Our Services
IndieWorks has a particular focus on document delivery services for film and TV, reviewing all agreements and ancillary documents related to a given piece of content to ensure compliance with the requirements of the distributor. We provide these services for both production companies and for distributor clients. We provide a number of other services (company formations, copyright filings and recordations, etc.), and we regularly team up with our BAI colleagues to provide production counsel services.
Delivery
When it comes to delivering motion pictures to distribution companies, IndieWorks, LLC has a depth of experience that makes us a valuable resource to productions of any size budget, or distributors with a slate of releases to manage.
For theatrical pictures, high-budget SVOD releases and television series, studios and other domestic distributors typically require that every agreement generated during production be provided to them for review. In addition, production financiers and guarantors often have their own due diligence requirements regarding chain of title, talent agreements, insurance and more. Beyond compiling existing documents, IndieWorks personnel also create credit and other memos required by distributors and their marketing departments for delivery.
The IndieWorks team delivers production documentation that studios and distribution companies have regularly praised as the best they ever received. We’ve seen and dealt with every kind of delivery-related issue imaginable, and we have the expertise to identify and implement solutions.
Corporate
The experienced producer knows that the rights to each motion picture or television project should be held by a “SPV” (Single Purpose Vehicle) in order to keep the chain of title clean. IndieWorks, LLC staff has formed scores of such companies for our clients. We file all necessary documents with the state and the IRS, obtain Federal employer numbers, and assemble all customary company documents into a company kit for safekeeping.
Copyright
IndieWorks, LLC staff has registered hundreds of treatments, graphic novels, screenplays, and motion pictures for copyright, and we understand the importance of getting it right the first time. We are fluent with the process of recording intellectual property ownership documents, filing UCC financing statements to safeguard our clients’ interests in their properties, and running searches to be sure properties are clear of liens or other security interests.
Guilds
Good relationships with the motion picture talent guilds—SAG, WGA, DGA, IATSE—can be an important asset to your production, but the process of becoming a signatory to these guilds is often confusing, intimidating, and potentially expensive. IndieWorks, LLC’s staff has helped countless clients through this process and maintains good working rapport with the guilds.
Clearances
Each film that makes it to the marketplace today requires close review of all clearance documents, an increasingly important aspect of production legal work. Starting with IndieWorks’ review of the script and ending with its review of the finished film, IndieWorks identifies and finds solutions to privacy, publicity, trademark, copyright, and related issues, and reels in the appropriate documentation.
Music
Other than chain of title, probably no other set of documents is subjected to a higher level of scrutiny by distributors than music licenses. IndieWorks, LLC can work with your Music Supervisor to draft and/or negotiate Master and Sync licenses for your project so your documentation will be acceptable to all major distributors.