ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

10 years, 4 months ago - Harry Haroon

Hi Paddy,This film is a commercial venture so anyone who is interested to be part of it will need to assess whether it will make money or not. If they think it has a potential then they can join the team. If the team succeeds we all make money if not none of us will, including me. We all work from home so I don't ask anyone to turn up at a specific place. Need some information on this.

10 years, 4 months ago - Harry Haroon

I think we are getting somewhere now. I am getting the team together to raise funds and make film. Once we hit the pre-production stage and then we will draw the contracts for the whole team, the partners/producers and the crew and cast we hire. Whether we pay them minimum, or maximum wage, time will decide. One last question, someone asked me to offer them a memorandum of employment for a 3 months period, which will be extended to another 3 months, until we offer proper contracts. This memorandum will be showing my intention to employ them. Do I need to do this? If I do then it seems I will be spending a lifetime on these memorandums. And how would I deal with someone if I offer anyone a memorandum and they just disappear. Bear in mind I don't have an office where everybody clocks in when the come to work. Thank you once again.

10 years, 4 months ago - Marlom Tander

The answer is to document it as a genuine collaboration.

In fact if you do not do so then in law you are likely to be one of (depending on the authorities reading the circumstances) :-

1) De facto partnership in which all people will be considered equal partners.
2) De facto an employer
3) De facto a club/group of hobbyists.

With YOU as the controlling mind (hence personally liable for, loads really) :-)

None of these are what you want, (read up on joint and several liability, minimum wages etc) unless of course you actually do.

What you probably want to do is accept that everyone is a risk taking member of the team, and get them to sign to that effect.

Document how it works. E.g. "You get Xph, log your hours. That said, there is no money until there is money and when there is money but insufficent, we'll pay everyone up to minimum wage, then the rest pro rata - so in effect the worst paid employees get paid in full on lower revenues than the best paid*. If the film makes a profit, X percent (X is a BIG number BTW, if you don't want to get sued - sharing risk implies commensurate sharing of reward) of the producers slice goes into the profit share pot and is shared according to BASIS. Failure to behave in a professional manner will result in termination and your rights frozen at hours logged with no profit participation".

Courts are quick to throw out cases where everyone seems to have wanted to do the right thing from the start. If this is a way to get rich, make sure everyone else does too, if you do, or PAY THEM from day one.

To keep your life simple, you really want to get a budget that can pay people for their contribution, and limit profit participation to the core drivers - writer, producer, director, and perhaps Heads of Dept if they do you a cheap cash rate. If you do have to go down the everyone for free route, document it all, and have everyone sign everything.

* 10 people on 10 an hour who have logged 100 hours each = 1000 hours
2 people on 20 an hour who have logged 200 hours each = 400 hours

First 14K in effect pays everyone up to the 10 an hour level for hours worked. Only if there is more than 14K do the 2 Heads start to get their extra money.

10 years, 4 months ago - Alève Mine

I was asked to sign a letter of intent last year to act in a feature film, felt the same, didn't sign.

Do you need this particular person for your film? Yes it seems both sides need to have an incentive to sign anything in the first place.

10 years, 4 months ago - Harry Haroon

Marlom, he wanted to see me next week for a face to face but after your feedback, I won't go ahead with this meeting. The thing is this is how exactly I feel. Something is not right here. Appreciate your help.
Aleve, I felt the same way. Thank you.

10 years, 4 months ago - Marlom Tander

Ah, simple. He not convinced that the project has legs and is wary of investing too much time in it. Actually he's probably been involved in too many "never happen" projects. (Though I still don;t see how any bits of paper protect him, unless they do create liability for you).

I'd probably just let him go. At this stage you only want really committed people. "John, I understand that you can't commit at this stage. So you go get some paid work, and when we've got to the stage where you are able to commit, it'll be great to have you back".

10 years, 4 months ago - Marlom Tander

Harry - you can't pay anyone anything now, so don't. As a small production team you have probably decided that you are equal co-owners in the project....(you have had that discussion....?)

So far so typical - core team of 2-3 people works up the project to raise the money to PAY everyone they then recruit as cast and crew.

It's if you take the step of recruiting cast/crew without being able to pay and without explicitly documenting the elements of deferred pay and shared risk that you get into trouble and probably result in the core team having a de facto partnership with joint and several liability. If you have a house and your other core members don't, well done, you just put your house on the line for the entire costs and full wages that your budget was short.

10 years, 4 months ago - Alève Mine

I don't know. Belly says something doesn't feel right.

10 years, 4 months ago - Marlom Tander

Ask them why they need it. If it doesn't involve any kind of commitment on your part I don't understand why they'd need it. If it doesn't involve a contractual commitment on theirs, I don't see why you'd want it.

10 years, 4 months ago - Alève Mine

I hope it helps.

10 years, 4 months ago - Harry Haroon

Hi Marlom and Aleve, we are developing this project so people don't need to turn up for a shoot, not yet at least. But producers have to spend time on this project to get it to a level where we can shoot. I am talking about raising finance. At the moment there is no money at all Marlom, so I don't know how can I pay anyone anything.

10 years, 4 months ago - Alève Mine

It seems there are lots of others doing the same kind of thing, and it seems to be ok.

That said, how can you shoot a scene without asking people to turn up somewhere at a given time?

10 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

People are allowed to have hobbies and interests, but if they're expected to turn up at specific hours to perform tasks you dictate for reward, you might find they're employees! You're perfectly fine to invite genuine collaboration all you like :)

10 years, 4 months ago - Harry Haroon

Thanks for your view on this Paddy. The thing is that if I do this for him then I have to do this for the others as and that is only fair. One team member joined me about a month ago and he produced a document (business plan)which was not impressive at all. Also I get a feeling that he is more busy with his own work than I thought orginally. He is interested in what we we do but he is not able to collaborate with something useful. I sent him an email outlining that and he is cool with that. So he is no longer in the project. I would do the same if he had a document. But there are other people in the team who are very enthusiastic about the work that we do and they are not chasing me for any paperwork.

10 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

In fairness, I have been peripherally linked to dozens of films that took a load of work then never happened - I can see why he's cautious about getting involved, and can understand why he's asking for the memorandum. OK, so it's pretty meaningless in itself, but it shows good intentions. Production is a thankless job, breakdowns, budgeting, pitching, financing, etc., tough to get enthusiastic about that unless you're sure the other core team are absolutely dedicated.

10 years, 4 months ago - Harry Haroon

Thanks Marlom for your view point.

Aleve, he wants to join the production team but keeps insisting on this "memorandum of employment", he feels it protects him. The examples he gives me are " what happens if you change your mind" while up to that point he already has invested certain number of working hours in the project. I said if I change my mind and take on another project then i will still continue with "this one". Why would I want to leave in completely?. I said to him that you will be part of the project and the fact the project fails or succeeds will partly depend on you. You cannot blame me solely for the failure. He also has concerns that while he is on the project, someone else may join and his role might be affected.i.e instead of him being a producer he might have to become an assistant producer.