Protection...

I sort of rambled my way through the last post, covering important areas of interest before the actual shoot. I looked at it from the view of a major label album shoot, since that's what I'm most familiar with. However, I can tell you that it also applies to a big commercial shoot, or almost any production that is worth several thousand dollars or more.

Since I was just going over details off the top of my head, I'm sure I missed a few important things to remember. One thing I forgot to mention is the importance of contracts. You'll be buried in paperwork that needs to be signed. You'll send over an estimate and/or invoice, a w-9, a signed contract that was probably bounced back and forth a few times during negotiations, and releases.

You'll need to get all the models to sign a release. It basically says that you are allowed to use their likeness for commercial and editorial use. You'll need to get any private location to sign a release. It allows you to use their land and building without fear of being sued for trespassing. You may also have a separate "gag order" contract for everyone on set to sign. In other words, they aren't allowed to discuss any of the shoot details until after the end product is released.

Hope you planned on printing out a ton of these, getting them signed, scanning them in to save with the digital files, and storing the originals (or sending them along with the client, depending upon your rights agreement). This all takes time, and time is money...