In Box

I have a question for your legal experts. I am producing a documentary that is essentially a video tour of my favorite theme park. I've included clips of the rides, shows, and other attractions. I plan to market the video as a sort of "Unofficial Guide" to the park. I won't include any audio from the shows and will avoid using any copyrighted logos in the video. Is this enough to avoid running into legal issues with the park management?
Ron Burtz
Wall, SD

It all depends on the way you plan to use the video, Ron. See the response from our legal expert, Mark Levy.
-The Editors

"Ron Burtz left out what could be an important factoid: his purpose for making the video. Does he intend to sell it, broadcast it on a TV station or cable TV, or use it to advertise some product? If the answer to any part of that question about commercial use is "yes," Ron should ask for written permission of the theme park's management.

"On the other hand, if Ron intends to make a movie only for his personal use, to show family and friends at no charge, he need not ask permission, since the park is accessible to the public and many people take cameras to theme parks.

"Be aware, however, that regardless of the purpose of the movie, Ron cannot invade people's privacy. If he lets the camera linger on a member of the public for more than 2 or 3 seconds and, especially, if that person is doing something that subjects him or her to ridicule, Ron shouldn't use that shot without a photo release from the subject, or he risks being sued for invasion of privacy."
Mark Levy, Attorney at Law

Editor's Note: Many readers have legal questions that can't be answered in the pages of our magazine, but we invite you to go to our forums to inquire from our vast Videomaker Community as to how they learned the ropes to staying within the law or how they had to work around some obstacles. As always, it's best to seek professional legal help in fair use and copyright issues, to help you sleep at night and to keep your video from a forced retirement on the closet shelf. We've all been there.

I read your article about the DYMO DiscPainter (Test Bench, May 2008 issue). Will it print on any brand of DVD or only on DYMO discs specially made for it? Approximately how many discs can be printed with one ink cartridge? What is the typical cost of replacing an ink cartridge and is it normally available at most printer supply stores? Has the software installation problem you mentioned in the article been addressed by DYMO and corrected?

Please advise.
M. Bryant
Avid Reader of Videomaker

We received a few letters regarding the DYMO printer, all asking similar questions, and we passed them on to Jeff Neu, our PR rep for the DYMO company. He says the DYMO will print on inkjet-printable discs, and you can print about 100 discs per cartridge, depending on the design and settings used. Replacement cartridges run $40 and are sold wherever the printer is available, as well as on the DYMO site at dymo.com and other online retailers like amazon.com, cdw.com and tigerdirect.com. You can also purchase the printer and cartridges at retailers such as Fry's Electronics, B&H and J&R.

Regarding your other query, DYMO tells us that the installation problems that the review mentions have been addressed and corrected.
-The Editors

I read with interest the YouTube – Step by Step article in the April 2008 Basic Training column. The part stating everyone can see your video is true enough and for some can be a bummer. But there is an alternative, VIDEO MAIL!! My Internet Service Provider, Juno, provides Video Mail free of charge. I can send my videos to anyone in my address book just like e-mail, and no one but those addressed can see it. A little research shows that most ISPs offer similar services, or say they do. Video Mail can be used three ways:

1. With a web cam you can record right at your computer - not my favorite but can be used to enhance or instead of e-mail.
2. Upload a video. There are restrictions on size. Juno allows me ten minutes; other Video Mail may not be so limited.
3. Real time Video Chat. I've never been able to coordinate a time for this, because I live in Hawaii and my families are on the Mainland and in Japan.

There is at least one Video Mail site that is free, www.freegabmail.com, that allows recording from web cam and send to anyone. At this time, Free Gab Mail does not allow upload of video. Both Juno and Free Gab Mail allow anyone to see the video and reply to yours via web cam or just audio. Both are easy to use and allow anyone to video mail. I hope that a future article will talk about Video Mail.
Otto Cleveland
Pearl City, HI