All Things Legal and Workplace Realtions

The term is rolling to a close. But, we still had a couple of topics to cover this past week.

On Thursday morning entertainment lawyers, Neil Adleman and Matt Parritt came to speak to our class. They talked to us about what an entertainment lawyer does and how they can help the producer. Many of the legal tasks a producer might do are pretty straight forward. There are templates for standard contracts and basic practices and procedures for the business. However, some things might call for a lawyer's involvement. Intellectual property and copyright are often complicated areas to navigate. This might include adaptations from various source materials to a new stage work, designs from the production team and the credits for crafting the script. If a producer is originating a new work for the stage, these factors may play a major part and each instance will be have its own intricacies. Transferring a show between countries is also an area where a producer will want to work with a lawyer.  The lawyers will make sure everything is within legal regulations, can help to make sure the best deals are reached for their client and add a sense of formality and legitimacy to the arrangements. This can be particularly comforting for the financial investors of a show. If producing a big budget production like a West End or Broadway show, having a lawyer is in the best interest of the production company. Smaller organizations may want to consult a lawyer from time to time but, for daily tasks a lawyer will usually not be required.

We returned to Southbank Centre on Thursday afternoon for a session with our lecturer, Sunita Pandya. She brought in producer/director, Katie Henry to discuss the relationship between producers and directors. The relationship between a producer and a director is crucial for the success of a show. It can also make a huge impact on the atmosphere in which the show is created. The dynamic can be a fine line to walk. The director must have space to implement their vision and their position of authority needs to be supported. However, they must also understand the parameters of the project set forth by the producer and work with the producer to provide a quality product that is the unified vision of both parties. It was an intense discussion and as with many areas of producing, there is not one established method. Each project and each relationship will require its own bespoke process and style.

We begin now the final week of the term and with it, 8Squared will have its third term presentation.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Take care!
-m