Diligence is Golden: Stick to Your Guns

As an independent filmmaker who is recently distributed I have learned lots of things that I did incorrectly on my first film.  Unfortunately I did not discover these mistakes until delivery for distribution.  It is always so very important to do things correctly from the beginning because it will always bite you in the butt towards the end.

For the rest of those independent filmmakers out there, we all know of our fun little production binder that we create for each project that we make.  We feel so organized by having them and they become very valuable while shooting, but how useful are they when the cameras wrap and the final cut is ready to be delivered?  Let me run through a list of binders that you should have and what I found to be the most important things to have in those binders.

My binder usually consists of the following:

• Master Contact List
• Shooting Schedule
• Script
• Shot List
• Locations
• Vendor List

As you can see I am missing some very important things in this list so let me tell you what the binders you have should contain.  The biggest learn I have made is not so much what should be in each binder but how many binders.

This next binder list is probably the most important and you should always have two copies of them.  When it comes time to deliver your film to the distributor they are going to ask for these things anyway, so might as well start getting it ready as soon as you start on the film.

• Crew Deal Memos/Agreements (make sure that there is a clause that states their voice or image can be used in any form while working on the set) - every crew member should sign one of these
• Cast Releases (this is not just the principles but every single person that appears on camera)
• Appearance Releases (If anyone comes  on set you should have them fill out a release stating that you have permission to use their voice or image in any form for exploitation of the film - usually a typical likeness release or image release would be adequate i would assume)
  
  **sometimes if you are hiring someone to take care of a department for you they may not have their crew sign releases -- make sure they do it and you have a copy
  
  
• Script Registration (Any Proof the idea was yours or that you have rights to the story)
• Trade Out agreements (if you have made deals with any company that should be appearing in the credits or on the screen include those agreements)
• Stock Footage Licenses
• Composer/Music Agreements and Licenses
• Ownership Agreements/If you have any special agreements with producers
  
  **Most of these items are considered to be Chain of Title Documents**

Make sure that everything in this binder is duplicated so that you have a second binder that is identical to the original.  This second binder will be what you can deliver to the distributor when you are handing over your final deliverables.

Each distributor's deliverables will vary slightly but for the most part the are generally similar.  A suggestion would be to start calling up distributors while in Pre-Production or development and see if you can get them to send you their delivery requirements so you can plan accordingly.

**Note**

Many distributors like it when filmmakers call them up in development to find out if a story they have would be something that they would be interested in distributing.  A lot of the time they will make suggestions on how to make it more marketable and may possibly give you a letter of intent for distribution which can be something that you may be able to use to raise some money.

**End Note**

You may wonder why I titled this post "Diligence is Golden: Stick to Your Guns", well when you are working in the Ultra Low Budget sector you may be dealing with a lot of favors and people will want to be paid under the table and not want to fill out paperwork.  Don't let them, there are plenty of quality set workers and actors out there that are willing to sign a release, so tell them that if they don't sign the paperwork then they can't work on the film.  I had a few of these instances pop up while trying to get our delivery items together.  Trust me, that it is much easier to get it on set before you leave.  Stick to your guns and don't let them not want to sign.  Without these papers the distributor will not be able to distribute your film and that's not what you want, is it?