By: Kennington Groff
Lilenfeld PC
So you’ve spent weeks, months, or even years writing the perfect script or combing through dozens of scripts to find the one that aligns with a story you have to tell. Now you are ready to turn that work into your new project. What do you do first?
Hire an entertainment attorney! Every project needs to be protected no matter how small or large the budget.
Creating a film is no small task. An entertainment attorney can assist you to ensure your project runs smoothly by helping you avoid the threat of a lawsuit or removal of certain footage later on down the road when potential conflicts may arise with contracts that were not in place (or poorly drafted), rights that were not obtained, and releases that were not signed.
Below are 7 contracts that at a minimum all short and low budget films should have in place:
- Location agreement: Gives you permission to enter a property and film there.
- Talent Agreement: Gives you permission to use someone’s image/ voice in your film.
- Crew Agreement: An employment contract outlining the work to be performed and rights (if any) to the film.
- Confidentiality & Non-disclosure Agreement: For use when discussing your film or script with third parties.
- Materials Release: For the intellectual property that might be used in the work, i.e. photos, artwork, audio/visual clips.
- Appearance Release: When a person is appearing in your film, specifically for privacy issues.
- Area Release: Notifies people and businesses that you are filming in their area.
To learn more about our Entertainment Law services, including our short/low budget film contract package, please contact Kennington Groff at (404) 201-2520 or kg@lilenfeld.com.