I am in need of some legal advice on actor agreements and music publishing rights for an independent film shot in the Philadelphia area. Can you recommend someone or an organization? I have heard of "Lawyers for the Arts" but I am not sure who or what that is. I have a $0 budget, but I realize legal advice is not free...so please keep that in mind when recommending someone.

Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (215) 545-3385 will give you a free consultation and then recommend an attorney who is qualified and may give you a good hourly rate for legal services. They also provide pro bono advice. To register with the org, for the referral and paperwork, there is a small fee- Something like $50. You can also contact them at PVLA, 251 S. 18th St. Philadelphia.

I am a recent arrival to Philly and am interested in finding out rental facilities for digital video cameras. Is this anything you can help me with?

Video Smith is the best place for rental of video cameras, although not cheap. Their phone number is (215) 238-5070. Their address is 100 Spring Garden. If you get involved with Scribe Video Center (i.e. takes a workshop), you can rent from them for independent, non-commercial projects.

back to top of page

I am looking for insurance, can you help?

Many members have worked with Ross Miller at DR Reiff & Associates. They are on the Internet for more info--just do a Google with DR Reiff and it comes up. Ask for Ross Miller. You can buy coverage for a single project, or even a year, it costs about the same. Expect to pay in the range of $2500 to $5000 for a doc project. This will allow insurance for rentals, location liability, auto, 3rd party auto, workers comp. E&O insurance is more, running in the range of $5000 and up. Another suggestion is John Cantrill of Cantrill, Clark & Hays, Inc. 15 Garrett Ave., Rosemont, PA 19010 (610) 527.6650.

I have been researching early Avant Garde filmmakers such as Deren, Brougton, Anger, Peterson, Markopoulos and Brackage. As far as Deren and Brackage, I have options to explore, but the others are tough. Anthology Film Archives in New York has a considerable collection. I want to see if there are any copies floating around in Philadelphia that I might find through PIFVA and its members. I want to view/rent/borrow any early Avant Garde work. I could make up a list if need be. Any suggestions would be fantastic.

Here are some ideas:
You can check TLA for a copy of "Anger". As well, you can reserve time at the Museum of Modern Art for work that they own. This is also true for the New York Public Library, Library of Congress and films in UPenn's collection (they have more than you'd think, check their catalog).

You can also call the following institutions for more suggestions:
George Eastman house in Rochester, NY
google each filmmaker's name
contact International House
You can also call the George Eastman house in Rochester, NY. Do a web search for each individual filmmaker's name; Contact the international house for suggestions. Call the University of Penn, and Temple U. Check TLA; Ask some of the other media instructors in the media dept at U Arts, specifically Peter Rose and Connie Coleman.
There was a recent (last 12mos) edition of the AIVF Independent that featured avant garde cinema. The bulk of folks in this area are in New York - curators and the like. There may be another curator or two rolling around. Check ICAF in West Philly and possibly with the Perlmutters. Older Avant Garde tends to be in the museum, rather than the theater.

I've got a show that needs VHS duplication and encoding for DVD duplication. Both Action Duplication and Laser Video do this work locally. Their prices differ by quite a bit. I'm wondering if people who have used these vendors might weigh-in on their experiences, particularly as it relates to the DVD encoding, duplication and compatibility issues.

Banyan Productions, who produce Trading Spaces, highly recommend Action Duplication. No one responded who'd had any experience with Laser Video.
Media Concepts is another place to check for tape duplication and dvd conversion. They did an excellent job with both formats for a few of our members. One member wrote, "they took extra care with the DVD. The sound on my mini-dv was recorded at 44k, and they were able to upconvert it to 48K to make it work on DVD. The tapes were also well done."

I have footage from overseas and I need to make a conversion from PAL to NTSC. I just need a simple conversion, nothing professional. Where can I go for something quick and dirty?

Action Duplication does conversions and they give active PIFVA members a 20% discount! Media Concepts also does conversions. You can seek out inexpensive PAL/NTSC conversions at videocassette rental stores that cater to Asian (Chinatown) and African (West Philly along Baltimore Ave.) communities who get home video and soap opera from family and need to watch on NTSC. Temple has a PAL converter deck if you know any students or instructors there. Call 215-204-3859 for more information.

back to top of page

I have just wrapped post-production on an educational documentary. I would like to investigate distribution opportunities. Can you help?

You have quite a few options:
Look on the Women Make Movies website
Look at the UC Berkely video distribution website
Video Library Company website
Get the book from AIVF on distribution since they have a nice list of educational distributors available in that book.
Here are a few main points:
Any television network worldwide that broadcasts long form documentary if your quality is high enough. Find out if they have a series that your work can slot into - much better broadcast chance than a stand-alone special.
Film festival route for exposure. Worldwide. Think subject matter. Which city or country would appreciate my subject most? See AIVF guide to international festivals, and guides to US festivals, etc.
Make copies available:
Associations that are interested in my subject matter - learn all about them.
Which group in the public wants my documentary? For instance a documentary about Polish people did well broadcast on public television in Chicago a few years ago and sold 300 copies off the air with an 800 number (which is very good for the average special). Of course that's to the public which is what we call sell-through at consumer prices of less than $30 an hour. For many producers it's not worth going to the hassle of setting up this kind of distribution. Don't make hundreds of copies until you see the orders pouring in - you can always re-order - copies can be made quickly these days. And 70% of the last Harry Potter movie was sold in DVD, 30 % VHS cassette!!!
Go to the National Video Resources.org website and look at all the materials they've put out. Lots of good stuff, especially their reports over the years. Start there. 73 Spring St, Suite 606, New York, NY 10012 Phone 212-274-8080.
And be aware of THE GREAT HOPE FACTOR. You've got to be realistic about who's interested in your doc, it's NOT everyone. So don't spend a lot of money or time on marketing and broadcast efforts.
Who are your first three audiences? Go after number one first. If you can't interest or sell to them, don't waste efforts on the others. Very few documentaries have an after broadcast market. But you may find one vein of gold where it will be appreciated. Usually it has to have a use for that group. Either too much information to absorb in one viewing can lead to sales. Or it means something special to that group and they want it in their collection to share with family, children or friends, something like that.
Some members have had success selling their work using direct mail via a simple flyer if you can get a mailing list of your target audience. Try a few hundred first and see what the percentage return is and price the video to cover for printing, list, postage, etc., and then some profit?
It's good to mine the 'vein of gold people' interested in your doc so that you can show a funder that it had a life.You should document all viewing, tape sales, lectures, broadcasts, etc. that occur to show your record to future funders.

Do you know a service in Philly area that can convert 16mm film to VHS tape?

Not cheaply, but plenty of professional joints: Modern Video (call for rates), Shooters (call for rates), and Center City Film & Video all offer film-to-tape transfer, but those rates are high-end for high-end service. Visual Sound out in Broomall used to offer inexpensive Super 8 to Video, but most 16mm transfers are only handled by the high end houses.
The next best thing is to get a really good 16mm projector, a fine-grained screen and video tape it off the screen. It can look remarkably good. If this isn't a viable option, you can also contact Len Guercio at Temple University.

back to top of page

I'm doing post production for an independent film in Philadelphia. I need to transfer about an hour and a half of DV to Quicktime format so that I can edit it on my workstation. Do you have a facility where I can transfer the video from a DV tape into Quicktime format and then cut the resulting video onto CD? I will provide the CDs, and I can delete the video files when I'm done. If there is no facility there where I could solve this problem, can you suggest one?

We recommend Action Duplication, but you should dump everything to DVD-R versus CD. For 90 minutes of DV, at 5 minutes per GB of storage, you would need to make a lot of CDs. If you burned the clips to DVD-R discs, that would be faster/better/cheaper, and you would still need about 5 DVDs at 4.7 GB/disc. Otherwise, you would need to make over
25 CDs--a very time consuming/costly process that could easily end up costing over $1000 at a post house @ $500/day if you can even get it done that cheaply.
You can also try a number of local editors, who will charge varying rates. As well, you can post an announcement to our E-Bulletin (HYPERLINK) in the "Wanted" section.
A few suggestions:
Rich Hoffmann (610) 566-6524.
John Shearburn (215) 772-0270
Tina Morton tmortvideo@aol.com
Carolina Roca-Smith (215) 783-6770
You can also purchase a firewire card (well under $100) and use a miniDV camera to get the stuff in yourself--if your workstation can edit Quicktime, then it should be able to bring it in as well with a firewire connection. Best off to do yourself, because it will be a lot cheaper or find a friend with Final Cut Pro.

I have two questions:
I need assistance with my grant proposal. My deadline is fast approaching. Are there any samples or books that I can use that will help me? Does anyone know where I can find this information?
I am also working on a documentary. I have a treatment, but I want to copyright my idea. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can do this?

Besides the bookstore, you can try The Foundation Center, which has a "Short Course" on proposal writing. You can also try ITVS, they have great advice about writing proposals.
Ideas are difficult to impossible to copyright. If you possess a fully-developed script or an extremely rigorous treatment there may be some protection of the idea, especially if it can be registered with the WGA. If it's based on a book, you should option the book and can hold the rights that way. If it's about a real, living person, your unique access to the subject is your only claim and you should get your subject to commit to your project exclusively. You should also try the Library of Congress for their updated copyright guidelines.

back to top of page