IMAGO debating Authorship rights and working conditions

at Plus Camerimage Forum

Imagos Board, together with Prof. Cristina Busch and Nigel Walters BSC, presented its views on authorship and working conditions during the Camerimage Festival in Lodz , Poland , on November 28 th 2007.

The debate was arranged in cooperation with the German Federation of Cinematographers BVK, and the Polish Law Firm Adamczyk i Wspolnicy.

During the IMAGO session, Ms. Cristina Busch presented the IMAGO Model Contract. It was made clear that the Model Contract is meant as a “memory list” for DOPs. The Model Contract should not be used in its entirety, but should be edited to suit the production and the situation the DOP is in.

Many ideas and views came from the around 40 persons present at the debate, and many questions were discussed. Among the themes and questions were:

Q: “Who gives/recognizes the DOP rights?”

A: The laws in each Country. A British Cinematographer might not have rights by British law, but has rights for example in Norway and other Countries. This means he/she is recognized automatically in this Country, and is eligible for payment for any use outside theatrical use. (distribution on TV, dvd etc)

If the DOP registers with the National Collection Society in the Countries that have establish such a body, payment for use will automatically be transferred to his/her account.

Q: Madelyn Most: “is IMAGO cooperating with the DOPs agents to recognize specific DOP problems?”

A. The BSC had a well-attended meeting with our Agents to discuss points to be included in the new Model Contract replied Nigel Walters BSC.

Q: “Can foreign DOPs get paid for the use of their work in other Countries that recognizes these rights?”

A: Yes, see answer over.

IMAGO advices all member DOPs to register in National Collective Societies.

Other questions that were discussed:

“There should be a passage on the DOPs rights to use part of the film in a showreel.”

Q: “Could insurance practices for DOPs be worked on, and could a central system for doing this be worked on to be established?”

Q: “DOPs does not have any legal backup – DOPs are always working 7 day weeks, and the Producers tells the DOP to get his own insurance.

Other comments from the participating DOPs:

“In USA we have tried to get a 14 hour workday agreement for years now.

Still it usually is 16-18 hours.

The ASC said they would not support the DOPs in this matter, because they should not get involved in “politics”.

The work IMAGO is doing is just great and most important!”

Closing the IMAGO session was projected the film “Working Conditions in the Film Business” produced by IMAGO and distributed free DVD copies.

The director Tony Costa AIP dedicated the first ever public screening to Susanne Baekgaard. Susanne passed away last November 2007 and she was a board member of the Danish Film Union (FAF). She dedicated most of her life to film workers rights in Denmark and abroad.

The BVK session:

Participating from the Board of BVK:

Jost Vacano / Athors Rights in Cinematography

Michael Schallon / Working Conditions in German Film Industry

Michael Neubauer / Planing and Installing Effective Controll on Working Conditions

BVK ( Bundesverband Kamera - German Society Of Cinematographers)

The BVK panel, led by Dr. Michael Neubauer told the audience the situation in Germany is far from perfect.

Feature films are totally dependent on sponsors. The German production totals 10% of the total market in Germany . Productions for TV represents

most employment for German DOPs.

Mostly used is contracts with flat rates, no payment for extra overtime, German DOPs are mostly working 12 hour days or more, and often contracts are written long after the production has started.

There are very unclear rules with insurance responsibilities when and if accidents should occur, especially with trainees. Producers opens a new production office in each place shooting takes place, naming it “the central production office” and thereby letting the DOPs and other staff be responsible for paying their own travel and hotel expenses.

More and more often, the production company hires the focuspuller and assistants that offers the lowest rates, not chosen from quality or DOPs wishes. Salary is more important than experience.

The German producers are more and more often using Cinematographers directly fro the film schools to get salaries down. Newly educated Cinematographers often work more or less for free to get “ a foot in the industry”.

The shooting time is also going down. To shoot a 90 minute tv movie from approximately 25 to 28 days in 2000 to 20-21 days today.

Producers wants everyone to help each other, like drivers to carry and help mount lights, carpenters to help carry camera equipment, laying tracks etc etc.

In Germany there are 450 reported accidents on film sets every year,

The BVK expects there are more accidents not reported.

German production staff does not have “team spokespersons”.

The BVK is an associated member of the Union “Ver.di” (V ereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft) , a union for more than 2,4 million workers in Germany . Dr. Neubauer meant this might be a disadvantage for BVK, since the Union is too big to focus on problems in a small member association as BVK. Ver.di will not call a strike for a few hundred DOPs sake.

The BVK has on their website a “name and shame” section, naming all producers that gravely break regulations.

This functions as intended.

The BVK is also sending letters to all producers, informing them and trying

to get them to implement acceptable working conditions.

There are no film- or media union in Germany today, but the BVK has in its statutes that it can be registered as a Union , and this is constantly being considered.

Copyright in audiovisual works.

Panel discussion with the Polish Law Firm Adamczyk i Wspolnicy, Law firm Cottyn-Lecoutre, and Law firm Bukowski i Wspolnicy.

On the panel: Councellors Maciej Adamczyk, Lulasz Niedziela, Michal Trowski, Wojciek Dziomdziora and Lucyna Sas-Swadzba

The panel discussed and showed examples of the law situation in using other persons works in different media situations.

The new situation we are now facing is “the digital world”: our pictures are distributed on podcast, on mobile telephones, are down loaded to computers, and are shown on video on demand.

The panel focussed on documentaries especially, where the DOP often is

also partly, or sometimes wholly, director of the movie.

The panel focussed on the history of authorship rights, from the Berne Convention (1886, and since then many times revised)) which was the first to recognize artistic rights, until today, with focus on the situation in Poland sepecially.

The panel focussed on three main themes:

“Copyright and the art of photography in film”

“Audiovisual works and the public domain – a lawyer free zone?”

and

“Protection of the personal image in audiovisual works”.

IMAGO will ask the Law Firms for the possibility of their total report being publicised in whole on the IMAGO web.