September 30th, 2009 | Category: In Theaters Now | By Suann MacIsaac

Comments: 8

Adventures in Self-Releasing: Building Buzz Around the DVD Rlease

All right I’m getting close to releasing a limited, first edition DVD of the movie. As I’ve said before, this is something we’ll be offering off the Website (www.thelastlullaby.com) and in conjunction with Neoflix.

I’ve been thinking of ways to increase the interest around the DVD. Obviously, we don’t have a huge marketing budget and can’t afford television spend or even print ads. So, as an independent moviemaker, what can you do to make enough noise to build awareness around you and your movie’s release?

Read the Whole Post...

September 25th, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 10

Cinema Law: Location Permission

Q: The trailer for my first film was recently posted online. A brief scene in the movie (which also appears in the trailer) was filmed at a local restaurant parking lot, which I never asked permission to use. Now, the restaurant’s owner, who had no knowledge of the film prior to the trailer's release, says he'll sue me unless the restaurant receives some sort of compensation. Does he have a case?

A: It appears that the restaurant owner believes that he has the right to compensation because his property and perhaps the trademarked name of his restaurant appear in your film. In all likelihood, that claim would fail. Obviously, a property owner has no right to compensation merely because his parking lot appears on screen. Imagine if a moviemaker filming in Times Square needed a license from every building, restaurant and store owner? This is untenable and not the law.

Read the Whole Post...

September 22nd, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Gregory Korn

Comments: 14

Notes from Overboard: Deauville

September 5, 2009
9 a.m.
I’m sitting in the back of a car looking out the window. The driver works through the outskirts of Paris and heads north for the two-hour drive to Deauville. Landed at Charles DeGaulle an hour ago. Slept three hours on the plane. It is 2 in the morning, My Time, which might explain why what rushes by the window melts together in my brain like a stream of liquid confetti.

Read the Whole Post...

September 21st, 2009 | Category: Notes from Overboard | By Tom DiCillo

Comments: 37

Adventures in Self-Releasing: Independent vs. Dependent

Just wrapped up my first “Business of Independent Film” workshop this weekend. I loved doing it and have decided to offer it again November 21 and 22. I wanted to share just a few things I covered in the workshop and a few other things that have come to my attention this week.

Read the Whole Post...

September 18th, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 8

Cinema Law: Using a Song Title as Your Movie Title

Q: I have a conflict with the title of my movie and the title of a famous song; let’s just say it’s “Free Fallin.’” Neither the movie’s content/storyline, nor the title of the movie itself have a reference or connection to the song lyrics at all, besides the fact that the title is the same. The title is a common phrase that is used, but I’m afraid that if I name my movie as I want to, that I will get into trouble as far as copyrights. Can you tell me how likely I am to be sued for copyright infringement if I use a title that coincidentally is also the name of a famous song?

Read the Whole Post...

September 15th, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Gregory Gabriel

Comments: 20

Adventures in Self-Releasing: Streetballers & Weather Girl

Today I thought I would bring in two other moviemakers who have decided to self-release this year. Both have had significant success on the festival circuit and are two of the most dedicated and hard-working people I know.

Read the Whole Post...

September 11th, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 2

Cinema Law: Using Footage for a School Project

Q: I want to have my school class make a virtual online art exhibition as a class project. Can they legally use a few seconds of footage from various art films and/or magazine or book images of art on the school's Website?

A: The purpose of copyright law is to promote creativity by providing legal protection for “works” that have been “fixed in a tangible medium.” By law, a copyright owner is given the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform and publicly display the copyrighted work. The art films, magazines and book images that you reference in your question are “works” that would be entitled to copyright protection, meaning that if those works were copied or reproduced without the owner’s permission, then the owner could sue for copyright infringement.

Read the Whole Post...

September 8th, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Jeremiah Reynolds

Comments: 6

Adventures in Self-Releasing: Self-Distribution Survey

It’s been a quiet week. I’m back in Shreveport as I wait for another wave of Lullaby activities (festivals, releases, etc.) to begin soon. This week, I figured I’d turn my blog over to you readers. You’ve often asked me questions and I’ve often expressed my opinion. Now, I’d like to gain your perspective on a few things. It’s my hope that many of you will chime in on some of the questions below in the comments section (and with each of your responses, it would be great if you also included a list of your 10 favorite moviemakers):

Read the Whole Post...

September 4th, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 11

Cinema Law: Big Star, No Money

Q: I’m an independent moviemaker currently in development on a new project. We are speaking to a pretty well-known star but don’t have the budget to necessarily pay the actor up front, so he’s requested we pay him on the back end with participation fees, residuals, etc. However, what if my movie doesn’t do well or doesn’t ever see distribution? How do I ensure that I don’t get sued by the talent? What can I do to protect myself from this?

Read the Whole Post...

September 2nd, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Chad Fitzgerald

Comments: 14

Advertisement

' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . '

'; } ?>