Community Classroom Offers Free Teaching Resources

This Long Island hip-hop group helped set a high bar for sampling artistry with their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, released in 1989.

George Clinton helped invent the genre of funk with his groups Parliament and Funkadelic (collectively known as P-Funk); his music has been sampled in several important hip-hop songs.

Can you own a sound?

That is the provocative question raised in a new resource from ITVS Community Classroom: four lesson plans and film modules for Copyright Criminals, an innovative and dynamic documentary that explores the origins of sampling culture in hip-hop music, copyright, creativity, and technological change. This curriculum is an invaluable tool for teachers or media organizations seeking to promote media literacy and ethical media production practices among youth.

The film explores how hip-hop rose from the streets of New York to become a multibillion-dollar industry, and what happened when record company lawyers got involved and everything changed. Students will develop not only a deeper historical understanding of “remix” culture, but also contemplate where it is headed. Featured artists include Public Enemy, De La Soul, and George Clinton, as well as several prominent entertainment lawyers and media scholars.

These exciting resources examine copyright law in the history of “borrowing” sounds in music, and raise thought-provoking questions about what is creative and what is criminal. The lessons are directed toward grades 9 through 12, and college students for use in the following subject areas: media studies, media literacy, social studies, history, sociology, media production, music and language arts, business, and legal studies.

Best news of all, all of these resources are FREE to educators and youth-serving organizations.

Check out our FREE resources >>

Watch a video preview of the film below:

Tags: copyright, education, free teaching materials, law, PBS, public media, teachers

COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS Screenings Demystify Hip-Hop Sampling

Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, answers questions from the audience with Tony Berman of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law, who is featured in the film.

From our first event at the Saratoga Springs Public Library in Saratoga Springs, New York on October 3 to our last two events on October 29 in Charleston, South Carolina and Indiana, Pennsylvania we’ve thrilled audiences with live DJs, hip-hop dancers and fascinating panelists from musicians to lawyers. Co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS Kembrew McLeod told us “I feel honored to be part of the Community Cinema program which has allowed the film to be seen far and wide by a diverse range of audiences. Plus, it’s free. Who doesn’t like free?”

For more than 30 years, as hip-hop evolved from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry, hip-hop performers and producers have been reusing portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. But when lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” Through interviews with many of hip-hop music’s founding figures—like Public Enemy, De La Soul and Digital Underground—along with emerging artists such as audiovisual remixers Eclectic Method, COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod illuminates both sides of the debate, from traditional musicians who view sampling as pillaging to those who argue that the practice of borrowing is by no means new nor is it unique to hip-hop or even music: Think of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans.

With OVER 50 free screening events from coast to coast audiences were able to sample the flavor of hip-hip and electronic music first-hand from some of the subjects featured in the film. The Philadelphia event featured worldwide DJ sensation based in Philly, RJD2 (RJ Krohn – pictured to the right, on the left). The photo is a TwitPic uploaded live from the event. Our event in Oakland welcomed DJ legend Jeff Chang. Local hip-hop radio DJs hosted events in St. Louis and Seattle. In Seattle, KUBE 93 FM DJ Hyphen who co-hosts “Sunday Night Sound Session” introduced the film. “Sunday Night Sound Session” airs every Sunday night at 10:45 PM. “J. Moore and I offer listeners the newest, dopest hip-hop from all around the country, including local music from our own backyard,” boasts DJ Hyphen. Tune in around the Puget Sound Region or online worldwide. DJ Hypen introduced COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS and left the audience with some things to think about while watching the film.

Read on for more video clips, photos, and community connections.

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Tags: copyright, DJs, hip hop, sampling, wrap-up

Community Cinema Screens COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS with Filmmaker Kembrew McLeod

This month Community Cinema is screening the Independent Lens film COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, which examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. Find out what happened at recent screenings in Kansas City, MO, and Iowa City from filmmaker Kembrew Mcleod.

Filmmaker Kembrew McLeod

It’s been a busy time for me. In the past three days I attended two screenings of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in two Midwestern towns: Kansas City and Iowa City. Lots of miles covered, and a ton of great questions from viewers. It made me wish I were able to attend each and every one of the 50+ Community Cinema screenings of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS across the country during October. However, that would have been an insane (and impossible) journey, because several times the film was playing in two or more cities on the same night. I feel honored to be part of the Community Cinema program, which has allowed COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS to be seen far and wide by a diverse range of audiences. Plus, it’s free. Who doesn’t like free?

The really cool thing about the recent screenings I attended was that they took place in “real” theaters—Tivoli Cinemas, in Kansas City, and Iowa City’s Bijou Theater. I’m used to seeing my films in all sorts of nontraditional venues, but there’s nothing like seeing your documentary on a nice, big screen and in a room with a great sound system. Sound quality is important, especially for a film about music, after all. Whenever I show COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, I like to sit in the back of the audience because it’s fun to watch everyone’s heads nod to the rhythm of the film’s soundtrack. The cool thing about music is the sometimes-unconscious reaction it provokes in people; my bet is that most of the folks don’t even know they’re even moving in their seats. The music just takes them over.

The other thing I like about attending my own screenings is talking to an engaged audience. The Q&A sessions in Kansas City and Iowa City were no exception, though I’ll focus on the latter screening, because it’s freshest in my mind. Given the nature of the film, there were more than a few questions about copyright law. For instance, “Did copyright law impact the making of your film?” (Short answer? YES!)

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Tags: copyright, hip hop, music

COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS Screens in Evanston, IL

Producing Partners are local community organizations that co-present Community Cinema screenings across the country. Last night, Producing Partner Reeltime screened the Independent Lens film COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in Evanston, IL. The film examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. Reeltime Director Ines Sommer gives an overview.

Audience members listen to the panelists discuss copyright law and music sampling at the Community Cinema screening of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS.

Northwestern University law professor Peter DiCola.

COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS was our first Community Cinema screening this season at Reeltime––Evanston’s independent film and discussion series.

Even in the darkened theater, we could tell the audience was fully engaged as silhouetted heads were moving rhythmically to the sounds of this terrific history of sampling and hip-hop music.

Our guest speaker was Northwestern University law professor Peter DiCola, who co-authored the forthcoming book Creative License: The Culture and Law of Digital Sampling with filmmaker Kembrew McLeod.

We could not have asked for a better guest speaker when it comes to questions of copyright. DiCola was able to give in-depth answers that helped the audience understand legal issues in a clear and engaging manner.

Since there were several local musicians in the audience, some of the questions dealt with their own composing practices and use of sampled music. Other questions had to do with historical copyright lawsuits, what “fair use” means and how copyright issues relate to visual arts and documentary filmmaking.

Several audience members thanked us for showing the film and hardly anyone left before the discussion ended––surely a testament to how audiences love to connect, discuss and learn more after seeing a documentary.

Ines Sommer,
Reeltime Director and Community Cinema Producing Partner

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Learn more on the Community Cinema Blog >>

Tags: copyright, Evanston, hip hop, music

Community Cinema Screening of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in Washington, DC

Over the weekend, Community Cinema screened the Independent Lens film COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in Washington, DC. The film examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. Find out what happened at the screening from Regional Outreach Coordinator Michon Boston.

Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, answers questions from the audience with Tony Berman of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law, who is featured in the film.

There was a time when talking about music sampling and lifting pre-recorded music in front of an audience of musicians would seem more like a rowdy town hall meeting.

Times have changed. At Sunday’s screening of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, the audience was enthusiastic to ask questions about copyright and sampling for professional purposes. The screening was part of the Future of Music Policy Summit at Georgetown University.

For Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, copyright is not just a hobby, but a profession based on his own youthful “sound collages” of existing material. I won’t reveal the source of his work on this forum (YouTube removed the evidence!). Tony Berman, of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law (who appears in the documentary) was also available during the Q&A.

Together, McLeod and co-producer Benjamin Franzen cleared over 500 clips for the documentary. The process took more than one quarter of the production budget, according to McLeod, adding, the estimated cost for “playing by the rules” clearance for the clips in the film would have added up to $4 million. Some clips were classified as “fair use” thanks to the expertise of attorneys like Peter Jaszi of American University (who is affiliated with DC’s new Community Cinema series partner The Center for Social Media).

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Tags: copyright, hip hop, music