Anyone Can Do It!

This past month I’ve dabbled back into web site building. Having learned HTML from the ground up, when the Internet was brand new, I’ve had my battle scars with web site building. For a few years I dropped out of the scene, as every kind of new language appeared and it became cumbersome to keep up. I was severely discouraged - until now.

Now there are so many free tools to help someone build a website that there is no excuse to not put one up – especially if you need one for business. Wordpress has become the hottest program out there for this adventure. 

If you are unsure about this, let me give you the best hand holding experience EVER! Tyler Moore specializes in teaching people how to create websites and you can watch the lessons on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jv47_VIBOQ.

Of course, it takes time and sometimes it’s frustrating when things don’t work right, but it is so much better than having to learn all of the programming. Tyler even puts his phone number on his video, so you can call him if you get stuck.

Another awesome thing I found are free graphics. Of course there are many sites that offer “free” graphics, but don’t really. It all has to do with copyright and royalties. Most graphic artists want you to pay for their graphics, if you are going to use them on a business page. Generally, personal pages and education related pages get a better deal than trying to find good graphics for business websites.

Dryicons.com offers free graphics with only the catch of putting in a word of who created the graphics on your page. That is a wonderful deal! Who wouldn’t want to give credit to someone who is so generously providing professional quality graphics?

GRsites.com offers free background images. They offer so many different ones; surely anyone could find something they like.

Take these tips and go out there and CREATE! Get your site up and share with the world the wonderful YOU.

What Will We Speak?

Have you ever considered the progression of our ability to communicate? Ever wonder if we will replace words with our own creative outpourings? It seems the future is getting closer – if you think like that. It is easy to create now – whether by word, picture or film. Being able to publish anything from a book to a film has been opened up to the masses by the digital age.  No longer are there restrictions such as being “found” by an agent. Anyone can publish, isn’t that great news?

I see our souls as creative entities and our shining of what’s inside will be so much more easily broadcasted to the world, if that’s what we want. No longer will it be a select few that will entertain and inform us. We will be able to do it ourselves. Think of how many more bright lights will be shared in the world.

What am I talking about? If you are lost, I apologize. I am talking about the new form of publishing that is easy to access and easy to do. These are called Print on Demand Sites (PODS) on the Internet. PODS make it possible for YOU, yes, YOU to CREATE! Create a book and publish it – no problem, or a CD of music or even a film! It’s really wonderful! You can do it all, on some of the sites, or you can upload something you’ve made in another setting.

As I’ve been looking around this past week, my favorite so far is CreateSpace. On CreateSpace.com you can create a book using their software and their site. They will give you a quote as to how much it will cost to print and ship it, so you can keep a tally of the cost as you create. It’s really nice!

My second favorite is CafePress. Ever wanted to make your own dishes, clothing and calendars with your photos? Now you can! It’s really not too expensive, either. I was investigating a Nook sleeve and created one with my cat’s picture. What fun! Expressing yourself has never been easier or more fun! CafePress offers all kinds of products to personalize, so have a look! Maybe you need a new bumper sticker – or a personalized picture to hang on the wall. They have it all!

I hope you find this type of service as inspiring as I do. It has given me such a feeling of freedom and excitement. Now I can “publish” a book and brag to my friends. (Of course I will encourage then to do the same!)

Entertainment Law: A Crucial Part of Filmmaking

One of the most crucial parts of filmmaking is understanding the legalities involved in the process. Intellectual Property and Copyright laws are two main areas of Entertainment Law related to the business of filmmaking.

A wonderful resource for hearing the most current cases regarding Entertainment Law are the podcasts put out by Gordon P. Firemark, Esq. and Tamara Bennett on Entertainment Law Update on the site of www.entertainmentlawupdate.com.

Also, Suffolk University in the Boston area showcases law podcasts through Itunes, which are very helpful in understanding IP and Copyright law. They are called the “Intellectual Property Law Podcast Series” by Suffolk University.

I found these podcasts to be very interesting and helpful in understanding some of the issues facing the media production companies and filmmakers today.

First, I listened to Professor Andrew Beckerman-Rodau, a former Patent attorney and now professor at Suffolk University. He lectured on the “IP Law Concentration”, which covers what IP Law is and how it has evolved over the years.

This podcast was helpful in understanding how the areas of IP law have progressed due to the expansion of intellectual property, due to the increase in technology. He states that most companies now have more intellectual assets rather than physical assets, whereas it used to be the opposite. This observation is astute and poignant when considering the impact of the IP laws on the creation of anything in the media, whether film, photo or music. Knowing how to protect the creation of art is fundamental to being able to produce films and media in this day and age.

Secondly, the podcasts produced by Gordon Firemark, Esq. are very interesting. He goes over the recent cases on Entertainment Law and if there has been an opinion granted from the courts. The podcasts listened to were:

Episode 43: http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com/2013/08/episode-43-no-copyright-sherlock/

Episode 28: http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com/2012/02/episode-28-political-campaigns-combat-helicopters-and-batmobiles/

Episode 43 had a relevant topic in regards to film on the case of Faulkner Literary vs. Sony Pictures Classic. The Faulkner estate was suing Sony for using a phrase out of Faulkner’s work, which was quoted in a Woody Allen picture, “Midnight in Paris”. They were being sued over a line, which incorporated a total of 9 words. The judge ruled that it wasn’t copyright infringement.

This case is one that is addressed quite often, it seems. Using other peoples’ works in a film can cause a case of being sued for copyright infringement. Knowing how to obtain rights and permissions would be the first way to alleviate this occurrence from happening. Having an Entertainment Attorney involved in the process would be the second best way to avoid lawsuits over copyright infringement. It can be a tricky area and having a solid foundation when creating the media is key to success.

Episode 28 had one relevant topic that stood out to me. They had as a guest, a Canadian Entertainment Lawyer present for the podcast to discuss the differences between American IP Law and Canadian IP Law. This was fascinating, as there seems to be more and more films being created between the U.S. and Canada. It is helpful to understand what their laws are like compared to ours in this area.

Bob Taratino, the Canadian Entertainment Lawyer discussed how the IP laws are different than ours in the area of moral rights. The artist has more say over how their work is used in Canada because of the moral rights aspect. They can tell someone, “No, you may not use my work,” and that is the end of it. Although, Gordon Firemark brought up a good point on how Canadian Law does not have reach in America. If it is law in Canada, it does not supersede the laws here.

For example, Mitt Romney asked the Canadian artist, Kid Rock, if he could use one of Kid Rock’s songs in his campaign. Kid Rock said no. Mitt Romney acknowledged this and didn’t use the song. In the U.S., Mitt Romney could have pursued a license for public performance; therefore he did not have to ask the artist for permission to use the song.

            I found these podcasts to be most informative. I recommend these podcasts to anyone in the Entertainment field, as they are very helpful and informative. It is a convenient and easy way to keep up to date with what is happening in the courts in regards to Intellectual Property laws.

Entertainment Law: Cases in the Industry

Intellectual Property and Copyright cases are common in the Entertainment industry. This blog will review three cases and determine the opinion from a student's perspective.
The first case deals with stealing of intellectual property of a film.

Hollywood Reporter states:

       “ Two years ago, shortly before The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn was released, Summit Entertainment made a fuss over an Argentinian hacking group that allegedly broke into its computer servers and obtained copyrighted material. The studio, now a subsidiary of Lionsgate, identified Daiana Santia as the perpetrator of efforts to circulate photos, unfinished images and video of Breaking Dawn.

     The lawsuit was to recover damages for copyright infringement for Summit films. The servers were allegedly hacked by the named perpetrators and images were shared before the films release date. Summit pursued damages as is their right under copyright protection in the United States.  Unfortunately, the courts did not agree with Summit's claims and the case was denied.” (Hollywood Reporter) 

Opinion: Even if Summit took two years to bring charges against the perpetrators, there is still a case. This piracy, whether in the United States or elsewhere should be adjudicated. Letting people hack into servers first of all and letting them get away with piracy is unthinkable. This is the crux of the piracy issue. What protection do film companies have if anyone can access their work illegally and distribute it without retribution. I think the case should have been in favor of Summit Entertainment.
The second case is from Hollywood Reporter:

“Will a new "Dungeons and Dragons" film be made by Warner Bros. or will it be made by Universal Pictures? A legal game is afoot to settle the answer.

Courtney Solomon's Sweetpea Entertainment believes that it can set up a movie for Warner Bros. In 1994, Solomon's company acquired D&D film rights in a deal with Hasbro and has since made one theatrical motion picture and two TV films. It was eyeing a fourth D&D film for Warner Bros., but before a deal was completed, Hasbro filed a lawsuit to stop it.

In its May lawsuit, Hasbro claimed that Sweetpea's rights had reverted. Believing that it had regained rights, Hasbro licensed Universal Pictures to make a "Dungeons and Dragons" reboot, and upon word of another D&D film in development, the toy company alleged that Sweetpea had committed copyright infringement. “ (Hollywood Reporter) 

Opinion: This case signifies the importance of knowing who has the copyright before going ahead with production in a film company. Somehow these two entities were working as if each of them owned the copyright. The article claims that the contract is ambiguous and not clear. Therefore, it would be pertinent to have clear language in any contract where copyright is assigned. 

The third and last case from Hollywood Reporter’s website:

“A Colorado judge has put another stamp on the cursed history of Stan Lee Media.

The company founded by Stan Lee in the mid-90s has been waging war in courts around the country ever since it emerged from bankruptcy a decade ago without valuable franchises like Fantastic Four, X-Men and Spider-Man.

SLM has attempted to hold various parties responsible for that fate, including Lee, including Marvel, and last but not least, Disney.

Last October, SLM filed a billion dollar lawsuit that alleged that Disney had committed copyright infringement on Lee's famous comic characters, "based upon Disney's independently actionable conduct which occurred after April 2009."

As we pointed out when the lawsuit was filed, the plaintiff figured to have a mountain ahead of them in getting beyond all the prior decisions in New York, California and Colorado courts that had gone against them.

Even though, SLM argued that this case was different than what came before, U.S. District Judge William Martinez disagrees.” (Hollywood Reporter)

Opinion: This case revolves around a copyright that was established in1998. Apparently it was not a strong case as Stan Lee Media has not been able to win even one of the court hearings regarding its allegations of copyright infringement. SLM has gone before courts for 10 years seeking copyright infringement on an agreement it had with Stan Lee back in 1998. The courts did not recognize this as a legitimate claim to the copyright, therefore did not agree with the case. 

When doing business in film, it is imperative to have clear agreements and contracts to make sure all creators’ rights are protected. This type of lawsuit could be avoided by having good contracts made up before work is produced and aired.

References

Breaking Legal News & Entertainment Law Blog - THR, ESQ.. (n.d.). The Latest Entertainment & Hollywood News - The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq

Meeting an Executive Producer

This summer brought me much joy when I was able to attend Denver's Comic Con. Amid the fun costumes and colorful characters everywhere, there was also a more serious side to the Con. The seminars. Thankfully, the seminars were not crowded and allowed the audience to interact with the speaker. Also, being smaller in size than San Diego's convention, it also allowed being able to meet the speaker after the lecture.

I attended a lecture given by Steven L. Sears, executive producer for Sheena and writer/producer for Xena: Warrior Princess. It was very informative and fun listening to Mr. Sears relate his experiences in Hollywood to us.
One of the things that stands out most was his advice to move to L.A. He stated that living there is the only way to rub elbows with the movie industry and find projects to become involved with.

This is a summary of what he spoke about:

The Executive Producer controls everything, makes all the decisions and it’s extremely complicated. The job is full of a lot of compromise. Sometimes the staff will get an “us/them” complex, so it’s good to come out of the office and visit the set to interact with the people. It’s important for them to know who you are and that you are available to them.
He suggested we write something then produce it, as there is no other way to understand the process. It all starts with the writing.

He says the Executive Producer is the top of the heap and needs to know the whole process. It involves a lot of politics and understanding people. There will be creative and non-creative people to deal with. Knowing how to interact with people is important, but he stressed that honesty is the key. Not to bluff or be unfaithful to your own beliefs.

He told a story about how someone had tested whether he would stand up for his writing. It made him uncomfortable but he didn’t back down. Staying true to his work and creativity, the other person finally gave in and gave him the respect he deserved. He stressed that being true to yourself is very important. He also stated that being able to say “no” is very important and to mean it. Not to back down if you believe something and have to say no.

The last thing he said that stuck with me is that Producing is problem solving. Honestly, it sounds like a crazy job with a lot of things to do but it sounds so awesome! Bring it on!

Artist Management Basics

There seems to be a lot to being an Artist Manager. Some of the duties would include but are not limited to: promoting, building a fan base, booking shows, determining career moves, business deals and recording contracts. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Artist Managers do so much more. They make sure things run smoothly when the artist is on the road, on tour. Making sure the backstage rider is in place and the artist is comfortable and happy. They are the ones who make sure everything runs smoothly.

Artist Managers might have an accounting or business background, as they are usually the ones who work the business side of deals for the artist. It is recommended that the prospective Artist Manager consider taking college courses to be up to date on accounting and business practices.

Getting along with the artist is paramount to a good relationship. Some people consider the artist/manager relationship to function as closely as a marriage would. There has to be a basic groundwork of trust and respect to make it work. If either person breaks that trust, it would be very hard to reestablish the function of the working relationship. Both parties should go into a management contract understanding how important this relationship will be.

Before an artist hires a manager, they should work together informally for a time period agreed upon in order to get to know each other well. Without knowing your manager and his/her style, it would be hard to know whether you could trust this person completely. The manager should be willing and able to produce past references and be open about anything the artist would want to know before signing a contract.

Last and not least, the artist should hire legal counsel before signing any contract. He or she should invest in the legal consultation, as this will affect his or her ability to make money in the future. Going into contracts blindly can have very negative effects on the artist’s career, so this is a must.