Legal Issues
TALENT CONSENT: To ensure I can legally feature the actor in my music video I will need to acquire 'Talent consent and release form'. This release form, if signed by the actor (and his parent as he is under 18,) will give me the needed authorisation. The actor's parent/ carer will need to also need to sign the release. Consent form:
LOCATION PERMISSION: I will need permission to film in two of the locations as they are privately owned. I have been on the website for St Margaret's church in Ilkley (the first location.) On their website I filled in a contact form which will put me in contact with the manager of the location. In this form that I drafted I asked for permission to film in the Church and also asked what times worked best for them so that I can try organise a date. Closer to the shooting date I will send the drafted email and hopefully discuss with the Pastor a suitable time and date. Drafted form:
For the house (second location) which is owned by the actor's parent I sent an email asking for permission to film there on two dates: 
One small detail which is often missed when filming music videos or taking images in a public location is building copyright. Buildings that have been constructed in the past 50 years are copyrighted, this means that I could be sued by the architects or construction companies. When I film in a big city such as Leeds with many modern buildings this could be a problem. To solve this problem I've sent an email to send to the council asking for permission to feature the buildings in the background of my video: 
*only modern buildings featured will be in Leeds hence why I emailed Leeds council
RISK ASSESSMENT: At each location that I intend to film at I have assed the risks for both the actor and the film maker so that no one is hurt and no gear is damaged when we're on location. These risk assessments can be seen at the bottom of my P3 Location recce, back-up locations, health and safety post.
COPYRIGHT: One legal issue that can often come up in the production of a music video is the publishing of copyright material which can result in a lawsuit, removal of the video or demonetisation. Firstly I will avoid all obvious logos when filming, this could be logos on clothing for example. When I come to editing the video I'll have to look carefully for any logos or copyright material I may have missed when filming, blurring or cutting out any so I avoid copyright infringement. I also have full rights from the artist to use their song for the music video. This will mean I avoid un intended product placement.
I must also abide by the 'Official secrets act 1911' and the prevention on terrorism act. This outlines the fact that there should be no wrongful communication of information in my production. Acts (original and revised) seen below:
OFCOM: The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors.
Below I have attached a document that Ofcom created, although it is regarding the watershed on TV it is still relevant to my production as it all regards the protection of under 18's both when acting in or watching videos. I'll talk later in the post on the BBFC and identify how to classify my video e.g age rating. This document will help me understand what legislation to follow when filming under 18s and also how to avoid certain things in the video that younger viewers can't be subjected to.
Further rules from Ofcom: 
There is still room for creativity however Ofcom has duties with regard to all programmes and films, including music videos. The main rules regarding music videos are as follows:
-Ensure that under-eighteens are protected.
-Enforce generally accepted standards which protect the public from the inclusion of harmful and/or offensive content.
- Appropriate scheduling and context (this is usually relevant to TV and the watershed however this will be more relevant to youtube age restriction with my video.)
In the production of my music video all of these rules will be followed, no content that is harmful to under 18s will be shown in the video without a suitable age rating to protect children and no under 18s will be harmed in the creation itself as risk assessments have been done and consent have been given.
BBFC/MPAA: The British Board of Film Classification is a non-governmental organisation founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works released on physical media within the United Kingdom. "All music videos by artists signed to Sony Music UK, Universal Music UK, Warner Music UK and all UK independent labels that are unsuitable for children under 12 will be classified with a BBFC age rating, which is displayed next to the video when it is published on YouTube." However as my artist is signed to his own label in the US I will instead have to follow the MPAA's and CARA's rules and ratings (USA equivalent.) Non-members of the MPA may also submit their videos for rating, music videos will be rated by Classification & Ratings Administration (CARA) - an offshoot of the MPAA. The rules of the MPA seem to be looser than the BBFC's, I just have to make sure the contents of my music video are suitable for the target audience and allow for maximum coverage whilst still aligning with the artist's iconography. 
My video will fit under the PG rating - Parental guidance suggested. This is because there will only be one quick scene where the actor will be smoking a cigarette, this may offend parents for viewing of children and therefore doesn't fit into the G rating. However I don't feel that this imagery will be drastic or offensive enough to place the video in the PG-13 bracket. A PG rating will mean that there will be no default warning or viewer restriction before my music video on any platform that I upload it on which means that the overall reception and views will be maximised. In addition this age rating means that the video is eligible for monetisation on YouTube (where the majority of reception will be.) This increases revenue for the artist and his label.
PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE: Public liability insurance covers the cost of claims made by members of the public for incidents that occur in connection with your business activities. Public liability insurance covers the cost of compensation for: personal injuries. loss of or damage to property. This insurance is required for commercial production companies - it is there to protect you if someone is injured (or their property is damaged) and your business is faced with a compensation claim as a result. It can cover you at your business premises and also when you're working at client sites or in public. For the production of the music video we have PLI which covers us and protects us from these aspects.
CONFIDENTIALITY: Confidentiality is a key factor in the production of any kind of media. Many things must be kept confidential so that other media production companies or outlets can't plagiarise or ruin your media product for the audience. This is by the confidentiality act of 1991:
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND LEGAL REPRESENTATION: Whilst representation has many ethical issues that I cover in the M2 Consideration of ethical issues post there are still laws which surround it. It is illegal to discriminate against anyone due to their race, sex or disability in any media product. There is only myself and one male actor involved in the production of this music video and there was no discrimination involved in the casting process - I instantly chose to work with this actor as he is easy to get along with, puts a lot of effort in and is eager to participate, this was regardless of his race, sex, sexual orientation or any disability. In addition in this music video no group of people will be represented in a negative light or in a discriminatory or derogatory manor. If the crew was bigger and composed of all types of people with different backgrounds and genders I would make sure to abide by the 2011 equal opportunities act which states that both genders should be encouraged to reciprocate respect and be given equal opportunities.
EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS:
Responsibilities I have as a film-maker/ employer and rights that employees have:
Cannot discriminate based on:
I will exercise these rights and ensure that my responsibilities are actively covered:
These are the statutory rights and responsibilities that the employees and employers have in any workplace or work situation. In the creation of my music video I will ensure that the participants feel encouraged to activate these rights if they feel obliged to
DEFAMATION LAW - LIBEL OR SLANDER: These are very complex laws however they are crucial in the production of any media product and I need to make sure that I understand them when I come to creating my music video so that I can avoid a dispute or offending someone.
Defamation is the publication to a third party of a statement about you which has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to your reputation. The defamatory publication will either be a libel or a slander and I will outline the differences below.
Libel relates to a defamatory publication which is permanent. Most obviously this includes written material (books, newspaper and magazine articles or material published online), as well as allegations appearing on TV or radio. This form of slander is most relevant to me as I am creating a permanent publication so I need to ensure I avoid any imagery or message that would be libel defamation. As libel covers all written word someone can still sue due to an online publication such as a music video uploaded to YouTube.
Slander relates to more transient publications, principally spoken words or even physical gestures. Someone can sue for libel or slander defamation even if they have not been named if they are identifiable within the piece of media they find to be defamatory. In the creation of my music I will avoid any imagery or messaging which could be deemed defamatory by any viewer, in my shooting script and storyboard no defamatory content is seen.
I've emailed the actor/crew, attaching the call sheets which inform them where to be and where to be there, along with an itinerary. There are many factors which could affect both the dates we shoot and the locations which we shoot at which is why I will be messaging the crew with frequent updates.
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