Offered to video a documentary and ended up with legal mess, need advise

fatlip

TPF Noob!
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Hello

Your guys are in for laugh, I went to this religious institution a friend invited me to, and straight from my heart I naively offer to do a free documentary about the place since they needed a decent presentation I showed them some of the previous documentaries I have done on my iPad and they shared a link to one they liked so we got a clear idea, so I ended up suggesting that I record in there place while they held an event, and I suggested I shoot images from the most interesting positions to get the coolest cinematic footage and then we record voice overs of the story line, since no interview is actually taking place between people., and before the end they can decide if it represents their story well.

Now this place is like a church, around 80 people show up regularly and no one ever bothers you if you bring our iPhone and take photos and videos, no poster on the wall with the NO CAMERAS ALLOWED etc, they have security but that's all., so they told me come on this day and shoot this event, ok I said me and another friend will try to get good shots we can use for the documentary with 2x canon 5dmkiiis.,

I go down there with tons of gear with a friend, as I am setting up some millionaire member if their community who doesn't PR there starts telling me what he wants to do. With the video and shots he does not want, I explained what I was doin but he insisted he was in charge of this project, so I asked him what exactly does he want us to do and In detail before we start, he shows me this documentary and says something like this or better, so I said you just need a camera person your the producer m he said yes, and I explained that was not the original plan but now that we are hear i asked him what he wants again and he said something like this video again., we decided to talk after wards because I was not sure I understood him.

Finally we where done, the PR GUY says put it all on a CD, I said its 65 GB, then he want only the photos, I said there are 6500 raw files, I suggested a hard drive, then he says compress it and put it on vimo, I asked why and he said he will pick what they want and what they don't want, my friend who video and photographed from the other side of the stage asked again what the plans to do and he said he wants to produce this, my friend wen said the PR guy told him also that he was in charge and he will pull the project if it's not accordingly u to his way.

So here we have me, offering a free documentary where is as supposed to shoot scenes used later with a story line all with another fiend, then this 3rd person shows up and says he wants this and hat his way and makes threats later while I am back at home like they own the footage and I must bring it back and nit edit it at all before they have it,

At this moment I said cool off until next week, I personally want nothing to do with the whole place now, but I got my find all mixed up in tis, he says if they do use out photos for commercial purposes he wants his share, he also says we own he footage no way about it, and he added that he wants in writing what exactly their so called titles are because the PR guy says he asked what he wants Ti fil and the guy says he has an idea but can't express it well, I was like I like a Beatles song too but I can't write a number one hit either.

So whatever advise can you guys give or share i deeply appreciate on this topic

Thanks in advance
Cheers
 
Walk away.

No legal obligation or money changing hands, easy out.
 
Run, Forrest! Run!
 
:shock:

:raisedbrow:

What?!?!

That was TL;DR, but I read it anyway, and it made no sense whatsoever. There was just too much rambling, too many errors and I can't tell half the time if the "guy" is your friend or the PR guy or someone else, or if it changes every time.
And at the end, I don't really even quite know what the problem is, and I certainly don't know what the legal mess is.

My interpretation of this is:
You agreed to VOLUNTEER and do a documentary for some place.
Some member there usurped things, took over and it all went badly, because he plans to now do the project with yours and your friend's footage.
Your friend is not okay with that.

If I've even come close to understanding the situation, here's what I'd do:

Back. Away.

Let 'em have your footage. An 80-member pseudo-church? I doubt they're going to do anything with your material that invites international renown or great fortune. Just bow out and be done with it.

If your friend doesn't like it...let HIM/HER pursue that. If they want to insist on getting their photos/video back, they can push that as far as they want. But I'd make it clear that it is not worth the time, energy and stress in my life.
 
Also, don't drink anything they give you.
 
Don't give them crap. Delete your files and be done with the whole thing.
 
yet another reason why contracts are ALWAYS a good idea! ;)
 
Don't give them crap. Delete your files and be done with the whole thing.


Oh, see I thought the OP had ALREADY given them the files and I was just saying it wasn't worth the fight to get them back.

Yeah, if you haven't given them the files yet...just say, "OOPS!! Sorry, I accidentally dropped that card into a puddle of water. I tried to dry it off, but it turns out, using a Propane Torch to dry it faster wasn't the best plan." :lmao:
 
send the original person that you made the verbal agreement with a message saying that some body showed up saying he had all control over the project and wanted to change everything. Explain that this person is unreasonably in what he wants and that he clearly does not understand the basic process (aka asking for everything on a CD or uploading everything to vimeo). Tell the original person that because you were doing this for free that you deserve creative control. Let his know know that if you are going to have to work with that guy and give him creative control that you will be charging your standard hourly rate because it is you will not work under that guy for free.
 
sm4him said:
:shock:

:raisedbrow:

What?!?!

That was TL;DR, but I read it anyway, and it made no sense whatsoever. There was just too much rambling, too many errors and I can't tell half the time if the "guy" is your friend or the PR guy or someone else, or if it changes every time.
And at the end, I don't really even quite know what the problem is, and I certainly don't know what the legal mess is.

My interpretation of this is:
You agreed to VOLUNTEER and do a documentary for some place.
Some member there usurped things, took over and it all went badly, because he plans to now do the project with yours and your friend's footage.
Your friend is not okay with that.

If I've even come close to understanding the situation, here's what I'd do:

Back. Away.

Let 'em have your footage. An 80-member pseudo-church? I doubt they're going to do anything with your material that invites international renown or great fortune. Just bow out and be done with it.

If your friend doesn't like it...let HIM/HER pursue that. If they want to insist on getting their photos/video back, they can push that as far as they want. But I'd make it clear that it is not worth the time, energy and stress in my life.

Agree 100 percent, I guess I needed to hear it
 
Last edited:
Light Guru said:
send the original person that you made the verbal agreement with a message saying that some body showed up saying he had all control over the project and wanted to change everything. Explain that this person is unreasonably in what he wants and that he clearly does not understand the basic process (aka asking for everything on a CD or uploading everything to vimeo). Tell the original person that because you were doing this for free that you deserve creative control. Let his know know that if you are going to have to work with that guy and give him creative control that you will be charging your standard hourly rate because it is you will not work under that guy for free.

That's what I was about to do, exactly every word, but the original person I made the agreement with was who decided to team up with the public relations person in this instatution, I think it's best I Do say something, like I only offered to do a documentary like the one we agreed and now what everyone wants to do by getting involved can not make it possible, because this requires me capturing my very own visual perspectives to help me tell the story.
 
Light Guru said:
send the original person that you made the verbal agreement with a message saying that some body showed up saying he had all control over the project and wanted to change everything. Explain that this person is unreasonably in what he wants and that he clearly does not understand the basic process (aka asking for everything on a CD or uploading everything to vimeo). Tell the original person that because you were doing this for free that you deserve creative control. Let his know know that if you are going to have to work with that guy and give him creative control that you will be charging your standard hourly rate because it is you will not work under that guy for free.

That's what I was about to do, exactly every word, but the original person I made the agreement with was who decided to team up with the public relations person in this instatution, I think it's best I Do say something, like I only offered to do a documentary like the one we agreed and now what everyone wants to do by getting involved can not make it possible, because this requires me capturing my very own visual perspectives to help me tell the story.

Because the original person you had the agreement with made the decision to have the public relations guy take over is all the more reason to send the the original person a written message about why you will not be working on the project further. He needs to know that his decision to put this unreasonable and incompetent PR guy in charge after the original agreement is why you are no longer going to work on the project unless they pay your hourly charge.

Make it clear in the note that you did not enter into the agreement with the intent of backing out but that when they changed the original deal things changed.
 
IMHO
If you decide to give the church entity anything, in the way of media from your labor, submitting to the rule of their PR guy, you got played. Don't give them a thing, they can say you created, that they can manipulate.

It's hard to con an honest man, as he would have to submit to, with foreknowledge, something he knows is wrong for the con to work. < words to live by.

Tactfully wash your hands of this and provide nothing.

Lesson learned.
 
give them nothing why should you they want to be an asshat they get treated like an asshat feel free to call them an asshat stick out your tongue and walk away!!!!!!!!!!! if your friend want to try and get paid give them the footage they shot and tell them to work it out with the asshats himself and say you are sorry for making him meet them but you yourself are done dealing with them cuz they are asshats. asshats:lol: just cuz it is fun to type asshat:lol: asshat:lol: asshat lol I made myself smile with that last one ...asshat :lol:
 
give them nothing why should you they want to be an asshat they get treated like an asshat feel free to call them an asshat stick out your tongue and walk away!!!!!!!!!!! if your friend want to try and get paid give them the footage they shot and tell them to work it out with the asshats himself and say you are sorry for making him meet them but you yourself are done dealing with them cuz they are asshats. asshats:lol: just cuz it is fun to type asshat:lol: asshat:lol: asshat lol I made myself smile with that last one ...asshat :lol:

That's one way to put it!
 

Most reactions

Back
Top