You find an available short script... Now here's my question:

[Jay Rodriguez]

The writer is willing to let me film it without paying him anything, he just wants his writers credit in the film and a few copies of the final film. No biggie.

My question is this, the writer obviously owns the script but if I shoot it and produce it does that make me the owner of the film?

Thanks

 

[HorseFilms]

When you write up the contract for him to sign, make sure that's in there.

 

[Hairy Lime]

You *should* be the owner of the film, but you have to negotiate that with the writer. Most writers are more interested in a credit than owning a film. So yeah, put it in the contract.

 

[sean90291]

Without a contract, you're only the owner of the ORIGINAL ELEMENTS you created in the film (such as the cinematography if you were the cinematographer, the production design if you were the production designer, the music if you were the composer). You don't AUTOMATICALLY own anything just because you shoot it (except for the shooting itself). In some ways the director might own the smallest portion of a film of anybody, because often a director is someone who "oversees" other artists in achieving a vision. The vision might be attributed to the director, but the individual elements that contributed to the vision are owned by the individual artists...unless you get it in writing otherwise.

Remember that copyright (and a film itself) is actually a concept that refers to an entire BUNDLE OF RIGHTS. It's not just one right. So when a producer "owns a film" keep in mind what that means, i.e., you only own elements within that movie for which you have the paperwork to prove it. And if you do not OWN the story/script, then the writer does. So ifyou "own a film" (all elements) EXCEPT for the story (i.e., you don't have an agreement with the writer) then you can't actually do anything with the film, because WITHIN your film are rights you don't own, and the writer can block your distribution of the film. The writer cannot take your film and distribute it, because he doesn't own the moving images,or the original masters, or the cinematography you contributed. Similarly, any composers of music own that music in the film, and you'd have to change the music if you don't get either a whole assignment of all copyright or at least a license to use the music. Now, it's easier to take music out of a movie if you find you don't have the rights--you just replace it with something else. But it's IMPOSSIBLE to take out the script/story. So basically, if you don't have an assignment of all copyright, or at least a license to use the script, you are essentially the owner of a film you can do nothing with! You don't own ALL THE THINGS contained within the film. Even the actor owns their performance until you get the rights to it signed over.

You gotta get it on paper.