Hi all, I'm Sean in Chicago, new here and new to the biz. So I've decided to make an instructional film which I'm sure should sell well. I wrote it, and am finishing up storyboarding now. I plan to shoot it in may and June. I can cover all the basic costs and do most of the work myself and with friends who have agreed to deferred pay. So I guess the main question is, what do I do once I finish the film? I assume I can't just sell it from my website and keep the money (and distribute to my helpers of course). I'm sure there are legal considerations. So do I need to start an LLC to distribute it?
Thanks all for the help!
Sean,
You can distribute it yourself. That would be one method for sales, but to touch on all possible outlets you might want to find a distributor for instructional content. What area of instruction does it cover? Educational companies, libraries, etc. would be possible target markets assuming the content is along the lines of what they would buy. Tell us what your film covers and we can add more to help.
This is going to be an instructional auto racing film for a popular type of legal racing. that is one reason i am concerned with liability. I truely doubt anyone would crash and blame me, but you never know these days.
if i try to self distribute, say through that website that prints on demand, do i need to register to pay taxes and all that legal stuff?
People have tried suing the national weather service for bad weather so yes somebody will try filing a lawsuit against you. They tried lawsuits against "JACKASS" for the stunts in there. They sue bands for their lyrics that drove some gunman to kill someone. Limit your personal liability by incorporating so they can only sue the shell company that has no assets. Taxes vary across state and city lines so you will want to check your area. If you sell massive amounts of DVD's then it might be a concern. If you are operating on a small scale then you might not raise any red flags with the local, state and federal agencies regarding taxes. But then again always check it out and be well versed in the tax law so you know what needs to be done and how to protect yourself when the time comes.
I may have misread your question regarding taxes. You should pay taxes on your sales...but this allows you to write off all expenses...equipment, computers, software, office supplies, entertainment and meals, marketing, clothing, travel (working vacation)...etc. Turning a loss can be beneficial to your bottom line with regards to your other income streams. I highly recommend everyone understand tax law so you know what it entails. It is not that difficult. Even if you use an accountant or tax attorney you should still know as much as they do.
