The Ukraine is one of few European countries where the authorship for cinematographers, alongside with directors and producers, is recognized as the law. However, though the Ukrainian cinematographers’ authorship is legally fixed, it is difficultly while to reach practical realization of this status. The rights remain declarative and the mechanism of their realization is not produced yet.
Contracts with employers do not include item on the royalty of DoP in the Ukraine film production . There is no even a contractual process about distribution of the royalty. The majority of professionals should be reconciled with such position to receive though any salary.
In other branches of culture there is an opportunity to receive author’s deductions from the reprint, hire or other using of an art work.
In Ukraine it is impossible to get the author’s deductions for hire of the movies created during the Soviet period, in particular, of that Russia has unilaterally declared itself the assignee of the whole USSR’ cinema heritage.
Except for that there are no structure/agencies for gathering author’s deductions in Ukraine.
Copyrights are broken and in hire of modern films. For example, credits of film’s authors are scrolling with the increased speed, to read them is impossible. Time of advertising inserts reach on duration 15 minutes when film screening on TV, it breaks off integrity of film perception as work of art.
Why the photographer who makes photo and has printed a picture, is considered as author of photoproduct, but the cinematographer shooting with 24 per second is not the author of the finished shooting material? It is rough infringement of copyrights, discrimination of human rights.
The question of DoP authorship is not simply a financial question. Understanding the value in creation of product, the cinematographer will work not only as the technical expert, and as the high-grade author.
If such scornful attitude to DoP work, namely non-recognition by his authorship, will be continued, – the young cinematography’ work would be less and less creative, and technical skills will prevail in their work.
Unfortunately, similar problems now are worrying not only cinematographers, but the whole Ukrainian cinema society.
Well-known, that existence of own national cinema is the obligatory attribute of statehood. Therefore all European countries, despite of crisis, include significant means for development of a national cinema in the budget. However state of Ukraine, as it seems, underestimates values of a cinema in cultural development of a society.
Let’s consider for an example budgets of the different countries in branch of cinematography. France spends for development of a cinema 535 millions euro; Germany – 140 millions euro; Russia – 283 millions euro; Poland – 45 millions euro, Hungary – 35 millions euro, Slovakia – 11 millions euro, Kazakhstan – 10, and Ukraine, one of the largest countries of Europe – only 0,5 million euro per year!!!
Despite of the listed problems, we think, that the problem of DoP’ authorship during creation of an art work is actual Europe for all countries.
Therefore we understand the great value of this conference for consolidation of cinematographer’s positions in a question of the Authorships rights. Legislatively established Authorship rights in the European Union will allow for DoP of all countries to address to the law for the decision of the essential problems.
We suggest to fix in the decision of conference industrial and a legal status of the DoP, as- the author of the figurative (imaging)-expressive and visual- figurative (plasticity) decision of the film- the basic component of film and screen language structure.
It will allow to issue legally position of European cinematographer’ authorships; will allow to include such formulation in the legislation and will remove discrimination contradictions in a recognition of the creative contribution for authors of the screen image in all countries.