Director Agreement (Film)

Description

Director Agreements establish director-production relationships for film direction services. Our director agreement drafting service addresses directorial compensation and rights. We establish production company and director identification with director’s representative/agent if applicable. We draft directorial scope: director commits to directing feature film, specified budget range, filming timeline, location(s), genre/style expectations. We establish compensation structure: director fee (upfront payment: typically ₹50,000-500,000+ depending on budget and director experience), backend participation (typically 0.5-5% of net receipts from theatrical/streaming), residual payments (per SAG-AFTRA if applicable). We address payment schedule: percentage upfront, percentage at commencement of principal photography, percentage at principal photography completion, percentage at delivery. We draft creative control provisions: director controls artistic execution of film (subject to script approval), casting subject to producer/studio approval, crew hiring (subject to budget), shot choices, editing direction. We establish approval authorities: director approves cinematography (through cinematographer), production design, editing (typically director has final say within time/budget constraints), music selection (subject to music supervisor/composer approval). We draft final cut provisions: if director has final cut, director has final approval over final edit (increasingly rare for studio films, more common for independent films), studio retains approval if director lacks final cut. We establish script approval: whether director approves/has input on script, rewrites during production. We address casting input: whether director participates in casting decisions, approval authority, final approval by director/producer/studio. We draft editing and post-production: director’s involvement in editing, number of cut approvals, editing timeline, whether director participates in color grading, sound design, VFX approval. We establish credit and attribution: director credit on all releases (theatrical, streaming, television), opening or closing credits, promotional materials, festival submissions. We draft backend residual provisions: whether director receives ongoing payments if film is re-released, remade, or exploited in new media. We address reversion: if studio doesn’t release film within specified timeframe, rights revert to director. We establish confidentiality, non-disparagement, and dispute resolution.