Where do you draw the inspiration line?

cheroxy wrote on 1/28/2004, 7:32 PM
I have a couple that wants me to make a background for part of their wedding video that is as close as possible to the background shown on the start and end on the Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey show, "Newlyweds."

My question is, where do you draw the line between making an exact dulicate of something you see on tv/movie and just being inspired and creating something original? Is there a difference between creating the same thing from scratch and copying it directly off the tv? Is there a difference between something generic like a background and something obviously wrong like a song?

Vegas can create almost anything, so the possibilities are endless. There are many times that I see something on tv or video and I whip open my laptop to duplicate it and use it in my home videos. I have always wanted to know this, so can anyone chime in and give me some perspective?
thanks

Comments

4thorder wrote on 1/28/2004, 7:38 PM
cherozy, those shows you are getting ideas from are already rip offs of each other. Truthfully I wouldn't worry about it. You can vary your theme a little and have enough creative content to be safe. The Newlyweds will be gone in a few months and nobody will ever know you used it for an idea.

Spot|DSE wrote on 1/28/2004, 7:59 PM
I wouldn't worry about it either. Hell, half the movies Hollywood spits out lately is a remake in one form or another. I helped a friend shoot his daughter's dance class in front of a fountain. We covered an old couch with green, shot it, and later replaced the couch with different fabric, and made it look very much like "Friends." If you want to boil it all down, I suspect any story can be traced to Shakespeare or the Bible in one form or another, only because they are both early works of humanity and art.
BillyBoy wrote on 1/28/2004, 8:01 PM
Its a gray area. As long as you're doing a video for a couple that's likely to show it only to family and friends the legal issues are so remote its more of a ethical thing. Like 4thorder said most TV shows and movies are rip-offs of older ideas themselves.

Reminds me years ago newbies to HTML authoring would get their shorts all in a bunch if someone 'borrowed' their HTML, like they thought they were the first to use frames or a nested windows or something. LOL!