Current Practices In Corporate Video

Within this essay I will be going through each of the current practices of corporate video and giving their definition. These practices are important for every director and creator to be aware of, as they form the mold for what a corporate video should be. I will be discussing rules of copyright, ethical issues, privacy policies and other such topics.

Copyright

Within the media industry, copyright is a substantial issue that effects near enough every creative decision that is to be made on a production, whether it be to include different brands or a certain soundtrack within the video. It protects people's work from being stolen, being used outside the fair use law or without any permission from the creator. If the copyright law is broken, it can result in being sued or taken to court, as well as losing the content that the copyright breach took place in. There are different ways to follow copyright laws, such as creating original music for the video or buying the license to use a pre-existing piece of music. A good use of copyright laws being followed  within corporate video is in a video for 'Strongbow'. In this video, they use the song 'In the House, In a Heartbeat' that was created for the movie '28 Days Later'. For the video Strongbow made, they bought the license to use the song for profit.

Privacy

Privacy is a priority that corporate media companies take into consideration. This makes sure that certain information isn't seen. Privacy can be broken if you film people and/or use heir name, without their express permission. For example if you are filming in a public area such as a park, you would have to ask each person for their permission to use the footage. This rule is in order to guard people's identity and for younger people, it is used for safety. If the rule is broken, it can end in being taken to court or being given a fine, along with losing or editing the footage. 

Defamation

Defamation is the process of intentionally or unintentionally damaging the reputation through a piece of media. This is relevant in corporate video, as directors can include interviews or certain footage of a person that presents them in a negative light, therefore giving the audience a negative impression of the person which could harm the business' public relations. This can be avoided by asking the hiring company or the interviewees if the footage seems suitable for the video or not.

Fair Use

Fair use is the the use of copyrighted material, which is material that is allowed to be used in a certain way, either with a certain portion of it being used or the format in which it is used. You do not need express permission to use it, as long as it is used for a ''transformative'' purpose- this is when you are either commenting on, criticizing, or parodying the material. If you break the guidelines and rules of fair use, it could lead to a fine or the original creator asking you to remove it from the video.

Ethics