the pitch

Preparing a film for a pitch is a lengthy time consuming process. A lot of work needs to go into any good pitch. Many different components are required if you wish for your pitch to be successful and stand a chance of securing funding.

independent distribution

Distributing movies has changed a great deal in the last couple of decades. Gone are the days when one needed an experienced distributor to get their work to the masses. 

Industry Experts

Intellectual property is a major issue in entertainment law.  Many different issues can arise that have to do with intellectual property. One such issue as covered by The Entertainment Law Podcast Episode 39 is the issue regarding The Jersey Boys and the Ed Sullivan Show. Sofa Entertainment sued Dodger Productions over copyright infringement due to the use of a seven second clip introducing The Four Seasons. However the courts looked at the issues regarding fair use. The courts said that the use of the clip was used as a biographical and historical point. Since it was used more like facts and did not really, in the courts mind, affect the market nor was seven seconds too much to use, they decided it was in fact fair use.

In The Entertainment Law Podcast Episode 42 they discuss the issue of La Dolce Vida and who actually owned the rights to distribution. International Media Films authorized special 50th anniversary DVDs, however Paramount argued that they in fact owned the rights and decided to sue IMF for copyright infringement. Though the rights have bounced around Paramount argues that it had acquired the rights to La Dolce Vida through the acquisition of a subsidiary. However, despite this, the court decided that IMF had not directly infringed on the copyright but it did contribute to copyright infringement.

In The Entertainment Law Podcast Episode 43 they discuss Faulkner Literary versus Sony Pictures. In Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris the line “the past is not dead actually its not even past you know who said that Faulkner and he was right” is used by the main character. Faulkner claims that the phrase “the past is not dead it’s not even past” is in and of itself copyrighted. The courts did decide that it was in fact fair use.

Lighting: Liabilities and how to avoid the danger

Every business will have its own specific liabilities. As a business that deals with manual labor, my liabilities are rather straight forward. We are dealing with not only heavy equipment that is rigged high off of the ground, but also equipment that has enough electricity coursing through it to kill a full grown man if they are reckless and careless.

Pre-Light: lighting setup at a glance

Lighting for film and television is an tiring and time consuming process. It often involves a great deal of manual labor and much running back and forth. I recently had the great pleasure of being presented with an opportunity to manage the lighting for American Dance Legend, produced by Karma Butler. For the first time, I was forced to bring on another crew member due to the scale and scope of the lighting for this production. My new crew member had no idea quite what he had gotten himself into. This was a new and interesting experience.

Budgeting: things to keep in mind

A big part of being a movie producer is understanding numbers. More specifically its understanding financial numbers. The producer of any film is directly responsible for finding funding for the project. In order to accomplish what seems like an impossible task there are a few things to keep in mind.

Revolution: 15 years after the blackout...they will light the way.

Revolution got a second season! This post-apocalyptic drama has already had one hell of a ride. I’ll be honest when I first watched the show I was excited. Finally there is a post-apocalyptic story that actually reverted to the dark ages. But as the season went on I started wondering when they would start telling us what is going on.