It seems like every week another story is circulating around the industry about one photographer stealing from another. Often the theft is done to build a portfolio of images they then use to promote themselves with and gain more business. This morning, though, I experienced a first. I learned that another company has stolen a video, put their header logo on it and is sharing this video on their site to promote themselves. Amazingly this was a video we featured here on Fstoppers and even shared how the original creator and owner of the video Simeon Quarrie put the whole thing together.
The original video was created by the extremely talented Simeon Quarrie and was featured on Fstoppers back in May 2012. It was a story about how Quarrie and his team filmed a wedding and that same night put together a same day edit to share at the wedding reception. The first 5 minutes of the film show him filming and putting the whole thing together and the final product starts at about 5:18. Truly an incredible piece of work especially taking into consideration it was all done the same day and edited with very little time.
Here is the original video that includes the behind the scenes of how it was all put together on the day of the wedding.
Sadly though another videographer liked it enough that they are claiming it to be their own work. Here is the video being used without the permission. If you watch the two videos side by side you'll even notice that the stolen one has gone as far as editing a section in the middle of the highlight video where Simeon is seen and talks a bit about the whole experience.
http://www.cinefx.biz/p192553891/h557ec6f2#h557ec6f2
(Edit: The video appears to have been removed from their site, but here are some screen shots of the videos playing side by side.)
(Edit #2: The website owner "CineFx.biz" has been taken their site down entirely leaving only a Zenfolio Error 404 site in its place.)
Finding stolen photos on the internet is pretty easy using some of the great tools out there such as reverse Google image search or TinEye. In fact, Fstopper's writer Noam Galai shared his story and a number of tools in an article published back in April called Five Simple Tips On How To Find Your Images Online. Unfortunately though, videographers don't have many of these tools available to them. Finding your stolen video online is much more difficult to do and really relies most on the help of others letting one another know when a stolen video is discovered.
The brazen theft in this case even happened to a video that was not set to be downloadable which means in order to capture it offline the guys had to use a third party software. Then once they had it they cut out the parts that showed the original film creator, added their logo and end credits into the film and finally embedded it into their site. Then again, maybe they were hacked! Isn't that what the excuse is every time we hear of something like this? Now please don't go grab your pitchforks and torches - that is not the intent of this article.
The moral of the story is that videographers really need to come together and help one another out to battle this issue. The more eyes in the sky there are the better off you will be. Hopefully someday soon, tools will be created to help videographers find their videos being used on other sites. Lastly, if you have ever considered stealing a video or photograph, don't. Not only will it give your business a permanent black eye once you are caught (and everyone is eventually caught) but think about how you are deceiving your clients. They see one thing and believe it to be yours. They expect to receive the same quality of work. If you were able to produce the same quality of work then you wouldn't have had to steal it in the first place. So, in the end your clients receive a product that is sub par to what you are representing as your work on your site and walk away unimpressed. That is not a way to build a business.
Simeon's work is incredible. Anyone who hired this thief after seeing his fake portfolio would have been in for a rude awakening when they saw their wedding video.
That's really kind Lee! This is why I discussed this on my wall so openly. They were selling their skills to brides. I witnessed this first hand when We called them! They do have experience apparently. And they may be able to produce some good work. But this wasn't the way to promote themselves.
Is there no legal action that can be taken? If not, break their legs...
Except they dont use their legs, because they dont actually get out and do their own work. You gotta break their hands, so they cant use the internet anymore.
Thank you for your support! The website is totally gone now. Is naming and shaming the best way forwards?
Ordinarily I'd say its not a good idea to name and shame just for someone stealing your work. After all it has serious consequences for that person (it could spell the end of their business, livelihood etc). However its clear these guys were scammers - defrauding their clients by claiming Simeon's work as their own and therefore for the public good these people needed to be exposed.
See I am with you Khalid. I think Fstoppers and I independently looked at this and came to the same conclusion. That its the couples who have the most to loose!
"(it could spell the end of their business, livelihood etc)"
If they are stealing from others, isn't that what they are basically doing to others? If they lie with the images on display, they will lie about other things too, and in my view, don't really deserve to be in the business. Probably harsh, but this seems way too common lately.
One good thing about the situation with Simeon Quarry and the thieving toe rat of a Photographer/videographer is that we all stuck together in condemning what another so called professional did to Simeon...
they should be named and shamed, this is theft, the whole photography community should know who they are and let them know what we think of theft
Simeon,
your blessed to have so many friends to help you in this but im worried
about companies starting out (like us) and if someone nicks our videos
it would be much harder to track and take action. But it is sheer
stupidity to steal other peoples videos to use as their own, I remember
this is not first time this has happenned to you. I would hate to think
how we would react and take action if it ever happenned to us.
thats a good point!
Simeon is a person who is very humble and down to earth you can ever come across. Rather than naming and shaming the other party involved straight away he contacted them to find out why they had used his video without his permission. Now you would think they would have taken the video off their website after the phone call but it seems they have no morals whatsoever no respect for the industry nor the future clients who unfortunately may end up booking them under false information!
Naming & Shaming from the industry is the way forward as this will help educate future clients and make other photographers/videographers aware of these types.
Its a huge shame how people will do anything to make a quick buck! Try working your socks off like the rest of us and see how it feels when someone steals your work, might make you think twice next time!
Payal Shah photography made a great point:
"Rather than naming and shaming the other party involved straight away he contacted them to find out why they had used his video without his permission."
I think it's always very cool to give somebody the opportunity to make things right before escalating things. There are so many reasons why this may happen with other videographers, not the least of which is that they are young and stupid.
Sadly, they didn't take the opportunity to apologize publicly and make things right with Simeon. :(
Deb
Stealing someone's video and pretending it to be yours sounds fraudulent to me and must surely break some trade and consumer laws, as well as violate copyright. The law must make it easier for copyright holders to take legal action against these people, who not only steal other works but also mislead the public.
Simeon, even if this guy has taken down his website, he will proberly be back with an alias sometime soon doing it all again, the shameful think is they don't have the balls to apologise publicly, i wonder how many other peoples work they have ripped off.
OMG!! I came across cinefx.biz few months a go. A client of mine was shopping around and had stated they were speaking to another organisation. I asked them for the name and web link and they gave me cinefx site. I immediately noticed how fake this looked! You can tell that all the images and video were not their work. Luckily for my client, they decided to book me.
I've been in a similar situation. I was producing a short film and a number of script writers got in contact and sent me their scripts. One in particular sent me 10 great scripts. I went ahead with one of the ones he sent me until I found out, during pre-production - that he had in fact stolen all of the scripts from Simplyscripts.com and Moviepoet.com.
Luckily the rightful owner contacted me and said it was OK to use the script I had chosen still. Imagine if I had produced a funded short film with the wrong person credited as the writer. Be aware people!
I'm glad this was taken care of so quickly. Simeon, your work is amazing! We are so lucky that you share it with so many, it's just too bad someone thought stealing it would be a good idea...
Theft of others work is despicable and there is no justification. If they didn't care about the livelihood of those they stole from, why should any consideration be given to them?
I think, as the industry is not regulated, we need to look out for each other. This is the kind of support we should all be showing each other in this kind of situation.
Naming and shaming isn't the ideal solution, but it affects everyone in the industry, so if this is the only effective way then I'm all for it.
For too long we have adopted this "It's not my problem so I'll stay out of it" attitude and let things get to a point where people don't think twice about stealing somebody else's work. They know that it will get dealt with privately and thats the end of it.
Thankfully this "company" (cinefx) is not on my list of recommended videographers, but I would be horrified if I was unknowingly sending clients to a fraudulent vendor. For the clients sake, I for one would like to know who can be trusted and who can't.
Whether we're photographers or videographers, if we all showed solidarity then maybe there is a chance of stamping this practice out. Or at least reducing it significantly.
Thats my 2 pennies worth for now. :-)
p.s. simeonquarrie, your work can't be imitated and you're highly respected, so rest easy that most people, clients and professionals alike, will recognise your work and let you know if someone is stealing it. :-)
Beside of the quick end of this plagiarism, Simon needs to be proud of himself that there are so many people who admire his work as well as people who love to steal his work.
For me it reflects badly on the upbringing of these people.Nuff said
I have done tons of searching through sites like themusicbed, Triple Scoop, and Songfreedom and haven't found any offering music by modern artists such as Usher and David Guetta. I'm dying to know what site Simeon uses to get his music. Or is he super lucky and has great connections?
Different issue here. I am not claiming to be the creator of the music and selling myself as music artist. But yes, I have been in touch with the MCPRS regarding our work. This is the UK body that looks after music use. In fact I was in touch with them about the original post.
Well now I'm officially jealous! :)
Find a way to get in touch and I will tell u the detail.
Why should anyone care if it could spell the end of the thieves business? They are misrepresenting themselves to clients and should be put out of business. If they're capable of creating a video like this then go ahead and do it and use your own work to promo it. If you haven't done it then the odds are that you can't. They need to be named and shamed. I would never think of taking someone else's work and presenting it as my own. You must earn your business on your own merits, not those of others. I'd like to add that being a .biz domain I also think that these people are nothing but a scam.
wow....
I'm also a videographer, and have been shooting weddings now for just under a year. His work is stunning and I find it very inspiring. I really enjoyed watching this. Quality speaks for itself, and this definitely does that.
Simeon, I remember watching your video here when it first debuted and being completely awed. I'm truly sorry that someone has stolen your work and passed it off as their own. I have so much respect for the way you work, from the amazing skill you possess to the humble way you interact with your clients. I wish you the best in moving forward with this, and can't wait to see what you have in store.
Thank u you :)
Simeon - How do you guys not crack a sweat??!! I'd be dripping in it after 2 minutes with that much running around and stress! Well done!
Simeon, obviously you're awesome. Great work!
Everyone has certainly covered the topic of this article well, so I won't add any more.
Instead since you're so active on this post, I have a question out of left field. Well maybe center left since the original video is posted above. When I watched this video the 1st time fstoppers posted, one of the things I retained was your tip on the monopod. The hot water trick. I love your work, and imagine you do a ton of events so I pretty much believe everything you say regarding shooting. What I noticed both times was you said it was the stiffest it's ever been. Is that due to repeatedly using water to lubricate it? Is it even stiffer now? Or working great still? I've been giving this advice to clients with sticky balls, but I have little field experience with that monopod. I don't want to burn anyone without un-researched advice.
Really long story short, does your hot water trick still work well or do you have a different solution?
(after re-reading this it sounds like a super pun joke, but honestly the sticky balls were the only intended innuendo!)
No long term issues from using water. My ball only get sticky occasionally. But when this happens its going to be noticed when we are filming. So I still stand by this tip. I think the newer Monopods are better also. So this happens even less. But it depends on the environments u r working in. Ie. dusty, dirty