Richard Herd
Forum Replies Created
-
Yeah, I’ve tried to do this through proper channels. Before the lawyer would even open up a negotiation, he required a $5,000 retainer. So we abandoned that project pretty fast.
-
You didn’t get the memo. They also have the Eisenstein Montage button, and also the French New Wave jump cut button.
-
but…you do not own the copyright (even partially) to a derivative work. He does. He owns it all.
I guess the point is he controls the property.
In your license agreement paragraph it might be wise to include your ability to distribute, what you can and can’t do. Can you send it out for coverage or do you need permission from the copyright holder? Can you solicit actor to attach to the property? Or do you have to sit on your hands and wait for the copyright holder to make a move? Let’s suppose you send it out for coverage. You spend money on this, so do you split the 50-50 out of the net or the gross? That is, do you get your money first and then you split what’s left over 50-50?
One good reason to talk to a lawyer, in my opinion has nothing do with legal expertise. Rather, it is because they pay for legal services like boilerplate contracts, and all the various details and scenarios are in those docs. In effect, they just copy and paste and reword the information relevant to the particular deal structure. It’s silly really.
-
Just to be clear: the work you collaborate on IS a derivative work.
-
Generally speaking, your friend owns the copyright to the work. You’ll want to look up stuff on derivative works. Somebody writes a novel. Somebody else writes the screenplay, and that’s the derivative work. The novelist also owns the copyright to the screenplay. License Agreements allow one party to use the original work as the derivative work.
My experience here is as a Director/Producer. I have an agreement with a playwright that allowed me to turn a story into a screenplay and a short movie. I spoke with the playwright’s agent for several minutes on this and the terms were non-negotiable. I also paid my attorney quite a bit of money to make sure I could keep the copyright to my movie, but it’s only marginal at best. If the playwright were to sue me, I’d lose. This would only matter, by the way, if I didn’t pay him his money (if it makes money, and it probably won’t…but here is to hoping!).
In the agreement we signed, my works are derivative works. The playwright retained copyright to his original work. I retained the copyright to the movie I made. I am restricted from making any other derivative works (like part 2). The agreement lasts for forever.
When I was writing coverage and pitching stories, I signed work for hire agreements and non-disclosure agreements, and retained story by credits and associate producer credits. These contracts expired after 1 year, and the authorship rights returned to me after 5 years.
An artist and I are writing a comic book, and we signed a collaboration agreement. This agreement lasts forever.
-
Funny you should ask. I just had an xray of my back and neck, some old wrestling injury flaring up. I can put it in a tube and mail it.
-
What form factor are you looking for? A traditional shoulder mount type camera, or a handheld camera?
For me, XLR inputs are very important. SONY HXR-MC50 has a minijack input.
-
[Artyom Zakharenko] “There is no such thing as ‘HD Lens’. That’s just a marketing tool, to make it sounds like a HD lens gives you higher resolution. It maybe has better glass, yes, which will give you a sharper image and better colours, but it has nothing to do with resolution when talking about lenses.”
Here is a great link: https://magazine.creativecow.net/article/the-truth-about-2k-4k-the-future-of-pixels
Unfortunately, Panavision appears to have pulled down the presentation entitled “Demystifying Digital Cameras.” In that presentation, Mr Galt explains Modulation Transfer Function (MTF). Which is the fancy term (and mathematics) of why the lens provides the resolution. It’s easy to emphasize picture size as resolution, but it is only a part of the story.
This month’s American Cinematographer Magazine has started a series on a similar topic regarding CMOS.
In some ways, “yes HD Lens is a marketing term.” But it’s a very important term because you would hate to purchase a lens designed for super 35mm and try to put it on your Sony HD camera. Basically, you’d have more lens than sensor. So HD Lens in practical terms means its optics match the sensor for which it is designed.
When you start comparing “the truth about 2K” with modulation transfer function, you can see lenses really are a case of you get what you pay for.
Zach, consider renting the cameras first, to make sure it’s a fit for you. You might also consider the Arri Alexa. Recall the picture has to go through post, too. So that pipeline ain’t always an easy or inexpensive fit either.
While I’m on the topic, be sure to ask an accountant about Return on Capital Employed. In order to make such a massive purchase profitable, a number of clients should be on the calendar. Otherwise, renting such high profile gear is a more business savvy position.
-
[Walter Soyka] “Think it’s too much to ask?”
Not at all.
How many folks do you think have been working on this, in silence, for how many years?