costs.....
 

My deal involved a shoot (two man - two cams) for an orphanage stage production used for financial promotion. The basic costs were tapes, beta master, 20 vhs copies and a number of Quicktime movies on CDs. It was a 3 day edit.
My situation was not exactly structured like yours but I figured something like a 50-50 situation in the end was how it was going to work out. So, your quesstimation is about right.
Whenever you do something that's not really a money maker or going to have a wide audience, you can feel good because it was the right thing to do and shamelessly use the piece for self-promotion. That's what you get out of it.

Yeah I though about that - self promotion. Good ideas. Thanks,

<<<-- Originally posted by Scott Silverman : Dean,
When you give 30% to the organization, about how much did you charge or about what was your profit? Like I mentioned earlier, I am charging $15 per DVD and raw materials costs $4. Thats $11 profit and 30% of $11 is $3.30 which brings my pay for all my time and work down to $7.70. Does this sound about right to you? Thanks for you input! -->>>

So your costs are only $4 for a DVDF and case? What about your time? Time fo for the shoot, eidting, dvd setup and burn? If you only sell 1 dvd is $7.70 enough? If it takes more than an hour you'r already working for less than min wage. Sure self promotion is priceless. Did the school actually expect anything from the sales? Do they know that's your plan?

I know the school was not expecting anything, and I do feel like $7.70 is a little low, so maybe I will give them 15% or so. I think the only time I will do something like this is when the organization is non-profit (such as a school). People and companies are in the same position I am, but its good to benefit the nonprofit guys. Thanks.

what a world
 

For Boyd, Richard, Robert, RozeAnn,

So, if I had only a verbal agreement with the counselor in charge of a high school graduation to shoot the ceremony (which included students singing popular songs) and sell copies, without all the aforementioned signed releases I could get sued? I know of a company that does this all the time. It's their livlihood! Are they playing with fire, or are lawsuits of this nature relatively rare?

"it could be a real can of worms for you"

I hear this expression a lot. It should refers to using a cans of worms for fishing in its entirety. A lot of my corporate weenie friends use this phrase, but I know the closest they've ever been to fishing is a watching Bass Master on TV. Unused worms usually don't survive a fishing trip, so you have to use them all or throw them in the water when you're done. If you decide to open a new can of worms, you'll be fishing for a lot longer. I'm not sure if anyone ever canned worms. I certainly didn't.

Generally....
 

It's good to get releases from the Principal as well as anyone performing. As for the songs, I guess you are talking a chance. I don't believe any music company will come after you if the event is Non-profit but.....ya never know! My understanding is that the school has to get permission from the music companies if the video is broadcast. This is usually a "courtesy of" situation. That means the video company is supposed to get a signed release for the songs. A lot hinges on what's done with the piece. There is a set of release forms and other info on the net at various sites under the heading independent film making and legal obligations. Check them out.

Thanks, Dean.

I'll take that advice, along with the earlier satire from G.K., and relax.

When I videotaped and edited a dance school's performance, they paid me to do it. The school gave a quantity they wanted in VHS and DVD. I delivered that amount, and they paid me the agreed price. What they sold them for was up to them. Paying copyrights or fees was up to them. This may or may not be the technically correct way to handle these things, but I'm comfortable with it.