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Stills (movie)
Encyclopedia
A film still is a photograph
taken on or off the set of a movie
or television program
during production. The photos were taken by studio photographers for promotional
purposes. Such stills consisted of posed portraits, used for public display or free fan handouts, which are sometimes autographed. They can also consist of posed or candid images taken on the set during production, and may include stars, crew members or directors at work.
The main purpose of such publicity stills is to help studios advertise and promote their new films and stars. Studios therefore send those photos along with press kits and free passes to as many movie-related publications as possible so as to gain free publicity. Such photos were then used by newspapers and magazines, for example, to write stories about the stars or the films themselves. Hence, the studio gains free publicity for its films, while the publication gains free stories for its readers.
, shooting alongside principal photography
, using "Sound Blimp
" to silence the noise of the SLR's shutter so that they do not interfere with the shooting.
in The Blue Angel, singing on a barrel, was a posed still.
This can be done to recreate shots from the movie, or create compositions that do not appear in the movie itself, but are part of the movie's world, featuring the dressed actors and set.
, the original animation cel
may be photographed or, in the case of a computer animation
, the frame may be re-rendered
.
Where the source material is no longer available, an image may be captured
from a recording.
Creative Clearance offers similar advice for older publicity stills but distinguishes "Publicity Photos (star headshots)" from "Production Stills (photos taken on the set of the film or TV show during the shooting)". It says newer publicity stills may contain a copyright, and production stills "must be cleared with the studio."
Media lawyer Nancy Wolff, explains:
Film historian Gerald Mast explains how the new 1989 copyright revisions only protected publicity works that complied with all earlier requirements in addition to filing a copyright registration within 5 years of first publication:
In a federal appeals case brought by Warner Bros. Entertainment, decided on July 5, 2011, the court recognized that the "additional matter, publicity material images for the films [that] were distributed directly to the general public through newspapers and magazines," were public domain. It quoted from Nimmer on Copyright
, the primary copyright treatise, which explains that such "photographs were sent off to newspapers before the film’s release, in order to generate a buzz about its opening."
Thompson also notes that even if such images are not already public domain, they could be considered "fair use" under its guidelines:
In addition, the burden of proof of copyright for such publicity images would fall on the studios producing them, states Thompson:
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
taken on or off the set of a movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
or television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
during production. The photos were taken by studio photographers for promotional
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
purposes. Such stills consisted of posed portraits, used for public display or free fan handouts, which are sometimes autographed. They can also consist of posed or candid images taken on the set during production, and may include stars, crew members or directors at work.
The main purpose of such publicity stills is to help studios advertise and promote their new films and stars. Studios therefore send those photos along with press kits and free passes to as many movie-related publications as possible so as to gain free publicity. Such photos were then used by newspapers and magazines, for example, to write stories about the stars or the films themselves. Hence, the studio gains free publicity for its films, while the publication gains free stories for its readers.
Part of filming
Generally, a still photographer is present on the setSet construction
Set construction is the process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of a production to create the set for a theatrical, film or television production...
, shooting alongside principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
, using "Sound Blimp
Sound blimp
A Sound Blimp is a housing attached to a camera which reduces the sound caused by the shutter click, particularly SLRs. It is primarily used in film still photography, so as not to interfere with the shooting of principal photography, and also in other situations where sound is distracting:...
" to silence the noise of the SLR's shutter so that they do not interfere with the shooting.
Posed
Some shots are posed and taken separately from the shooting of the movie proper, and this was done particularly in the early stages of film – one of the most famous images in film, Marlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
in The Blue Angel, singing on a barrel, was a posed still.
This can be done to recreate shots from the movie, or create compositions that do not appear in the movie itself, but are part of the movie's world, featuring the dressed actors and set.
Captures
For stills from an animated cartoonAnimated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
, the original animation cel
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
may be photographed or, in the case of a computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
, the frame may be re-rendered
Rendering (computer graphics)
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...
.
Where the source material is no longer available, an image may be captured
Video capture
Video capture is the process of converting an analog video signal—such as that produced by a video camera or DVD player—to digital video. The resulting digital data are computer files referred to as a digital video stream, or more often, simply video stream...
from a recording.
Public domain
As explained by film production manager Eve Light Honthaner, publicity photos taken to promote a film actor or other celebrity were not usually copyrighted and were intened to remain free for publications to use wherever possible:- "Publicity photos have traditionally not been copyrighted. Since they are disseminated to the public, they are generally considered public domain, and therefore clearance by the studio that produced them is not necessary."
Creative Clearance offers similar advice for older publicity stills but distinguishes "Publicity Photos (star headshots)" from "Production Stills (photos taken on the set of the film or TV show during the shooting)". It says newer publicity stills may contain a copyright, and production stills "must be cleared with the studio."
Media lawyer Nancy Wolff, explains:
- There is a vast body of photographs, including but not limited to publicity stills, that have no notice as to who may have created them... These photographs came from a photo archive of entertainment industry publicity pictures, historic still images widely distributed by the studios to advertise and promote their then new releases. While not considered valuable at the time, avid collectors have created complete archives by salvaging and cataloging movie and television photographs, preserving a significant facet of American culture. These archives are a valuable cache for publishers who rely on these archives as a resource for entertainment material."
Film historian Gerald Mast explains how the new 1989 copyright revisions only protected publicity works that complied with all earlier requirements in addition to filing a copyright registration within 5 years of first publication:
- "According to the old copyright act, such production stills were not automatically copyrighted as part of the film and required separate copyrights as photographic stills. The new copyright act similarly excludes the production still from automatic copyright but gives the film's copyright owner a five-year period in which to copyright the stills. Most studios have never bothered to copyright these stills because they were happy to see them pass into the public domain, to be used by as many people in as many publications as possible."
In a federal appeals case brought by Warner Bros. Entertainment, decided on July 5, 2011, the court recognized that the "additional matter, publicity material images for the films [that] were distributed directly to the general public through newspapers and magazines," were public domain. It quoted from Nimmer on Copyright
David Nimmer
David Nimmer is an American lawyer, law professor, renowned as an expert in United States copyright law. He received an A.B. with distinction and honors in 1977 from Stanford University and his J.D. in 1980 from Yale Law School, where he served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. David Nimmer is of...
, the primary copyright treatise, which explains that such "photographs were sent off to newspapers before the film’s release, in order to generate a buzz about its opening."
Fair use
Kristin Thompson, committee chair of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies writes in the conclusion of a 1993 conference with cinema scholars and editors, that they "expressed the opinion that it is not necessary for authors to request permission to reproduce frame enlargements. . . [and] some trade presses that publish educational and scholarly film books also take the position that permission is not necessary for reproducing frame enlargements and publicity photographs."Thompson also notes that even if such images are not already public domain, they could be considered "fair use" under its guidelines:
- "Most frame enlargements are reproduced in books that clearly fall into the first provision's categories of "teaching," "criticism," "scholarship," or "research," and hence there seems little doubt that such illustrations would qualify as fair use by this criterion. Since most university presses are nonprofit institutions, illustrations in their books and journals would be more likely to fall into the fair-use category than would publications by more commercial presses."
In addition, the burden of proof of copyright for such publicity images would fall on the studios producing them, states Thompson:
- "If such a photograph has been circulated for publication at some point and reproduced without a copyright notice accompanying it, it should then fall within the public domain. Throughout the history of the cinema, many publicity photos have appeared in newspapers and magazines without such notices. If a scholar or educator were to publish a publicity photo, the burden of proof would then fall on the studio or distributor to prove that the still had never been published without the copyright notice.
See also
- Movie stills photographer
- Sound BlimpSound blimpA Sound Blimp is a housing attached to a camera which reduces the sound caused by the shutter click, particularly SLRs. It is primarily used in film still photography, so as not to interfere with the shooting of principal photography, and also in other situations where sound is distracting:...
- Film frameFilm frameIn filmmaking, video production, animation, and related fields, a film frame or video frame is one of the many still images which compose the complete moving picture...