Movie OST Thread

Hello there. For example I got melody from movie "The Book of Eli" --

Can I use this melody in my non-commercial game if I add this melody authors to game credit? Thank You.

Technically you cannot copyright a melody, what you can copyright (a better word would be "own") is the likeness of the song. IF you were to take this melody and change it a bit to suit your needs you should be safe.

Can you explain what do you mean by "change it a bit" ?

Well make it your own. There is a gray area for not-for-profit but the law does not really protect people using copyrighted material for non-commercial applications. I would say modify a few notes, play around with it. As long as it is not identical you should be fine.

Ok, thanks. I think I will try to risk and put an identical melody into my game. I hope owners of it won't be very angry

P.S. If I do such thing and they see it - firstly they only can warn me and tell to remove melody from the game, yes?

Edited by: ratatuj93

Well, we shall see. I don't claim to be legal counsel or anything I just have taken music copyright classes and whatnot.

r3p1cn wrote: Can you explain what do you mean by "change it a bit" ?

Remix, rework (for example, using the same melody but your own instrument and SFX's) and your own mastering. Anything else is considered theft afaik.

I wouldn't use or rework anything from that movie though because Hollywood are real bitchy about copyright.

Edited by: Nightshade

Niteshade wrote:

r3p1cn wrote: Can you explain what do you mean by "change it a bit" ?

Remix, rework (for example, using the same melody but your own instrument and SFX's) and your own mastering. Anything else is considered theft afaik.

I wouldn't use or rework anything from that movie though because Hollywood are real bitchy about copyright.

Damn... I like that melody so much and I can't use it now. Too bad.

Like I said, if you changed a single bar or something, you should be able to use it. But if you want just the song itself in its entirety I wouldn't do it.

What software would you offer for music composing?

I see people use a variety, what I will say is you won't find anything worth using for free. There are free softwares out there, but you just wont get the functionality out of them.

I am not a composer, If I do record music it is generally instrumental and I use protools to record. Sometimes I use logic for creating string sections and/or pianos. Ill use Reason for electronic music. The varieties of software and sounds are virtually endless.

Thank You, for your answer.

there are tons of composers here on moddb who would be very happy to gain experience by writing music for your game.
Just post a job add, pick one and advise him to make a original track that's similar to the "book of eli" score.

If you want to start making music for games by yourself, here's a little guide I made a year ago Moddb.com

good luck and keep up the good work

Thanks,

r3 wrote: Can I use this melody in my non-commercial game if I add this melody authors to game credit? Thank You.

Yes you can.

But...

You're definitively not allowed to use other melodies and music for your own projects without the "OK" from the author.

So if he finds out he will probably ban your work. Of course would he - cause he was not paid for his work

r3p1cn wrote: What software would you offer for music composing?

The Major thing is your brain and a good theorybook. The software to make your ideas become sound... hmm that depends on your budget.

Edited by: Fastel

Fastel wrote:

So if he finds out he will probably ban your work. Of course would he - cause he was not paid for his work

No, in a worst case scenario (s)he will SUE you.

Edited by: Nightshade