How do channels get a hold of footage from Movies and TV Shows?

Z

Zach Werre

Well-Known Member
I'm guessing no one has the exact answer but how do big channels that are professionally run, like WatchMojo and Screen Junkies, get ahold of clips of movies and tv shows to put into their videos? I know under fair use they can legally use it but how do they actually get the clips to edit into their videos?

I know in some cases there are sometimes clips of a movie or TV show on YouTube but I can't imagine that all of the footage in, for example, one of Screen Junkies Honest Trailers is available on YouTube and in HD. Do they rip the movie off of the DVD/Blu-Ray release of a movie or screen capture it off of something like Netflix? If so, would that be legal?

Not asking for any real reason just something I wanted to see if anyone has some theories.
 
if i was to do it i have this old media converter that came with a MP3 player from 2008 that could turn ANY DVD/CD/copyright protected media into .mp4 it wasn't meant for that and i was like 10 so i clicked the dvd without knowing and the contents spilled out onto my desktop so i reckon they would just rip the dvd, as for the laws, it is legal if your adding something and your not just streaming it or something (like adding a small 4-15 second clip to tie-in something or add a joke) however just randomly showing something for an extended period of time may not be legal (this is to my own knowledge stuff changes allot)
 
That's a great question! I think recording it from Netflix, etc would be illegal, especially if you begin profiting from it. I mean, unless, you had a disclaimer within your video. However, I know most movies have that warning at the beginnning about duplicating for commerical purposes, etc.

There is a website where you can use free videos, but I'm not sure it would have all these popular movies and TV shows that I see most YouTubers using for their videos:cautious2:.



Zach Werre said:
I'm guessing no one has the exact answer but how do big channels that are professionally run, like WatchMojo and Screen Junkies, get ahold of clips of movies and tv shows to put into their videos? I know under fair use they can legally use it but how do they actually get the clips to edit into their videos?

I know in some cases there are sometimes clips of a movie or TV show on YouTube but I can't imagine that all of the footage in, for example, one of Screen Junkies Honest Trailers is available on YouTube and in HD. Do they rip the movie off of the DVD/Blu-Ray release of a movie or screen capture it off of something like Netflix? If so, would that be legal?

Not asking for any real reason just something I wanted to see if anyone has some theories.
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There's really only one way in which someone can acquire clips totally above board, and that's by acquiring promotional footage directly from film distributors; this is how it was done in the broadcast world for decades. Given that larger channels have found protection under the guise of fair use, it's more likely that they have an internal database of films/television content to pick from. The larger the channel, the larger the database. My best guess is that these collections come from a hodge podge of sources.
 
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veronica33067 Yeah, I know under fair use they can legally reuse footage from movies and monetize them. But I think you would have to do something illegal just to get ahold of footage. They could contact the companies for footage but that would take a lot of time to do, plus I don't think many companies would be inclined to help channels produce content that may hurt their product.

I'm no legal expert but maybe what they intend to do with footage they rip from a DVD or record off of Netflix makes it legally ok. They're not taking these movies and reuploading them for people to watch without paying for it, they're using the footage to create new content which is legal.

Another possibility is that their means are illegal and they just haven't been busted. I worked at a TV station and if there was a clip from YouTube we wanted to use in our newscasts we just downloaded it. I know this isn't a rule that's enforced but it's still breaking them. It's very unlikely someone is going to take the time and money to bust that news station for downloading YouTube clips so maybe channels that use movie clips are the same, they don't worry abour someone try to bust them.
 
You can get license from the movie studios to use clips. For example sonypictures com studios/filmclipandstilllicensing.php

Sony Pictures Film Clip & Still Licensing provides advertisers, publishers and entertainment productions licensed access to a vast library of clips, stills, one-sheets, dialogue and other thematic elements inherent to Sony Pictures' feature films. With licensed content from acclaimed masterpieces such as Lawrence of Arabia and On the Waterfront and blockbuster franchises including The Amazing Spider-Man™ and Men in Black, the collection offers unparalleled access to the best from Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films and Revolution Studios, among others.
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That's the legal/most clean way to do it. But I warn you, it's expensive to obtain licenses for popular movies and unless you are a channel with over 1 millions subs and really use the clips for something good, it's not worth it.
 
Zach Werre said:
veronica33067 Yeah, I know under fair use they can legally reuse footage from movies and monetize them. But I think you would have to do something illegal just to get ahold of footage. They could contact the companies for footage but that would take a lot of time to do, plus I don't think many companies would be inclined to help channels produce content that may hurt their product.

I'm no legal expert but maybe what they intend to do with footage they rip from a DVD or record off of Netflix makes it legally ok. They're not taking these movies and reuploading them for people to watch without paying for it, they're using the footage to create new content which is legal.

Another possibility is that their means are illegal and they just haven't been busted. I worked at a TV station and if there was a clip from YouTube we wanted to use in our newscasts we just downloaded it. I know this isn't a rule that's enforced but it's still breaking them. It's very unlikely someone is going to take the time and money to bust that news station for downloading YouTube clips so maybe channels that use movie clips are the same, they don't worry abour someone try to bust them.
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Ohhhh! :unsure: Yeah, I'm not a legal expect either. I didn't know it was legal to record footage from Netflix and use it for YouTube. Movies specifically say not to duplicate but I guess the key wording is "for commercial purposes". Make sense, though because there are many clips on YouTube from a variety of movies and TV shows. I also didn't know it was legal to monetize them. I mean, wouldn't some of that profit go to the Network of whom the clips are from...:unsure:
 
I have a feeling the majority of movie review channels actually rip the footage they use from the trailers uploaded by the studios themselves. Having said that, it might be kinda cool to contact Screen Junkies and ask them directly!
 
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