Is it normal procedure to ask for production money upfront ?!
Question: Is it normal procedure to ask for production money upfront !?
I was contacted by a production company offering a great opportunity to have a cooking pilot made for television ( Taste this Productions) and that if they pick you you must absorb one third of the production cost but would own the rights to the show which adds up to 8300!.00 they are going to send me a contract through email!. Is this the normal procedure in getting a show that the production company makes you pay for some of it!?Www@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
I would at least want to know what pilots, if any, that production company has produced that actually led to a series making it on the air, how big the markets were where the series aired, etc!.
If they've had only the one show, "Taste This" on a network like VTV that, I believe, only appears in a couple of dozen markets, then that's something to consider!.
I'd also want to know how they arrive at the $24,900 production cost estimate (3 times $8,300)!. As far as we know, the actual cost of production could be a cameraman, a camera, a director, and one hour of time on their set!. That could actually come to far less than the $8,300 they're asking you to pay!. The other $16,600 could be "pay" for the cameraman, director, producer, etc!. who might also be the owners of "Taste This Productions"!.
In other words, they could be in the business of making pilots for a profit rather than producing shows with a chance of making it on television!. If a large successful production company felt strongly that they could get you a show, why wouldn't they rather pay all the production costs and keep a percentage of the show!?
That same scam has been around for years in the modeling business!. They convince a girl (and usually her mother) that the girl has great potential in the fashion industry!. First, however, she needs to pay for modeling lessons, a portfolio, etc that costs thousands of dollars!. The modeling agency makes a profit regardless of whether the girl has any real potential or not!.
So I hope, in this case, that everything's on the "up and up" but I'd do a bunch of checking them out before I'd cut any checks!.
Good Luck!Www@Enter-QA@Com
If they've had only the one show, "Taste This" on a network like VTV that, I believe, only appears in a couple of dozen markets, then that's something to consider!.
I'd also want to know how they arrive at the $24,900 production cost estimate (3 times $8,300)!. As far as we know, the actual cost of production could be a cameraman, a camera, a director, and one hour of time on their set!. That could actually come to far less than the $8,300 they're asking you to pay!. The other $16,600 could be "pay" for the cameraman, director, producer, etc!. who might also be the owners of "Taste This Productions"!.
In other words, they could be in the business of making pilots for a profit rather than producing shows with a chance of making it on television!. If a large successful production company felt strongly that they could get you a show, why wouldn't they rather pay all the production costs and keep a percentage of the show!?
That same scam has been around for years in the modeling business!. They convince a girl (and usually her mother) that the girl has great potential in the fashion industry!. First, however, she needs to pay for modeling lessons, a portfolio, etc that costs thousands of dollars!. The modeling agency makes a profit regardless of whether the girl has any real potential or not!.
So I hope, in this case, that everything's on the "up and up" but I'd do a bunch of checking them out before I'd cut any checks!.
Good Luck!Www@Enter-QA@Com