Memorandum submitted by The Cine Guilds
of Great Britain
The Cine Guilds of Great Britain is an organisation
which brings together the major "Craft" Guilds of the
British Film Industry, thereby representing in excess of 1,500
highly qualified and highly respected practitioners in their various
fields. Its Constituent (member) Guilds are:
| AMPS | The Association of Motion Picture Sound
| Sound Technicians & Editors |
| BFDG | British Film Designers Guild
| Production Designers |
| BSC | British Society of Cinematographers
| Lighting Cameramen/Directors of Photography
|
| GBCT | Guild of British Camera Technicians
| Camera Operators/Crew and Script Supervisors
|
| GBFTE | Guild of British Film & Television Editors
| Film, Television and Sound Editors |
| GLM | Guild of Location Managers
| Location Managers |
| GSAC | Guild of Stunt & Action Co-ordinators
| Stunt Co-ordinators |
Neither the Directors' Guild nor the Writers' Guild is eligible
for membership of the CGGB as both act as "trades unions"
for their members in some areas of activity, which is a specific
disqualification under the Constitution of the CGGB. We do, however,
maintain regular contact with the Production Guild, the New Producers'
Alliance, BECTU, Skillset and other film "craft" organisations.
The advent of the so-called "new media" as outlets
for film and television production is a matter of considerable
interest to many of our constituent guilds.
We feel that this development could provide a suitable time
to review the concept of "authorship" in connection
with film-making in order to suitably recognise the input of crew
whose efforts have made a production successful in both creative
and financial terms.
In many parts of Europe it is clearly understood that the
people who physically make a movie have the right to be recognised
as its "auteurs". At present this is not the case in
the UK.
Many film professionals feel very strongly that there this
is an anomaly that needs to be addressed, especially when they
consider that, for example, stills photographers generally retain
the reproduction rights to the pictures even when they have been
paid a fee for the original shoot.
21 February 2006
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