Why Entertainment Lawyer Chris Edgar Founded Filmtracts: Legal Tech for Indie Film Contracts
May 23, 2024
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Entertainment lawyer Chris Edgar discusses his journey from big law to launching Filmtracts, a platform offering indie filmmakers affordable legal assistance. He talks about the limitations of generic contract templates, the development of a legal tech platform for tailored contracts, and the challenges of launching a tech company with VC investments.
Chris Edgar transitioned from big law to entertainment law and indie film production following his passion for the creative side of the industry.
Film Tracks provides indie filmmakers with customizable film-related contracts via a conditional logic system, merging legal expertise with indie filmmaking.
Deep dives
Chris Edgar's Journey from Big Law to Entertainment Law
Chris Edgar transitioned from working in big law to entertainment law and indie film production after realizing his passion for the creative side of the industry. He founded Film Tracks, a platform offering entertainment-based contracts for indie filmmakers, after being bombarded with legal questions he couldn't accommodate due to affordability. This move allowed him to merge his legal expertise with his love for indie filmmaking.
Film Tracks: Simplifying Indie Filmmaking Legalities
Film Tracks, founded by Chris Edgar, is a SaaS-based app providing indie filmmakers with customizable film-related contracts tailored to their project needs. Users can access contracts via subscription plans or a la carte purchases. The platform's unique feature lies in its conditional logic system that generates contracts based on user input, ensuring accuracy and relevance in indie film contracts.
Future Plans and Expansion of Film Tracks
Chris Edgar aims to expand Film Tracks by offering more contract types on the platform and creating an indie filmmaking education hub. Plans include providing courses on essential filmmaking aspects like camera operation and editing combined with Film Tracks' tools for a comprehensive indie filmmaker education package. Despite the simplicity of the platform, Chris acknowledges the team effort and constant feedback solicitation necessary for its development and enhancement.
Attorney Chris Edgar talks about founding Filmtracts- a DIY platform indie film makers can use to create entertainment based contracts for their projects.
Chris’ career path started with a clerkship for a future U.S. Supreme Court justice and then long hours as a Big Law litigator. After a few years of legal battles in and out of the courtroom, he realized that maybe his current career path wasn’t for him.
That’s because the world of entertainment law and independent film production was calling him. In 2010, Chris threw out his own shingle and founded an entertainment law practice. A few years later he and a partner launched their own indie film production company.
When other indie filmmakers figured out he was an attorney, he was often peppered with legal questions, but most of the time, those asking could not afford his services as an attorney. That’s when he decided to launch Filmtracts. A self serve repository of film related contracts that users can tailor to fit the needs of their project–and depending on the subscription they buy, they can also get a few hours of legal consultation from Chris.
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