Hi, everyone.
I have looked at various pitch deck creation services online and examples of pitch bibles including the famous Stranger Things bible, and I have a question regarding copyrighted photos. Most use copyrighted photos for comparisons to the look and feel of existing productions, and also some will use photos of famous actors next to their character descriptions.
Although, my project is different than a traditional drama genre show, I had used some copyright photos in my presentation to make the visual representation better, but then deleted them, since I wasn't sure if this would be fair use or not.
Is this frowned upon or looked as a positive to make the vision look more clear to the viewer?
Would it be okay to use some famous faces as character reference if they aren't A-Listers or pics to show costume design? For the comparable to other shows, would a few screen shots of older TV shows to show my retro aesthetic be advised?
Thanks in advance...just mostly concerned about making a presentation with copyrighted pictures and being looked at with disgust more so than actually worried about getting sued since I don't plan on my series bible suddenly being a viral sensation shared everywhere. :)
Thanks,
Chris York
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It is good for you to be concerned, however if you are using the images for B2B and not commercially selling the product, then it is generally not an issue. If one was to try to sell this or use it as an advertisement for a service for example, then it would be an infringement.
You might check out this site for royalty free images: https://www.pexels.com/
Also Wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Don Thompson Thank you and appreciate the comment. I have heard of both and am using a wikimedia image from the 1950s. I am mostly talking about the pitch decks that I've seen that have different movie stills to show the colors and feel, as well as blatantly using celebrity images to represent characters. The Stranger Things one conveys the feel of being retro by comparing to a lot of 1980s movies that do fit the bible really well. They added the copyright info at the bottom of the image but giving credit is not the same as having permission. I guess I'm more concerned about my project not looking amateurish and I also don't want the impression of, if I wanted to see "insert title," then i would just watch "insert title."
I would say that using material that is clearly protected tends to make a project look very unprofessional. Also, even if use does not cause any harm to the original, copyright law allows statutory money damages without proof of actual harm. So whether it is legally safe to use copyright-protected material without permission is something that should always be carefully considered.
Dane Johnson I don't want to give the link out because it's probably against the rules, but the TV Pitch Deck and Film Pitch Deck companies that charge to create a deck seem to do this. I agree that it would be unprofessional if the plot and storyline was the same to an existing property and images were used. I also think showing a bunch of A-List actors next to the character names and descriptions is unprofessional. The Stranger Things bible under the original Montauk name is very good, and the copyrighted images they used definitely match the tone of the show. Since this bible is highly praised, I am mostly trying to see what I can do without crossing a line too far. I was hoping to hear what others have done. Maybe, there are some more amateur bibles out there to use as a reference? I've found some that seem to be for "unmade" shows but not too many. The non graphical bibles are fine and that is what I originally had written. I'm trying to be a little bit "flashy" without looking too amateurish and I don't have a budget to go all out and create a sizzle reel.
Thanks, Colette "ByFilms" Byfield, and you’re right about websites with images claimed as free to use. Its important to remember though that the terms of use of websites that make images available often state that the user agrees to indemnify the website provider for any infringement claim. The safest (and often best from a creative perspective) way to go is to shoot or work with a photographer to make your own images.
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Colette "ByFilms" Byfield Dane Johnson I found this post after I posed my question. https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Everything-you-need-for-pit...
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Funny enough, when Rian Johnson pitched "Looper" to studios, he created a sizzle reel using shots from anywhere and everywhere. Did not care about copyright. Edgar Wright edited the entire movie of "Baby Driver" using clips from hundreds of movies as a pitch before ever shooting a single frame. It's a great way to get the look and feel of your film.
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Pitch decks are not meant for the general public to see and the document itself isn't meant to be sold in anyway, so I don't see a problem with it.