i don't get it!

[jefury]

Just by curiosity.
Has anyone ever gotten in trouble or yelled at filming in the public?

Cause today, I attended a student demonstration (peaceful) and I decided to bring my super 8 camera along. So we were protesting in the park near the building, and then finally, some head guy came out of the building. And he was talking to like 5 people, and I filmed about 5 seconds, and then he started yelling at me saying "Stop recording! I never allowed you to do that! That's illegal!" and I said I was sorry and hid my camera under my jacket and walked away.

So I guess the good side is, he thought a 15 year old kid was a news reporter(hopefully), but damn! he was mean!

Well, that's my question / story.

Jeff

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[eddie]

I dont know what its like in Canada but in the UK its known as a double standard that causes problems at just about every demonstration, between the Police and the Demonstrators.
They film us. We film them. No one likes being filmed.

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[Cranium]

In the US, what you did was perfectly legal, as long as it was a public event in a public park. I love when people throw that crap around.
Now, legality aside, there are other issues to consider. I mentioned in another post (Matt, I'll try to be a little clearer here) that this past weekend I was shooting in downtown San Francisco. Just random shots, mostly skyline stuff, checking out a new film and a new lens. I'm in Civic Center, the "bad" part of town, and this guy dressed like friggin Morpheus approaches me. Long story short, I had taken "some pictures back there. You made a LOT of people REAL nervous back there." And he offered to buy the film from me. Given the location and this fellow's friends, I didn't argue about it. I gave him the film, followed him into a den of crackheads and got my money.
Although I can't be 100% sure, they must have thought I'd shot a drug deal. Who knows? The legality of what I was doing didn't really become an issue. He wanted the film, and actually offered to pay for it. Like a fool, I followed him to get paid. I did, and it all worked out in the end. Now, although it FELT like a scene from a movie at the time, I'm thankful it didn't turn out like one!


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Mikel Z

[jefury]

I see, interesting stories.
Cranium, something similar like that happened to my uncle last summer somewhere in South America.

Yeah, I figured it wasn't illegal. But since that guy didn't want me to film him. I totally respect that. So I just walked off and filmed something else.

Well, thanks for your stories!

Jeff



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[chas_ucla]

I'm not sure I mentioned this awhile back but on the last day of filming my short, "Ennui", we drove around for "location shots" near the crappy Pico and Crenshaw part of L.A. I totally screwed up driving and we found ourselves about a half mile south in an even worse part! My wife was filming from the backseat and we were stopped at a light. Some gangbanger-looking dudes were hanging out on the corner and one of them started swearing at us. Unfortunately my wife was testing the camera out and I guess one guy thought she was filming him. He called us a few expletives then lunged for the camera! Luckily the light turned and we bailed...

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[Matt Pacini]

Wow, scary stuff!

Laws are different everywhere, of course, but in the U.S., you have to have permission to record someone's voice, but you can film or videotape, including recording the audio on the video, and it's not a problem!
(Example: The Rodney King videotape was 100% permissible in court, but if someone audio-tapes someone without their permission, forget about using it in court.)

Of course, there are exceptions every which way, but generally, I don't think someone has the legal right to actually make you stop filming them, at least in the U.S.

However, publishing, and making a profit off that footage... that can be a different story, but even then, it's not all black & white.

I can't believe you followed the guy though. I've been in some bad neighborhoods, including the one on in L.A. that chas_ucla is talking about. I would have run like hell...
Hell, I used to live in a nasty area for a while (Carson, CA).
Grafitti ON THE FRONT OF HOUSES! You know it's bad then! I started wearing earplugs at night to be able to sleep, because there were gunshots going off all the time in the middle of the night. Now, years later, I still have to wear earplugs to sleep. Bad habit!

Matt Pacini




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[Cranium]

Trust me, I thought about it.
My friend said "Hell, I'd just hand him the film and thank him for not stabbing me in the throat..."
It didn't seem like THAT bad of a situation, to begin with. Sometimes, I think running can be worse.
But it crossed my mind (as did about a million thoughts in that short time! That could explain my rather unclear postings of the next day...)


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Mikel Z

[MovieStuff]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Courier, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Matt Pacini:

(Example: The Rodney King videotape was 100% permissible in court, but if someone audio-tapes someone without their permission, forget about using it in court.)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, actually, the location dictates everything. The Rodney King tape was shot in a public place where no one has the right to expect privacy. That said, while it may have been admissable in court, it would not have been okay to use it for advertising purposes. As you alluded in you post, for that you need the people's permission, regardless of where it was shot.

Now, if the tape had been shot in his living room and was unflattering to his side of the story in court, his lawyer could successfully have the tape suppressed, claiming a violation of privacy since it was shot on private property in his home. I understand the show "COPS" basically was shut down due to constant problems like this.

In most states, it is okay to tape a telephone conversation without telling the other person as long as you never play the tape for anyone else. That is known as dissemination of a private conversation and is against the law. You can use the tape to jog your own memory about phone orders, etc, but you can't play it for anyone.

Now, here is the tricky part as it applies to court. The tape CAN be played for your lawyer or a judge without you getting into trouble and ONLY if it is to impeach the testimony of the person that you recorded. In other words, let's say that you recorded someone saying that they were going to kill "Bob". In court, the prosecutor asks him,"Did you ever say you were going to kill Bob?" and this person says, "No, I never said I was going to kill Bob." THEN the tape can be played -BUT- only the specific part where he says,"I'm going to kill Bob" and ONLY after the judge decides the appropriatness of the tape. Regardless of how incriminating anything else on the tape may be, it can not be played in court as general evidence and the specific portion can be played ONLY after the fact to impeach the testimony of a witness; not before to simply make them look bad.

Now, for the record, I am NOT a lawyer so I am stating here and now that none of the above is legal advice and should not be considered 100% accurate. I am just telling you MY experience dealing with these things.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Courier, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Matt Pacini:

Of course, there are exceptions every which way, but generally, I don't think someone has the legal right to actually make you stop filming them, at least in the U.S.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Again, it depends on the location. Most cities generally require permits for shooting motion picture footage or video. Even in Houston, you must have a permit to shoot in a public park, so people in those parks can actually ask you to stop if you don't have a permit.

Roger

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Roger Evans
MovieStuff
http://www.afterimagephoto.tv/moviestuff.html

[mattias]

> In most states, it is okay to tape a telephone conversation without telling the other person as long as you never play the tape for anyone else.

in most of europe it's ok to tape conversations as long as at least one of the participants are aware that it happens. this means you can record your own private conversations, but not any that you don't participate in yourself, unless you tell at least one person who does.

/matt

[MovieStuff]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Courier, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mattias:
> In most states, it is okay to tape a telephone conversation without telling the other person as long as you never play the tape for anyone else.

in most of europe it's ok to tape conversations as long as at least one of the participants are aware that it happens. this means you can record your own private conversations, but not any that you don't participate in yourself, unless you tell at least one person who does.

/matt<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think that's what I said above.

Roger

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Roger Evans
MovieStuff
http://www.afterimagephoto.tv/moviestuff.html