client threatens legal action re: music video - please advise

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mduron

New member
Hi, I have just conceived, shot and edited a music video for the son of a rich man.

We agreed a written concept. I sent them a shot list outlining every shot planned in the production schedule. We then sign a "slim" contract. I then went out and filmed exactly what was in the production schedule, then edited it and showed it to the singer and his parents. They suggested a few changes, which I then made and showed to the singer the next day.

Then I hear from the singer's manager, who was not involved until this stage, that the singer doesn't want the band in the music video, which has a story involving three actors, and then the band is intercut at four points through the music video - making up 50 seconds, almost 1/3 of the music video.

I then had a meeting with the singer and his manager and agreed on a possible way to fill in the 50 second gap from removing band by doing some additional shooting, which was not in the original production schedule.

I then try to contact the singer's father, who signed the contract and put up the money, to talk about my concerns - that I feel that it may be a mistake to take out the band and there's no guarantee that any additional shooting will work, i.e. fit in with the overall original agreed concept.

The father tells me he's not prepared to discuss it - that I should do the shooting or I won't get paid the final deposit for the music video + the small agreed extra for the additional filming, AND, that if I don't finish the additional filming, i.e. finish the music video as his son now wants, he will recover the money he has already paid me - plus costs - plus the threat that I shouldn't take him on.

My questions are:

1. can the father rightfully demand the money back from me, which he has already paid (70% of the agreed total) for me to make the music video, if he decides that they don't like it or they want to do something else?

2. Also, is he not obliged to pay the full amount agreed for, for the original shooting as per the original shooting schedule even if they decide they now don't like it or want to change the original concept?

I'm a little new at this and would appreciate any advice.

Kind regards,
Michael
film maker in NZ
 
Imo sounds like you're dealing with a rich kids brat and you're caught between a rocker and a hard place.

To get finished and paid you've got to fill in the 50 secs. Take the singer and his manager along to get approval for every shot, or show it to them
before you cut it. Bite the bullet, you might come up with something good.

But try and find out a few things, why does the singer want the band removed, what's their history? Have they been involved in a music video before?
How did it pan out, did the producer get paid? Hopefully that's not all negative. Start keeping detailed day by day notes.

If they don't pay you, have you got all the necessary to chase it? Will they bad mouth you around town?

Is that your real name there? Don't forget this is a public forum .. lots to consider good luck.

Cheers.
 
Your primary goal should be finishing the project, getting paid, and getting out of there. It's pretty clear through your description of the situation that none of the people you're dealing with are professionals, and when that's the case you can't be the type of person who is going to fight for the quality of the work you've put in because the other parties simply don't care. I understand that whatever you end up filling the 50 seconds with might not work with the other stuff you've shot -- but at this point you can't worry about it.

My advice to you is smile, be as accommodating as possible to their suggestions and requests (within the bounds of reason of course), get everything in writing, get it done and get out of there.
 
lots of views but noones sayin ****!
like the song says, get yourself a lawyer son, better get a good one.

the contract needs to be checked by someone qualified, and even if you're in the right, he can tie you up in court with enough money.

only listen to the advice of a qualified lawyer and do it soon.
 
Hi, unfortunately I just received an email from the father saying he's repudiating the contract and considering his legal position to recover his payments and costs.[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 
If he is rich, then legal action is a day to day activity for him. You need to get legal advice based on your contractual terms. It need not cost you too much, but If the band have a signed contract with a record company - even a small one, then the rights as to what can or can't be done are not clear. Ask your legal professional their opinion on what you should do, and follow their advice. This could be one of those jobs where the contract wording is critical - and doing further work may even add weight to the claim it was not done correctly in the first place. If you 'repair', you admit the original product was deficient. With rich people, you have to be very careful - for most of us, getting involved with this kind of pressure is a rarity, and their legal people do this kind of thing every day.
 
I don't mean any of this to be harsh, but to be clear. There are several lessons to take from this.

Arguing changes with the client because you don't agree with it artistically is a rookie mistake. You don't do that. It's their video; it's about what they want, not about your own vision. If they want to put pink kangaroos in it, well, that's what they want. It's a work for hire. You can give your opinion if they're open to it, but they want what they want, and that's it. Once they're final on what they want, you do that. Do it the best you can do it.

But the bigger mistake, the one that landed you in this trouble, was going behind the singer/manager's back and going to the father with these artistic concerns. The father could not possibly give a flip about the artistic content; he's just funding it for his son. Going to him, from his point of view, makes you look very unprofessional (because it is), and even deceitful. Definitely unreliable. He may well be a jerk who's raising a jerk in an extended family of jerks, but that's not your call when it comes to what you're hired to do. What he most likely sees -- and I don't mean to insult you by saying this, but just to describe his point of view -- is a whiny kid who won't finish what he's paid to do unless he gets his way.

Your call was really to bite your tongue and deliver what they wanted. Now, IF the changes were outside the contract and incurred additional expenses that weren't agreed upon, then you'd have something to go on concerning that. But simple artistic objections? Like I said, it's their project. What they want is what they want, and that's what you do.
 
Finish the video and get out of there. I had a neighbor who was rich. One of his hobbies was to sue people and make their lives miserable.
 
Have you handed over any hi - res footage?
If not hold it to ransom and give them nothing.
Let them edit and sell them the footage

If they don't pay you a cent you have no obligation to provide any footage.
 
tired said:
lots of views but noones sayin s*%t!
Click to expand...

I suspect there may be no replies here as the OP posted the same question in the Cafe section. Lots of helpful replies there.

Dunno if duplicate posts get deleted around here but might be a good idea.
 
Get legal advice. Armchair lawyers might completely mislead you, and for the record, I'm one of those armchair lawyers. I say again, get legal advice.

Having said that, I do have a couple of thoughts . . .

1 Whatever you do, be nice. A conciliatory letter saying how you value them as clients and you wish to complete the contract to their collective satisfaction might be all that's needed to defuse the situation. Offer to meet them to explore a way forward that satisfies all parties.

2 If I read the situation correctly, they've paid you a good chunk of change up front. If that's so, don't refuse to hand over what you've already prepared. Do that and you definitely have not fulfilled your contract conditions and leave yourself open to court action. Better that they owe you money so you have the prerogative to take them to court than the converse.
 
Last edited:
As long as you have a contract, did what you were contracted to do, there's no reason he should have any legal grounds to stand. It appears to me he's tying to strong arm you with empty threats In an attempt to get the product for less or free.

I would again try to talk to them, ask him what you can do to make it right with reasonable expectations. Also ask him how he would feel if he were in your shoes, and what he would do to make it right. Make him try to see it in a different light other than the way he views the situation. It may or may not work, but I find people are usually a bit more reasonable when they can see the other parties point of view. Not everyone has the ability, or would want to for the meare fact they know their scamming and looking to get something for nothing. If all else fails, let him know that if wants to sue you, you will be counter suing, and it's in both parties best interest to settle out of court.
 
Oh, sure, throw that lawyer thing in my face. Don't be concerned with that; I wasn't giving any legal advice. :)

But unfortunately, the OP is going to have to seek some of the paid kind.
 
David, standby for a load of PM s :) But you might be able to assist mduron by deleting this thread, once he has all of his replies.

If I can Google mduron and that's his name, so can the combatants. This thread comes up.

Cheers.
 
Sorry, David. :) I just find it awesome to have someone with your wide area of expertise roaming these grounds. :beer:
 
Hi, thanks for all your input. Much appreciated.

One other unfortunate aspect is that because I shot another music video a few weeks ago with the same actors, the father said that this renders his son's video commercially worthless. BUT, I did tell him before signing the contract, when we were deciding on the actors, that I had used them in my last music video and that they were good, so it would be good to use them, and he agreed to go ahead and use them.

The father has demanded I pay back the 6k he has paid me by this Friday or he will sue me. I emailed him last night suggesting a way to shoot additional footage in a way that will work as per his son's wishes, but he is past it, saying I defrauded him and I am a pretend music director - even though he contacted me to make the music video and I have never distorted my background in any shape or form, which is spelt on my website www.freehousestudios.com
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top