Jason Vong

I live in the states, so volunteering is a-okay... I hope... Anyway, I have already told the actors that they will be doing this on volunteer basis, but I just wanted to be extra careful. Here's something I drew up: VOLUNTEER RELEASE FORM I, ____________________________, hereby acknowledge that I am participating as an actor in a student made short film called “(title)” (the “Project”) being produced by (production name) (the “Producer”). I hereby irrevocably grant to the Producer, its licensees, agents, distributors, successors and assigns, the right, but not the obligation, in perpetuity throughout the world and in all media, now or hereafter known, to use (in any manner it deems appropriate, and without limitation) in and in connection with the Project, by whatever means exhibited, advertised or exploited: • "Behind the scenes" footage/photos/recordings of me shot on or around the production set or at any other Project-related meetings or activities • Any suggestions and/or ideas I contribute to the Project • My name in relation to the Project I understand that I am working entirely on a volunteer basis and that Producer is not promising me any compensations, ownership or attachments to the Project. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Producer agrees to accord me standard credit on versions of Project distributed with other crew credits. I attest that I have voluntarily agreed to participate in all parts of this production, and that this document contains my entire and complete agreement concerning the topic herein. If, for any reason, that I am injured in any way, I will not hold the Producer reliable. All disputes, controversies, or claims arising out of or relating to this contract shall be submitted binding arbitration in accordance with the applicable rules of the American Arbitration Association then in effect. By signing below, I have read and agreed to all the statements above. Name (printed): ____________________________________ Signature: ____________________________________ Date: ____________________________________ Address: ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Telephone: ____________________________________ is this good enough? or shall i need to add more?

Hello everyone, I recently posted an ad on Craigslist looking for actors for my short film. I listed in the ad saying that we cannot compensate them in any way because we, ourselves, are students. We are preferably looking for new, starting out actors who are students like ourselves too. With that being said, is it still wise to draw up a contract? If so, what grounds do I need to cover in the contract to keep us safe from any legal issues of any sort? So far, I can think of one, which is "No Compensation" which is, in other word, VOLUNTEER. Thanks in advance! - Jason

Brian, thank you for the reply and laying it out there for me. You're right about us trying to go find something ourselves and improve our skills from there before actually running a business with hardly any experience. We will hold off on our freelancing business for now and focus on looking for projects that we can be of help in any way. Also thank you, everyone for your replies. I will keep these tips in mind. - Jason

Thank you for those who responded! I don't plan to keep working free forever. What I'm really aiming for are networking and connections. This summer will be for starters. Then after summer, once I get comfortable and gain some experience, I will begin to charge for my services. I understand that by working for free, I'm taking work away from real professionals. I dont want that to happen. I'm just looking to do small productions, for people who can't really afford professionals now, especially with the economy being like this. I specify that we are new at this so it will be at their own risk if they hire us. And we won't be technically working for free since we are asking to be fed. But overall, some of you are highly suggesting that we shouldn't say we are working for free? We should atleast put down we will work on a deferred payment plan? - Jason

Hello there, I have been lurking around the forums for quite some time now and picked up a lot of helpful information. So I want to thank you all for that! Let me get right to the point. A few friends and I (college students) would like to do a little freelance work around our area at no charge. We are doing this for experience because we are still relatively new in this area and want to network as much as possible. We were wondering if anyone could offer some tips and advices on freelancing. In addition to that, since we are offering our service at no charge, would it be wise to draw up a contract anyway? We don't have much knowledge on any of the legal issues so we don't know how much we have to cover on the contract to keep us safe. Any guidance on this would be great. Also, let me attach the ad we are going to post on Craigslist: Thanks in advance! - Jason