Chicago-Kent College of Law Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law All Faculty Scholarship Faculty Scholarship 9-1-2012 Crowdsourcing Indie Movies Henry H. Perritt Jr. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/fac_schol Part of the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons Recommended Citation Henry H. Perritt Jr., Crowdsourcing Indie Movies, (2012). Available at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/fac_schol/449 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Crowd sourcing indie movies Henry H. Perritt, Jr. 1 Table of Contents I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3 II. The project: make a feature-length movie ......................................................................... 4 A. Goals ................................................................................................................................ 6 1. Enlist productive collaborators ................................................................................... 6 2. Minimize capital requirements ................................................................................... 7 3. Make a good movie ....................................................................................................... 7 B. Getting organized ........................................................................................................... 10 C. Steps on the way to the screen ...................................................................................... 11 III. Use of crowd sourcing .................................................................................................... 13 A. Write the screenplay ................................................................................................... 16 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 16 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 21 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 22 B. Develop a shot list ........................................................................................................... 31 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 31 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 34 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 34 1 Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law. Member of the bar: Virginia (inactive), Pennsylvania (inactive), District of Columbia, Maryland, Illinois, Supreme Court of the United States. Professor Perritt is a playwright and screenplay author. He has written and produced three plays and three novels, and is engaged in shooting a movie. He appreciates significant contributions on content and expression from his research assistant, Jeremy B. Abrams. 1 C. Create storyboards .......................................................................................................... 35 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 35 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 36 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 36 D. Audition and select a cast .......................................................................................... 36 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 36 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 38 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 38 E. Interview and select a production team ...................................................................... 42 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 42 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 43 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 44 F. Location scouting and selection .................................................................................... 44 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 44 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 45 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 45 G. Raise money ................................................................................................................. 45 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 45 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 46 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 47 H. Develop a shooting schedule ..................................................................................... 47 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 47 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 48 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 48 I. Principal photography ................................................................................................... 48 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 48 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 51 2 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 51 J. Editing .............................................................................................................................. 52 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 52 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 52 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 53 K. Marketing, Promotion, and Sales ................................................................................. 55 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 55 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 60 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 63 L. Exhibition ......................................................................................................................... 63 1. The plan ........................................................................................................................ 64 2. Available sites and software ...................................................................................... 65 3. Business and legal issues ............................................................................................ 66 IV. Independent contractors and employees .................................................................... 68 V. Technology development agenda ................................................................................... 71 VI. Legal challenges .............................................................................................................. 74 I. Introduction The Internet-centered technology developments are revolutionizing the ways in which movies can be made. Independent (“indie”) moviemakers now have access to video capture technologies that can produce quality equal to the best that Hollywood can produce. The revolution already has produced an explosion of publically available video content on Internet sites such as YouTube. As the revolution evolves, quality of story and characterization will improve, offering consumers a wider variety of good entertainment.