This is the authoritative handbook you need to lead you through the legal morass of producing an independent film, from financing, development, principal photography, distribution, and the too-often overlooked subject of delivery. Each chapter contains a general road map for the phase of filmmaking covered by that chapter, including the relevant forms and contracts, which come with plenty of explanatory info and some select negotiating tips.

This book will guide you simply and effectively through the legal fundamentals of the business of filmmaking at every step of the way, including: acquiring literary property, organizing your business, negotiating production agreements, obtaining financing and seeking distribution. Contract examples are streamlined to their major deal points and the all-important legal secrets to a powerful negotiation are highlighted in grey. This book will educate you on basic legal principles and empower you to intelligently discuss business matters that are essential to your entertainment career.

Preparing independent or guerrilla filmmakers for the legal, financial, and organizational questions that can doom a project if unanswered, this guide demystifies issues such as developing a concept, founding a film company, obtaining financing, securing locations, casting, shooting, granting screen credits, distributing, exhibiting, and marketing a film. Updated to include digital marketing and distribution strategies through YouTube or webisodes, it also anticipates the problems generated by a blockbuster hit: sound tracks, merchandizing, and licensing. Six appendices provide sample contracts, copyright forms and circulars, Writer's Guild of America definitions for writing credits, and studio contact information.

In this comprehensive guidebook, three experienced entertainment lawyers tell you everything you need to know to produce and market an independent film from the development process to deal making, financing, setting up the production, hiring directors and actors, securing location rights, acquiring music, calculating profits, digital moving making, distribution, and marketing your movie.

* You have an idea you want to pitch to a production company; how do you safeguard your concept? * There's a painting in the background of your independent film; is it necessary to clear the rights? * The screenplay you and a friend wrote gets optioned; how do you split the proceeds fairly? * How do you get a script to popular Hollywood actors or deal with their agents? Find quick answers to these and hundreds of other questions in The Pocket Lawyer for Film and Video, the next best thing to having an entertainment attorney at your beck and call. Written by a TV-producer-turned-entertainment-lawyer, this no-nonsense reference provides fast answers in plain English: no law degree required! The Pocket Lawyer is designed to help producers reduce legal costs by providing the vital information needed to make informed decisions on the legal aspects of film, video, and TV productions. Film and video production is a litigation lighting rod: actors get hurt, copyrights are infringed, and contracts are broken. Big-budget producers have lawyers on retainer, but many independent filmmakers are left legally exposed. Arm yourself with the practical advice in this book. You will not only avoid common pitfalls, but become empowered in your daily work. Too many otherwise competent producers turn over every aspect of the deal negotiations to their lawyers and agents. This book explains the principal deals common to every production, putting producers back in the co-pilot seat with their representatives. The format is carefully designed for quick reference, so you get the answers you need, fast. Features include: * Clause Companion: explains the meaning and impact of typical contract clauses, taking the headache out of reading them. * F.A.Qs: instantly answers the most commonly asked legal questions. * Warnings: alerts you to critical areas and common mistakes. * Pro-Tips: advice on unions, escrow accounts, etc. for producers who want to distribute their video widely.

Today's independent and digital filmmaking demands a clear guide to the business and legal aspects of the art. What fundraising options are available to a filmmaker? When should a filmmaker establish a corporation or limited liability company? How do screenwriters protect their work? What are a director's legal obligations to the producer, cast, and crew--and what are their obligations in return? This indispensable resource addresses the legal, financial, and organizational questions that an independent or guerrilla filmmaker must face, and the problems that will doom a project if left unanswered. It demystifies issues such as founding a film company, obtaining financing, preparing a budget, securing locations, shooting, granting screen credits, and distributing, exhibiting, and marketing a film. Newly updated and expanded, this third edition explores concepts such as integrating social media; crowd funding and nonprofit status funding; diversity, inclusion, and compensation equity; and distribution via streaming services. Appendixes provide sample contracts and riders, copyright circulars, Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, and more.

This no-nonsense reference helps independent filmmakers recognize and solve the critical legal issues they might face throughout the course of making a film. Author Thomas A. Crowell, TV producer turned entertainment lawyer, will help you to understand and negotiate crucial production contracts, handle actors and their agents, and navigate the perils of copyright infringement and other lawsuits. Updated throughout to address important changes to the law, and incorporating discussion of online distribution, crowd funding, social media marketing, and international productions, this expanded third edition will provide you with the skills to: Protect the copyright to your work. Finance your film and watch out for common financing traps. Understand how tax credits and other incentives are used in film financing. Work with other screenwriters, and protect your script ideas. Adapt a book or comic into a screenplay. Know how to spot the difference between copyright infringement and fair use. Hire crew members, actors, and post-production staff. Draft a production services agreement or a license to use someone else’s work. License music for soundtracks. Negotiate a distribution agreement or understand how to distribute your film alone. Learn how to best position your film for Netflix. Make money from YouTube. And much more! Written for accessibility and ease of reference, this book is a vital resource for any student or independent filmmaker wanting their films to be successful and free of legal disasters.