In this opinion piece Torsten Hoffmann warns 3D filmmakers about common pitfalls and gives advice about how to best position your film for global distribution. This is the first of a two-part article:
At the Korean I3DS event in December, I showed a slide entitled ‘Be Careful 3D Filmmakers’ and many producers approached me afterwards about the bulletpoint list and asked me specifics. So let me replicate/expand the 13 point list and explain in a bit more detail. Feel free to add your comments and stories in the comment section.
1. Good and not-so-good Film festivals and Competitions
Film festivals have always been the first place for filmmakers to present and promote their new films. There are many specialized 3D festivals, some of which we have sponsored, interviewed the organizers, and/or won awards. And I still firmly believe that awards makes the 3D distribution work easier. Not only can we achieve more deals but also higher license fees for awarded films in our catalog. In general I think it is a good idea to participate in as many festivals, both 3D and 2D as long as submission fees or material requirements don’t take too much of a toll on your team. However, I always urge filmmakers to read the terms and conditions very carefully. For example, one blogger uncovered some not-so-funny legalize in a recent 3D competition. Full story and original link here.
2. Fishy Contracts
Speaking of smallprint, let’s also discuss distribution contracts. Both our agent agreements and our licensing term sheets are 1.5 – 2 pages long. Anyone can understand it without hiring a lawyer. This makes life easy and both parties can spend more time on what they are supposed to do instead of revising contract drafts and cursing the MS Word functions for version tracking. We add a clause to our contracts that may be helpful to some readers here: “A more formal agreement may be prepared. Unless and until such an agreement is signed, this Deal Memo together with the latest available version of the IFTA Standard Terms and Conditions will be a binding contract between the parties.” The IFTA is a respected association and their terms and conditions are generally accepted as being fair (if anything, then slightly leaning towards the benefit of content owners). Now, obviously there will be cases where a strong negotiation partner forces you to sign their paperwork and you have no choice but to deal with their legal department. Yes, this happens and unless you are James Cameron or own a large 3D library you are probably in a weaker negotiation position. But concessions should be made only for the larger deals that are worth the extra time (or even hiring a lawyer). There are many more components in contracts than can be tricky but common sense usually helps. Don’t sign off rights for too many years (1-2 in most cases, 5-10 for Home Video). Don’t agree to jurisdiction in the country of Wadiya. Make sure that both acts of Gods and Satan are covered in the indemnification section. Things like that. It’s not rocket science. Really.
Special thanks to our source, Torsten Hoffman, 3D Content Hub, via 3D Content Blog.
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