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

I agree with Frank. Looking at it from a client's perspective, if a company/business needs a serious project completed, that Craig's List ad as written above isn't about to attract them. Time is valuable. Even if the "filmmakers" are free, other resources that are needed in front of the camera won't necessarily be. So to hope that these "kids" will get usable shots and edit the results in a quality way is a lot to ask.

 

The fact tends to be that water finds it's own level, meaning that inexperienced people won't be working on any project that demands experienced and qualified people. In other words, the ad will do the sifting for them and no working professionals will find themselves out of a paying job just because these aspiring filmmakers are offering their services free of charge.

 

 

Now, having said that, my advice to those gentlemen is to pull that ad if they want to really work on anything worthwhile. For starters, listing the equipment you own won't impress anyone. Most businesses won't know what most of that is anyway. If someone DOES know what all those names and numbers mean, it also means that they know that you're too inexperienced to trust with their project.

 

When you enter into any project, what IS important is what the purpose of it is... and that purpose will drive the equipment requirements. By listing the gear you do have will limit your client base to only clients with projects that will use that gear. What you want as a freelancer is to be flexible enough to work on ANY project, regardless of the gear you may or may not own. For instance, if all you have is a Super 8mm camera and all you're willing to work on are projects that need a Super 8mm camera, then you automatically knock yourself out of the running for any other kinds of projects. I could just as easily buy a van full of plumbing supplies and tell people that "Hey, I have a truck full of pipes and tools... I have no idea how to use any of it, but let me practice on your house. If it doesn't work out, then oh well. If it does, I still won't charge you." Do you think anyone in their right mind is going to let me into their home based on that pitch?

 

So, you first have to determine exactly what kind of projects you and your friends really want to work on regardless of any equipment you own. Don't let the gear drive your choices... let the projects you want to make drive the equipment choices. Once you hone in on whatever it is you want to create (music videos? Commercials? Narrative movies? Marketing interviews? Corporate videos? How-to's? etc...), approach clients as a "vendor" would, selling your "company" as a one-stop shop that will produce, shoot, and edit their project. If you and your friends don't know EVERYTHING you need to know in terms of skills, technical, and logistical requirements, you're not ready to put yourself out there as a Freelancer yet. What you SHOULD do instead is find a way to get on other people's projects to observe and learn. You and the friends can (and should) go out and produce your own projects using the lessons you learn from others, but until you really know what you're doing on a professional level, you shouldn't even consider putting yourselves out there. Of course at that point, you should have the skills and confidence such that you won't have to or want to give your services away for free. Ideally, you work for free on someone else's project in order to learn. But you don't helm anything for no money unless you A) know what you're doing and B) will be able to make some kind of money or large career move after investing your time and money into it.

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:

Hello there!

 

We are ~5 college students who are looking for something to film. It could be a short film you have in mind, a public service announcement, or even a music video! We will be glad to assist you in any way FREE OF CHARGE. Yes, as young upcoming filmmakers, we understand it's a big risk paying amateurs to do filming for you. That's why we want to work at no charge so that you could be at ease in case anything doesn't work out. Also, by working for free, we can build up a great portfolio as well as a name for ourselves. We believe the most important thing right now is networking and the big bucks will come in later. We will be working closely with you and guarantee 110% effort. Since we are not charging anything, we only ask that you keep us well-fed if the filming takes more than 3 hours. Nothing too expensive—pizzas or $1 Menu McDonald's will do just fine.

 

As of right now, we are still in school. During the month of May until mid-June, we will be collecting potential clients. This way, once summer starts for us, we can begin working with you immediately.

 

Below you will find the equipment we own as well as some of the films we have made so you can see where we are in terms of skill level.

 

Equipment:

 

Editing Softwarse:

 

- Adobe Premiere Pro (1.5/2) <-- handles SD work

- Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 <-- handles HD work

 

Cameras:

 

- Panasonic PV-GS500

- Panasonic PV-GS15

- Canon Vixia HF100 High Definition Camcorder

 

Sound Department:

- Rode Videomic

- Apex 175 Shotgun Condenser Microphone

- Olympus WS-110M Digital Voice Recorder

 

Tripods:

-Targus 58”

-Targus 71”

-Manfrotto

-Quantaray QSX MiniPro Plus Mini Tripod

 

Homemade additions:

-Expandable boom pole

-Three-point lighting kit

-Wagon

 

Films (we are still going to add more to this list:

- Once in a Lifetime: http://www.frugo.org/videos/frugo-producti...a-lifetime.html

- Turf War http://vimeo.com/3261697 (Sample of our HD Film)

 

 

If you find any use for us, feel free to drop an e-mail, and if possible, we will reply as soon as we can.

Thanks in advance!

- Jason