Legal Guide
Separated Rights for Screenwriters & Producers
What the WGA Returns to Writers After Copyright Transfer — And What Producers Need to Know Before They Promise What They Don’t Own When a screenwriter sells or options a screenplay to a studio or production company, they transfer the copyright. The company owns it. The writer has been paid. That is the standard deal.…
Educational Article
What Christopher Nolan’s Location Problem Teaches Indie Filmmakers About Location Agreements
Christopher Nolan filmed part of The Odyssey in an occupied territory. And there’s a production legal problem here that nobody’s talking about. In the summer of 2025, Nolan’s production spent four days filming near Dakhla — a coastal city in Western Sahara that has been under Moroccan occupation for fifty years and is designated by…
Legal Guide
Film Location Agreement Guide: What Every Indie Filmmaker Must Know Before You Shoot
Filming somewhere without a location agreement is one of the most common legal mistakes in indie film and one of the most expensive to fix after the fact. A location agreement is not just permission to film on someone’s property. It is a legally binding document that defines who owns the right to grant that…
Legal Guide
Work-for-Hire for Filmmakers: The Complete Indie Guide to Owning What You Paid For
This guide is written for indie filmmakers, producers, and creative teams who are hiring editors, composers, designers, or crew—and want to make sure they actually own the work they’re paying for, from rough cut to final master. What Work-for-Hire Really Means Most filmmakers think ownership is a matter of common sense: “If I paid for…
Legal Guide
Non-Union Actor Contract Template: What It Must Cover
Most indie film productions work with non-union talent. SAG-AFTRA agreements come with specific obligations, rate requirements, and union oversight — and for many micro-budget, student, and independent productions, working non-union is the practical reality. That doesn’t mean going without agreements. A non-union actor contract still needs to cover the same fundamental issues as any performer…
Educational Article
How Film Revenue Waterfalls Work: A Real Example for Indie Producers
Every filmmaker who raises money for a production will eventually face this question: when the film makes money, who gets paid first? The answer is the revenue waterfall — the sequence in which money flows from a film’s gross receipts to the various parties who have a claim on the production’s earnings. Most first-time producers…
Backend Participation in Indie Film: What to Offer Each Role
A producer asked me recently whether offering 5% backend to their lead actor was too much. I asked one question first: “5% of what?” That question matters more than the percentage. Because 5% of a clearly defined net profits waterfall with audit rights and a gross corridor is a real offer. And 5% of ‘whatever’s…
Educational Article
Film Location Agreement Template: What Must It Include?
A film location agreement is the written permission that gives a production company the right to film at a specific location and use that footage in the finished film, trailers, promotional materials, and all other exploitation of the picture. Without a signed location agreement, the property owner retains the right to object to how the…
Educational Article
Do I Need an Operating Agreement for My Film LLC?
Yes. And filing Articles of Organization alone isn’t enough. Most filmmakers who form an LLC for their production focus on the filing — registering the entity with their state, getting an EIN, opening a bank account. That’s the visible part of the process. What gets skipped is the Operating Agreement — the document that actually…
Educational Article
Gaffer Agreement for Indie Film: What Must It Include?
The gaffer is the head of the lighting department on a film production. They design and execute the lighting plan in collaboration with the director of photography, supervise the electrical crew, manage equipment, and ensure every setup is safe and achievable within the production schedule. Despite this level of responsibility, gaffer agreements are one of…
Production Designer Agreement
The Production Designer is responsible for the world your audience sees. From sets and locations to props and visual tone, production design shapes the look and feel of your film in a way that directly impacts storytelling, continuity, and audience perception. But despite how central the role is, most indie productions rely on generic crew…
Costume Designer Agreement
Wardrobe does more than dress your characters—it defines them. From continuity across scenes to how characters are perceived on screen, costume design is a core part of storytelling. But the legal side of hiring a Costume Designer is often treated like an afterthought. That’s where productions run into problems. Most indie filmmakers rely on generic…
