Two reasons museums charge for reproductions (and one consequence)

By way of The Digital Reader, I've just read an interesting article that I think misses a very important point. That point leads to two of the bigger and related themes I'll be exploring here in 2013, as well as one of their consequences.

The article, linked below, laments that many famous works of art aren't available in high-res and so they can't be used in teaching. It sets forth the reason for this as being because museums are overreaching, using their legal rights of control over the environment where these works are stored, or the license terms of their own photos and the websites where they are displayed, as a way to stop otherwise-permitted reproductions of works that would be in the public domain. (I'm oversimplifying but I don't think I'm changing the thrust of the piece; read it and make your own decisions.)

Yes, if it wasn't for copyright and the control it gives over images and reproductions the museums wouldn't be able to stop this kind of thing. But that's putting the cart before the horse.

The hidden cost of exotic locations

Paris... Rome... Athens... some names just conjure up images of romance and adventure. For many people creating stories and setting their locations, one of the fastest ways to do it is with an establishing shot: show the Eiffel Tower and your audience doesn't need to see another word to know they're looking at Paris. But put that in your screenplay and you're raising a hidden cost.

Three things that didn't change last week about nudity on TV

In 2002 at the Billboard Music Awards, in response to comments that she was on her way out, Cher's response to her critics was clear: "f*** em". In 2003 at the same awards show Nicole Richie described getting "cow s*** out of a Prada purse" as "not so f***ing simple." And also in 2003 ABC showed an episode of NYPD Blue with 5 seconds of naked butt and 7 of sideboob. And in 2012 the US Supreme Court finally handed down a ruling saying that because Fox and ABC didn't have advance warning that fleeting instances of cursing or nudity would put them at risk of fines, the FCC couldn't fine them.

There are people out there saying this judgment means short bursts of cursing and nudity are fair game for US TV networks and that creators should be making more edgy content. There are other people saying nothing has changed. They can't both be right. If you're preparing content containing this type of content, keep 3 things in mind.

Four things not to forget when posting photographs on the Web

1. Don't forget to watermark. Yes, your photograph is copyrighted, and if you find someone using it without permission you might (*might*) have grounds to insist that they compensate you. But you make it a lot harder for them to pretend they didn't know whom to contact if you take a simple step: watermarking your images. You don't have to make them ugly: a chyron in the bottom corner is enough for you to make the argument later that if someone wanted to use your photo, they needed to get your permission first.