A new online course for emerging film professionals will unlock the complexities of UK copyright this January. Unlocking Film Rights, a free online course for anyone working in UK film, TV or media archives will explain and encourage exploitation of film rights across new platforms and heritage materials.
Running over two weeks, the course – which starts on 25 January – will explain step by step the ways in which rights are assigned, monetized, attributed and identified.
Presented by Dr Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital Development at the Onassis Cultural Centre and a Senior Research Fellow at The Media Institute (UCL), the course is one of several products of the Visible Rights Project, a partnership between BAFTA Research, Film London and The Media Institute, funded by Innovate UK to help producers, archives and filmmakers exploit moving image content and a growing library of archived content.
Rebekah Polding, Director: Archive, Heritage & Exhibitions at BAFTA, said: “BAFTA Research explores critical problems in screen industry workflows, one of the most well-known being rights research and management. With thousands of hours of saleable content missing its commercial potential due to the difficulties of licensing, this course is one element of a range of approaches we have been developing to help address these issues. We hope the sharing of information will help grow confidence in the footage licensing process and result in more great work being available for creative re-use.”
Dr. Clare Watson, London Screen Heritage Manager at Film London, said: “Understanding copyright is fundamental for specialists working with archive film through to producers and junior researchers and this free online course outlines the underlying principles as well as providing crucial practical examples and sessions with industry experts. It also forms part of our wider work to unlock the capital’s screen heritage through London’s Screen Archives, from collecting, preserving and screening historic film from around the capital to supporting and inspiring the next generation of budding archivists.”
Creative Skillset supported this project, enabling the course to be hosted on FutureLearn. Following a £200,000 investment Creative Skillset have presented of a suite of eight free online courses ranging from animation to sustainable fashion. Visit the Creative Skillset page on FutureLearn for more information. FutureLearn is owned by the Open University and provides the first UK-led massive open online course learning platform.
Sue Harrison, e-Learning Project Manager at Creative Skillset, said: This course provides a great foundation in understanding the fundamentals of film copyright and Creative Skillset is pleased to have been able to support this initiative. Learning on FutureLearn will enable creative practitioners from a range of backgrounds to have conversations with one another, as well as with the experts leading the course. This course builds on our initiative to provide free online courses, filling skills gaps for those working in, and wishing to work in, UK Creative Industries.
The course is open for enrolment now at https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/film-copyright and commences on 25 January 2016
