In today's digital market you can self distribute, but I think it is a
massive amount of work marketing instead of working to make features.
I'm much more interested in a sale of this project to someone because;
a) to have a film purchased for distribution means something in this
business -- most films made don't get sold or are sold off at a loss,
and b) I don't want to be in the film distribution business.
I want to
make films and let others sell them. I'll gladly give a percentage away
for not having to deal with that. It does mean I risk getting screwed
by the distribution company, but the risk of screwing myself doing it
all myself is fairly high, especially for a first timer.
So
you need an attorney. Attorneys run the film business, not creatives
-- which is to say, bottom line -- if you don't have the paper to show
you legally own every sound, every image of actors, locations,
everything, they will not be interested in purchasing your product. And
if you self-distribute without same said paperwork, you open yourself
up for lawsuits. For example, did you know your DP owns the copyright
to the images in your project?
More on all this later, but for now, find yourself two simple, one page contracts:
1) what's called a Work For Hire deal -- will do just fine for everyone who does not have percentage points from actors to crew
2) a location release
Templates
for both these are easily found with a web search. Your deals with
people where you are going to share profits needs a more complex
contract and you will need an attorney to look over anything you do.
But download these templates now. You will need them before you shoot your first official frames.
The downstream consequences of not having your paperwork done can be disastrous
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