Using Audio Samples from PD Films

[Johnny the Squirrel]

So, I have this collection of "classic" horror films, most of which are public domain. I want to use samples of dialogue and sound effects to make music... can I legally distribute the tunes when I'm done?

[Krypter]

i beleive so.

[scarecrowbob]

It depends on how much you trust the distributors of the films; it is quite probable that the films you think are PD are not.

 

If I were you, I'd just remake the samples. It isn't that hard to do and then you know that you own the material.

[daddymack]

So, I have this collection of "classic" horror films, most of which are public domain.

What makes you think they are public domain? Fim rights can be extended via ownership contracts, so just because the movie was made in the 1930s, does not mean that someone doesn't own the rights to it.

[nwtsnma]

 

If I were you, I'd just remake the samples. It isn't that hard to do and then you know that you own the material.

 

 

rerecord fake dialog in an old style? that's fake.

 

if the films are pd then you can do anything you want with them

[Johnny the Squirrel]

It wasn't the distributor of the collection that told me a lot of them were PD. I actually started looking up some of the films online (I know - you can't always trust the internet, either) and saw that a lot of them were listed on PD film lists. That, plus the fact that most of them appear as part of several different collections, makes me pretty confident that they are PD.