Need Advice on Music Vid PreProd

chriselkins wrote on 11/1/2002, 2:51 PM

I am just beginning talking with a local Dallas band about creating a music vid with them. (www.purpleoverdose.com) I went and listened to them the other night, and they really didn't suck. They may even be "going somewhere". This will be, yet, another freebie in pursuit of a decent demo reel and personal exposure! (Someday...someday before I'm 80 I'm gonna get paid for this! I can just FEEL it!) What I'm looking for are pointers to sites or topics that cover the things that will pop up along the way that maybe I'm not considering right now...legal working agreements, who owns it when it's done and that sort of thing. I've never made a music vid, so if you have and you have one of those: "I wish someone would have told me about...." experiences, I'd love to hear what advice you may have.

Thanks everyone!
Chris
www.chriselkins.com

Comments

Tyler.Durden wrote on 11/1/2002, 9:08 PM

Hi Chris,

Whatever deal you make, I suggest you get it in writing... good writing. I've seen great concepts get tanked and good people burned by poorly written agreements.

That said, you might strike a deal where you just get paid for the production/post or a deal where you put-up some production costs, and get the duplication work at an agreed price.

For a band, I'd go with the first, and offer other services like dubbing and web-placement. I'd beware the "spec-work" agreement, unless you get a written, enforcable agreement on the next gig for good pay.

In most cases, your efforts are "work for hire" and you retain no rights. If you contribute artwork or stock-footage, etc., you might want to make sure you retain you copyright on those materials, explicitly stated in writing.

You might also want to make sure you get written releases from *everyone* in the video prior to shooting, to avoid 11th-hour holdouts, re-negs and fussy-types who hate their hair.

HTH, MPH

sonicboom wrote on 11/2/2002, 7:56 AM

my advice with bands is pretty good
i was in one
i was the worst drummer in history!!!
and our band was not far behind
but i had a blast---for the few months we were together
that said, most every band has good intentions---except for one thing--they lack funds
i have seen bands promise things left and right----number of people at the door, promotion, advertisements, radio spots on local stations, etc. and they don't come thru---that's why places make the bands have to sell a certain amount of tickets if they want to play the gig---and if they can't sell the tickets, it comes out of there pocket.
i don't blame the bars or the bands

they are "musicians" not savy business people
most bands are in there twenties and clueless about contracts, etc.
of course there are the exceptions

anyway, i have shot a few music videos and i have made some just by bringing my camcorder to a friends bar
i shot the band---for like 4 songs--i went on the stage, behind, close up on drummer, guitar, singer, crowd shot, name of band, light board, sound equipt, crowd shot
then i went to varioous places in the crowd and got shots of the band
then i got people dancing
i mixed it all up and made a pretty good music video

i never got paid one cent and i made dvd's for the bands
it was (is) fun
i don't know what they would have paid me, but i'm sure it wouldn't have been much
****a contract like marty said is a must!!!
make sure all members of the band sign it and have a witness too
make sure everyone gets a contract---all originals--- so if there are 4 members in the band-make up 5 contracts, have everyone sign all 5
this way all of you get an original
my advice---just have fun
it'll take you days to edit---
also, if you are charging money for the gig -- make sure you get it uo front
if you don't get the money upfront---you might not get it
on the other hand, that might not be so bad because when you sue the band, you will be able to show your video production skills on the peoples court.
and you never kow who might be watching
good luck
sbsbsbsbsbsb

chriselkins wrote on 11/4/2002, 10:21 AM

Thanks for the info Marty & SonicBoom! I really don't care about the money to do it right now. I already told them I wouldn't charge for any of the production or post. I just want to do it basically for the experience, and because Dallas has a yearly contest for music vids and selected participants get their work put on a distributed DVD. I think I could make something worthy of being on the next one. I would want to be able to secure distribution rights, and would want to be able to "sell" the finished version to whomever for whatever. In return for making the video, I would give them the rights to do whatever they wanted with it except "sell" it. I would want to keep that right exclusive to me. Does this sound like a reasonable agreement? Basically what it amounts to is I would be the "owner", but I would give them back the video to do whatever they wanted with it as a promotional tool. The base I'm trying to cover is what I would do if, in the future, they became big and suddenly this video became very valuable. Does that make sense?

Tyler.Durden wrote on 11/4/2002, 10:35 AM

Hi Chris,

That sounds fine. I suggest making absolutely certain you have releases so nobody can stall you. The release should expressly state that others have no claim, and you have permission to market/exhibit the footage at your sole discretion.

In this case, you might consider never releasing the master to anyone, and oversee all duplication, even if others are paying for it. You might charge a nominal fee (over cost) for the duplication.

You might also make sure that your copyright is visible on the case/labels and at the tail of the video.

There's other stuff, but that is the basic idea.

Regards, MPH