In Box

I've just finished Mark Levy's very informative article, What's Legal, in the January issue of Videomaker. My "masterpieces" are travel vignettes that benefit greatly from the use of familiar music. I show them in my living room, and I give copies to my travel companions. Friends often suggest that I enter them into contests. Trying to obtain permission is incredibly complex, and the same video with royalty-free music simply doesn't have the same impact.

I would love to read more articles by Mr. Levy, perhaps expanding his discussion of "Fair Use" into application of that concept to not-for-profit festival entries. His remarks about using That's Amore were intriguing...don't we actually create a market by introducing Dean Martin's material to new generations of fans? Here's an idea...perhaps you could invite Mr. Levy to participate in a Videomaker Presents vidcast.
George Henderson
San Diego, CA

Nice idea about getting Mark Levy on the vidcast. Meanwhile, Fair Use, Copyright, and other related intellectual property issues are hot topics, and we will follow up on this confusing subject.

What a coincidence that I should pick up the April edition of your magazine where three key words, "compelling, authentic, and genuine," stood out when I read your editorial, Why are Docs So Compelling?

Having conducted over 200 interviews with senior citizens in Bermuda, I had just completed transferring them from VHS to DVD. On a recent shoot, in consultation with a friend, he noticed a pattern, which led to the completion of Five Profiles in Harmony, a documentary about five senior retired musicians who live in Warwick Parish. Slated to release in May, those three words were exactly what I was looking for to capture their tears, laughter and joy. Thank you for giving me the impetus to not only continue to film but to look for more patterns to produce materials that will be "compelling, authentic and genuine."
Dale Butler, J.P.M.P.
Bermuda

I am a retired ex-BBC and London Weekend Television sound supervisor, with studio production experience going back to 1955 at BBC in London.

My wife and I retired to Burlington, North Carolina, three years ago, and since subscribing to your magazine, I have graduated from a Canon Z100 consumer camcorder to Panasonic's PV-GS400 and your highly rated Panasonic AG-DVX100B. I edit with Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0. The music I use is from my own compositions.

Our community has about 600 residents in Independent Living and Assisted Living and HealthCare, and I volunteer to make video DVDs of our events. Entertainers who volunteer their programs are given two free DVDs, and I recover a small portion of the cost by selling copies to residents for $5.00.

Videomaker is a continual source of useful information that I look forward to each month. I have shot 14 short videos of life at Twin Lakes that are appearing on YouTube. (Search for britishjohn to view them.) At the age of 71, I have the temerity to suggest that life can be very rewarding.
John Cannon
Burlington, NC