ASK & DISCUSS

I've been acting in a collaborative TV Pilot in which everyone gave their time and talent for no pay. Now the writer has had a major falling out with the producers and is telling …

The moral to this whole debate is simple.
No matter how small and impecunious your project,
for everyone's protection,
AGREE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND SIGN THE CONTRACTS FIRST.
Basic…

Hi everybody

I am in the latter stages of producing a micro / very low budget feature. I have some private investment in place, but in order to protect them and the film, I'm loo…

Is your budget over £100k? And do you have a bondable Line Producer?

Interesting amount of debate over the "Veronica Mars" kickstarter project -
$3.6million and rising so far... (here it is: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veroni…

The issue that I have with this is mostly of an "esthetic" nature. I don't think this will kill Kickstarter, nor somehow damage the smaller campaigns, however I do feel that it so…

Hi,

I'm looking to rent some camera equipment with a value of £11k and need to get it insured as the rental company don't have an option for insurance. I've had two quotes so far…

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who got back to me on this. Essex were indeed the cheapest. I saved quite a bit, which was much needed as the budget was tight.

Many Thanks,
Matthew

HEY ALL,

Looking for location insurance for a cafe to cover damages from equipment to belongings in the cafe for one day only, how much would it cost and where is the best place…

I have public liability insurance I need location insurance to cover me if the equipment ruins anything in the cafe. Thanks

Hi

I'm setting a film and music company, and am on the lookout for a good music / media solicitor that can help with licensing and publishing in the UK and Europe

If anyone kn…

Hi Chris,

He's more of a consultant/musicologist but if not him may know of someone else

peteroxendale@me.com

Best

Tom Green. www.apollomusic.co.uk

Am prepping scenes to be conducted in a fast food restaurant. The cast are all mine but am sure the restaurant(s) we're going to target will be relatively busy when filming. I wil…

Thanks Paddy and Chris for your answers, much appreciated. The insurance issue you both raised is taken on board... and I do have a back up plan as well. Hopefully filming can sta…

I flick through the SP bulletin every day and I have recently noticed something that is not sitting well with me. On a number of occasions, a film has been offering work in both t…

surely there's a market principle here. some actors will work for just a reel. some crew will work just for experience. some will work for the fun. the market might mean that soun…

I'm about to start pre-production on a low budget feature, do I need the crew members to sign a non-disclosure agreement before I hand out the script?

Without wanting to offend Paddy or Dan, I think that this is a very good question and one which should be taken quite seriously. Ideas, concepts and scripts do get plagiarised, of…

Can I use clips form an old 1961 monster film (Gorgo) that is now Public Domain on the TV in a scene in my own film?
It’s free to download on many sites and I'd like it to be use…

Your best bet would be to find a filmmaker who may have made something similar to what you're after who can license you the rights.
Of course, I don't know what it is you're after…

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone had experience of licensing music for shorts from existing artists - not using PRS? I have a minuscule budget for a short and I'm wondering wh…

Far be it for me to contradict Charles, but my experience of this from the composer side is nowhere near as complex (and I also refer to the experience of the directors I work wit…

Hello Shooters,

We have recently acquired permission from a musician to use music from his album in our short documentary. The documentary will be available online and will also…

http://www.prsformusic.com/users/productionmusic/Documents/ProductionMusicRateCard2013.pdf

In practice I've cleared rights for FREE (ok, a credit) from friends for non commerci…

Happy New Year!

September 2012 I invoiced a production company for the camera operating job on their feature film. The contract that I was given on request stated that my invoice…

It could just be that he can't pay as he has no money, and any income from distribution has firstly to go to pay preferential creditors, ie VAT or tax etc. but he should at least …

I'm looking for personal recommendations for reliable, communicative, flexible and not uber expensive media lawyers for a feature Doc in Post Production and ongoing projects in de…

One point to consider - if it's a Doc that might have legal issues beyond the norm (is it contentious?) then the value of having a serious (for which read expensive) name as your …

Just putting together a budget for a short and wondering what are Shooters experiences with casting directors and how much are their fees?

Fees vary from job to job. Is it a shot or a feature? If it's a feature then what budget? How many characters to cast?

If you email me directly with more details I can give you a…

I'm looking to insure 3 x Sony Z5 cameras for a weekend (to do a wedding video shoot). Does anyone know of a good insurance company who would do this?

Many Thanks,
Matthew

I used these people on a short film shoot http://www.filminsurance.co.uk/ ... ask for a Filiz Umit ... she really looked after us ;)

Dear shooters. Would be really interested in your thoughts on this.

I already have some management for my screenwriting in the states but have been doing a bit of window shopping…

MIght be worth checking them out on Writer Beware website. There are quite a few scams involving editng fees highlighted there.

Looking to do a short at a TFL Bus stop but no idea what the rules are etc?

your not going to be stopping traffic nor are you going to be cause disturbances on the pavement with a lot of gear, just film it. I mostly shoot guerilla, with the exception of f…

We're a small crew of 6, we are students and our projects are insured for £5 million. We want to shoot on a location which is gated and locked with 'Danger of Death' signs, howeve…

I need information on filming in the Republic Of Chad ! Anyone can help with fixers' contact? any useful info that can help in filming is very highly appreciated!
please contact m…

Give a lot of thought to the power supply. Frequent power cuts can play havoc with batteries that are recharging and power spikes can kill gear altogether, so think about surge pr…