Term
| What are the three avenues to producing? |
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Definition
Producer as Entrepenuer
Producer for hire
Producer as Collaborator |
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Term
| Who are the 4 members who make up the core team |
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Definition
Producer
Writer
Director
Lawyer |
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Term
| what is the most coveted producer credit? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the 4 essential ingredients for any story? |
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Definition
1. who is the protagonist? - main character
2. what are they trying to achieve- goal
3. who is trying to stop them? - antagonist
4. What's at stake? - stakes/consequences |
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Term
What is this period called for a director?
The director works on a part-time basis except for the period immediately before, during and after principal photography; outside this period, the director works on a non-exclusive but first-priority basis (they can do other things but must first devote time and energy to your picture) |
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Definition
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Term
| Why would a director have to obtain cover shots? |
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Definition
| For public carriers such as network television and airlines in case your movie contains ‘objectionable material’ |
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Term
| How does a development executive get material? |
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Definition
-submissions from agents/managers
- traditional media like newspapers/magazines
- non-traditional sources like public domain/remakes |
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Term
| A term for the analysis of a screenplay. It assesses the viability of a project and recommends whether or not a film/TV should be made |
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Definition
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Term
| if you're a work for hire writer, who owns the copyright? |
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Definition
| the employer who hired you |
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Term
| What type of agreement is useful because it forces the parties to resolve important issues before a lot of time and effort is invested |
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Definition
| a collaboration agreement |
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Term
| what act is protection for creators and owners of creative works? |
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Definition
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Term
| why are treatments important from a copyright standpoint? |
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Definition
| ideas are not protected, only a fixed expression |
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Term
| what do you need to show if you want to sell a script or movie? |
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Definition
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Term
| Protection in copyright is automatic so why would you register? |
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Definition
evidence and jurisdiction
evidence- your work must pre-date any existing work
jurisdiction gives you access to federal courts |
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Term
| What is the Desny vs Wilder case? |
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Definition
| it proved that there is no inherent property in ideas, only ideas that are published or expressed in permanent form |
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Term
| How long does copyright last? |
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Definition
| the author's lifetime plus an additional 78 years. for any works after 1978 |
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Term
| which 3 entities will you have to provide chain of title to? |
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Definition
- a production company buying your film
- investor funding the film
- studio distributing the film |
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Term
| unsolicited material is typically not accepted by studios because |
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Definition
| they do not want to be blamed for a situation like desny vs wilder |
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Term
| what is another name for a submission agreement that producers typically accept? |
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Definition
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Term
| what is the main disadvantage to filing an arbitration case? |
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Definition
the intital filing fee.
a normal civil suit - $350, arbitration: $2800 |
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Term
| what does an integration clause mean in a literary release? |
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Definition
| it means nothing discussed over oral conversation can be enforced, it means only thing that's in the agreement is what's on the paper. |
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Term
| what three types of people cannot sign a contract? |
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Definition
| the intoxicated, minors, insane |
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Term
| sufficient cause or consideration in contracting distinguishes |
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Definition
| a contract from a gift which the latter is revocable |
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Term
| what are the five defenses of a contract? |
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Definition
1. the person was under duress/ physical force
2. intense pressure/ undue influence
3. the contract is insanely one sided
4. fraud/misrepresentation
5. mistake- mututal mistake about an underlying fact
3. intoxication |
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Term
| what's wrong with express contracts? |
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Definition
| those only state the terms in words, hard to enforce |
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Term
| what is an assertion as to a fact, true on the date it was made, is given to another party to induce them to enter a contract or take another action? |
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Definition
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Term
| what is a promise of indemnity if the assertion is false? |
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Definition
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Term
| any movie's rights can be divided by ____ or ____ |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| the option to buy the rights within a specified time period |
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Term
| what rights are typically being optioned? |
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Definition
| film and tv rights, sometimes producers want all rights |
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Term
| generally option prices are ___% of the total purchase price |
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Definition
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Term
| generally an option period/term is at least |
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Definition
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Term
| extending/ renewing the option period requires more payment to _________ |
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Definition
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Term
| writer quotes in optioning a script are usually based on |
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Definition
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Term
| a _________ deal is probably the most common type of development deal for writers in the industry |
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Definition
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Term
| step deals provide for "delivery periods" when ___________ and " reading periods" where _________ |
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Definition
the writer is writing
the producer can decide whether to go to the next step and the writer can't accept outside assignments |
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Term
| in a step deal the _____ has the option of whether to proceed to the next step or not |
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Definition
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Term
| what are the 5 steps in which a writer receives payment in a step deal |
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Definition
1. treatment
2. first draft screenplay
3. second draft screenplay
4. rewrite
5. polish |
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Term
| what provides the rough overview of the story? further- what describes the most important elements of the story in an active voice with visual description? |
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Definition
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Term
| the treatment is also known as the |
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Definition
| written pitch, but tells the whole story |
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Term
| what is the blueprint for the movie? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| what is the blueprint for the screen play? |
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Definition
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Term
| ________ is when an agency starts up a film or television project using writers, producers, directors, actors it represents before giving other agencies the chance to submit their clients for a project |
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Definition
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Term
| who frequently does movie packaging? |
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Definition
| major talent agencies who often collect a large packaging fee as part of the sale |
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Term
| how can independent films be packaged? |
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Definition
| by collecting LOIs/ intent/ attachments from talent |
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Term
| what are the four components of independent film finance? |
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Definition
presales
tax credits
gap or mezzanine financing
equity |
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Term
| The producer may use this type of agreement as a collateral in securing other sources of financing |
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Definition
| pre-completion distribution agreement |
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Term
| without this type of distribution agreement, its unlikely that a lender will advance money to the producer to produce the film |
|
Definition
| pre-completion distribution agreement |
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Term
| where would a post-completion distribution typically occur? |
|
Definition
| at film festivals or a film market |
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Term
| in _______________ distribution agreements the producer will enter into agreements with the distributors for distribution of the film in different geographical areas and media |
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Definition
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Term
| in distribution agreements the _____ is given much discretion in the manner, style, medium and scale of distribution |
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Definition
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Term
| a minimum guarantee is what? |
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Definition
| an initial sum that is paid to the producer from the distributor no matter how the film performs |
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Term
| distributors' minimum guarantees assigned and payable to ____ |
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Definition
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Term
| as a condition of advancing production funding to the producer, the producer will grant the _____ security interest in all of the producer's right, title and interest in and to the film |
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Definition
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Term
| in independent film finance: only when the bank loan is paid _____% from first monies, can the producer gain back full control of the film |
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Definition
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Term
| when it comes to music licensing, for use of existing recordings, the producer must license the soundtrack and also license the ___ ____ |
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Definition
| master use and related rights |
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Term
| in a merchandising agreement the producer |
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Definition
| licenses to manufacturers the right to manufacture spin off items such as toys clothing, posters, soundtrack albums, etc. |
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Term
| what are film deliverables? |
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Definition
| items that must be delivered in order to get a distribution deal |
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Term
| interest letters and attachment letters are now harder to get after which court case? |
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Definition
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Term
| what are pay or play offers in terms of getting the talent |
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Definition
| talent gets paid no matter what happens with the film |
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Term
| what is likely the only way out of pay or play talent agreements? |
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Definition
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|
Term
| what two agencies give professional writers and actors certain rights? |
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Definition
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Term
| only ____ companies may hire guild members |
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Definition
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Term
| guild members may NOT work for _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| a labor union representing 150,000 film and tv principal and background performers worldwide |
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Definition
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|
Term
| in March 2012 SAG merged with |
|
Definition
AFTRA-
American Federation of TV and Radio Artists |
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Term
| in what situations do the investors typically front 100% of the money to make the movie? |
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Definition
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Term
| what to keep in mind when selecting an appropriate production vehicle? |
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Definition
1. limiting the liability of producer and investor
2. providing an appropriate mechanism for making the movie and exploiting the intellectual property |
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Term
| what are the four basic structures in selecting an appropriate production vehicle |
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Definition
1. corporate
2. limited liability company
3. limited partnership
4. partnership |
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Term
| a ____ is considered a "juridical person in the united states that can buy and own property, enter into contracts, etc. |
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Definition
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Term
| advantages of selecting a corporation include: |
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Definition
| 1. limited liability for owners, can be owned by more than one person or entity |
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Term
| disadvantages of a corporation include |
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Definition
| two levels of tax, elaborate control mechanisms, the money paid to owners must be in the forms of dividends. |
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Term
| what is the main disadvantage of a partnership? |
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Definition
| there is no limit on liability (partners can be personally liable) |
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Term
| what is an advantage of a partnership? |
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Definition
| they are not taxed at all, partners can split profits any way they want to. |
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Term
| in a limited partnership, the two classes of partners are |
|
Definition
| one general partner who controls operations, and any number of limited partners who cannot participate in management |
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Term
| what type of vehicle is most popular for film financing? |
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Definition
| the limited liability company because it has all feature and flex of a partnership, but they have a corporation like shield |
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Term
| what do you call the one or two sentence pitch/synopsis of a film? |
|
Definition
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Term
| catchy enticing short phrases used by marketers and film studios to advertise and sell a movie are called what? |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| true or false- many films have multiple taglines |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| what are the four big keys to a successful pitch? |
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Definition
1. bring good energy
2. entertain the audience
3. don't read your pitch
4. don't apologize |
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Term
| in terms of script breakdown, 1 scene = |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| a part of the script that would be shot in a specific place over a specific period is called the |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| continuous action that is to be filmed at one location at one time and with specific characters is called |
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Definition
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Term
| you would use scene 4a if |
|
Definition
| you add a letter if that scene was added. |
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Term
| what do you write on a marked script if a scene was deleted? |
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Definition
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|
Term
| a script with 150 scenes should have ____ breakdown pages |
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Definition
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Term
| if one of these four elements is not present, start a new scene |
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Definition
1. cast
2. location/ space
3. action
4. time |
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Term
| one broken down page is one scene and translates to _____ on the production board |
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Definition
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|
Term
| what color represents Interior day |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what color traditionally represents EXTerior day? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what color typically represents interior night? |
|
Definition
| blue from the blue light of the tv |
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Term
| what does green represent on the production board? |
|
Definition
| exterior night- green grass |
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Term
| What does gray mean on the production board? |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| what color separates the days on the production board? |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| what are the typical special effect/alert colors on the production board? |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| once ____ are identified, your schedule may be dictated around that |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what shots do you always schedule first? |
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Definition
| exterior just in case weather is not as planned |
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Term
| when do you schedule tricky scenes ? |
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Definition
| earlier in the shoot, but not on day 1 |
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Term
| what type of shooting format allows for higher shooting ratio? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| when it comes to the type of scenes, these scenes are cheaper |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| a chart used by filmmakers to tally the number of paid days for each cast member is called what? |
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Definition
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|
Term
| when should the day out of days be prepared? |
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Definition
| after the shooting schedule to help with budget |
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