
Okay… I won’t go off here… :-) But, as you can plainly see, I am really against
people stealing other people’s creations.
What
I always suggest (like I did to my class) is be more than the thieves. Stand up
for the rights of the creator. Understand that it took their creative vision,
their time, their money, their mental focus, and their undaunted dedication to
make that piece of art. Don’t steal it!
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