Roundtable Discussion on Filmmaking and Fair Use
The Arts, Communications, Entertainment, & Sports Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan (ACES) is hosting a roundtable discussion on documentary filmmaking on Thursday, March 5th, 5:30 p.m., at Ringside Creative in Oak Park, MI. The discussion will focus on legal issues relevant to documentary filmmakers, most notably copyright law’s “fair use” doctrine and its application to documentary art. We’ll review an extended trailer for the soon-to-be-released documentary film “It Came From Detroit” (see below), and discuss with the filmmakers their attempt, and struggle, to stay within fair use guidelines.
About the film and the filmmakers:
James R. Petix: Director/Camera/Editor. After graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2001, Director James R. Petix was inspired to move back home to the Detroit area for the sole purpose of documenting the city’s exploding “Garage Rock” scene. Shot over nights and weekends for over five years, “It Came From Detroit” is his first feature length film. James is also a Creative Editor at RingSide Creative in Oak Park where he has worked on television commercials for clients such as GM, Chrysler, Ford, USPS, Navy, Big Boy, and the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings.
Sarah Babila: Producer. Creative, organized, and always motivated, producer Sarah Babila is a Dearborn native and honor graduate from Henry Ford Community College. Having no formal film training other than an extensive knowledge of horror movies, she jumped in head first to assist James with all forms of production, business matters, and scheduling.
It Came From Detroit is the ultimate fan’s look at the city’s internationally renowned “garage rock” scene. Produced over five years, the documentary chronicles the scene before and after the spotlight that came to town as the White Stripes rose to fame.
Starting with the hugely influential band The Gories in the 1980s, the bands of the garage scene are known for two things: an impeccable knowledge of the history of rock and roll and a raucous live show. It Came From Detroit documents the evolution of the scene from underground obscurity to an international trend. As bands such as the White Stripes, The Von Bondies, and the Electric Six started to develop a following overseas, journalists around the world started to hype Detroit as “The Next Seattle”.
We discover how unexpected popularity impacts the musician’s lives as more and more bands sign to major labels and tour the world and find out what happens to the small group of friends when not everyone has the same opportunities.
Underneath the shell of Detroit there is a pulse, and a community of passionate musicians that dug back into the roots of rock and roll and made it relevant again.
More on the film can be found here.
Building on the success of ACES’ last roundtable discussion at the Hilberry Theatre on the copyrightability of stage directions, ACES is proud to present yet another discussion involving the arts and copyright issues. If you are interested in attending, please contact me at mbower@saffordbaker.com.
-Matt
PS- Special thanks (once again) to ACES member Rick Herman for organizing this event, and also to ACES member Les Schefman for providing the location.
