Today I was asked to work for free...

[hscully]

Can deduct for goods only? I read that as "bring all your crap to every shoot!"

I was talking about the cost as a tax deduction from my corporate taxes as an "in kind" contribution to a non-profit. So if I were to do work for them, at least I could deduct the service, but, as Ryan points out, no you can't. You can only deduct goods not services. I think rent on equipment would fall under a service and so you can't deduct that either.

 

[jghenderson]

I'm not understanding how this makes you look good. He was very straight forward and honest (though probably should have mentioned it would be free in his initial advertisement) , and you decided to turn it into a joke. If you have a problem with his offer, you should just politely walk away instead of being a jerk. The fact that you posted it on here expecting all of us to applaud you for your antics is even more bizarre.

 

[Josh Bass]

Guess i dont understand what "goods" would mean in this context. Itd be stuff you donated permanently to the production? Food, props, etc?

 

[Paul F]

... He was very straight forward and honest ...

Hardly. He thinks that Dimitriz' material is dark. Yet he failed to mention this concern nor did he mention that it was a religious project. If he was straightforward, both of those points should have come out right away. On top of that is the big failure to mention there is no pay. These things should have been presented early in the conversation.

He wasted Dimitrz' time by not being upfront about these important points.

 

[RyanT]

Guess i dont understand what "goods" would mean in this context. Itd be stuff you donated permanently to the production? Food, props, etc?

Great question! You should probably ask an accountant. I just know that when I asked mine she said those exact words in reference to donating my time to a production. I do wonder that if you brought gear if that means you could write off the rental, I doubt it, but worth looking into.

 

[Josh Bass]

I would have to say that unless you are brand new to the whole game, you are intentionally being vague/deceptive by not putting somewhere, somehow, in your ad that its no pay. Probably the first thing any of us wonder about when dealing with ads/new clients. Safety, ethics come after...first thing is needing to know whether its a waste of my time listening/reading any further (if youre not looking to work for free).

 

[dmitrizigany]

Well, I think it was mostly the religious part (combined with wanting it for free) that rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I was a bit of a jerk making a joke out of. But it was also a bit of a test to see how he reacted to it, if he had a sense of humour or not. He could have ignored it or told me to **** off. But then the reply came totally ignoring my mail just stating more things he needed (for free). For example, batteries to last for 8 hours for camera and monitor. That made him come off as some megalomaniac wanna-be-director who thought he has God on his side. I then posted that I'd do if he got me the batteries, as a way to show him the cost of the things he's wanting for free (he also wants a "rig" and a steadicam). Maybe now he's realising the scale of what he wants for free and understands that he has to pay something to have it done. Then all power to him, and I'll be the first to say I'm sorry for being a jerk.

 

[David W. Jones]

Can deduct for goods only? I read that as "bring all your crap to every shoot!"

What this means is for example.... You shoot 20 hours and edit for 10 hours, then deliver the finished video on 30 DVDs.

You will be able to deduct the cost of the 30 DVDs.

 

[Josh Bass]

Bah, well thats no good...now im PAYING for the privilege of doing a freebie.

 

[ugafan]

so we have a religious cheapskate trying to convince a non-religious condescending jerk to film in exchange for some batteries. i can't wait to see this masterpiece.

 

[Paul F]

Ok, that's a good log line. Can someone write the treatment?

 

[Terry_Lasater]

Elle, oh, Elle!

 

[ugafan]

for the leads i'm picturing kirk cameron and jim parsons.

 

[dmitrizigany]

If Jim Parsons is in it I'll shoot it for free

 

[jghenderson]

Well, I think it was mostly the religious part (combined with wanting it for free) that rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I was a bit of a jerk making a joke out of. But it was also a bit of a test to see how he reacted to it, if he had a sense of humour or not. He could have ignored it or told me to poo poo off. But then the reply came totally ignoring my mail just stating more things he needed (for free). For example, batteries to last for 8 hours for camera and monitor. That made him come off as some megalomaniac wanna-be-director who thought he has God on his side. I then posted that I'd do if he got me the batteries, as a way to show him the cost of the things he's wanting for free (he also wants a "rig" and a steadicam). Maybe now he's realising the scale of what he wants for free and understands that he has to pay something to have it done. Then all power to him, and I'll be the first to say I'm sorry for being a jerk.

Sorry, but in my book it makes you a jerk if you decide to play games with someone just because you disagree with the type of work they are doing. You don't like his beliefs, fine. But in that instance you really should just say "sorry this isn't for me, good luck with your project". I understand very well the frustration of producers that won't/can't pay, but you don't have to respond the way you did just because you think his beliefs are dumb.

 

[Finn Yarbrough]

so we have a religious cheapskate trying to convince a non-religious condescending jerk to film in exchange for some batteries. i can't wait to see this masterpiece.

This made me laugh. I was going to say that, based on the evidence we have been presented, this producer will likely "get what he paid for" at any rate.

 

[Jason Ramsey]

It doesn't seem like there is an outstanding question or request for advice here, so I am going to close this one down before it gets more out of hand. We have no religion, no politics rules in place here. We are a global community of many languages, and many religions (and non-religion). We are here to support one another, help each other learn, and pass on our experiences in the industry. It appears that this *should* be a discussion about taking/not-taking non-paying work, but it kind of got off on the wrong foot to begin with.

Religion and politics are things we don't care to have discussed on this site, as it is largely irrelevant to the goals and intention of this site, and people don't register here because they want to talk about politics or religion. There are plenty of good places for that type of discussion to take place. We are not one of those places. We are a community of filmmakers, aspiring filmmakers, videographers, hobbyists, etc. Let's try to stay focused on that.

Thanks.