The Independent Filmmaker's Law and Business Guide: Financing, Shooting, and Distributing Independent and Digital Films

Today’s explosion of independent and digital filmmaking demands a brass-tacks guide to the business and legal aspects of the process. 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? And why must the filmmaker pay special attention to products and artwork that might appear in the background of a shot?

 

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 second edition explores concepts such as executing a digital distribution strategy through the use of YouTube and “webisodes,” the importance of international distribution, and legal issues particular to documentaries. Six handy appendixes provide sample contracts, copyright circulars, Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, studio contact information, and more.

Jon M. Garon is a law professor at Hamline University School of Law who specializes in entertainment law, intellectual property, and business law.