To any of you out there at a film school or training program: I enjoy these conversations and am happy to set one up for you. Our website has a list of some of the places where I have made these visits:
www.easternscript.com/contact-us/staff/anne-marie-murphy-speaking-engagments/
With enough time in advance of this session, it’s always helpful for me to read at least one of the scripts from the group I visit. Then I will bring specific notes to move along the clearance process for one of your projects. Plus sending me any questions ahead of time that are specific to your projects makes the session that much more valuable.
One of the worst discoveries you might make as a new film-maker is that there is this thing called a script clearance report (hence my training visits!) and you didn’t get one before production and now your back is up against the wall because of a whole bucket load of things that didn’t get checked. There is no shortage of horror stories on this front. An article (Danger: High Clearance: Student Films on the Commercial Market) that provides a few of those stories is archived at our “Resources” page here:
www.easternscript.com/PDFs/danger-high-clearance.pdf
Read it and weep over the USC award-winning student film that waited two years (and then, only in selected European venues) to see the light of day because its music use had not been cleared. There are other “cautionary tales” in the article, making it a good one to read if you are just beginning to learn what is at stake.
Although it sure might feel like it’s too late, we can still help you with a script clearance report if you find out that you need one after your project has been shot and assembled. This is a call we get from time to time and usually it’s someone who really needs a hand and needs it quickly. We’ll ask for the shooting draft of the script and a link to a means of viewing the completed project online. We watch the film – referring to the script as needed – then compile a list of what needs research and prepare a report for you. We obviously won’t be giving our usual multiple standard “clear alternatives” for scripted names in this situation. What we will do, though, is provide as much detail as we can about the conflicts we find and how you can reach that person/business/etc. to make whatever arrangements are needed. You can reach out to me directly for this at amm@easternscript.com or give a shout to our general inbox at incoming@easternscript.com.
The best billing approach we’ve found for “as produced” reports is simply to bill at the options available as if you were ordering the work ahead of production. We have four different turnaround times (10, 7, 5, and 3 business days) with four different prices. The faster the report turnaround, the more expensive. Whether you meet us with plenty of foresight in the form of training program or with your back against the wall needing an “as produced” report, we look forward to helping out.
First published June, 2020