About this course
Once you have finished your film and are looking to sell it, you will have to show something known as the “chain of title” to any prospective film buyer. Without having this crucial piece, you would never be able to sell your film!
Who should take this course?
This course is intended for beginner film producers and screenwriters, as well as those who are interested in the legal side of filmmaking.
What you’ll learn
Legal Requirements for Filmmakers is all about legal contracts in filmmaking; it is designed to answer all your questions about attaching the rights to a film, its components, and the contracts required to acquire, clear, and protect those rights.
Topics to be covered:
- Copyright
- The key elements of a contract
- Negotiating film contracts
- Commonly used legal terminology
About Tony Morris
Tony Morris has more than 35 years experience in advising on a broad range of transactional and contentious matters. He primarily focuses on the TMT sector and the creative media. Tony’s clients include film, TV, record companies, music publishers, composers, musicians, book and online publishers, as well as brands and other creatives and media companies. He is the author of the iconic film industry textbook The Filmmakers Legal Guide. He is also active as a qualified Arbitrator and an Accredited Mediator. Tony is the principal legal advisor for Raindance Film Festival.
Additional resources for Legal Requirements for Filmmakers
Did you know?
- Raindance members save 20% on this course? You can join online >HERE< and start saving immediately
- This course is FREE for our HND and postgraduate/MA/ students
- This is part of the Producers’ Foundation Certificate
- The Raindance Guarantee: If this course fails to meet your expectations, let us know at the break and we will make a full, 100% no-questions-asked refund
Katie Emma –
A really informative class. I learnt a lot. The questions from other people that were also attending the class were very helpful. Tony is fantastic and breaks down all the legal jargon very well.
Tom –
Learning about Film Industry Contracts: Very informative from a industry professional who has worked on some big films. Will keep a note of some of the information for future projects.
Nasreen Cullen –
Very engaging class. The structure is such that each topic flows nicely into the next. Lots of detail but delivered in a way that is easy to understand and put into real life scenarios.
Bruno Catarino –
Great source of info, from a very knowledgeable professional, who used many of his past experiences as concrete examples. He certainly made law accessible to everyone.
Serena C Gardner –
Easily accessible through the structure and language. I found this easy to follow and definitely gave me a bigger insight into the legal world of film! Highly recommended
Annaís Berlim –
Was great! Tony Morris know a lot about legal issues. It was really helpful to understand some UK laws and also terminologies. I wish we had more time to still learning.
Zak Brilliant –
Very direct and to the point, as it should be. Tony Morris was great.
Peter Williams –
Tony was an excellent tutor, covering a vast amount of material in a relatively short time. I think the course provided an excellent introduction to the trials and tribulations of legal contracts in film production.
Magdalena Zielinska (verified owner) –
Tony’s session, on ‘Legal Issues for Filmmakers’, was a treasure trove of information!
I can’t wait to finish his book The Filmmakers’ Legal Guide, which is an invaluable resource for any aspiring filmmaker.
Just –
I attended the session as Elliot had recommended it and was glad I made the effort after work to attend. Tony really knew his stuff and brought a much overlooked but essential perspective to low to no budget filmmakers and those with aspirations to grander heights. Get the rights and get it in writing, even a string of what’s app messages, can if needed prove you were hired or own the work you’ve written or as a key creative contributed too. Tony’s book is must have reading for any would be producer, writer or director! Equip yourself for success to understand our industry a little bit better. Now to practice what I preach and get it in writing and recording my efforts and achievements.
http://www.justafilmmaker.org.uk
Simon Craven (verified owner) –
Getting your legal issues and contracts straight may sound like the boring side of being a creator, but not when Tony covers it! He uses decades of front-line legal experience to put the relevant principles into context, and it all comes to life as a subject that is essential to understand if you want to succeed as a creative artist and keep yourself and your co-workers safe. It’s a highly recommended use of an evening, and a longer all-day version would be an equally good use of time. Well worth picking up Tony’s book, too.
Sophia –
Very useful and accessible, however the class needs to be longer or split into two in order to cover everything fully.
Barbara Vonau –
SO useful, should have done this earlier! I previously had the misconception that if you don’t see yourself as a producer this is a marginal requirement to know about legal issues in the film industry. Very entertaining and digestible as well. Highly recommended!
Tony Price –
I hadn’t expected to enjoy a lecture about legal contracts but I did despite Tony’s inability to resist weak jokes. It has given me the resolve to get on with Release Forms unapologetically. They are dire but I do see the necessity….and I learnt much other stuff and am now plundering the book and its astonishing lack of jargon. Thank you Tony.
Miguel Garrido –
Tony Morris expertise on film production legal issues is vast. Attending this course together with his book ‘The Filmmakers’ Legal Guide’ will safe you a lot of trouble along the way. This course is a must.
Mark Brome –
Fantastic session with Tony Morris, this is a guy who knows his stuff! Some great tips and advice.
Jaye Nolan –
I’ll admit I wasn’t looking forward to this part of the Producer’s course, thinking it would be full of jargon that would sail right over my head. How wrong could I be? Tony was knowledgeable and informative without blinding you with science and it turned out to be fascinating. It took a lot of the mystery out of a side of filmmaking I was a little bit scared of.
Nina Kojima –
It was very appreciated! Very good lecture and I would strongly recommend everyone in film making to get some of this knowledge as well. I participated in Tony’s lecture over zoom because of Covid19, and it was exact; he answered my additional questions and after the course I bought his book, ‘The Filmmakers’s Legal Guide’. It is a very useful “bible” to me at this time, I am in preparation to produce and direct my first feature.
I actually participated 5 weeks course in “production base”. Very good! Very useful!
Rhoda Wilson (verified owner) –
Good refresher course for me. Informative and precise. Highly recommended.
Daniel Shehata (verified owner) –
An experienced, professional lawyer tells you how to avoid nerve wracking legal battles in the film industry.
Uri Mizrahi –
Tony is a true professional who manages to pass on his vast knowledge in an easy to understand format combined with anecdotes and humour. Very useful course and a must for every filmmaker. Thanks Tony.
Mike McKenzie –
I Have just finished 5 Legal Lockdown Lectures with Tony Morris and at this time of Corona Lock down I was able to afford the cost. The topics were on point and if you’re working in film you need to do these types of courses. Doing this course does not make me a legal expert but I feel as a film maker better equipped
to asked the right questions of my producer/team. Also the fact that the group was large we had some great questions coming from other people.
Very please I did the course.
James Knowles –
Outstanding!
Balbeer Bahi –
Excellent, Tony Morris knows how to pack in the information and communicates what could be very dry in an entertaining manner. Extremely beneficial and could save a lot of headaches in film work. Cheers.
Marthe Taylor –
Great to hear you enjoyed the session Balbeer! Your feedback is really appreciated.
Vanda Ladeira –
Outstanding! I enjoyed how much Tony took us though the legal maze in a very clear way, full of advice based on his huge experience and delivered with humour and many tips. I recommend not only to Producers, but also directors, directors and other content creators. Thank you again Raindance for organising such a great course, so fundamental for independent filmmakers!
Bainz Fiorella (verified owner) –
Tony was very informative and articulate in his class. He answered all our questions and it was well worth the price. It’s a must class for anyone in the film and music industry.
David Lawson –
Considering this is one of the legal lectures of the Producer Course, Tony expertly navigates through many of the legal points relevant to filmmaking and puts them in a language that the average person on the street can comprehend. Armed with fictitious and real world examples to help demonstrate his points, he puts them across in a straight forward and sometimes humorous manner and is always willing to answer your questions. I’d highly recommend this course.
Marianna Settimi (verified owner) –
It’s incredible how much you can learn by attending one lecture alone.
Tony’s way of presenting is lively, thorough, competent and never pedantic or academic. He mixes perfectly explained basic legal concepts with actual situations or practical examples where those concepts apply, allowing for better understanding as well as easy remembering. It’s all fixed in my brain now!
I also enjoyed how he manages to keep the attention up for over two hours while looking at and answering the many spontaneous questions that get asked during the live session. I recommend to have a go at any of his classes to see for oneself, including the recorded ones. Immensely helpful and … unexpectedly fun.
Alice (verified owner) –
Extremely informative, very accessible Tony made difficult ideas much easier to follow. Instantly transferable to work.
Mary Lewis McRae –
I loved this legal lecture. I learned so much in a short time, I couldn’t believe it. My son is a solicitor (not in the film industry) and I raved about it. I think this is a must for anyone in the film industry. Simply fabulous.
Thank you so much Tony
Rohan Quine –
There’s a heartwarming array of ways in which a film project can go off the rails, as a result of legal paperwork or the lack thereof. For non-lawyers, this class is helpful in occupying that elusive middle ground between (on the one hand) being insufficiently detailed and (on the other hand) being too deteiled to be digestible. It’s delivered with sparks of dry wit to lighten the legal load, and is a fine lead-up to reading Tony Morris’s book “The Filmmaker’s Legal Guide”, which includes a good number of sample agreements or precedents that can be adapted as appropriate.
Charles Solly –
A Solid and cohesive breakdown of the logic behind film contracts. I feel like it was all made sense of – can’t ask for much more than that really.
Marcus Kenmir –
Really insightful and helpful thank you Raindance!
José Zavala –
Outstanding course. It covers a wider legal aspect that seems innocuous but it can generate issues in the production of a Film. The course is a clear introduction and awareness on legal aspects… Again, highly recommendable. Tony’s humor makes the whole experience enjoyable.
Swati Chugh (verified owner) –
Brilliant Class ! Loved this session by Tony ! The entire structure and the way he kept the class engaging was amazing. Lot of doubts and queries were clarified. Tony’s experience and depth of knowledge is exemplary yet he simplified everything so that anyone could understand the important aspects to take care of in contracts. Would highly recommend this class ! Thanks to Elliot and Denise as well for their support in making the learning seamless.
Doulla Panaretou –
Great class, essential information for any filmmaker, highly recommend this!
Doulla Panaretou –
Great class, essential information for any filmmaker, it’s crucial to understand aspects such as copyright when working on films at every stage of development, would highly recommend this
Doulla Panaretou –
Great class, it’s crucial to understand aspects such as copyright when working on films at every stage of development, would highly recommend this
Doulla Panaretou –
It’s crucial to understand aspects such as copyright when working on films at every stage of development, an essential class
janetrsmith –
Very informative course. Tony gave us the benefit of his years of legal experience in the film industry. I look forward to reading his book and and now feel a lot more confident about producing my first feature 🎬❤️
Yasmine Alice –
As a lawyer/producer, this was the one class that I was looking forward to the most in my Producers Foundation certificate. And it did not disappoint! I asked a gazillion questions and now feel informed. I recommend it to all producers.
David de la Harpe –
Excellent session from Tony! He presented the info clearly and concisely. Highly recommended!
Francois Evans –
Packed with essential info. on rights, copyrights, contracts, negotiation, terms and terminology. Best of all, contextualized by advice and experiences from a pro. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👨⚖️
Si Skinner –
A very informative class with lots to take away and consider from Tony Morris, who clearly know’s his stuff! It’s a very hard to cover everything in one class, but he prioritises the important stuff very well and I came away realising that I simply must tick each and every box to avoid the kind of issues and problems that he highlights! many from personal experience. Another winner Raindance, Thank you
Natalie Woodward –
Fantastic class and immensely useful, in fact, essential, for anyone creating a production. Tony is fantastic, and his book is a seriously useful resource.
Gary Hudson –
A very useful class from someone who obviously knows what he’s talking about.
Jane Gull –
A very helpful and insightful class. Highly recommend for filmmakers at all levels.
Jeff Turner –
Each session of this course is amazing. Exactly the content I was looking for and delivered by people with many years of industry experience. The “Legal” session was a mix of anecdotes and advice. Clear, concise and, most of all, relevant to my situation as a Producer. Tony held our attention (even though he was suffering from a very sore throat) and was very approachable when questions were raised. It was obvious that he has a wealth of experience as he never failed to answer questions and even gave examples of what and how things had gone wrong – and how to fix it!
I can’t praise this Raindance course enough. Anyone interested in film production should take the Film Producer’s Certificate Course.