- Creative (India)
- Finance & Accounting (India)
- Legal (India)
- Content Standards (India)
- Insurance & Risk Management (India)
- Health & Safety (India)
- Digital Security (India)
- Physical Security (India)
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility (DEIA) (India)
- Travel (India)
- Sustainability (India)
- Assets (India)
- Music (India)
- Ratings (India)
- Visual Effects (VFX) (India)
- X-Ray (India)
- IMDb (India)
- Glossary (India)
Production
Creative (India)
Script Management & Formatting
For Secure Script Storage and Distribution, refer to the Security article.
Prod Co must assign a Script Manager to track the script changes, verify proper formatting, manage script file storage, and secure script distribution. The Production Script Manager is the only person who should access the Production Script folder on the Amazon Studios (“AS”) approved platform.
- Prod Co shall provide AS with copies of all script drafts via AS Approved Platform.
- All scripts must be watermarked with the AS-approved watermark.
- No person may receive a script before they have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
- Scripts may not be printed unless AS Production Executive gives specific approval. Printed Scripts are high-risk physical assets and must be cared for according to the associated physical asset management policies.
- All versions of scripts must have a copyright notice on the title page. Refer to the Copyright Policy for the correct notice.
- The AS Creative Executive will submit the script for copyright registration.
Production must include the title page; an example is below in the templates and exhibits section.
- Script title page must include the following: original source material and writer (if applicable), current draft writer(s), number and date of the current draft, previous draft numbers, dates and writer(s), and Copyright notice.
- Script headers must include Draft Numbers, Date, Page Number, and Color.
- Script footers must include Showcode (once issued) and Property of “Copyright owner.”
Script revisions/drafts will be identified by #, date
Creative Deliverables
Pilot and Series downloadable guides are found here.
Deliverables required before the start of Production:
- Pilot Script
- The script for the first episode of the series. This can vary in length and will usually stipulate a polish by the AS Creative Executive.
- Second Episode Script
- The script for the second episode of the series. This can vary in length and can usually stipulate an outline, the first draft, two sets of revisions, and a polish by the AS Creative Executive.
- Casting
- AS can often ask for any key cast attached to the project or if there are any key targets for casting for the series.
- Key Talent
- AS can often ask if any key heads of departments are attached to the project. These can include Director, Costume Designer, Production Designer, and Director of Photography, among many other roles.
- Timeline for creative deliverables
- A detailed schedule of when AS can expect to receive the above creative deliverables.
- Prod Co Information Pack
- A document detailing the previous work of the Prod Co (as currently staffed), the staff of the Prod Co/team information, and any individual list of projects (where applicable).
- Graphics Concepts
- Final Graphics are due as part of the Post Deliverables, but graphic concepts must be submitted and marked as draft.
- Location Decks, Images, and Research options
- Compilation of all images on a PowerPoint or pdf (deck). This includes research locations and address/contact details.
Deliverables required at the wrap of production:
- Hair, Makeup, Wardrobe Styling
- Final images and styling instructions on Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe.
- Costume Designs and Looks Images
- Props
- Prop Designs & Hero Prop Images, Action Props (e.g., picture vehicles) Images, and make & model details.
- All props must adhere to the Asset Inventory Policy. Documents that outline the creation of props, including specifications, sourcing details, etc.
Deliverables required before the start of Production:
- Taster Tape (Sizzle)(Optional in India)
- A short video outlining the premise for the show, usually constructed of various archive footage and graphics to provide a flavor of what to expect in the series. It can also be specially filmed for AS to showcase key contributors and the creative vision for the show.
- Series Treatment
- A detailed document outlining the format for the show, an episode breakdown for the series, key locations, access required, and a statement on the creative vision and desired tone for the series.
- Access
- Detailing the access for any key cast/personnel/locations required to make the show and the challenges this may cause.
- Key Talent
- Any potential A-list talent or department heads crucial to the project.
- Where applicable, for Host Options, the Prod Co should provide a list of 3 top-tier (potentially “hard to get”) talent and more accessible, mid-level talent.
- Duty of Care Plan
- The plan to guarantee the physical and psychological safety & well-being of the cast.
- Proposed Senior Production Team
- Amazon Studios can often ask if any key heads of departments are attached to the project. These can include Director, Costume Designer, Production Designer, and Director of Photography, among many other roles.
- Location Options
- A detailed list of where the show intends to film and whether there will need to be set construction or it will film purely on location. This can also detail out any necessary recces for the show.
- Archive Footage
- A detailed list of any required archive footage for the series.
Creative Templates & Exhibits
Script Title Page Example
Script_Title_Page_Example20220330.pdf
Pilot & Series Guides
Pilot Structure Guide
AS_Pilot_Structure_Guide20221005.pdf
Series Bible Guide
Finance & Accounting (India)
Administrative
Welcome to the Amazon MGM Studios Production Finance Manual. This manual is tailored to Amazon MGM Features, Scripted Series, and Unscripted Series that are produced in India. Any deviations and exceptions for international productions should be discussed with your Production Finance Executive.
The Line Producer (LP) (or Executive in Charge of Production), and Production Accountant are responsible for ensuring that all studio policies and procedures are followed.
If asked to make any questionable payments or to deviate from the policies established here, notify your Production Finance Executive immediately.
Filing Guidelines
The studio requires that Accounting keep copies (electronic and hard copies) of all physical files for up to 7 years or period required by applicable law, whichever is longer, from when the show or final episode has been launched. The guidelines below are intended to help you set up and maintain this electronic system.
Upon commencement of each project, the Production Accountant should request the access to digital filing (Box) and all studio forms and templates
All documents should be labeled in English in the following format:
SHOW NAME_SEASON NUMBER_EPISODE NUMBER_DOCUMENT NAME (Including Counter Party Name, if applicable) _DOCUMENT DATE_DRAFT or FINAL
Eg: Mirzapur_S1_Ep2_Car rental Hertz_1.03.24_FINAL
Box
Box is a cloud content management and file sharing service. Initial access will be provided to the Production Accountant and additional users can be added later. All scanned files must remain up-to-date on the site.
- Production Finance will set up a Box folder for you to upload all Government-related payments’ supporting documents.
- All files must live in Box. Any documents housed outside of Box should be duplicated and filed into Box.
- Digital Filing must happen “as you go”, not at the end of the show. Box files should remain current at all times.
Approvals
Please ensure the Head of Department, and Executive Producer / Line Producers, approve all payment transactions, including purchase orders, invoices, and petty cash memos (See page 12 - Petty Cash). The approval process must be reviewed and approved by the 3P auditors, before being set in place.
Donations
Do not make any kind of donation without prior studio approval. This includes in kind donations for location fees.
Gift Purchases
Physical Production Executive (or Post Production Executive) and Production Finance Executive approval is required prior to purchasing any gifts for cast or crew.
Production Finance Reporting
3rd Party (3P) Production Auditors
Amazon Studios will assign a certified audit company to your project, and their designated auditors will guide you through the Audit Process & Guidelines. The Production Company must adhere to these guidelines meticulously. Upon request, you must disclose all project-related expenses, including advance payments, estimates/invoices, bank transfer information, and respective payment modes, to the audit company. Final funding will only be released after resolving all outstanding audit findings and completing the audit process. To facilitate final closure, ensure that you provide the auditors with all required documents, such as general ledger, petty cash logs, government-related payment logs, bank statements, invoices, supporting documents, bills, and any other relevant records.
Cost Report
The designated 3P auditors will generate a weekly cost report and share it with Amazon via email – weekly during pre-production and production phases, and monthly during post-production. Any expenses incurred by the Production Company before the 3P auditors join the project must be shared directly with the 3P auditors by the producer. Cost reporting must commence as soon as Amazon funding to the Production Company starts. The designated Amazon MGM Studios’ Cost Reporting Template must be used for these Cost Reports.
Items to include with each submission:
• Cost Report
• Log of all Government-related payments (accompanied with official government receipts)
• Bank Reconciliation
• Bank Statement
• General Ledger
• Details of any Advances paid to line producer (including details of appending invoices)
• Petty Cash Log
The PSC must collaborate with the third-party auditors to review all cost reports before they are submitted to Amazon. After a cost report is finalized and approved by the Amazon Production Finance Executive (APFE).
General Ledger (GL) Submission
All expenses are subject to regular audits. A general ledger entry has to be descriptive and contain all relevant information (nature of goods/ service, vendor information, invoice numbers etc.) to the satisfaction of the 3P Auditors. Each GL entry must be tagged to the right expense head based on the description and must have an invoice number. Any GL without an invoice number/ cash memo details, will not be reimbursed by Amazon. The General Ledger must be submitted to the 3P auditor with each cost report submission to Amazon.
Government-related Payments
All payments made to a Government Entity or Official must be recorded in a separate tracker. Whether payment is made in cash or by wire transfer – and whether directly paid by Prod Co or via third party sub-vendor – all such amounts must be captured in the separate tracker and be supported by an official receipts or ratified documents from the government agency (verified by the auditor). While we highly discourage the use of cash for this type of transaction, in the event of cash payments greater than or equal to INR 20,000 must be pre-approved in writing by your Amazon MGM Studios’ Production Executive and Finance Executive prior to payment release. All official government receipts which serve as back-up are to be scanned and uploaded to BOX.
Mode of Payment
Payment to vendors should be made primarily through bank transfers. In cases where bank transfers are not feasible, prepaid cards or UPI transactions can be utilized. The use of personal credit cards is strictly prohibited. If corporate credit cards need to be used, the Production Accountant must implement a system to clearly track and manage credit card expenditures. Additionally, ensure that the on-ground team receives adequate training to conduct UPI transactions seamlessly.
Overages/Savings
Any and all cost savings from amounts drawn down by the PSC shall accrue to the benefit of Amazon MGM Studios and any and all expenditures incurred by the PSC in excess of the production schedule and budget must be pre-approved in writing by a designated representative of Amazon MGM Studios, on an item-by-item basis in the cost report. The studio shall be under no obligation to advance or pay any overage unless and until such overage has been approved in writing by a duly authorized representative.
Any known savings or overages should be addressed immediately. The Production Accountant MUST have approval from both the Physical Production Executive and Production Finance Executive for ANY bottom-line cost report variances prior to closing the period and publishing the Cost Report.
Cross-Collateralization between Line Items
Cross-collateralization between Above-the-Line (ATL) and Post-Production line items is not permitted. If there is a need for cross-collateralization, pre-approval must be obtained. Any reallocation of expenses between line items that exceeds the threshold mentioned in the Production Services Agreement (PSA) will require written pre-approval from your Amazon Production Executive via email. Adhering to the approved line item budgets is crucial, and any deviations must be properly authorized to ensure compliance with Amazon's policies.
Cash Flow
A detailed cash flow must be submitted, at the very latest, 2 weeks after greenlight. Funding towards the project will only commence once the cashflow is locked. Furthermore, after Greenlight, no runway funding will take place until Amazon receives the signed Standard Terms & Conditions (STC) from the Prod Co. The Cashflow holdback will be as per the holdback percentage mentioned in the Production Service Agreement (PSA). The cash flow format will have the filing instructions and the payment milestones. Any exceptions to Prod Co Agreement will require Amazon written approval.
Please use the provided Cash Flow Templates below.
Scripted / Unscripted / Movies
This cash flow should include all expected expenditures so that the studio can approve weekly pre-production spending. It should tie to the gross production budget, but also include items that affect the cash needs of the production (e.g., deposits, recoverable taxes).
Unless otherwise agreed, the standard mandatory hold-backs are; 2.5% holdback upon delivery and approval of all master materials. The second is a 5% holdback that will be released when all departmental deliverables, payments, final cost report, and supporting documentation have been received and approved by Amazon.
An updated cash flow based on the locked budget should be provided to your Production Finance Executive within 1 week of locking the budget, and at least 3 weeks before day one of principal photography.
If anything occurs during production which causes substantial changes in the cash flow projection (e.g., delays in the start of photography, an increased shooting schedule, substantial budget overruns), a revised cash flow projection will become necessary.
Chart of Accounts/Coding
The Chart of Accounts may not be changed or modified without prior approval from your Production Finance Executive. Please reach out to Production Finance for the current Chart of Accounts. Please use the appropriate COA for your production.
PSC must use the provided Amazon MGM Studios’ production budget template. The Production Accountant should review the budget in pre-production to be sure that all accounts utilized conform the Amazon chart of accounts.
Budgeting
A budget template will be provided by the Amazon Production Executive. Official budget submissions should come to Amazon MGM studios from the Line Producer (LP) (or Executive in Charge of Production or Production Accountant) and always include the Production Accountant, Line Producer, Production Finance Executive, and Physical Production Executive in the distro. Regular updates should be shared throughout pre-production. The locked budget should be submitted at least one month prior to the commencement of principal photography.
Currency Exchange Rates
If other currencies other than INR are used for the production, please ask your Production Finance Executive for the exchange rates to use in the budget. Do not assume any exchange rates otherwise.
Tax Incentives
If your project will be applying for tax or film incentives, please contact Physical Production Executive and Production Finance Executive to discuss how to budget and report it.
Banking Procedures
Bank Accounts
The PSC must set up a production bank account for the sole purpose of the production. The account that the PSC opens for Development funds, may be continued for Production also.
Amazon Prime & MGM Studios Marketing and PR Costs
Costs of other projects and any marketing related costs may not be co-mingled or be paid through the production bank account, except for cost for the Stills Photographer. Please treat all other Marketing and Public Relations (PR) costs as separate from the production budget. This includes costs related to on-site stills photography. Payments for Marketing and PR are not to be paid from the project’s dedicated bank account. All Marketing and PR expenses are subject to Marketing or PR’s prior approval. Please set up a meeting with your Amazon Marketing and PR contact regarding payment details for these activities. If at any point there is doubt as to which account to put money into, check with your Amazon Production Finance Executive.
Foreign Currency
Unless otherwise agreed, the PSC must set up a different bank account for each currency. Each bank account must be registered in Payee Central for the purpose of production funding. Please check with your Production Finance Executive for the availability of currencies as not every currency is pre-approved for funding. If the production requires funding in a currency not immediately available, the studio may need to obtain special permission.
Funding
Once the legal agreements are in place, the PSC must be on-boarded to Amazon’s payment system to initiate funding for both development and production costs. Before Development funding begins, the Prod Co must open a dedicated bank account for each project for the funding to be paid to. When the project is greenlit, the PSC will continue receiving production funding via the same dedicated bank account.
Funding requests should always be based on current production needs. The Production Accountant must continually monitor all bank accounts to make sure they are not over or under funded.
Invoices can only be raised after Amazon has provided the Purchase Order (PO) number. It typically takes 10 to 15 business days for funds to be transferred from the date of receiving an approved invoice. Please note that funding and transactions occurring during month-end closures may require additional processing time.
Related Party Transactions
No payments are allowed to move from the dedicated project account to the Prod Co Bank Account, other than the Production Service Fee, expenses (called out in the STC) and GST return filing payment.
Any transactions done with any related party should be disclosed and pre-approved in writing. These transactions should be at an arm- length pricing and approved by the auditors.
Crew Equipment Rentals/Related Party Rentals
It is studio policy that Production should not rent equipment directly from crew. If an exception is made, PSC must get prior approval from Amazon Production Executive, and Production Finance Executive prior to any payments being processed.
Crew renting equipment to production will not automatically receive certificates of insurance (COI’s). Requests for COI’s must be approved by Legal and the Physical Production Executive.
When Production is renting a vehicle from an employee (not including car allowances), pre-approval must be obtained from Legal. If approved, the Related Party Rental Form will be required along with any other applicable forms as required by Legal.
Equipment rental rates must be negotiated according to policy for all vendor negotiations. The daily rental rate should not exceed 1% of the inventory value (i.e., the rental rate for an inventory valued at INR 800,000 should not exceed INR 8,000/day.) In no case should the total rental paid per year exceed 50% of the inventory value. Do not negotiate an equipment package rental rate without the inventory in hand.
Personal tools of trade kits with inventory values exceeding INR 800,000, are treated as equipment rentals. Equipment rentals are insured by production for the depreciated value of the equipment. It is recommended that the employee keep clear records of all equipment purchases contributing to their equipment package.
Conflict of Interest
The Conflict of Interest Form must be completed by all crew members. If a crew member has a conflict of interest, it must be noted on the form and approved by the Physical Production Executive.
Examples of conflicts of interest are:
• Crew members who engage the services of or purchase/rent goods from a relative.
• Crew members who own or are part owners of a company that provides services/goods/rentals to the production.
• Crew members whose relative(s) are also working on the production.
Accounts Payable
Vendor Invoices
Vendor Invoices
Everything must be billed to the Production Company and all invoices must have the following:
• Invoice number
• Invoice date
• Project name and season number
• Itemized list of items purchased or rented
• Detail of services provided, if applicable
• GST must be clearly separated out
• GST Number (if applicable)
• Correct Company name being billed
• Full name and address of Company issuing invoice
ALL Expenses have to be supported with a valid invoice or an approved Cash Memo or else it will not be reimbursed. Kindly ensure that the on-ground staff is trained to scan/photograph invoices such that there are no instances of missing invoices at the time of verification by 3P auditors.
Invoice and Cash Memo Booklet (PSC to print)
As soon as the show is put into development, the production company must print an invoice book (with unique serial numbers printed) and a cash memo book (refer to the prod fin kick off doc for links to both templates). The format of both these booklets must be followed.
All invoices should be approved by the Head of Department, and Executive Producer / Line Producers.
Contracts
Production (or the appropriate department head) must obtain contracts for all vendors being engaged to provide services or rentals.
Expendables
The studio has a strict policy not to buy expendables from employees. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Some examples of expendables (but not limited to):
1. Camera film stock/digital media cards
2. Lighting gels, diffusion materials
3. Grip tape, cable ties, sandbags
4. Makeup and hair products
5. Production supplies (pens, markers, tapes, clipboards, etc.)
6. Batteries
7. Walkie-talkie batteries/chargers
8. Gaffer's grip supplies (nails, screws, rope, etc.)
9. Craft services supplies (plates, cups, utensils)
10. Set dressing supplies (plants, decor items, paint)
Loss & Damage (L&D)
Any loss or damage when filming must also be documented on the applicable days in the Production Report. All L&D must be coded to the applicable department’s L&D line. Please check with your Amazon production executive if you’re unsure of which COA to use.
Catering Counts
The 3P auditors will cross-check the daily meal counts on the caterer's invoice against the corresponding production report. If a discrepancy is found between the catering invoice and the reported meal count, the supervisor, line producer, or unit production manager will be notified to provide a revised invoice to the auditors.
Deposits
Accounting should ensure all deposits are contractually written before issuing. Any down payments as “deposits” should be charged to cost accounts. All deposits must be collected before final payments are released wherever possible.
Trial Balance – Receivables
All receivables must be invoiced on a timely basis. Accounting should not wait until the end of Principal Photography to collect receivables.
Purchasing Cards (Happay Cards)
It is the studio’s strong preference for productions to be cashless. PCards should be issued to crew members instead of petty cash whenever possible. Amazon MGM Studios discourages the use of personal credit cards and debit cards.
Amazon MGM Studios do require a threshold per top up for each Happay card. Please discuss with your Amazon Production exec, Production Finance exec and Amazon appointed 3P auditor on the maximum threshold per top up for the Happay Card. Contact your Production Finance exec should any requests be made outside of the pre-established limits. All exceptions must be pre-approved by the Production Finance Executive.
PCards are the responsibility of the crew member and are not transferable from one person to another. PCards ordered for employees of a loan-out should be ordered in the name of the employee, not the loan-out company.
Petty Cash
Cash withdrawals are not permitted directly from the project account. Petty cash expenses will only be permitted via a reimbursement model (bank transfer of money to a crew member, for which accounts and bills will be submitted), when all other means of payment have been exhausted. All petty cash expenses must be supported by a cash memo and be recorded in a separate tracker with the following details: date, amount, recipient, description, approver & reason for using cash. Any petty cash expense above INR 1.25 Lac will need a written pre-approval from an Amazon Production executive. If the preapproval is not taken, that expense will not be reimbursed. The Custodian’s petty cash fund should be reconciled to the general ledger on a weekly basis.
Petty Cash CANNOT be used for any of the following:
• Cigarettes (unless it is a prop)
• Alcoholic drinks
• the rental fee of equipment, products and vehicle owned by crew
• Crew/staff labor – including per diem (please discuss with Amazon POC if a foreign crew member is in the team)
Advance Paid to Vendors/Line Producers
Any vendor advances should be released only after doing a complete background check on the vendor/line producer, and after verifying the expense list (no government related payments can be advanced), and payment schedule submitted by them. Any contracted Line Producer must open a separate bank account for a given project. They should be trained on Amazon mandates, and spending and compliance policies. In case of advances above INR 20 lakhs, a written pre-approval should be taken from your Amazon MGM Studios’ Production Finance Executive. For all advances, proper invoices/ cash memos need to be submitted to the auditors. Prod Co must retain a % of the line producer fee payment, to ensure that any adjustment for missing invoices, if needed can be made, as Amazon will not reimburse any advance that is not supported with an invoice.
Prohibited Expenses
Cigarettes, cigars, or alcoholic beverages expenses for any personal use are not permitted. In the event these are needed by the script as a prop, it will have to be verified and accounted for by the auditors.
Assets
The Accounting team is responsible for keeping an accurate and current record of all:
• Items with a value of INR 40,000 (including tax) or higher (tag with “A” in Free Field 1).
• Hero items, regardless of price (tag with “H” in Free Field 1).
• Drives or devices that hold proprietary content, regardless of price (tag with “C” in Free Field 1).
• Transferable Software (such as Showbiz, Movie Magic), regardless of price (tag with “S” in Free Field 1).
• Electronic devices with a value of INR 20,000 or higher (tag with “E” in Free Field 1).
• Other items of value at the Production Accountant’s discretion (tag with “O” in Free Field 1).
Each asset should be entered as a separate GL line item. If multiples of the same item are bought, they can be entered as one-line item, but the quantity must be stated. If an asset (such as wardrobe) is returned, Accounting should tag the returned asset in Free Field 1 with “R” and change the original asset purchase tag to “R”. If a smaller quantity of assets is returned than purchased, the original purchase line should be split out using Posted Items Editor (or your accounting software’s equivalent module).
Department Heads are responsible for all assets charged to their departments. One week prior to the end of filming, Accounting must export all tagged assets to the Asset Log form. Once the assets logged into the form, Accounting should send the template to Production. Production will then sort the assets by department using the tabs provided and distribute the applicable sections to each department.
Studio Physical Production and the Global Physical Production Asset Executive will coordinate with the Production Office to obtain all completed department asset reports. The final Asset Log should be copied to the accounting files. If a department has no assets, please make note.
The absence of any items from the exported list does not preclude accounting for them. There is a section on each department’s tab in the Asset Log that allows for a list of additional items that will be retained that are not tagged as assets in the software.
Titled Assets
All vehicle, boat, or other titled purchases must be pre-approved by the Physical Production Executive, with copy to the Production Finance Executive. Production must notify Risk Management and the insurance broker prior to making payment. All titled assets must be registered in the production entity’s name, and all sales and transfer taxes must be paid. The Production Office should make a copy of the title and registration, and Accounting should file it in the applicable A/P file. Production will send the original title, registration, and keys to studio Physical Production at wrap. Storage options, transport, and sales of purchased vehicles will be coordinated by Production with the approval of the Physical Production Executive.
Asset Sales
Assets are not to be sold or given away without the prior approval of the Physical Production Executive and Global Physical Production Asset Executive.
Sustainability
Sustainability tracking is the responsibility of the Production Office. The studio’s Sustainability Department will reach out to Production during prep to coordinate the requirements for tracking. Free field tagging is generally not necessary, as the applicable data can be found via account code or vendor. The Production Coordinator and/or Travel Coordinator should have much of the required documentation, but Accounting may be required to pull backup upon request. Examples include electricity vendor bills, and hotel/travel bills.
Tax Incentives
The following applies to PSC’s: The PSC should work with the studio’s Tax Incentive department, Physical Production Executive, and Production Finance Executive to take all steps necessary to obtain any and all tax credits, incentives, subsidies, rebates, or other financial relief made available in all applicable jurisdictions. The PSC will work with the studio to determine whether the PSC or the studio is the legal applicant for each tax incentive. All preliminary/initial and final applications must be sent to the Production Finance Executive and Tax Incentive department.
The studio utilizes several different advisors and service providers to prepare and submit Production Incentive applications. Projects eligible for any Production Incentive should properly budget for any preparation, auditing, and filing fees.
The PSC must ensure that it meets all the relevant requirements of, and promptly files all necessary documentation for the tax incentives, including compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements (including the required payments of taxes, social charges, and other payments to government agencies). Throughout this process the studio’s Tax Incentive department will oversee the stages of the tax incentive and serve as a bridge between PSC, Production Finance Executive, and Physical Production Executive.
Insurance Claims
As soon as you become aware of an incident that could give rise to an insurance claim, it is essential that the Physical Production Executive, Production Finance Executive, Risk Management, broker(s), and the insurance company are notified.
Any cost pertaining to the insurance claim should be tagged in the general ledger. All costs should remain in their original cost accounts with normal tax credit tagging. Accounting should tag the insurance field (i.e., I1, I2) for all claimable costs. This way, a ledger can be run using the insurance FF tag to isolate the claim costs for both the insurance company and the tax credit auditor. Cost report variances should be reflected in each of the costs accounts with any insurance claim spend. These insurance variances should then be offset by a credit in the ETC column in account 6771-0000 (MGM COA). The ETC credit in 6771-0000 (Amazon COA) should tie to the total amount flagged in the GL to date for the claim. Before issuing your first cost report with an insurance ETC credit, reach out to your Production Finance Executive to discuss adding a discount amount for the claim.
The deductible for the claim should be coded to account 6771-0001 (Amazon COA).
The Production Accountant is responsible for maintaining detailed supporting documentation (e.g., checks/invoices, timecards/paystubs, envelopes/receipts) reflecting all relevant costs for the insurance claim. This documentation should include copies of all payments tagged for insurance, which should be saved in a separate Box folder for each claim. The payments should also remain in their standard A/P, Payroll, or PCard file. (In other words, there will be 2 sets of backups for all insurance claim items – one in the standard file, and one in the relevant insurance claim file.)
The Production Accountant should also request a detailed claim narrative from the Production department for all claim elements. This narrative should explain the events that led to the insurance claim and the estimated cost impact to production. The Production Accountant should keep this memo as well as relevant documentation including schedules, calendars, call sheets, production reports, and medical letters in the Box folder for each claim.
Please make sure all claim documents have been submitted and confirmed receipt by Amazon’s appointed insurance broker prior to Accounting wrap. As soon as all insurance claim costs have been paid and/or assessed and all documentation has been prepared for the claim, please notify the studio so that the claim details and all relevant backup can be submitted to the claim’s adjuster/insurer. Speak to your Production Finance Executive should you require additional assistance in this process.
Production Audits
Amazon MGM Studios shall be given access to production accounts, records, and other information to allow the studio to conduct audit(s) related to the project’s expenditures. The Production Accounting team will give all reasonable assistance to Amazon MGM Studios and/or its representatives in this regard, including but not limited to, inquiries, walkthroughs of processes, gathering and providing supporting documentation, and remediating any exceptions identified during the audit.
We will confirm which certified audit company will reach out to you. The auditors and Production POC will walk you through the Audit Process & Guidelines, and the Prod Co must adhere to those guidelines. Please disclose all project-related expenses (e.g. advance payments, estimates/invoices, bank transfer information), and the respective payment mode, to the audit company upon their asking. The final funding will only be paid after the audit has been completed. Please ensure you provide all the documents required by them for final closure (Example - Bank statement, Invoices, Supporting’s, Bills, etc.)
Anti-Bribery and Corruption Requirements
Amazon does not tolerate corruption and it expects the same commitment for third parties that work on its behalf. All PSCs must adhere to the anti-bribery and corruption requirements as detailed in their PSA, Standard Terms & Conditions, and any other applicable agreements with Amazon. Specifically, you must conduct business legally, ethically, and with the highest levels of integrity, and not engage in bribery of any kind, including, without limitation, kickbacks, unofficial payments, facilitation payments, grease payments or courtesy payments, whether directly, or indirectly, through a third party.
Wrap
Development, Pre-Production, and Production Cost Closure: All costs related to development, pre-production, and production must be closed with the auditors within 30 days of the last shoot day.
Wrap Memo and Checklist: Upload a copy to the designated BOX folder before show wrap. Report any incomplete or outstanding items to Amazon MGM Studios Production and Finance Executives. Notify Amazon MGM Studios Finance Executive if there is a refund inbound.
Final Deliverables and Project Closure: Once final deliverables are approved by Amazon, close out all remaining petty cash floats, deposits, accounts receivable. Share zero-balance bank statement and final cost report with auditors within 2 months of final delivery. Any delays beyond 2 months will result in production house bearing closing costs (auditor fees, storage, etc.). Unreconciled audit findings (missing invoices, government receipts, pre-approvals) will be adjusted from the last payment tranche.
Legal (India)
Working with Amazon Legal
Production Company (“Prod Co”) is required to engage external production counsel to handle all day-to-day legal matters in connection with the program. Amazon Legal must approve any production counsel engaged by the Prod Co.
The production budget for the production will include a legal line item (“LLI”) specifically reserved for production legal costs, including engaging outside counsel as necessary. The LLI needs to be approved by Amazon Legal and may vary from production to production, depending on the production’s legal needs. The LLI may not be cross-collateralized with any other line items without Amazon Legal’s prior written approval. Unless the Prod Co fully relies on internal counsel and does not engage any outside counsel, any amount of the LLI not spent at the end of production will be deemed underage.
If the Prod Co engages outside counsel, the in-house legal counsel at the Prod Co (or if there is no in-house legal counsel, the line producer at the Prod Co or other proxy approved by Amazon Legal) should submit a one-page attestation that sets forth the production used [•] law firm(s), for [•] hours, at the cost of [•] (in local currency), and that the foregoing is true and accurate (with a wet ink or e-signature), with the substantiating invoice(s) from outside counsel attached.
The key points of contact will be the Amazon lawyer leading the project.
This document does not constitute legal advice. Prod Co should always confirm compliance with all applicable laws with its own legal counsel.
General Legal/Corporate Requirements
Violations of Production Manual
Failure to comply with provisions of this Production Manual by any production personnel, employees, contractors, or vendors may be a cause for termination or other remedies under the relevant contract.
A. OVERVIEW:
Production Company (“Prod Co”) is responsible for ensuring that all program content and materials for an Amazon Studios program (“AS Program”) are cleared for exploitation in all media, throughout the universe, in perpetuity, on a full buyout basis, including for use in marketing and promotions. Prod Co may not rely on a fair-use defense (or similar doctrines/copyright exceptions) to incorporate third-party materials.
This document does not constitute legal advice. Amazon's approval of forms, and Prod Co's use of any forms provided by Amazon, do not constitute legal advice.
AS provides a few guideposts below, but context can affect particular clearance decisions.
The Prod Co should have a team of individuals experienced in clearance work dedicated to reviewing scripts, cuts, and any third-party material incorporated in the AS Program, including a clearance coordinator (“Production Company Clearance Team”). In addition, the Prod Co should work closely with their in-house legal team or external legal counsels (“Production Company Counsel” or “Prod Co Counsel”) on all clearance matters.
B. CLEARANCE-RELATED DELIVERABLES:
AS requires delivery of:
- a Master Clearance & Release Log in the Amazon approved format[1] at Rough Cut Two (unless directed otherwise by AS Legal) for each AS Program and each episode, if applicable, in which all rights and restrictions on the cleared material are listed
- an Ad/Pub Restrictions Memo, if requested by AS, explicitly highlighting the restrictions any material may have in relation to trailers, advertisements, or publicity campaigns.
All deliverables should be uploaded in accordance with the Legal Deliverables guidance below.
C. NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF POTENTIAL CLEARANCE TOPICS FOR REVIEW:
BRAND NAME PRODUCTS/LOGOS:
If an actual brand name will be used in a storyline or otherwise is prominently featured, whether scripted or not, AS Legal must be notified and approve the use.
AMAZON AND COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS: When possible, productions should display Amazon electronic devices, as opposed to competitive products, on-screen. For example, on-screen:
- e-reading device should be a Kindle;
- far-field voice-activated device should be an Amazon Echo;
- video streaming device should be Fire TV;
- video streaming service should be Prime Video, etc.
Please email AS Legal and AS Production to request to use Amazon-branded Kindles, Fire Tablets, and Echo devices on screen. Please note that there are specific usage guidelines to consider for the onscreen use of the Alexa product. Please discuss any proposed use of the Alexa product with the AS legal team.
COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS: Artistic or otherwise-copyrightable work that Prod Co uses or displays on camera should be fully cleared as either (1) licensed, (2) original to the AS Program, or (3) confirmed – by Prod Co Counsel – to be in the public domain. Please be mindful of the following non-exhaustive list of potentially copyrighted material:
- Sculptures, murals, photographs, and other art on a set or location.
- Photographs or artwork on or in books, newspapers, magazines, or including social media sites, governmental sites, Flickr, and Wikipedia. Even if Flickr or Wikipedia says a photo or piece of artwork is in the public domain, it is not necessarily true.
- Public art, like murals, artistic graffiti, sculptures, and other installations on or readily viewed from public streets and sidewalks. Please consult with your Counsel before using an establishing shot of public art (e.g., the Hollywood Sign, Eiffel Tower Lights).
- Billboards, software, games, calendars, puzzles, board games, toys, puzzles, maps, etc.
- Covers and inside pages of newspapers, magazines, brochures, etc.
- Books, including the cover, inside text, and/or illustrations.
- Decals, bumper stickers, buttons.
- Artistic logos, insignias, patches, badges, uniforms, emblems, seals, etc., of real organizations, including awards from a real organization (e.g., Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Academy Award).
- Real radio and TV station call letters.
- Phone/Tablet apps (or their icons) that appear on-screen, including Whatsapp and iMessage.
- Quotes from books, movies, television shows, songs, etc.
- Photos or graphics used for green screen backgrounds or other interview backdrops.
- Items purchased from online retailer sites such as AMAZON, ETSY, EBAY, CRAIGSLIST, ETC.
- Third-party footage (including from the owner of the clip and from any talent appearing in the clip), such as news, television, or film clips; home videos; FaceTime footage; and YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, or Periscope clips, in-game graphics for video games.
- Fonts.
- Tattoos – including tattoos on the actor and those created for the AS Program.
- Wardrobe.
MUSIC: All music appearing in an AS Program, no matter how brief, must be fully cleared as either (1) licensed, (2) original to the AS Program, or (3) confirmed – by Prod Co Counsel – to be in the public domain.
Licensed commercial music (i.e., pre-existing music other than “library music”) is subject to the same clearance requirements as any other artistic/copyrightable material. Amazon has agreements in place with music libraries, so please consult with your AS Music Executive before entering into any license agreements for this kind of music. Any limitation on the use of music should be approved by Amazon in writing, and noted in a music restrictions memo (see Music section).
Following is a non-exhaustive list of potential music-related issues to be mindful of:
- Ambient music (e.g., playing in the background at a restaurant or festival or in a car) requires a license for the underlying composition and recording. This also includes radio broadcasts, TV theme songs, etc.
- Impromptu music (e.g., singing, humming, whistling, or quoting lyrics from copyrighted songs) also requires a license. This often becomes an issue when talent improvises on camera by, for example, humming a brief portion of a copyrighted song.
- Instrumental performances by on-camera talent (e.g., an actor playing a song on guitar).
- Lyrics or sheet music on screen.
- Music included in archive clips.
- Ringtones.
INDIVIDUAL LIKENESS / PERSONALITY RIGHTS / PUBLICITY RIGHTS RELATED CLEARANCE TOPICS:
- Individual Likenesses: Likeness releases may be required for individuals that appear recognizably in any photographs, paintings, magazines, newspapers, etc.
- Real Personal Information:
- Credit cards, checks, and other paperwork with actual, personal identifying information should never be legible on screen. Personal phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses should be blurred. Prod Co Counsel will need to review content for any data protection & privacy concerns.
- Recognizable license plates should not be legible on the screen.
- Please consult with Prod Co Counsel and the Prod Co Clearance Team regarding the use of Tweets, Facebook posts, instant messages, text messages, emails, etc.
- Talent’s Personal Photographs: Candid childhood and/or other family photos provided by talent usually require (a) a materials release signed by the photographer; and (b) likeness release(s) signed by any individuals (and/or parent(s) or guardian(s) in the event a minor is portrayed) appearing in the photographs.
- Victims of Crime: AS does not allow images of real crime scenes or victims or the use of real names of victims. Prod Co should use fictional crime photos with fictitious names.
MISCELLANEOUS:
On-screen use of the following items may be subject to restrictions under applicable local laws:
- Currency/Money
- Flags
Please discuss the same with AS legal and Prod Co Counsel.
D. CONTENT STANDARDS: Please be aware that certain objects/products may not be approved for use in AS Programs per the content standards.
E. CREDITS: Please refer to Amazon’s Credit Policy for direction on any credit-related questions, including Thank You credits.
F. GENERAL PRODUCTION: FILMING IN PUBLIC SPACES
Generally, cameras should be open and obvious when filming in places where the public might be, and Prod Co should post wide-area releases around the vicinity in primary and secondary languages for the shooting location. Subject to applicable local law, Prod Co may not need to ask bystanders to sign a likeness release if they are not heard or featured on camera. But when someone who is not part of Prod Co speaks or interacts on camera, or may in some other way be featured, ask that person to sign a likeness release. If the person will not sign a release or one was not obtained for some other reason, seek guidance from Prod Co Counsel as to whether the footage can be included in the program. Do not blur individual likenesses, artwork, or other third-party materials without approval from AS Legal because blurs can impact the Prime Video customer experience.
G. STOCK FOOTAGE AND PHOTO BANK VENDORS
For Stock Footage related queries, please refer to the Stock Footage Licensing Guidelines.
AS prioritizes the health and safety of its unscripted programming participants and expects the Prod Co to maintain a safe environment. The appropriate level of care varies based on the nature of the show and the type of participant (professional performers vs. non-professionals). Prod Co must develop a duty of care plan in two steps: (1) casting/diligence (must be submitted before casting begins) and (2) production/after-care (must be submitted at least four (4) weeks before production begins).
Casting Diligence
Casting Notices, Applications & Releases
Prod Co must set accurate expectations with participants, beginning with casting. Casting notices and communications must be truthful and accurate, and the casting process must comply with AS Inclusion Policy and all applicable laws, including those relating to the protection of minors and data privacy. Prod Co is responsible for ensuring that casting personnel are adequately trained on best practices for communicating with potential participants. Prod Co must establish eligibility requirements and clearly set forth in public-facing casting materials. All public-facing casting materials (e.g., notices, applications, websites, casting releases) must be vetted by Prod Co’s counsel and approved by AS Legal prior to use.
Participant Agreements/Releases
Prod Co should clearly disclose to participants what is expected of them in connection with their participation in the show, including any anticipated risks (e.g., strenuous or hazardous activities, intrusive scrutiny into their past (including social media history), prior to the participant signing the participant agreement. Such disclosure should be communicated by Prod Co during casting and memorialized in the participant agreements.
Participants must be given sufficient time to review the participant agreement with their lawyers. Permissions for any medical evaluations, psychological evaluations, and/or background checks, including any necessary privacy notices/consents, must be included in the participant agreement.
Prod Co must comply with all applicable laws and ensure that all participants have the legal capacity to enter into a contract, including those with special considerations (e.g., minors, people whose primary language differs from the release, etc.). Participant agreements must be signed before diligence begins.
Diligence
Participants should be individually assessed on their suitability to participate. Please see Legal - Compliance - Background Checks, Medical and Psychological Evaluations for a detailed policy regarding diligence that must be completed for all participants.
Production / After-care
During Production
Prod Co is required to submit a proposed Production/After-Care plan to AS Legal for approval no less than six (6) weeks prior to the commencement of production. Prod Co should refer to the Health & Safety section if the show involves any dangerous or risky activities.
Prod Co should also consider implementing the following measures, as applicable:
- A participant handler to act as a singular point of contact with whom participants can interact from arrival through production and aftercare.
- DEI training (in addition to any required anti-harassment training).
- Social media training for participants.
- Cast and participant safety protocols that include general safety trainings and daily safety meetings.
- Psychological counseling is available on-site or on-call during filming.
- Protocols for monitoring participant prescription medication.
- Protocols for non-voluntary terminations/departures (including travel plans).
After Production
Prod Co is responsible for creating a Production/After-care plan considering each show's specific circumstances. If applicable, the plan may include the following after-care measures (note this is not a comprehensive list):
- Regular check-ins with participants by the participant handler or show psychologist up to/during/after launch
- Continued support available to participants for a set time period following the launch
- Establishment of a designated email address or other contact method (e.g., hotline) that remains available to raise concerns after the show has launched
Fair Editing/Fair Portrayal
While editing a show in a manner that truncates time periods or re-orders events for storytelling purposes is acceptable, provided the gist of the statement or events in the show are accurate, material facts should not be presented or omitted in a way that is unfair to an individual.
SAMPLE PLAN
Below is a High-Risk sample duty of care plan for reference. AS must approve all plans.
A | B | |
1 | Risk Assessment | Mitigating Steps |
2 | “High Risk” show example - high level of control over participants, strenuous activities anticipated, and participants are not professional performers. |
Casting/Diligence
|
3 |
During Production
|
|
4 |
After Production
|
Contracts
1. Legal Requirements
It is Prod Co’s responsibility that all contracts entered into in connection with an Amazon program comply with the following:
- a) all applicable laws and regulations,
- b) if applicable, guild and union rules,
- c) if applicable, the Amazon Business Affairs approved commercial terms,
- d) the terms of the service agreement between Amazon and Prod Co, including the Production Manual, also known as the Global Production Manual, (“Service Agreement Terms”),
- e) the terms set forth in the Key Legal Terms section, (“Key Legal Terms”),
- f) all other relevant terms and provisions (e.g., representations, warranties, indemnification, limitation of liability, insurance, tax, jurisdiction, general legal provisions, etc., collectively the “General Terms”).
Please ensure in-house legal counsel or Amazon Legal approved outside legal counsel specialized in local entertainment law (jointly “Production Counsel”) review and confirm compliance of all contracts entered into in connection with an Amazon program with these requirements.
2. Signed Agreement Policy
Amazon has a strict signed agreement policy and reserves the right to suspend funding in case of non-compliance with this policy. Signature of “deal memos,” “certificate of engagements,” “CANs,” or similar “short forms” is not sufficient. In all cases, the relevant agreements must be signed before services are provided, or work has begun. For example (the following is not an exhaustive list):
- all actors must sign their agreements before traveling, before a table read, or before appearing on camera, whichever date is earliest;
the applicable location agreement needs to be signed before use of the applicable location, Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) must be signed prior to providing materials (e.g., script pages), etc.
Electronic signatures are acceptable to the extent permitted and enforceable under applicable local law.
All equipment and production-related materials rented or purchased must have an associated contract.
No contract should be signed and/or terms agreed upon prior to obtaining approval by the required Amazon approvers. See Amazon Approvals Matrix for more details.
3. Templates
Amazon Legal will provide an approved packet of Amazon templates for use by Prod Co. Amazon templates may still need to be tailored to the individual program’s requirements and the approved commercial terms, in which case Amazon Legal will review such changes to the extent required per the Approvals Matrix.
Use of non-Amazon templates by Prod Co is permitted if Amazon Legal pre-approves. In all cases, Production Counsel should review and confirm compliance of the template with the Legal Requirements.
4. Approval Matrix, Contract Negotiations & Key Legal Terms
Prod Co is responsible for drafting, negotiating, and closing all contracts per the following steps based on the templates above.
a) Amazon Approval Matrix
This table indicates the required Amazon approvers of production-related contracts.
A | B | C | D | E | |
1 | Amazon BA | Amazon Legal | Amazon Production | Amazon Music BA | |
2 | Key Above-The-Line (ATL) talent (director, series regulars, main cast (movie), writer, executive producer/producer, showrunner, participant, host, composer, and any other comparable ATL talent) | X | X |
X (composer, on-camera music talent, artists for original songs) |
|
3 | Non-Key ATL talent (Non-Series regular, non-main cast, guest star, extras, etc.) | ||||
4 | Heads Of Departments (Director of Photography, Production Designer, Editor, Music Supervisor, Line Producer/UPM, Costume Designer, location managers) |
X (line producer series/movies) |
|
X |
X (Music Supervisor) |
5 | Casting Director/Agency | X | X | ||
6 | (Sub)Production Service Agreement | X | X | ||
7 | Property Leases, Stage Rentals, Location Agreements | X | |||
8 | Union contracts | X | X | ||
9 | BTL (including crew) | ||||
10 | Materials Use Licenses, Clearance Documents, Clip Licenses, Releases, Music Licenses, NDAs, etc. | ||||
11 | Transportation, Housing, and Vendor Agreements | ||||
12 | Any agreement that Amazon may request to review | X |
b) Process for contracts requiring Amazon Legal approval as set forth in the Amazon Approval Matrix
- I. Amazon Business Affairs must approve all commercial terms (e.g., fees, payment terms, profit participation, credits, options, exclusivity, marketing obligations, etc.) before sending them to the counterparty. Changes to the approved terms during the negotiations require Amazon Business Affairs approval.
- If requested by Amazon Legal, Prod Co to provide visibility overdrafts before sending them to the counterparty.
- Prod Co is responsible for negotiations. Amazon Legal must approve any deviation from the Service Agreement Terms & Key Legal Terms.
- For General Terms, it is Prod Co’s responsibility to negotiate them autonomously without Amazon Legal team’s involvement. Any omissions, deviations, restrictions, or limitations are at Prod Co’s sole risk and expense; please consult with your Production Counsel and ensure AS legal’s approval.
For all other contracts:
- Prod Co is responsible for handling the negotiations without Amazon Legal involvement. Deviations from Service Agreement Terms & Key Legal Terms are not permitted.
II. With respect to General Terms, it is Prod Co’s responsibility to negotiate them autonomously without Amazon Legal involvement. Any omissions, deviations, restrictions, or limitations are at Prod Co’s sole risk and expense; please consult with your Production Counsel.
Key Legal Terms
Contracts should comply with the following Key Legal Terms below to the maximum extent legally permissible under applicable law and to the extent applicable for the respective contract. Discuss with Amazon Legal in case the Amazon Business Affairs approved terms conflict with the Key Legal Terms. All Amazon templates comply with the Key Legal Terms, but non-Amazon templates may need to be adjusted accordingly. Please consult with your Production Counsel.
A | B | |
1 | Rights | Ownership/work-made-for-hire/assignment of all rights as per Service Agreement Terms, including the right to use the name/voice/image/likeness of individuals engaged for the program in perpetuity throughout the universe in all media and distribution modes in and in connection with the Program and the exploitation and/or promotion thereof (including in commercial tie-ins and exploitation of any ancillary rights related to the program). |
2 | All rights to be assignable and sub-licensable. | |
3 | Confidentiality | local entertainment industry-standard confidentiality clause |
4 | Credits | all aspects of credits (form, placement, etc.) are subject to Amazon’s credit policy |
5 | Injunctive Relief | waiver of injunctive relief (or restrictive covenant to the extent waiver is not enforceable) |
6 | Damages | waiver of indirect, incidental, and consequential damages |
7 | Termination | local entertainment industry standard termination right for cause including (1) material contractual breach, (2) any breach of Prod Co’s anti-harassment/discrimination policy |
8 | for ATL talent only, the termination right (1) for “bad acts” and (2) without cause | |
9 | the termination right for force majeure events (including COVID-19) | |
10 | pro-rated fees in case of termination | |
11 | rights assignment, confidentiality and waiver of injunctive relief to survive termination | |
12 | Option extension & suspension | for ATL talent only, in case of incapacity of any key talent, force majeure events (including COVID-19), claims or litigation relating to the program or material contractual breach, for a period up to the length of the event plus 30 days (1) any option period (if any) will be automatically extended and (2) to suspend, with no compensation becoming due during the suspension |
13 | Data protection | local entertainment industry-standard data protection clause, which also allows sharing of personal information with Amazon, including a reference to Amazon’s privacy notice |
14 | Assignability | the contract can be assigned to and by Amazon |
15 | No approval rights | no approval rights, in particular relating to creative, financial or business decisions, press releases, marketing material, or the marketing or distribution of the program |
16 | No obligation / guarantee to use services / rights | no obligation/guarantee to use contractual partner’s services/rights |
17 | No MFN | no MFN (most favored nation) clause (except for BA-approved size/style credit ties and travel/accommodation perks) |
18 | No downstream obligations | no commitment or obligation requiring compliance by Amazon or distributors (e.g., actor’s dubbing right in foreign languages, entitlement to be engaged for additional services, obligation for Prod Co or Amazon to produce or release the program, profit participation, prominence on marketing material, any guild provisions, e.g., DGA, WGA, etc..) |
19 | Amazon expressly required terms | all terms that Amazon Legal may require to review for a specific contract |
5. Contract Language
If English is not the primary language of a contract, Amazon requires that certain contracts must be prepared in dual columns including both the local language and the English translation. Consult the AS Legal team. In any case, any translations should be coordinated/approved by Production Counsel.
6. Contract Delivery & Storage
Signed contracts should be delivered to Amazon as follows:
- All agreements should be collected by Prod Co and uploaded into a Legal Deliverables folder within Amazon’s delivery system (see Legal Deliverables section), as soon as possible after they are fully executed.
- All cast/crew, visitors, vendors, and background artists are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as part of their start paperwork and before being granted access to any production-related materials.
- If the long-form agreement signed by the service provider already contains non-disclosure terms and the agreement is signed prior to accessing any production-related materials, no additional non-disclosure agreement need to be signed. Otherwise, a stand-alone non-disclosure agreement must be signed.
- NDA Forms for each territory can be found attached below.
Prior to filming a scene with nudity, Sexual Content, or other forms of intimacy (including kissing) that is otherwise permissible under these guidelines, the Actor must be provided with a copy of the script in advance and consent to performing the scene. In addition, the performer’s agreement must contain separate provisions addressing the parties’ expectations regarding the filming of Sexual Content (as defined below) as approved by Amazon Studios Legal.
Sexual Content includes the below. Note, this is not an exhaustive list:
- Simulated sex
- Kissing on the body
- Making out
- Portrayal of contact with chest or genitals
- Use of prosthetic genitalia or prosthetic breasts
Compliance
All casting applications/notices/websites and any other public-facing casting materials must be approved by Prod Co’s (Prod Co) counsel and Amazon Legal (see Approvals Section below) before being published.
- In advance of casting, written eligibility requirements must be approved by the Production’s Counsel and Amazon Legal. Approved eligibility requirements must be set forth in public-facing casting materials.
- Casting materials and process (including, without limitation, any third-party casting websites used) must comply with Amazon's policies and all applicable laws, including applicable privacy laws
- Any use of Amazon’s name or intellectual property (including the name of the project or any associated intellectual property) in casting materials must be approved in advance by Amazon Legal, Amazon Creative, and Amazon PR and comply with the IP policy here: Legal - IP Management - Use of Amazon Logo).
- Any use of the name or likeness of any show talent in casting materials must be approved in advance by Amazon Legal, Amazon Creative, and Amazon PR.
- If including prizing information in casting materials, the prizing must be approved in advance by Amazon Creative, Amazon Production, and Amazon Legal.
Casting applications must include questions designed to vet for potential conflicts (e.g., disclosure of any pre-existing relationships between the candidate and anyone involved in the production, in particular, judges and hosts in unscripted competitions, quizzes, and game shows).
If some show aspects are unknown at the casting stage (e.g., host/judges not yet cast or cast but not yet publicly announced), candidates may complete the conflict questionnaires later. Still, all questionnaires should be completed and vetted by Prod Co’s counsel & Amazon Legal prior to final cast selection.
All quiz, game, or competition show elements, including the prizing, must comply with all applicable laws. The Prod Co must prepare a compliance plan for approval by Prod Co’s counsel and Amazon Legal during pre-production before any filming takes place.
Casting
The Producer is responsible for compliance with all requirements in the Casting - Compliance section of this manual. Pay special attention to the requirements applicable to quiz, game, and competition shows.
Prizing
Prizing must be determined in advance of production and approved by Amazon Creative, Amazon Production, and Amazon Legal prior to any announcement of the prize, whether in writing or verbal, including in any casting materials.
Consider the impact of any prizing on the eligibility requirements for participants (i.e., all participants who are competing for a prize must be legally eligible to win the prize).
Rules
Series Rules and individual challenge or game rules (as applicable) must be drafted by ProdCo’s counsel and approved by Amazon Legal in advance of production.
- Rules should clearly set forth the prizing, criteria for winning/eliminations (as applicable), and any other information relevant to how the competition works. Participants must be briefed on the rules and given an opportunity to ask questions.
- All participants must provide acknowledgment, in writing (e.g., a signed copy of the rules), of receipt of the rules for the overall series as well as individual games and challenges. Acknowledgment must be provided in writing (e.g., a signed copy of the rules) in advance of commencing any applicable game or challenges. If Prod Co plans to obtain acknowledgment in any form other than by signed writing (e.g., filmed acknowledgment) in advance of the challenge or game, please prepare a written acknowledgment plan for approval by Amazon Legal.
- Any modifications to the rules must be vetted by Prod Co’s counsel and approved by Amazon Legal in advance of implementation.
Game Materials
If game materials are involved (e.g., questions and answers), the materials must be reviewed and approved by Prod Co’s counsel and Amazon Legal. In some instances, Amazon may require additional review and approval of game materials by a specialized third-party compliance company. Plans for the security and randomization of game materials and compliance vendors must be vetted by Prod Co’s counsel and approved by Amazon Legal.
Amazon Legal requires that certain diligence is conducted regarding performers and crew members prior to engagement. Required diligence may include background checks, medical evaluations, psychological evaluations and social media checks, in each instance to the extent permissible under applicable local law. This is not a comprehensive list of factors.
- Background checks:
- For unscripted programming: Scenarios in which participants live together; high stress environments (e.g., competition shows with high value prizes); creative involving potential confrontation, conflict, or emotionally challenging situations; high-profile shows with extensive media attention; interaction with celebrities or other high-profile talent.
- For all programming: Background checks must be conducted for any cast and crew that will be working with or in close proximity to any minors, with the list of such individual crew members to be approved by AS Production Executive and confirmation of background checks by AS Legal.
- Medical evaluations:
- For unscripted programming: Where participants live together or are likely to engage in intimate activities, medical evaluations should be performed and should include testing for STDs and other communicable diseases.
- For all programming: Demanding physical activity or any highly stressful physical situations (e.g., extreme weather). This includes stunts in scripted and unscripted programs.
- Choice of Physician: Whether the medical evaluation should be performed by the talent’s physician or an independent physician engaged by the Prod Co will depend on the severity of the physical activity and stress level required of the participants, as well as any relevant insurance requirements. The Prod Co should make a determination and consult with Amazon Legal for approval regarding proposed selection of physician.
- Psychological evaluations:
- For unscripted programming only: Scenarios in which participants live together; high stress environments (e.g. competition shows with high value prizes); creative involving potential confrontation, conflict or emotionally challenging situations; high profile shows with extensive media attention; programs where participants might be removed from their family or social network for an extended period of time.
This is not a comprehensive list of factors, and Prod Co and Prod Co’s counsel is responsible for evaluating the applicable show and proposing a diligence plan to Amazon Legal. Once the plan is approved, copies of all evaluation results must be sent only to Prod Co’s counsel and Amazon Legal through a secured method for assessment (i.e., not included with any other production deliverables). Handling and retention of evaluation results by Prod Co must comply with all applicable privacy and data protection laws as well as the General Data Protection Regulation section of the Production Manual (see Legal - IP Management - General Data Protection Regulation).
Any individual who was subject to a diligence review must also be approved by Prod Co’s counsel, Amazon Creative, and Amazon Legal in order to move forward. Amazon Legal has absolute discretion to approve or deny the casting of any individual who was subject to a diligence review for any reason.
Amazon Legal must approve vendors for medical evaluations, psychological evaluations, and background checks before engagement. Consult the applicable Country Addendum to this Production Manual for a list of pre-approved vendors for your country.
Amazon’s pre-approved global vendor for background checks is:
Edward Myers
Amazon requires that an intimacy coordinator be engaged for any programs with scenes involving nudity, intimate scenes, or other potentially sensitive material (e.g., sexual assault, rape, etc.). An intimacy coordinator is (1) a liaison between actors and production, a (2) movement coach and/or choreographer for scenes involving intimacy or nudity, and (3) an advocate for performers. ProdCo must contact Amazon Legal and Amazon Production to discuss engaging a certified intimacy coordinator well in advance of filming the relevant scenes.
Standards & Protocols: The following are the key areas of expertise that are recommended for this position. Please refer to the glossary below for the definition of the terms within these standards:
- Awareness of on-screen sexual and intimate storytelling.
- Movement coaching, safety in facilitating physicality of scenes, and masking techniques.
- Knowledge and collaboration regarding use of modesty garments and barriers for safety, comfort, and sexual health.
- Navigation of on-set culture and understanding of on-set etiquette.
- Knowledge of boundaries, consent, and anti-harassment.
- Awareness of gender and sexual diversity and the presence of power dynamics.
No simulated sex of nudity in initial auditions or screen tests.
A Nudity / Simulated Sex Rider must be negotiated and signed by the Actor and reviewed by the intimacy coordinator, director, and actor prior to the filming of any nude and/or simulated sex scenes. (See the Legal - Contract - Nudity Riders).
Best Practice is to be followed and includes, but is not limited to the following:
Pre-Production
- Nudity and Sexual Content should never be filmed unless Amazon Studios Legal and Content Standards has provided prior written approval that such scenes may be filmed.
- Identify all scenes with nudity, intimacy, sensitive content (such as sexual assault, even if fully clothed and no sex).
- Notify Amazon Production and Amazon Legal of scenes and begin engagement of intimacy coordinator.
- Interview and review qualifications of intimacy coordinator.
- Connect the intimacy coordinator to the production team and casting directors to communicate the needs of performers.
On Set
- Obtain acknowledgment by all cast and crew that intimacy coordinator has authority to ensure protocols and policies are met
- Establish boundaries, including an agreed strategy to halt the action where necessary.
- Employ a closed set protocol (as further described below) when filming intimate scenes, giving consideration to gender parity of the crew (i.e. female vulnerability in a heterosexual or lesbian intimate scene with an all-male crew.) This includes: no cell phones, no additional monitors, and no non-essential photos, ensuring appropriate wardrobe and safety coverings are available, etc. Always use patches or modesty barrier.
- Ensure intimacy coordinator has had the opportunity to:
- Meet with all crew and performers who will be on set when the set is closed to establish clear expectations;
- Review all health and safety equipment and modesty garments;
- Facilitate intimacy choreography and assure continued consent;
- Oversee and manage the closed set protocols along with the 1st Assistant Director.
- Minors may not be present on set during the filming of sensitive content.
Post Production
- Ensure sensitive scenes are stored securely and accessed by authorized personnel only. Dailies of scenes with sensitive content may not be distributed beyond the director, showrunner (for television), lead producer (for movies), and Amazon Creative Lead[MB1], and any unused footage from a sensitive scene involving Sexual Content should be securely stored and encrypted.
- All Prod Co personnel must conduct themselves in the best interest of the Program and avoid any conflict, or the appearance of conflict, between their personal interests and those of the Program. Conflicts of interest arise when personnel’s objectivity in reaching decisions for the Program is, or appears to be, affected by the interests of personnel or personnel’s immediate family.
- If unsure whether or not something is a conflict of interest, please consult with the Prod Co Outside Counsel who will consult with Amazon Legal.
- No production personnel should have any financial interest in the subject matter of the program or any financial or other relationship with persons appearing on the program except as disclosed to Amazon Studios Legal and approved in advance of final delivery and telecast
Prod Co must comply with all applicable import, re-import, sanctions, anti-boycott, export, and re-export control laws, and economic sanctions programs, including, without limitation, those implemented by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control and any sanctions applicable under EU Commission laws and regulations.
Prod Co must also comply with all applicable laws, regulations, rules and guidance relating to tax evasion and tax evasion facilitation, including the UK’s Criminal Finances Act. If ProdCo is investigated by or on behalf of any governmental, administrative, or regulatory authority anywhere in respect to tax evasion, notify Amazon as soon as reasonably practicable. You warrant that you currently have and shall maintain reasonable prevention procedures to comply with the UK’s Criminal Finances Act (to the extent applicable). You agree to ensure that any of your agents, subcontractors, or other persons engaged in the performance of your obligations do so only on the basis of a written contract with the same embargo, sanction, and anti-tax evasion requirements as outlined here.
For further details on the Criminal Finances Act, click here: CFA.docx
Any contemplated in-program use of internet, telephone or other interactive voting or polling or use of audience paid telephone call-in or other paid voting systems (where a charge is assessed to the voting party) must have prior approval from Amazon Studios Legal. Additional requirements may be imposed on such arrangements including tabulation of voting/polling by an independent third party.
Legal Content Review
Overview
This policy applies to the following placements included during production: (i) product placements (i.e., accepting or agreeing to receive payment or other valuable consideration (such as marketing support) in exchange for including or referring to a particular product, service or brand/trade mark within a film, series, or other audio-visual content) and (ii) unpaid placements (also known as “prop placements” or “trade outs”), including wardrobe, travel, accommodation, locations, and props, where the value of all prop placements by a single brand exceeds USD $10,000 or local currency equivalent (such significant-value unpaid placements together with product placements, collectively “Placements”).
This policy also applies to sponsorships, which refers to a company or person contributing to the costs of a production or an event (other than through any Placement(s)) for the purpose of promoting that sponsor’s or another’s name, brand, image, activities, products, or services (collectively, “Sponsorships”).
Prod Co is responsible for ensuring that all program content and materials will not infringe on the personal rights of any individual, living or deceased. These rights may include rights of publicity, privacy, honor, and repute, however identified under applicable law. At a minimum, any potential claims should be evaluated under the law of the jurisdiction in which the individual resides or resided, where they were deceased, the law of the country in which the content is produced, and the law of the country where the content is primarily intended to be marketed.
For projects that are based on or inspired by real people (including all unscripted projects) or characters based on real people, Prod Co’s counsel is responsible for briefing Amazon Legal on any potential risks and proposed creative parameters for risk mitigation.
Prod Co is responsible for ensuring that all program content and materials are cleared for use in all media worldwide, in perpetuity, on a full buyout basis, except as pre-approved in writing by Amazon Legal. Please carefully review Amazon Legal’s Clearance Guidelines in the Working with Amazon section above. Clearance Guidelines set forth Amazon Legal policies pertaining to clearance issues, including, by way of example, clearance processes, copyright and trademark review standards for various intellectual property categories, competitive product prohibitions, location agreements, music clearance considerations, and personal information.
Films/Series:
© [YEAR OF PUBLICATION] Amazon Content Services LLC
Film Scripts:
© [YEAR CREATED] Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This material is the exclusive property of AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC OR ITS AFFILIATES and is intended solely for the use of its personnel. No portion of this script may be performed, or reproduced by any means, or quoted, or published in any medium without prior written consent of AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC.
From time to time, Amazon Legal receives requests to use Amazon logos or trademarks in productions. Please contact us if the production is interested in using any AS marks in the production (including set dressing, dialogue, or Amazon offices).
If the production is co-owned or licensed, a trademark license may be necessary. For all productions, the IP Legal point of contact can help vet the use and set up guardrails, if necessary.
Employment & HR
If Prod Co utilizes the services of any cast member or other personnel who is a minor (i.e., an individual under the age of 18 or under the age of majority in the applicable jurisdiction), Prod Co must ensure compliance with the NCPCR Guidelines, applicable child labour laws and all applicable laws or other requirements for working with minors.
Legal Deliverables
All Production Companies (“Prod Cos”) are expected to deliver certain legal documents (“Legal Deliverables”) into a designated delivery location for review by the Amazon Studios (“AS”) Legal Team. The designated delivery location will be provided to the Prod Co by AS Production. This section addresses only the legal deliverables requirements. The Prod Co must organize the documents as outlined below. Please do not use any symbols (#, *, %, $) or punctuation when naming the documents as the AS system will not recognize them. All documents must be fully executed. All documents must be uploaded to the corresponding Box folder, even if they have been distributed to Amazon Legal prior to receiving access to the Wrapped Deliverables folder.
Content Standards (India)
Banned Content
Amazon cannot facilitate access to any banned, illegal, prohibited and/or unconstitutional content as determined by the Indian government, Indian state and/or local governments, or the Indian courts.
Depiction of State / Anti-National Content
Producers should consider the following factors when deciding whether to include any content, in each case using due caution and discretion:
- Content which affects the sovereignty and integrity of India
- Content which threatens, endangers or jeopardizes the security of the State
- Content which is detrimental to India’s friendly relations with foreign countries
- Content which is likely to incite violence or disturb the maintenance of public order.
Any depictions or dialogue that may be perceived as a public comment on border disputes are not permissible. Incorrect depictions of the map of India are not permitted. [http://www.surveyofindia.gov.in/downloads] Producers must ensure that only the maps that have been approved/issued by the Survey of India, an organization under the Government of India are used. Depictions of Border States like Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir should be as defined per the government of India. Depictions of historical pre-partition maps are permissible.
Depictions of Public Servants, Constitutional Officers and
Public Institutions
- Disrespectful representations of characters who are presently or who have in the past served in the defence forces, the police, constitutional offices, or other government agencies, are not permissible.
- Any depictions or dialogue that may be perceived as a public comment on government institutions or actual public officials are not permissible.
Statements or Acts of Hatred and Contempt against the
Indian Government and/or Indian Judiciary
Disparaging portrayals and statements about the Indian judiciary (e.g., perjury is the order of the day in Indian Courts) are not permissible. This includes:
- Depiction of statements or acts of hatred and contempt against the Indian government/Judiciary.
- Content that incites armed rebellion against the government.
- Comments / criticism expressing disapproval of the measures of the Government, or of the administrative or other action of the Government are permissible however, the same is subject to contextual review. Comments which are disparaging of an impending court result.
- Content that may affect the outcome of pending judicial matters i.e., sub-judice matters.
- Content that may be violative of secrecy in terms of information protectable under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
National Symbols and National Emblems
- Incorrect/offensive/disrespectful depictions of the Indian national flag and depictions of content that is against the Flag code of India is not permissible. Disrespecting the flag means to burn, mutilate, deface, defile, disfigure, destroy, trample upon, or disrespect through expletives. Draping of national flag below the waist, showing the flag upside down, or with inscriptions on the Indian flag is also not permitted.
- Depiction of or showing a performance of an incorrect version of the national anthem of India is not permissible.
- Depictions of burning, mutilating, defacing, defiling, disfiguring, destruction, trampling upon the Constitution of India or bringing the Constitution of India into contempt whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts are prohibited.
- Disrespectful depictions of any National Emblem or National Symbol of India, including, without limitation, the Ashoka Chakra is not permissible.
- Inaccurate or biased depictions of national issues like public disturbances/riots (e.g., the Godhara riots 2002 or Hindu- Muslim religious riots) or the Kashmir issue or water disputes are not permissible.
- Factual depictions of past riots/communal events that are sensitive topics in India must contain a balanced narrative and are subject to contextual review. For example: ISIS – Terror in Asia is a documentary that showcases stories of the few men who have gone to Syria and Iraq and uncover the reasons behind - and the tragic consequences - of their radicalization. Since it does not speak out against a religion it is permissible as based on facts.
- Depictions or dialogue that threaten to incite or advocate communal riots are not permissible and any depictions or dialogue that may be perceived as making disrespectful commentary on such events is not permissible.
Depictions of Other Tragic Real-life Events
- Depictions of real-life tragic events, including natural disasters, war, terror attacks, and accidents, that have caused significant trauma or loss of life, are subject to contextual review and should not be satirized.
- Any depictions or dialogue that may be perceived as making disrespectful commentary on such events are not permissible.
Culturally Sensitive Content
- Depictions or dialogue that may be perceived as justifying or condoning bigoted and hateful opinions are not permissible. Producers should take into consideration India‘s multi-racial and multi-religious context when portraying the activities, beliefs, practices, or views of any racial or religious group. Tokenization of any group for the purpose of showcasing diversity in storylines is not a substitute for organic representation.
- Glorification of universally reviled positions taken by real-life persons or depictions are prohibited. For instance, a series which aims to justify genocidal actions by a real-life person would not be permissible because it is universally accepted that their actions were reprehensible.
- Disrespectful depictions or dialogue of the physical attributes/social customs/practices of any ethnic, linguistic, religious groups, castes or communities are not permissible.
- Disrespectful depictions or dialogue of a member of a scheduled caste / tribe or that may be perceived as justifying or condoning caste-based discrimination and harmful stereotypes are not permissible. Dialogue which may be considered as an insult or ridicule, but which is unconnected to the person being from a scheduled caste / tribe is permissible.
- The use of caste-based surnames in any fictional work is not permissible when done in a disrespectful manner and care must be taken when fictionalizing caste-based surnames as they also may double as slurs in several parts of the country and could perpetuate negative stereotypes.
- Depictions of mutilation/destruction of any religious place of worship/institution or contain a call to action to destroy, damage or defile, or incite hatred towards any place of worship or any object held sacred by any religious groups/class of persons are not permissible.
- Disrespectful depictions of any deity, persons revered akin to gods (e.g., Sikh gurus), religious ritual, or community / religious symbols, including caricatures (e.g., caricatures of Lord Ganesh, Prophet Muhammed, Guru Nanak Dev, etc.) and defilement (e.g., burning the Quran) are not permissible.
- Depictions advocating/justifying/celebrating forced religious conversions are not permissible. Factual representation of such events is permissible, however, subject to contextual review.
- Depictions or dialogue attacking religions or communities are subject to contextual review.
- Depictions or dialogue that may incite hatred or conflict between two or more classes, communities, religions, castes are not permissible.
- Depictions or dialogue that can offend certain segments of India’s population or public sentiment (e.g., depiction of cow slaughter or causing intentional harm to a cow) will be subject to contextual review.
- Jokes about self-harm/suicide or glorification of these acts are not permissible and programs produced for a family audience should not contain graphic depictions of suicide/self-harm.
Obscenity, Sexuality, and Nudity
- Obscene content is unacceptable and illegal. A scene may fall in this category if it depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and the average person looking at it would say, on the whole, that it appeals to prurient or excessive sexual interest. Content that has serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value is not obscene. Producers should scrutinize these matters in the specific context of their shows, as the determination of risk can be based on subjective parameters and will require contextual review.
- Depictions of sex acts are generally acceptable if they are notso continuous and graphic that a viewercould reasonably assumethey aim solelyto arouse and that, taken as a whole, the work lacks any serious artistic merit and/or context. As set forth above, the depiction of genitals is not permitted. Partial nudity (no genitals) may be permitted subject to contextual review of scripts and cuts.
- Content containing depiction(s) of unobscured genitalia is not permissible. This includes the depiction of newborn child genitalia. This absolute prohibition applies to India Local Originals only. The depiction of unobscured genitalia in a non-sexual context is permitted in US Originals or Local Originals produced for other territories that are exhibited in India.
- Depiction of sexual handling (Oral sex, masturbation, sexual intercourse) of animal genitalia is not permissible.
- Subject to contextual review, tribal nudity that does not depict genitalia (man, woman, or child) is permissible in a non-sexual context if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic, and is not gratuitously graphic and not the focal point of the depiction.
- Actual usage of sex toys by people on visible genitalia is not permissible, but depiction of sex toys in the background, or discussion of sex toys is permissible, subject to any other Content Guidelines.
- The depiction of pubic hair and genitalia is not permissible during acts of oral sex, masturbation, sexually violent scenes, or sex scenes.
Indecent Representation of Women
- Depiction in any manner of the figure of a woman, her form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent, gratuitous, derogatory to, or denigrating, women (including the objectification of women in the guise of depicting sexual intimacy), or in a manner which is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public morality or morals is not permissible.
- Depictions of sexual harassment and violence against women that are prurient or gratuitous are not permissible.
- The use of gendered/sexual profanity that is excessive or gratuitous is not permissible.
- Actual public figures such as politicians and celebrities, religious leaders and other groups of people shall not be depicted as perpetrating acts of violence against women. These characters should be fictionalised to the greatest extent possible and the use of religious leaders in such roles is subject to contextual review.
Profanity
- The gratuitous use of profanity is not permissible.
Tobacco and Alcohol Branding
Depictions and/or verbal references to any branded tobacco-based products or accessories (e.g., Beedi, khaini, zarda, cigarette, cigarette filters, rolling papers, smoking apparatus) or alcohol is not permissible. This prohibition applies to India Local Originals only, and not to US Originals or Local Originals produced for other territories exhibited in India. Fictional brand usage is permissible, and actual depictions of smoking and drinking scenes are permissible however, there should not be glamorization or glorification of smoking, drinking or drug consumption.
Depictions of and Working with Minors
Producers should comply with all laws and regulations pertaining to minors, including the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights guidelines to regulate child participation in TV serials, reality shows and advertisements. All minors engaged must have a signed parental consent by both parents. Regarding content featuring minor actors:
- No child should be shown to be imbibing alcohol, smoking, or using any other substance or shown to be indulging in any sort of antisocial activity and delinquent behaviour. In the event that doing so is relevant to the overall plot/storyline – care must be taken to ensure that actual consumption is off-camera, i.e., the camera shall cut away before a cigarette is lit or a sip of alcohol is taken.
- Minors shall not be depicted as using sexually explicit language or excessive profanity(even if these roles are played by adult actors) and no actual minor should be made to perform or enact scenes or mouth dialogues that are inappropriate for his/her age or those that may cause him/her distress. The standards for “excessive” profanity are subject to contextual review.
- No child should be engaged in any situation involving nudity (either of the child or another person). Content dealing with sexually suggestive themes or overt sexual acts between minors (even if these roles are played by adult actors) should not be explicit and should not be marketed or promoted to under-age viewers.
- When content is based on victims of child abuse, the content should be sensitively handled, and the way children are depicted should not harm or risk their welfare.
- Scenes depicting violence (verbal or physical) against minors by adults and scenes depicting sexual violence between minors or against minors by adults should not be depicted overtly or in any graphic detail.
Product Placement
In addition to the product categories identified in the Program Compliance Guidelines, product placement is not permitted in the following categories in India:
- Milk substitutes or milk feeding bottles for infants
- Prize chit and money circulation schemes
- Services promoting the sale of human organs
- Services for pre-natal determination of sex
- Magic remedies, i.e., any talisman, mantra, amulet, or other objects that are claimed to have miraculous powers to treat diseases in humans or animals
- Sex Toys
- Escort Services
- Gambling and Betting products/services
- Tobacco products, alcohol, and drugs
- Pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices (regulated)
- Medical services (doctors/physicians)
- Legal services
Producers of Local Originals should consult with counsel before including any product placements. Amazon Studios Legal must pre-approve in writing to the Producer any product placements in the following categories:
- Food products & supplements
- Products or services of a sexual nature (e.g., condoms, lingerie)
- Political candidates, political platforms, political parties, and political issues
Insurance & Risk Management (India)
Insurance Coverage
Amazon Studios (“AS”) productions must carry insurance through AS pre-approved brokers for the duration of production (including prep and post) as a budgeted expense. AS has mandatory minimum levels of coverage, which can vary based on territory, type of production, budget, production activities, and other relevant factors. AS Risk Management should always be consulted for specific requirements and production needs. The Prod Co must obtain the following coverages:
MINIMUM INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
A | B | C | |
1 | COVERAGE | MINIMUM LIMITS | DETAILS |
2 | Production Package | As Per Budget |
Includes Cast, Negative, Faulty, Miscellaneous Equipment, Props Sets & Wardrobe, Animal Mortality, Extra Expense |
3 | Liability (General/Public) | $15,000,000 (~ INR 41Cr) per occurrence and aggregate |
Includes coverage for, but not limited to, premises/operations, products/completed operations, contractual, broad form property damage, personal injury, and fire legal liability.
|
4 | Motor Vehicle Policy | N/A |
Policy to be procured as per Indian Motor Vehicle Act by the respective owners of the vehicles. The Production Package or the Liability insurance will not cover damage or liability arising out of the use of such motor vehicles. Unless the vehicle is used as a stationery prop.
|
8 | Group Personal Accident | INR 25Lacs/person | Accidental death, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, accidental hospitalization expense (up to INR 5 Lacs/person). |
9 | Foreign Unit Travel Insurance (FUTI) | As needed | To be procured from the country of origin before travel. |
10 | Overseas Travel Insurance | As needed | To be procured from India before travel. |
11 | Media Liability - Errors & Omissions | $5,000,000 per occurrence and aggregate | Three (3) year term, Occurrence Form, Maximum deductible $25,000 per occurrence. |
13 | Additional Coverages | As needed | e.g., Watercraft, Aircraft, Railroad, Owned & High-Value Autos. |
16 |
Coverage Term:
|
Applications are found below.
Additional requirements
- Prod Co shall be responsible for any and all deductibles.
- Ensure that the following entities are named as additional insured on all applicable insurance policies obtained by the Prod Co in connection with the Program and development services in the following form:
- Amazon Studios LLC, Amazon Content Services LLC, and their respective parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, sub-distributors, and licensees as now or hereafter may exist, and any other related persons or entities as either of them may designate.
- The insurance broker will provide production with a template Certificate of Insurance (COI) to be issued when required for standard contracts.
- Prod Co will deliver to Amazon appropriate certificates of insurance and policy endorsements evidencing such coverage.
- Any COIs that require special language must be approved by AS Risk Management prior to issuance.
- COIs evidencing Workers' Compensation & Employer’s Liability coverage are issued by the payroll service company(ies).
Cast Coverage
Cast coverage is included within the Production Package policy and covers a specific number of declared individuals.
- The Prod Co should consult with the AS production executive about who should be declared for coverage (e.g., director, cinematographer, actors).
- Full Cast Coverage must be in place for every individual on the cast log.
- No declared talent should appear on screen until Full Cast Coverage is in place.
- When the Production Package policy is bound, the broker will specify the medical documentation to be submitted (e.g., cast medical exam, statement of health, affidavit & authorization).
- Animals can also be covered under the Cast coverage and are included in the total number of Cast coverage slots.
- Age restrictions for declared artists (under-age and over-age) may apply.
Insurance Claims / Loss & Damage
Notification for any and all incidents which could result in a claim involving people, property, and/or downtime to production must be submitted to the AS Production Executive as soon as possible but no later than five (5) business days after the occurrence. The Prod Co must use the First Notice of Claim Form and Property Loss & Damage Form found below.
Procedure for Management of Insurance Claims
Refer to the full procedure below for more information.
Production Claims (e.g., Cast, Extra Expense, Equipment, Third Party Property Damage, etc.)
Following notification to the AS Production Executive, AS Risk Management, and AS Health & Safety, if applicable, of any actual or potential claim situation, a First Notice of Claim Form, see First Notice of Claim Form Exhibit, and (if applicable) Property Loss & Damage Form, found below is to be completed and sent to the broker and AS Risk Management.
Employees, Cast & Crew
- All hazardous and non-standard activity for all personnel (cast and crew) must be approved by the production’s insurers and any payroll service company paying the cast and crew.
- If an injured employee is paid through a payroll service company, the payroll company must be notified immediately via their secure method (if and as applicable) for all work-related incidents, even if it is “Notice Only” and a claim is not filed.
- Reporting must be made upon any injury (no matter how minor) sustained by an employee. The AS Production Executive, AS Health & Safety, and AS Risk Management should be included in the correspondence via the reporting mechanism provided by AS H&S. [LZ: Is this mechanism in place?] Correspondence via email should be avoided if possible.
- If there is no payroll service company, the broker should be notified of the incident via phone or email with the First Notice of Claim form, which should also be distributed to the AS Production Executive, AS Health & Safety, and AS Risk Management.
Out of Country Medical / FUTI / Personal Accident
- For any employees for whom coverage has been arranged to cover non-work-related injury or illness during international travel (i.e., outside of the employee’s country of residence), the employee and/or production should notify the insurance company directly of the need for medical care. The AS Production Executive, AS Health & Safety, and AS Risk Management should also be notified.
Third Parties
Notification for any incident involving a third party should be sent immediately to the insurance broker, AS Production Executive, AS Health & Safety, and AS Risk Management using the appropriate forms.
Movies & Documentaries Additional Policies
Movies - Insurance & Risk Management
Prod Co must use the appropriate film applications below.
Please refer to the country applications below. Email studios-risk-management@amazon.com with any questions.
All other countries - MPTV_Film_Application_20220222.doc
Series Additional Policies
Prod Co must use the applications below.
Please refer to the applicable applications below. Email studios-risk-management@amazon.com with any questions.
Scripted & Animated - Blank_Production_App_Amazon_Studios_Series_20220222.doc
Unscripted & Live / Near Live - Blank_Production_App_Amazon_Alternative_Unscripted_20220222.doc
Procedure for Management of Insurance Claims
Upon the occurrence of an event that is or may be insurable during any stage of production, AS Risk Management must be notified immediately by email, as well as other relevant stakeholders (e.g., Health & Safety, Security). If an emergency situation involving bodily injury occurs, the appropriate emergency personnel/organization should be contacted immediately.
Upon notification to AS Risk Management, it will be determined when adjusters need to be contacted. If filming is going to be or has been shut down for any reason (e.g., Cast claim, Extra Expense, Civil Authority), a call will be set up immediately with the production team, AS Production Executive, AS Risk Management, the insurance broker and the adjuster to determine how to proceed with the insurer’s approval.
To establish the claim properly, the production team should complete the First Notice of Loss Form, including all available information and backup documentation. If the claim involves any filming delays, the production team must provide a full and complete narrative of the events. For Property claims, the Loss & Damage Form should also be completed.
Once a meeting has occurred with the insurance representatives and production, the broker/adjuster will confirm the additional information and documentation required to continue processing and settling the claim. For time element claims, this documentation will generally include a claims ledger identifying all associated costs, a narrative of the events, and backup paperwork such as invoices and time cards.
Insurance Templates & Exhibits
E&O Application
For Brazil, India, France, Japan, and Thai Local Originals, please refer to the country-specific addendum for the application. All other territories use the application below. Reach out to studios-risk-management@amazon.com with any questions.
CNA_Errors_and_Omissions_Application_20220222.docx
Loss & Damage Form
Risk_Loss_Damage_Template20220330.docx
First Notice of Claim Form
First_Notice_of_Claim_Form_20211208.docx
Movies Insurance Templates
Health & Safety (India)
Introduction
All film & television productions have different health & safety risks. As part of our commitment to maintaining a safe working culture and environment, Amazon Studios (“AS”) aims to ensure our commissioned production partners (“Producers”) have appropriate health & safety policies, processes, training programs, skills, and competence to guarantee that Producers meet local legal requirements and AS’ global health & safety standards.
Producers are responsible for developing and implementing their own health & safety procedures, or hiring vendors for the same, throughout the production process. Producers must meet any and all local health & safety legal requirements and collaborate with AS as needed on any and all health & safety issues.
AS Health & Safety policies and standards may exceed local legal requirements in certain jurisdictions. Producers must always meet AS workplace health & safety standards even where local legal requirements are less stringent.
Failure to comply with AS Health & Safety policies, standards, or local legal requirements may result in an immediate shutdown of the production at the Producer’s expense. It is the Producer’s ultimate responsibility to adequately implement health and safety policies that comply with AS standards and local law.
Written Physical Production Safety Guidelines Policy
Every Producer must have a written health & safety policy in place for their productions or hire a vendor for the same. At a minimum, the policy must identify a responsible and qualified person(s) for health & safety at managerial and operational levels. The policy must set out the development, implementation, and oversight process of the applicable measures and controls to manage health & safety, job-specific training, and the management of accidents and incidents. Additionally, Producers must comply with additional requirements, as set out below.
During Production Development
As a first step, all Producers are required to complete the AS Workplace Health & Safety Onboarding Form below and submit specific company health & safety information and documentation.
Link to: Onboarding Form
Information provided by Producers via the onboarding form is considered confidential and not shared outside of Amazon Studios except as required by law.
For all Greenlit Productions, the following AS standards should be met:
After a production has been greenlit, before production begins, all Producers should provide a Script Assessment and Location Assessment to AS’ health and safety team highlighting, in detail, any and all high-risk operations and corresponding mitigation strategies for the specific production.
Risk Assessments
- As part of their required health and safety policy, every Producer must implement a written Health & Safety Risk-Assessment Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) or hire a vendor to do so. This SOP must describe the Producer’s process for identifying, managing, and establishing health and safety control measures for the production as a whole and for any high-risk production operation or task.
- In some cases, risk assessments may be required to understand and mitigate specific hazards in production. Every Producer is required to perform health & safety risk assessments for identifying and managing production risks on a production-specific basis or hire a vendor to do so. The level of detail in a health & safety risk assessment should be proportionate to the level of risk associated with the production and must be recorded in writing.
- Each health & safety risk assessment must be performed by a competent individual who, by a combination of training, skills, experience, and knowledge, has the ability to evaluate, assess, and take prompt corrective measures to mitigate production specific hazards. In some territories, appropriate certifications and/or credentials may be required to legally and adequately perform health & safety services.
- High-risk operations in the production setting that require specific risk assessments may include, but are not limited to:
- Working at Height
- Firearm Operations
- Stunt Operations
- Pyrotechnic Operations
- Watercraft Operations
- Aircraft Operations, including UASs (Unmanned Aircraft Systems)
- Location Tech Recces
- Fire Risks
- Construction Design and Management
- Specialist contractors such as stunt coordinators, special effects providers, grips, hair and makeup, and set designers must provide the Producer with written health & safety risk assessments regarding any tasks they are responsible for.
AS Health & Safety Team, at its discretion, may require Producers to provide production-specific risk assessments for individual events and/or on an ongoing basis.
Production Health and Safety Competence
- Amazon encourages Producers to provide appropriate health and safety training to personnel at all levels of production, including cast, crew, and contractors.
- Producers must nominate an individual as the Safety Advisor/Manager for each production. This individual must be the Producer’s specific point of contact for all health & safety issues.
- Producers must have access to independent and appropriately qualified health & safety professionals and legal advice to assist with production safety and meeting AS health & safety standards.
Producers must ensure that any on-production contractors:
- Have sufficient health & safety knowledge, training, and competence to meet AS standards and local law;
- Are engaged appropriately and within local hiring regulations; and
- Have appropriate certifications and/or credentials to adequately perform their services.
AS reserves the right to conduct a Producer health & safety review/audit on a formal or informal basis at any time.
A flowchart showing an example of the anticipated obligations and accountabilities for meeting AS’ health & safety standards is displayed below for reference:
Incidents & Injuries
Producers are responsible for knowing and complying with all legal requirements for reporting accidents and incidents to appropriate authorities in the jurisdictions where productions are being filmed. AS must be separately informed whenever accident or incident reporting to local authorities is completed.
AS requires all commissioned productions to implement a written process for managing and reporting accidents and incidents.
Accidents and incidents (including near misses) must be investigated to determine the cause and identify any measures that could prevent a re-occurrence. The level of detail in the investigation and subsequent report should be proportionate to the level of injury or potential risk.
The AS health & safety team must be informed of any accident or incident requiring medical attention beyond first aid.
Incident Criteria and the Reporting Process are covered in-depth here.
Please fill out the Incident Report here.
Use password ASIR2023 to access the form.
AS Health & Safety Team may request copies of any documentation regarding on-production accidents or incidents.
Anonymous Production Hotlines
Amazon MGM Studios (AS) provides an Anonymous Production Hotline for production personnel to report ethics, health, safety & security concerns by calling in or submitting a report online. This resource is required to be made available to cast, crew & contractors supporting all phases of production (i.e., prep, production, post, music; VFX).
The AS Production Executive will setup the production's account during prep. The Prod Co will be notified by Navex, vendor that manages the Hotline, when the account is setup.
Hotline numbers are located on the reporting portal.
Hotline posters, QR codes & process flow charts can be found here.
The Hotline number & reporting portal must be listed on all call sheets, production schedules; contact sheets for the duration of production-related work. The Hotline poster must be posted alongside any local regulatory postings and included in start paperwork. Additionally, an announcement should be made at the first safety meeting notifying cast and crew that the Hotline exists.
The designated contacts for each Prod Co will be notified by the AS Production Attorney or the Prod Co’s production attorney whenever an ethics or safety report on one of their productions is received through the Anonymous Production Hotline.
The Prod Co is responsible for reviewing each report and determining the appropriate response. This may include conducting a formal investigation. AS will assist in this determination and the investigation process as it deems necessary.
Please see the NAVEX Ethicspoint Hotline Complaint Process for further details on the Anonymous Production Hotline process, as well as the Production Process Ethicspoint Setup for guidance on how to get a production entered into the Safety & Ethics Hotline system.
NAVEX Ethicspoint Hotline Complaint Process here.
Production Process Ethicspoint Setup here.
For additional questions about the hotline process, please reach out to
Studios-Hotlines@amazon.com. A hotline number cannot be used until it is registered by the AS Production Executive.
First Aid
It is AS policy to hire a Medic or equivalent person whenever filming (on a stage, location, or distant location.) First Aid personnel must be assigned to all filming units to a level that meets the risk hazard. Additionally, First Aid personnel (e.g., medic, nurse) must be assigned to Construction, Rigging and Striking crews.
Any severe injuries requiring medical care should be recorded according to the Incidents & Injury policy above.
All illnesses and injuries must be reported on the daily Production Report identifying the basic details of the event without referencing names.
Firearms
Blank-firing firearms, real firearms, edged (e.g., knives), bladed weapons, piercing or projectile (e.g., arrows) weapons, and explosives may not be used on AS productions unless reviewed in advance by:
- AS Production Executive - for creative necessity, no alternatives are available.
- AS Health & Safety - for control measures and layers of defense.
- AS Risk Management - for insurance coverage confirmation.
- AS Legal - to determine compliance with local laws.
No Smoking / Vaping
AS prohibits smoking on set, stages, or in any buildings. Smoking is only allowed in observed, designated smoking areas.
Smoking for theatrical on camera purposes are an exception to this policy. (See Content Standards for additional requirements.)
Drones
Prod Co must notify AS H&S, AS Risk Management, AS Legal, and the AS Production Executive prior to using drones (including scouting). Prod Co must have licensed drone pilots, appropriate insurance and abide by any applicable local laws and regulations.
Aircraft/Watercraft
Consult AS Production Executive regarding the use of any aircraft and watercraft. AS H&S and AS Risk Management shall review all aircraft and watercraft proposed activities for approval prior to activity.
Production Counsel must review all Aircraft and Watercraft Agreements.
Infectious Disease & Hygiene
AS has learned a lot about how to better protect the physical health of cast & crew from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the health of cast & crew remains a top priority for Amazon Studios.
The below policy contains the 8 key mitigation measures that were successful during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to be medically-relevant methods for preventing a wide range of common infectious diseases.
It is the production’s responsibility to abide by the below minimum standard protocols during all in-person activities – from writers’ rooms through post production. Where local public health and union variations may exist, follow the stricter requirements.
Any questions should be addressed to the Production Executive and studios-health-and-safety@amazon.com.
Key infectious disease prevention measures:
-
Face Masks – Production is required to make masks available for all cast & crew upon request.
- Approved face masks include KN95, KF94, FFP2, 3-ply surgical mask with tightly woven single-ply cloth mask over top; reusable multi-layer cloth mask with nose wire for a snug fit. It is recommended that N95 or international equivalent masks only be used if the job function requires it and the individual has been medically cleared, fit tested and trained to wear them.
- Hair, makeup, wardrobe & sound are strongly recommended to wear face masks while directly interacting with on-camera performers (within 3ft / 1m).
- Face masks are recommended for symptomatic individuals as well as individuals who live with people who are confirmed positive for COVID-19, RSV or Influenza A&B.
- Providing respirators on a voluntary basis is preferable when working in wildfire event where the current AQI for PM2.5 is equal to or greater than 151 but does not exceed 500. However, KN95, KF94, FFP2 may also be useful when working in wildfire conditions if respirators and fit-testing are unavailable. Please discuss with the Production Executive and Production Health & Safety before implementing a wildfire response plan on your production.
- Health Monitoring – The following language must be added to all call sheets and schedules: “Do you have any new onset of symptoms? Notify the medic and your supervisor. Consider wearing a mask & staying home.”
-
Symptomatic Individual Reporting – Cast & crew who have a fever are not allowed to return to worksites until fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication. For all other unusual states of health, isolation is not required, but the medic & production management must be notified.
- Production may make rapid antigen / lateral flow self-tests available for symptomatic individuals in at-risk health groups (e.g., older adults; immunocompromised). However, COVID-19 tests (PCR & rapid antigen / later flow) may not be sensitive enough to recognize newer COVID-19 variants, and they should not be relied upon to confirm negativity to COVID-19 at this time.
-
Positive Test Reporting - All positive COVID-19, RSV and Influenza A&B tests must be reported to the medic and production management. Recommend that they consult with their personal physician.
- Serious illness or injury that requires hospitalization as well as events that cause a delay to production must be reported in accordance with the Incident Criteria and Reporting Procedure.
- Contact Tracing Support [California Productions Only] – Please see the attached contact tree for International SOS medical advisors who can provide contact tracing support in the event that an individual reports a positive COVID test. This contact tree should only be used for contact tracing purposes in order to meet California’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS).
- Contact tracing is not required for other productions unless required in the local jurisdiction.
- Paid Sick Leave – The availability of paid sick leave varies depending on the work location, applicable law, union and production company policy. Productions should be aware of paid sick leave requirements. If there are no local sick pay requirements, we encourage productions to have their own general sick pay policy.
- Cleaning – Daily janitorial cleaning of communal restrooms as well as catering and craft services areas is required. Additionally, bi-weekly cleaning of other communal areas is required.
- Dining – Hand washing or sanitation stations are required to be provided beside all catering, craft service and food truck vendors. Sneeze guards are recommended for all buffets.
- Vaccines – A general vaccine clinic where cast & crew can be vaccinated against multiple local infectious diseases may be helpful for traveling shows and productions working in outbreak-prone areas. If you feel a vaccine clinic would be beneficial for your production, reach out to the Amazon Studios Production Executive and Studios-Health-and-Safety@amazon.com for guidance.
An infectious disease can escalate into an outbreak in the local community and/or at the worksite. Additional mitigation measures are recommended to prevent the spread of infectious diseases during an outbreak. Check out the Infectious Disease Outbreak Playbook - a step-by-step guide for how to identify outbreaks and reduce their impact on production.
ISOS Location Risk Portal
AS productions around the world can now utilize internationalsos.com to learn about potential risks related to their specific production location(s). International SOS (ISOS) monitors hundreds of countries and cities for medical, security, and travel risks. They track diseases and offer advice on the appropriate vaccinations as well as health precautions that apply to production location(s).
Location Guides are available from the ISOS portal and include a Risk Summary, so you can quickly get the information you require at a glance.
Risk Ratings provide a clear visual indicator of the risk associated with visiting a specific country/region. The risks in countries are rated to indicate the standards of local medical care, the risk of serious infectious disease, and the security risk associated with travel to that country/region.
The Pandemic Site has additional information about infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness.
Attached are instructions on logging in and setting up a profile on the ISOS site, as well as a visual summary of how to search for information about specific locations.
Productions can utilize Amazon’s Membership ID# for login: 11BCPA000001. An Amazon or Originals Access email must be used to sign up in order to utilize this service. In case you need an Originals Access email id for your show please reach out to Chad Zemel at below id.
Please share this email with your productions, and reach out to Chad Zemel (chad.zemel@amazonstudios.com) if you have any additional questions about the portal.
Additional Production Resources
You can find more information on H&S resources, such as industry-wide safety guidelines (Safety Bulletins), incident reporting process, and the Anonymous Production Hotline in the Production Resources section.
Digital Security (India)
Introduction
All Amazon MGM Studios (AS) production staff and crew play an important role in protecting AS content and preventing leaks. In addition to accepting your project NDA (non-disclosure agreement), anyone handling AS digital content is expected to do their part to mitigate the risk of content leaks. The following sections provide an overview of expectations and baseline requirements for handling pre-release content that should be reviewed and followed by every production.
For any questions related to digital security, please contact the Amazon Content Security (CS) team at content-security@amazon.com.
To report leaks or security incidents related to a production — including lost or stolen devices belonging to, accessing, or storing AS content — notify the Amazon MGM Studios Production Security Team (PST) at the earliest possible opportunity. If you see something that could compromise the confidentiality of an AS Original, immediately alert your local production security contact and PST at production-security@amazon.com. Please include a telephone number, and a team member will call as soon as possible.
Standards Overview - Digital Security
Below is a summary of baseline standards for securely handling digital content. See the Content Security Standards Overview for a printable version including a list of “Do’s” and “Do Not’s” for securely handling digital content.
- Principle of Least Privilege
- Follow the principle of least privilege by restricting content access to the fewest people necessary to complete a job or task.
- Disable downloads by default when sharing assets. Downloads should only be enabled when required to complete a job.
- When sharing or transferring digital content, ensure that only the intended recipients are included.
- Proactively manage access permissions on cloud tools used for sharing digital content, ensuring that only authorized individuals are able to access the materials necessary to complete their work.
- Third-Party (3P) Vendors & Tooling
- All 3P vendors and tools used to receive or handle AS content are required to meet CS security standards and receive an assessment prior to receiving content.
- Never upload AS content to unapproved cloud-based tools (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, non-Amazon Box accounts).
- If you’re unsure whether a vendor or tool is approved, check with your Amazon Production Executive or email content-security@amazon.com.
- See the Digital Security Resources & Support section for more information.
- Watermarks & Image Quality
- All digital content should be visibly watermarked unless the use case requires a clean asset.
- All digital content should be shared/transferred in desaturated, low-res proxy form unless the use case requires otherwise.
- See the Watermarking and Desaturation of Content section for additional information.
- Device Security
- Any devices used on a production should be set up and configured according to the CS workstation and device hardening requirements.
- Never leave any production devices (e.g. laptops, drives, cameras) unattended for any period of time.
- Production Network Security
- See the Local Area Network, Wide Area Network, and Interoffice Connections section for instructions on securely setting up and configuring your production network.
- Once ready, contact content-security@amazon.com to review and validate your network setup.
- Security Incident & Leak Reporting
- In the event of a leak or any other security incident, notify production-security@amazon.com immediately.
- Project Code Names
- Use the designated project code name whenever referring to your production’s title. Never reference both the code name and the actual title in the same communication.
- Never share or announce a project code name without explicit permission and a valid business purpose related to production or creative operations.
- Secure Email Accounts
- Use a secure email account for all production-related emails (e.g. @originalsaccess.com or a vendor email account).
- Never use email to send or receive pre-release assets (i.e. via attachment, in text) or discuss sensitive plot information (e.g. plot, key details, pre-release dates). Emails can be forwarded easily and cannot be traced.
- Secure Production Workflows
- Ensure your production workflow is secure for handling camera-raw content, referencing the Dailies & Editorial Procedure.
- Public Workspaces
- Never view pre-release content or sensitive production documents in public spaces (e.g. cafes, airports, airplanes). Past leaks have originated from photos taken of device screens in public.
- Drive Encryption
- Ensure that any drives used to store digital content conform to the CS approved encrypted drives list and encryption requirements.
Security Emergency Inquiries / Reporting
For emergencies or immediate threats to the safety of the production staff or assets, please notify the local police authorities as appropriate.
As soon as the situation is safe and under control, please immediately report the security incident using the Incident Notification Form. You will need the password below.
Incident Notification Form - Click Here
Password: ASIR2023
In addition to the above, all non-emergency security issues must be reported using the same form. Non-emergency security incidents may include issues associated with the following:
- Secure Production Workflows
- Digital Asset Protection
- Cyber-Attack / Compromise / Breach
- Leaked Content
- Security-Related Vendor Management / Vetting
- Physical Asset Protection and Set Security
- Theft
- Acts of Violence
- Threats of Violence
- Production Facility Access Control
- Visitor Management
- Talent Protection
To report a content or digital asset leak, e-mail production-security@amazon.com, CC’ing content-security@amazon.com and providing the following information:
- The name of the person reporting the incident
- The code name of the production
- Location
- Contact information
- A description of what occurred
Please also include the local Amazon Studios executive in any reports.
Digital Security Management
The Amazon MGM Studios Content Security Team manages Digital Security. For any questions related to digital security, please email content-security@amazon.com.
Network segregation between the content and non-content networks is segmented via Layer 2 and/or Layer 3 segmentation method. All inter-routes must be restricted to mission-critical services, and explicit deny-all rule must be applied to all network segments.
Please reference the diagrams below (Figure 1 - 3) when designing the production network.
Reach out to content-security@amazon.com to validate the secure network setup configuration.
Figure 1: Network segments for a larger environment
Refer to Figure 3 for data I/O setup and content flow.
Figure 2: Network segments and I/O setup leveraging air-gapping
Figure 3: I/O Dataflow and set up
A: WAN connection is restricted (whitelisted) to Amazon Studios approved transfer tools (e.g., Aspera, Flow Capture, etc.), core services (e.g., logging, patch management), Anti-virus (for updates), and e-mail (to receive links).
B: A dedicated I/O network is established with local storage (Inbox and Outbox are set up). A standard (non-admin) account is created with write-only access to the Inbox and read-only access to the Outbox. A designated data I/O personnel downloads content via Amazon Studios approved transfer tool into the Inbox and anti-virus scan. Upload assets via outbox utilizing client approver transfer tools after scanning assets with AV.
C: A unidirectional ACL/Rule is established to allow connection into the I/O zone from production (e.g., FROM Prod TO I/O Service SMB Port 445 & 139). I/O storage is mounted and pull/push assets for downloads/uploads. The connection between I/O and Production is only initiated by a higher security zone (Production) per need basis (unidirectional ACL/Rule). Access to project folders and landing folders is restricted via permission control. Project folders access is restricted to need to have basis. All incoming and outgoing assets are moved to project folders or I/O network and removed immediately.
Firewall Guidelines
- At a minimum, networks/devices having routes to WAN must have a firewall and anti-virus/malware installed.
- A stateful firewall must be in place to inspect all incoming and outgoing traffic. Basic gateway security services (i.e., IDS, IPS, Gateway AV) must be enabled.
- Access to management interfaces on networking devices/appliances should be restricted to dedicated management zones with restricted routes and limited users. Only allow encrypted connection protocol (i.e., HTTPS).
- When setting up the firewall, the following controls should be in place:
- Administrator alerts (for conditions such as anomalous traffic, bandwidth threshold exceeded, etc.)
- All traffic logs enabled
- All protocols are to be denied by default, and only specific, required protocols are to be allowed
Content Filtering
* Email and web filtering software or appliances should be set up to prohibit:
* Phishing emails
* Known domains/sites that are sources of malware and viruses
* Executable attachments (i.e., Visual Basic scripts, .exe files, etc.)
* Unauthorized file sharing sites (e.g., Dropbox, WeTransfer, Hightail/YouSendIt, etc.)
Segregation of Storage
- The storage of content, confidential data, and assets should only reside on the restricted access network, and storage should not span across segregated networks.
- Utilize layer three segmentation to separate storage volume
- Dual-homing is only allowed between properly segmented and secured content/production networks
- Storage devices should, at a minimum, abide by the following guidelines:
- Enable ESP
- Ignore name server requests from unauthorized devices
- Restrict automatic replication
- Restrict "super user" privileges on client computers
- Utilize DES Authentication for RPC
- Follow the manufacturer's best practices
Data Backups
Production projects and content are backed up periodically, and the restorability of the backup is tested. All backups must be encrypted.
Device and Systems Security
Computer rentals and using personal devices must be pre-approved by AS Production Executive and AS Security.
Maximum rental rates based on the computer package inventory value are below:
A | B | C | |
1 |
Max Daily Rate |
Max Weekly Rate |
Cap |
2 | 0.50% | 2.50% | 20% |
All content handling/accessing devices must be secured following AS device security standards.
Device Security Measures:
- Anti-malware/virus solution is in place.
- Local firewall is enabled.
- All guest accounts are disabled.
- Whole disk encryption is enabled.
- Screenlock setting is set to trigger - max 10 min of inactivity.
- MDM or EPP, or group policy solution is in place to manage the endpoint devices.
- Certificate or Mac filtering with static IPs set for content network.
- Security updates are applied upon availability.
- Exception is granted to fully air-gapped workstations.
- Workstations that receive, send, manipulate, or store content in the production network should not have direct access to the internet.
The following patch management practices apply to internet-connected devices, systems, and networks. This includes networks/devices that are dual-homed and/or inter routes made available to and from internet-facing zones.
- Where possible, implement a centralized patch management tool (e.g., WSUS, Shavlik, Altiris) to automatically deploy patches to all systems.
- Subscribe to security and patch notifications from vendors, other third parties, and security advisories.
- Apply critical patches as soon as they become available and within 48 hours on computers on externally accessible networks.
- Apply less critical patches promptly, according to a defined cycle based on risk (e.g., monthly for medium, etc.).
- Test patches prior to deployment and implement a regular (e.g., monthly) process to identify, evaluate and test patches for network infrastructure devices, SAN/NAS, and servers.
- Decommission legacy systems that are no longer supported.
- Implement an exception process and compensating controls for cases with a legitimate business case for not patching systems.
- Effectively air-gapped devices and systems (i.e., internet and inter-routing are completely disallowed) are not required to follow the patch management process (recommended).
- Access is provided only to individuals approved by the Production office to work on Amazon Studios productions, and who have completed all start paperwork, including NDA's.
- Amazon Studios IT systems are for business purposes only.
- These systems and networks are the property of Amazon Studios, and there is no expectation of privacy while using them.
- Data from Amazon Studios systems shall not be transmitted to any personal devices, personal cloud accounts, backup services, or any other external device without the approval of the Amazon Studios Production IT department.
- Local firewalls must be implemented to restrict access to each workstation.
- Workstations must have firewalls implemented to restrict unauthorized access.
- User access must be reviewed periodically by Heads of Departments (HOD) to ensure that all individuals with access to the Restricted area still require that access due to the nature of their duties.
- If the duties no longer require access for that individual, then the HOD must immediately remove the user from the access permissions list.
- Restricted access areas must be limited to the fewest number of Cast or Crew. For assistance, please contact support@amazonstudios.com.
- AS requires all production members handling Tier 1 content to have a production email account (@originalsaccess.com) to use for work rather than allowing members to use personal email.
- Approved tools such as Amazon's instance of Box and Scenechronize are easily accessible with an Originals Access email account through the single sign-on portal. Production Technology can assign email addresses to all current production team members and new starts.
- More details on Originals Access emails are found on the Tech Menu.
Be cautious when discussing projects in public and/or shared facilities such as the canteen or coffee shops within the studio. Refer to characters, sets, and any other information by their code name.
- Beware of phishing attempts via email, social media, text messages, and telephone.
- Report any suspicious online contacts/behavior to AS Production Security.
- Never provide information or materials just because someone asks for it.
- Question all requests for AS content or sensitive information, verify identity and obtain authorization.
- Direct all online requests for information about the production to AS Production Security: content-security@amazon.com
- Passwords are required to access AS systems and content.
- Passwords should never be written down or posted anywhere.
- Never share your password with colleagues or any unauthorized users.
- All cell phones and mobile devices must require a password or biometric (e.g., facial recognition) to access.
Password Requirements:
- Complexity: Passwords should contain three of the following four parameters: upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Length: Passwords should have a minimum length of 8 characters for any account with 180 days of expiration timeline (or eight characters with multi-factor authentication and 360 days of expiration timeline).
- SSO (single sign-on) must always require multi-factor authentication
- The minimum password age: one day.
- The maximum number of invalid login attempts: Five before locking out indefinitely.
- Password history: Each password should be different from the previous password, with a password history of 10 previous passwords for any account.
- Secure Handling: If content is required to be moved or shared via removable media, utilize an AES 256-bit hardware-encrypted drive. For a list of AS-approved encrypted hard drives, refer to the Approved Encrypted Drives List.
- Passwords/Passcode: Passwords for encrypted drives must NEVER be kept with the drives themselves.
- Physical Media Handling (Non-Hard Drive): Other types of media, such as CDs, DVDs, or SD, are NOT permitted for pre-release content. Please contact the Production IT department to learn how to encrypt your specific storage device, as special considerations apply.
- Hard Drive Storage: When not in use, removable media (even blank media) should be stored in a safe within the production office or workshops, where unauthorized personnel cannot access it. Access to that safe must be limited to key personnel. Details on approved types of safes are available from PST at production-security@amazon.com
- Inventory Tracking: Both Production IT and the specific department will keep an inventory of all removable media assigned to the department to prevent loss and track transfers.
All assets shared for review for any business purpose must have uniquely identifiable watermarking and desaturation.
Note: For any workflows that require unwatermarked content, please contact to production-security@amazon.com
Video watermarking
AS requires that all pre-release video/AV content be watermarked (burned in/embedded) with the following elements, at minimum:
- [Viewer’s Identity]
- [Viewer’s first and last name] and/or [personally identifiable email address]
- [Viewer’s IP address]
- Copyright warnings:
- [“Copyright-Protected and Traceability Enabled”]
- [Date] the content was viewed
- Where applicable: [Viewer’s vendor/employer name] (e.g. Deluxe Burbank)
Note: Watermarks must be clearly visible, with legible font size and color contrast.
See below for a watermark example created in Flow Capture (formerly known as Moxion), Amazon’s preferred tool for viewing pre-release AV assets. This example meets the requirements listed above, in addition to specifying valid transparency, opacity, and element-positioning values. These values can be used to inform watermark creation in other tools, as optionality and level of customizability varies by system.
Document watermarking
- On documents, always include:
- [Recipient’s first and last name]
- If applicable: [Recipient’s company name] on lower-third of the page
- [Recipient’s name or email address] in the center of the page (as close to 100% of page length as possible)
- Note: If someone only has a personal email address (e.g., name@provider.com), use the recipient’s first and last name instead.
- [Document version]
- [Date] on the upper-third of the page
For font size and placement references, see the example screenshot below:
Note: Production documents that are approved for sharing via Box may not be able to meet the specific watermarking requirements described above (e.g. specific text-placement criteria). When sharing documents or assets assets via Box, apply Box’s default watermarking settings and ensure the following elements are visible:
- [User Email Address]
- [Date & Time Accessed by User]
Forensic Watermarking
- In addition to the visible watermark requirements, AV assets must be forensically watermarked when shared digitally.
- Forensic watermarks must uniquely identify their originator(s) and authorized user(s).
- If forensic watermarking is not available, utilize a tiled visible watermark of the viewer’s identity to increase watermark coverage. See the example below.
Desaturation and resolution
- Photo and AV assets must be desaturated unless there is an expressed business need for color.
- Assets must be sent in a low-resolution, compressed capacity unless there is an expressed business need for full resolution.
Additional Controls
- If the recipient’s name or email address is unknown or must remain anonymous (e.g. if for VIP talent), then the watermark must include a unique recipient ID that is personally identifiable/traceable to the recipient. Track and store any unique recipient IDs in case needed for future reference.
- The sender must immediately delete watermarked assets after confirming successful delivery. This ensures the intended recipient is the only person in possession of their uniquely watermarked asset.
Scripts must be handled using approved tooling with downloads disabled and unique, personally identifiable watermarks applied. The following practices apply to all pre-release Amazon MGM Studios (AS) scripts. For questions, concerns, or to verify whether your script handling tool is approved, check with your Amazon Production Executive or contact content-security@amazon.com.
Note: Anyone who receives or handles a pre-release script must first sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Secure Handling & Sharing
- Always handle scripts using an approved, secure tool such as Scenechronize. Ensure that downloads are disabled and a unique, personally identifiable watermark is applied. For more information on watermark requirements, see the Watermarking and Desaturation of Content section above.
- Limit script access and distribution to the fewest number of individuals with a valid business need. Never share scripts with anyone who has not been approved by the title’s Production Executive.
- Do not send scripts via email attachment, as emails are easily forwarded without traceability.
- Do not view scripts in public settings such as cafes, airports, or airplanes.
- Do not store scripts locally, such as on a laptop or thumb drive.
- Do not print physical scripts unless there is a valid business need and written approval has been provided by the title’s Production Executive. For more information on physical script handling guidelines, see the High-Value Script Handling Requirements section under Physical Security Management.
- If you receive a copy of a script via an unsecure tool, such as email, delete it from the unapproved tool and request that it be shared via an approved tool.
Photography Approval: The requestor's department head or coordinator must send a request for photography approval to AS Production and AS Marketing. The sender must include the crew member's details and the reason for the request. AS will then approve or deny using a production iPod Touch or a specific device if a more proficient camera is required. The Executive Producer's office will maintain a list of all approved crew members, logging their device ID, expiration date, and cloud account details. This will be shared amongst Amazon Studio Security, IT, and Production.
For Tier 1 productions, auditable records are to be in place, and a strict approval process must be followed. iPod Touch devices are used to control who is authorized to capture images in a production environment. Auditable records will be maintained to assist with tracking devices and off-boarding. Utilizing these devices provides a safe and secure method to upload images to a secure cloud storage area. All iPod Touch devices should be color-coded and numbered to assist security in detecting non-authorized devices.
- Issuance of Device: Approved crew will then be instructed to do the following:
- Visit the IT department for the issuing of the device.
- Arrange a meeting with the production’s Digital Asset Manager to discuss their required workflow, device use, and image capture management.
- The crew member will then be issued a separate photography-approved badge with an agreed expiration date.
- The photography device should only be used by the individual it has been assigned to and is in possession of the correct ID credentials.
- Specific Device: The approved photography device only captures department-relevant images and must not be used to capture personal images or images irrelevant to the crew member's job description.
- Content Management: All images are required to be fully uploaded and wiped from the device within agreed and appropriate time frames.
- Appropriate Use: The crew member should not attempt to alter the settings on the device or attempt to remove or share the images inappropriately.
- Device Credentials: Login details for the cloud account or device should never be shared. If the security of the device or cloud credentials is ever compromised, the assigned crew member must immediately contact Production-Security@amazon.com.
- Device Accountability: The photography device should be returned to Production once the assigned crew member's approval period ends or as part of their off-boarding procedure.
- Lost & Stolen Devices: If the photography device is ever lost or stolen, the assigned crew member must contact AS Content Security immediately for the device to be remotely wiped.
Digital Security Resources & Support
Security Resources & Support
Amazon Studios maintains policies, standards, and guidelines and can be available for your reference. Please find below contacts for resources and help with day-to-day tasks:
Please see the Tech Menu for additional resources and support.
Creative 3rd Party Tooling/Vendor Security
Any creative content handling service providers (e.g. ADR facility, VFX facility, etc.) and 3P tools (e.g. Airtable, Box, ShotGrid) must be cleared with AS Content Security.
Reach out to AS Content Security at content-security@amazon.com and provide the following information to find out if your vendor/3P tool/application has already been approved or to request an assessment:
- Title of the email/request (e.g. “Vendor Security Request - [production code name]”)
- Vendor name and location
- Vendor contact, email address, and mobile/cell number
- What assets will this vendor be receiving?
- What type of work will this vendor be conducting?
- What project/title will the vendor be working on?
Please ensure the AS Production/Post/VFX POC is copied in the request.
Security Templates & Exhibits
Tip Sheets
Review these tip sheets for extra security measures
Physical Security (India)
Security Introduction
Amazon Studios (“AS”) is committed to providing a secure working environment for the protection of all cast, crew, employees, guests, intellectual property, and the AS brand. Security relies on the collaborative efforts of all cast and crew members in helping to proactively mitigate security issues and incidents. This guide provides an overview of the AS Physical Security and Digital Security expectations and base-level measures to be considered by every production.
Anyone working on an Amazon Original is expected to notify Amazon Studios Production Security Team (“PST”) of any security incidents or lost or stolen devices belonging to, accessing, or storing AS content at the earliest possible opportunity. If anyone sees something they believe could compromise the confidentiality of an Amazon Original, immediately alert the local production security contact and production-security@amazon.com. Please include a telephone number, and a team member will call as soon as possible.
For help or questions related to the Security Section of the Global Production Manual, please do not hesitate to contact PST: production-security@amazon.com.
Security Emergency Inquiries / Reporting
For emergencies or immediate threats to the safety of the production staff or assets, please notify the local police authorities as appropriate.
As soon as the situation is safe and under control please immediately report the security incident using the Incident Notification Form. You will need the password below.
Incident Notification Form - Click Here
Password: ASIR2023
In addition, all non-emergency security issues must be reported using the same form. Non-emergency security incidents may include issues associated with the following:
- Physical Asset Protection and Set Security
- Theft
- Acts of violence
- Threats of violence
- Production Facility Access Control
- Visitor Management
- Talent Protection
- Secure Production Workflows
- Digital Asset Protection
- Cyber-attack / Compromise / Breach
- Leaked Content
- Security Related Vendor Management/Vetting
Refer to the Health & Safety Emergency Policy for any set/office-related accidents.
To report a content or digital asset leak, e-mail Production-Security@amazon.com and please provide the following information:
- The name of the person reporting the incident
- The code name of the production
- Location
- Contact information
- A description of what occurred
Please also include the local Amazon Studios executive in any reports.
Physical Security Management
When there is an elevated risk to a production’s Content, Shooting Location, and/or Talent, Amazon Studios may recommend that the Production Company (“Prod Co”) hire a Security Manager or HOD who will act as a direct point of contact for the PST and be responsible for security management. PST will coordinate with the Prod Co in identifying risks and will assist in selecting the Security Manager.
All security vendors engaged by the production should, at a minimum, be licensed to practice within the particular jurisdiction for the services provided and maintain a sufficient level of liability insurance to cover the needs of the production. All contracted security vendors must maintain strict security and confidentiality practices throughout all aspects of the production. Staff are prohibited from sharing any production-related information. No unauthorized persons, photography, filming, or autograph requests are permitted.
PST maintains a trusted network of preferred security providers around the globe and can provide the Prod Co with guidance and recommendations. For any information or support regarding physical security vendors, please contact Production-Security@amazon.com.
When hiring, productions are required to ensure crew, contractors, daily hires, and extras sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”). The production office is responsible for maintaining a clear and auditable record of all NDAs. During the hiring process, it is Prod Co’s responsibility to conduct appropriate background/reference checks. Crew should be made aware of security requirements such as photography policy, social media restrictions, safe storage, transfer, and destruction requirements within their contracts.
Upon wrap, copies of NDAs, incident reports, visitor logs, and any information required for investigative purposes must be captured and sent to or shared through an approved platform agreed upon ahead of wrap.
The Prod Co is expected to regularly communicate security best practices, awareness, and security procedures unique to the production environment and associated risks. Security awareness briefings and messaging should be provided to all crew throughout the production. Awareness posters covering production rules regarding photography, social media, and document/asset destruction should be placed around the production facilities for all productions. Contact production-security@amazon.com for training and awareness support.
Post security awareness reminders throughout the film locations as guidance on protecting Amazon Originals’ content. PST offers branded material to assist with messaging and consistency; please see Security / Posters & Signage examples below.
Protecting physical access to people and assets is a key component of overall security.
All productions are expected to establish a perimeter barrier to help prevent unauthorized access. Where possible, access should be restricted using gates and fences. However, while on location, even something as simple as stringing up caution tape can define a perimeter and help restrict unauthorized access. Additional access control measures will be required based on coordinated discussions with PST for productions operating with high-value content and assets or for those filming in high-risk locations.
The following areas should be considered within studios and on location:
- Shared areas - where members of the public have access, i.e., reception, carparks, cafeterias
- Perimeter – the first point of entry to a premises, building, car park location
- Controlled areas – where authorized staff have unrestricted access, e.g., production office
- Restricted areas – areas only authorized people are permitted, such as the art dept, props, post production staff
All productions are expected to issue some form of visual identification that establishes who is authorized to be on set. For most productions, all crew and visitors should wear production-issued identification credentials. However, colored wristbands or stickers may also suffice. Identifiable identification should always be created and worn while within a production facility or location. The issuance of credentials should be strictly controlled and regularly reviewed. Where possible, passes are to include a contact for reporting lost IDs and include a photograph of the bearer. Badges should not reveal the official name of the production. Codenames or a production alias should be established and included on all cast and crew badges.
All visitors to a production site should be pre-authorized through the production/producer’s office. Visitors should wear identification and be escorted and accompanied by their production point of contact at all times. The following information for all visitors should, at a minimum, be captured:
- Name
- Company
- Time in/time out
- Person/people visited
In accordance with the Asset Management policies established by Amazon Studios, Production Heads of Departments should identify high-value digital and physical assets and understand the requirements for safe storage, transfer, and destruction.
Examples of high-value assets include:
- Video and audio assets (including raw footage and film)
- Photographs of sets and cast (including behind the scenes)
- Concept artwork
- Costumes, weapons, and props
- Creatures and animatronics
- Set Plans/Designs
At a minimum, high-value assets should be tracked with an auditable log. High-value digital assets are never to be transferred via email and should be shared only via AS-approved file sharing and collaboration systems. When granting access to the assets, the principle of “least privilege” is to be observed.
Physical Protection of High-Value Content: Production should also consider the implementation of certain physical security barriers/procedures to ensure that valuable content is not exposed to the public or other unauthorized viewers. Consider the following:
- Restricted Views: Place privacy screens/barricades or drapes to minimize line of sight to sets, workshops, and show and tells on set.
- Cast Visibility: Limit cast visibility to the public by strategically positioning trucks and trailers at base camp and on set, covering the cast in costume with secrecy cloaks, and organizing cast transportation vehicles in close proximity to the set.
- Visual Content: All visual or pictorial documents (i.e., from locations, art dept., previs) are only to be viewed on access-restricted systems approved by Amazon (e.g., WorkDocs, Amazon Studios Box) or as a hard copy in secure environments (e.g., offices, trailers, etc.).
- Safe Handling: Visual or pictorial documents are not to be transferred via email. Any artwork (i.e., set plans or reference material) used in workshops, stages, or exterior sets must be watermarked and stored in a lockable storage unit.
Avoid keeping cash, bank checks, and high-value items on production sites as much as possible. Payments for daily minor transactions/production needs should be made by credit card or other electronic format.
Please notify Production-Security@amazon.com if a significant amount of cash or bank stock will be kept on any production site.
Scenechronize must be used for script distribution for high-security (Tier 1) projects. Only authorized users with a legitimate business need may possess a physical script. To receive a physical script, the recipient must:
- Confirm that they've attempted all alternative solutions (e.g., Amazon Studios iPad) and provide a reason for why the solutions will not work.
- Sign an NDA for the current project (e.g., related/current season or related Amazon Original Movie title).
- Receive written approval from the Production Executive responsible for the related project.
If approved, physical scripts will be issued to specific individuals rather than groups or departments.
The creation and distribution of physical scripts should be avoided whenever possible. However, if a physical script must be printed, be sure to follow the appropriate standards:
- Script Log: An auditable log of physical script pages must be kept at all times. Any unused or revised pages must be collected and disposed of correctly.
- Watermarking: All printed pages must be individually marked on each copy with a unique ID number and recipient's name. Print on red-colored paper or anti-copy paper, rendering photocopying ineffective.
- Accountability: Only print pages that are required to complete the work for the day (e.g., side scripts). All script pages must be returned and accounted for at the end of each day.
- Protection: Never leave scripts unattended for any amount of time. Scripts should be locked away when not in use or, if required, placed into a script folder with a GPS tracker.
- Exceptions: Any exceptions to the above requirements must be approved by the Executive responsible for the title in question and discussed with Amazon Studios Content Security to ensure a Risk Assessment has been carried out.
All crew must know the risks to themselves and their valuables while traveling. Security procedures must be followed when any Amazon or Amazon Studios intellectual property is brought on any trip outside the studio. Production Security can also assist by providing location risk assessments ahead of travel to better inform the production when choosing a location and to help prepare the production to mitigate the identified risks in advance of travel. Please contact production-security@amazon.com for more information.
Digital Security Management
The Amazon Studios Content Security Team manages Digital Security. For any questions related to digital security, please email content-security@amazon.com. or review the Digital Security section of the Manual.
Photography Approval: The requestor's department head or coordinator must send a request for photography approval to AS Production and AS Marketing. The sender must include the crew member's details and the reason for the request. AS will then approve or deny using a production iPod Touch or a specific device if a more proficient camera is required. The Executive Producer's office will maintain a list of all approved crew members, logging their device ID, expiration date, and cloud account details. This will be shared amongst Amazon Studio Security, IT, and Production.
For Tier 1 productions, auditable records are to be in place, and a strict approval process must be followed. iPod Touch devices are used to control who is authorized to capture images in a production environment. Auditable records will be maintained to assist with tracking devices and off-boarding. Utilizing these devices provides a safe and secure method to upload images to a secure cloud storage area. All iPod Touch devices should be color-coded and numbered to assist security in detecting non-authorized devices.
- Issuance of Device: Approved crew will then be instructed to do the following:
- Visit the IT department for the issuing of the device.
- Arrange a meeting with the production’s Digital Asset Manager to discuss their required workflow, device use, and image capture management.
- The crew member will then be issued a separate photography-approved badge with an agreed expiration date.
- The photography device should only be used by the individual it has been assigned to and is in possession of the correct ID credentials.
- Visit the IT department for the issuing of the device.
- Specific Device: The approved photography device only captures department-relevant images and must not be used to capture personal images or images irrelevant to the crew member's job description.
- Content Management: All images are required to be fully uploaded and wiped from the device within agreed and appropriate time frames.
- Appropriate Use: The crew member should not attempt to alter the settings on the device or attempt to remove or share the images inappropriately.
- Device Credentials: Login details for the cloud account or device should never be shared. If the security of the device or cloud credentials is ever compromised, the assigned crew member must immediately contact AS Security.
- Device Accountability: The photography device should be returned to Production once the assigned crew member's approval period ends or as part of their off-boarding procedure.
- Lost & Stolen Devices: If the photography device is ever lost or stolen, the assigned crew member must contact AS Content Security immediately for the device to be remotely wiped.
AS attempts to reduce the amount of printed material and manage its data life cycle, as with all devices and equipment that touches AS content; AS asks the production to notify the IT Department if a printer is required. Using personal printers is prohibited unless pre-approved by the Prod Co.
When printed, sensitive material should have a watermark of the requestor's name and department clearly displayed. If watermarks are requested to be removed, an auditable tracking sheet must be created to ensure the location of non-watermarked material at all times.
All documents with sensitive information or intellectual property, such as artwork and call sheets, are to be disposed of by being shredded or placed within the secure, confidential shred bins provided within the production offices, workshop stages, and location environments.
Prod Cos will ensure all physical pieces of production content are handled correctly. Shred bins should be available to all crew in studio and location environments. The shred bins should be located in all offices, workshops, or set areas where confidential material is being used. Documents should be shredded on-site by an authorized secure shredding company with relevant security industry accreditation. The company will attend to production sites on an agreed schedule and will be escorted into AS facilities or locations by security personnel at all times.
Offboarding - Regular
Always be proactive in communicating that a production offboarding will occur to all responsible parties (e.g., production security, production technology, production office, etc.). To avoid confusion, this must be a written communication to the responsible parties with the first and last name of the terminating production staff, their title, and the end date.
Once the offboarding date is identified, the reporting party must notify the appropriate PST members and Production IT at support@amazonstudios.com to initiate the termination, including access removal from all digital tooling and systems related to the production.
- Make sure that the production office sends the following information to the terminating production staff’s personal email address:
- A copy of the production nondisclosure agreement (NDA) and written reminder, “Thank you for working on this production. Please remember that you are under strict NDA and cannot discuss your participation in this project without prior approval.”
- Instructions on whom to contact and obtain written approval prior to sharing participation. “Do not share any production information, including your participation, without prior written approval from the studio.” Some examples include:
- Concept art (e.g., DeviantArt.com)
- Discussing participation on social media, in video or print media publications
- IMDb credits or other industry tools
- Interviews
- Participation at in-person or virtual fan conventions
- Virtual portfolios
- Sharing on social media
Offboarding - Immediate Termination
An immediate termination occurs when an individual has breached the terms of their contract, commonly due to the following incident types safety, misconduct, or security. Any breach of contract must be reported to Production leadership and production security. If an immediate termination is decided, notify production security to execute termination appropriately (i.e., discreetly).
- Inform security management of terminating individual’s name, dept., title, and termination time.
- Include relevant termination information if the individual who is being terminated possibly poses an immediate security risk, e.g., termination due to physical misconduct or safety.
- When the individual is informed that they are being terminated, they are to be escorted at all times until off-site.
- All access to digital systems is to be cut at a time agreed upon by Production leadership or individuals HoD.
- It is recommended that this coincides with the time individual is being informed of termination.
- Notify Production IT at support@amazonstudios.com and Content-Security@amazon.com, and obtain written confirmation that access to sensitive information was revoked.
- All production equipment and technology that contains content should be identified and collected.
- Any items not collected containing content are to be reported immediately to Content Security and Production leadership so appropriate mitigations can be implemented as required.
- Make sure that the production office sends the following information to the individual’s personal email address:
- A copy of the production nondisclosure agreement (NDA) and written reminder, “Thank you for working on this production. Please remember that you are under strict NDA and cannot discuss your participation in this project without prior approval.”
- Instructions on whom to contact and obtain written approval prior to sharing participation. “Do not share any production information, including your participation, without prior written approval from the studio.”
- Some examples include:
- Concept art (e.g., DeviantArt.com)
- Discussing participation on social media, in video or print media publications
- IMDb credits or other industry tools
- Interviews
- Participation at in-person or virtual fan conventions
- Virtual portfolios
- Sharing on social media
- Some examples include:
Security Templates & Exhibits
Posters & Signage
Productions are encouraged to download the following exhibits and post them on set and in production offices.
- Paper Shredding
- Photography
- Report Suspicious Activity
- Sending Content
- Social Media - Ver 1 and Ver 2
- Production Office Sign
- Top 10 Security Tips
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility (DEIA) (India)
Please note, that DEIA currently in NOT a policy, and only applicable in the US.
Every crew member should be treated with respect and dignity - from leadership, to the newest PA. AS expects our leaders to create a safe and comfortable space where cast and crew feel empowered to express their concerns, opinions and needs.
Travel (India)
Travel Insurance
All productions are required to carry insurance as deemed reasonable.
Travel Health & Safety
All travelers are expected to monitor their own health and avoid traveling while ill. When traveling, all cast and crew are expected to comply with local laws and regulations and the instructions of any airline, airport, or government agent. Travelers are expected to submit to all lawful and proper security screenings at security checkpoints. See the Security (Travel) Policy for Travel Security concerns.
Sustainability (India)
Introduction & Purpose
By founding the Climate Pledge, Amazon confirmed its commitment to building a sustainable business for customers and the planet in 2019. Through the Climate Pledge, Amazon’s operations will be net zero carbon by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement, focusing on regular reporting and decarbonization. Beyond the commitment to decarbonize our operations, Amazon is working to send less material to landfills and more back into the circular economy loop, including reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.
These policies align with Amazon’s latest additions to our Leadership Principles: (1) Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer and (2) Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility. While the production sustainability program focuses on the environment, Amazon Studios (“AS”) works closely with DEIA partners and productions to ensure social sustainability is also included in AS policies and programs.
Amazon Sustainability Resources
AS has a dedicated in-house Sustainability Team who can help answer questions about the policy. The AS Sustainability Team will also review carbon emissions and environmental reporting data and the post-wrap analysis put together by on-set staff. Generic questions can be addressed to amazon-studios-sustainability@amazon.com
See additional Sustainability FAQs here.
Sustainability Accounting
Accounting teams have been updated with the new Sustainability budgeting and expenditures process for accounting code #96- in the Chart of Accounts (CoA). ‘Environment and Sustainability’. Appropriate tagging and more sustainability accounting procedures can be found in the Finance and Accounting policies ( Link to India Finance Policies here)
Budgeting for Sustainability
Budgeting should be conducted prior to the Greenlight process and the AS Sustainability team can provide budget recommendations. Prod Co currently pays for the sustainability policy implementation and reporting. No sustainability program spend has ever exceeded 1% of the total GL locked budget in any territory.
Sustainability Vendors
Amazon Business members can view Climate Pledge Friendly products on Amazon.com and as best practice, are encouraged to prioritize ordering eco-friendly products.
Sustainability Staffing
The Prod Co is responsible for hiring at least one dedicated sustainability vendor. They will be on the production payroll. They create a sustainability plan and budget, and ensure compliance and execution of sustainability on-set. Sample job descriptions can be found here. The AS Production Executive and AS Sustainability Manager must approve any sustainability budget.
Wrap Planning, Reuse and Donations
Reuse should be prioritized and any storage of items coordinated with the Sustainability and Asset Management team. Donate salvageable unneeded set materials (e.g., construction, set decoration, wardrobe, props) to approved nonprofit organizations (e.g., Goodwill, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity), local theaters, libraries, archives or schools. Ensure this is following the Asset Planning, Retention and Disposition Document and AS Asset Policy. Resale of items is under the discretion of the production teams. All food donations depend on Health and Safety regulations and must be pre-approved by Production Sustainability and Risk.
Sustainability Requirements
AS has 10 sustainability requirements and 10 sustainability recommendations, separated by Levels 1-2, depending on the territory, type of production and/or infrastructure available. Please work with the AS Sustainability team to develop a plan.
Sustainability Deliverables
Sustainability Reporting
- The PEACH tool is required to evaluate best practices checklist that also evaluates productions on a point system and should be completed in Hard Prep to evaluate areas to improve, and again at Wrap.
- All productions must fill in the Green Production Guide’s PEAR tool and submit it via the AS Sustainability Wrap Report.
- The PEAR (Production Environmental Accounting Report) is a tool to measure the environmental impact of your production based on the energy used in offices and on stages, the fuel used in vehicles and generators, and the emissions from air travel and accommodations.
- Filling in this information should be a joint exercise between the dedicated on-set sustainability staff, Accounting, Transport, Catering, and more.
- One PEAR should be filled out for the entire production, and a separate PEAR should be filled out just for Post Production.
- Accounting guidance can be found in the (Add link to India Finance resources here)
- Productions can use other trackers if they choose but must still submit the PEAR tool and submit it via the AS Sustainability Wrap Report as outlined above.
Sustainability Templates & Exhibits
Sustainability Checklist
It’s important to plan for sustainability as early as possible. A sample checklist of activities for the Production staff and/or Prod Co to complete is provided below:
1 |
Department or External Service Providers |
Key Area to Discuss |
2 | Accounting | Carbon tracking (Energy bills, etc.) |
3 | Department Keys- Art Dir., 1st AC’s, Best Boys, 2nd’s | Budget, Admin, Operational Oversight to review policies, plans and resources. Emphasize sustainable procurement efforts |
4 | Procurement | Sustainable procurement and contract language |
5 | Transportation | Fuel use/reduction and alternative fuels/ vehicles |
6 | Facilities | Waste management, opportunities to use grid energy |
7 | Production | Eco-friendliness of locations/stages, e.g., energy efficiency |
8 | Producers and AD’s | Training, messaging, enforcement. Designate a sustainability “champion” in each department on a volunteer basis |
9 | Catering | Food choices (e.g., reduced meat), service ware, drinks |
10 | Construction, Art, Make-up, Landscape | Low carbon emitting, recyclable, reusable materials. Donate where possible |
11 | Waste Haul Providers | Ensure waste separation of trash, recycling, and compost, and that a diversion report can be issued. Specialized disposal companies must be identified for items requiring special handling and disposal (e.g., solvents, paints, coatings, aerosols, miscellaneous toxic materials, batteries, electronics, etc.) |
Assets (India)
Step-By-Step Guide to Asset Tracking
Purpose
This document is to be used as a training guide for asset tracking.
Step-By-Step Guide to Asset Tracking
1. Asset Threshold: An asset is any purchased item over INR 40,000 or consumer electronics over INR 20,000, or in case of purchased or created dummy firearms (any type, including but not limited to: soft or hard rubber, airsoft, or firing weapon) at any price point (“Asset”).
2. Purchased Items: Any item (wardrobe, arts, props, electronics) that is purchased for the project and falls outside the purview of the Asset Threshold above.
3. Asset and Inventory Procurement: Productions should rent when possible. If the asset the production needs is not available to rent, then it may be purchased.
4. Assets Tracking and Disbursal: Report all Assets via the Asset Inventory format shared with you by your Amazon Production Executive. After Principal Photography, during Wrap and before assets and purchased items leave the production, the Production Company is required to send a tentative asset disbursal plan to the Amazon Production Executive/Manager (the “APE/M”) and the Global Asset Executive (the “GAE”) via email. The plan will include
-
- Asset Inventory Format:
- i. The Asset Inventory Format needs to have the disposition column filled out with each asset’s intended disbursal choice. (Please see Appendix A below for the disbursal definitions and paperwork needed).
- ii. For assets that are being sold, even in bulk deal, an estimate of the proposed sale price
- Asset Inventory Format:
If you have not received an email response from either the APE/M or the GAE in 48 business hours, please proceed with your asset disbursal.
5. Inventories: All departments that have to store assets after principal photography need to complete an inventory list. The Asset Inventory Format can be used as an inventory list but must include the following information:
- Current Location
- Item description and photograph (or a link to photograph)
- Box number
For storage of Purchased Items (i.e., items purchased for less than INR 40,000 or electronics less than INR 20,000), Production Company must maintain detailed inventories in the Amazon approved format shared by the Amazon Production Executive or 3P Asset vendor. All inventories must be uploaded into the production specific Box folder located in the asset sub-folder.
6. Asset Inventory Summary: At wrap of principal photography, Amazon will need an Asset Inventory Summary with the following information:
- Address of the storage facility
- Duration of the storage facility
- Contact information of Producer / Executive Producer
7. Final Asset Management Report
Summary
This is how to document and track production assets and items. If you have any questions about this policy, please email: Studios-Production-Assets@amazon.com. In the subject line of your email please include: Show Code, Department & Document Title. Someone from the Physical Assets Team will respond as quickly as possible.
Appendix A
Disbursal choices:
1. Sold - All sales should be for fair market value and to be approved by the Amazon Production Executive/Manager. In connection with each sale, you must obtain and provide Amazon with:
-
- A hand written or digital receipt or an invoice
- A check copy (if applicable)
- Proof of deposit into production bank account of all funds received
The disposition column on the Asset Inventory Format should be updated to indicate that the Asset was “sold”.
2. Donation - The disposition column on the Asset Inventory Format should be updated to indicate that the Asset was “donated”.
3. Destroy- Any Asset that is purchased and later destroyed, on-camera or otherwise, should be indicated in the disposition column on the Asset Inventory Format that the Asset was “destroyed”.
4. Storage- All Assets placed in storage should be listed on the Asset Log in the disposition column as “storage”. Additionally, all Assets and Purchased Items must be on the box inventory (see #5 below for box inventory instructions). No approval or acknowledgement is required from Amazon for this disposition.
- PLEASE NOTE: Upon wrap of principle photography, no ATL or crew member’s personal items may be stored at the facility. Amazon is not responsible for any personal item that is lost or damaged.
5. Stolen- Assets that are classified as stolen (“Stolen Assets”), should be filed in a police report. The production should update the disposition column on the Asset Log to indicate that the Asset is “stolen”.
6. Missing- Any Asset that was not stolen but cannot be found at wrap (“Missing Asset”). The production should update the disposition column on the Asset Log to indicate that the Missing Asset is “missing”.
7. Transfer of Possession: Assets may only be provided to Above The Line (ATL) Talent when contractually stipulated or with written pre-approval (via email) from the APE/M.
The disposition column on the Asset Log should be updated to indicate that the TOP Asset was “transferred”.
Music (India)
Amazon Studios (“AS”) has an internal Music team who will work closely with productions on all music plans. During the Development Kickoff, the AS Music Executive will discuss AS processes and requirements, music plans, advise on creative requirements, budget considerations and rights queries.
Please refrain from hiring any music talent, or making any licensing requests, until the kick-off call has taken place.
Music Hires
- The AS Music Executive must approve all proposed music hires and their deal terms in writing prior to engagement; this includes composers, music supervisors, artists, songwriters, and music editors.
- Music hire agreements must be signed before they begin work on the production.
- If hiring a music supervisor, the AS Music Executive will arrange a separate meeting to talk them through AS policy and procedure.
Composed Music/Original Songs
- AS must retain all master and publishing rights for perpetuity and world for original music composed for Amazon Originals (Series and Movies), including original songs.
* Composers will be able to collect their writer’s share of performance income. Anything outside of this must be sent to AS Music Executive for written approval. - For on camera or lip sync shoots, song demos and lyrics to be sent to AS music exec for creative alignment and legal clearance of lyrics, prior to shoot. Also all agreements of final music hires to be signed before principal photography.
- For music being composed in post production stage, song demos and lyrics to be sent to be sent to AS for creative alignment, and legal clearance of lyrics. All agreements of music hires to be signed by or before locked cut stage.
- For music being composed outside India, musicians/performers may be a part of unions. Amazon Studios is not a signatory to any musicians’ union, so do not engage union performers for any recordings. If there are plans to include vocal performances in any original score, please speak to AS Music Executive beforehand, as using vocal performers can also result in union fees.
Plans for original songs and bespoke cover versions/recreations (if any) must be discussed with the AS Music Executive before any approach is made to artists, composers, or songwriters.
Licensed Music
Licensed music must be cleared before each final mix for all media (excluding theatrical but including in-context promo use, worldwide, in perpetuity, and in line with the agreed budget for the production. Any variation to these terms must be approved by the assigned AS Legal Team and AS Music Executive. Please contact them before moving forward with the use.
In addition to the sync licensing fees payable to record labels and music publishers, for certain international music union fees may also be required for commercial recordings.
Key areas to consider for clearance:
- Sourcing music – please procure music from legitimate sources, such as Amazon Music, iTunes or record labels; do not rip music from Soundcloud, YouTube or similar sites as this can result in inaccurate rights information and unintentional copyright infringements. Pls make sure to seek all rights from the respective label/publisher before sourcing music from the above platforms. Also, do your own due diligence on label and owner before procuring music.
- Reciting lyrics – if lyrics are recited on camera, these rights should be cleared with the label/publisher of the track.
- Lyrics or sheet music on-screen – these will need to be cleared and licensed for a fee.
- Karaoke – if the content requests a karaoke recording, please let the Music Supervisor or AS Music Executive contact know as there may be pre-agreed rates in place with select providers.
- Lyric changes – these require prior approval from the publisher/label; a backup plan should always be in place in case of denial. Changes/addition in lyrics will also need approval from AS Legal team
- Parody – where planning to parody a musical artist or humorously adapt lyrics, liaise with AS Legal Team and , AS Music Executive and Production Legal ahead of time so that AS can advise best practices.
- Archive clips – music in archive clips will likely require clearance outside of the clip license. In the first instance, check if the rights can be incorporated into the clip license; if this is not an option, obtain music clearance in principle before committing to the clip license fee.
- Ringtones – will require clearance; alternatively, look at composed or library options.
- Most-Favored Nations – AS policy allows most-favored nations approvals between the label and publisher / co-publishers of a track but does not agree to Most-Favored Nations on all songs across an episode or series.
- Graphic content – when clearing commercial licensed music for scenes of a graphic or contentious nature (e.g., sex, drugs, nudity, religion, politics, or violence), please provide detailed scene descriptions and/or script excerpts to the rights owners as part of the clearance request.
- Religious audio – if the content plans to feature any music that includes or samples pre-existing audio with religious connotations, please discuss with AS Legal Team and AS Music Executive beforehand.
Music Templates
Please reference the Music Templates, provided by the AS Music Executive AS Legal Team, to access boilerplate music licensing templates, trackers, and session forms. Any proposed changes to these terms must be approved by the assigned AS Legal Team and AS Music Executive. We have pre-approved templates with key labels (Saregama, Sony Music, T-Series) and key music talent.
Production Music
- * For all Amazon Originals, AS has pre-agreed library rates or agreements with select partners. Please contact the AS Music Executive to access the contacts and details about these libraries.
* Production libraries outside of these deals require approval from AS Music Executive for use in Amazon Studios Originals; this applies to any in-house libraries production companies have access to and/or existing Prod Co blanket deals with libraries.
* For Unscripted Amazon Originals, AS Music has a blanket agreement with Vanacore Music, Universal Music Publishing Group where their catalog is available at no cost to production companies; this deal also includes pre-agreed rates for bespoke cues. Please contact the assigned AS Music Coordinator contact to set up Vanacore accounts. Please reach out to the assigned AS Music Executive contact to set up Vanacore and UMPG accounts.
* For all Scripted Amazon Originals (Series and Movies), AS Music has a blanket agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group where their catalogue is available at no cost to production companies; this deal also includes pre-agreed rates for bespoke cues. Please reach out to the assigned AS Music Executive contact to set up UMPG accounts.
Performances
- For all on-camera music performances, music must be cleared in advance of filming.
- AS strongly advises the use of pre-records during filming.
- If there are plans to capture live vocals during filming, please consult your AS Music Executive to determine best practices
- Where the performer is a cast member or contributor, their talent agreement must include musical performance rights or a separate performance DoA will have to be signed.
- If a performer is signed to a record label, AS requires a waiver from their label granting performance rights, which must be agreed upon before filming. AS Music Executive can advise on this ahead of time.
- Please speak to AS Music Executive as soon as possible if there are plans to film dramatico-musical works, such as operas, musicals, and ballets, as these contain grand rights which need additional clearance and will require an inflated fee.
Music Deliverables
Before production commences, once production enters post, the AS Music Executive will reach out to the relevant production contact to discuss music deliverables in more detail
The Music Executive will share a Music tracker, which the Prod Co or Music Supervisor should update to show details about original music , music hires, demos, lyrics, music clearance, including costs tracked against the budget.
Below is a list of the additional Deliverables that are handled by the AS Music team:
- Music Cue Sheets - the AS Music Coordinator will arrange access to the cue sheet system and can provide training, if necessary, delivered within one week of final mix.
- Commercial Music Licenses and Documentation - to be completed and delivered before the launch, or to be completed before shoot for on camera sequences
- Composed Music hires’ Documentation - to be completed and delivered before launch, or to be completed before shoot for on camera sequences
- Music Audio Deliverables - WAV audio files for the original score, original songs, and commercial music to be delivered within one two weeks of final mix. This should include final multi-tracks/stems from the scoring sessions and final 5.1 stems from the final mix (if applicable).
- Song Masters (WAV 16/44), (WAV 24/48), (WAV 24/96), (MP3 320Kbps)
- Song Multi-tracks/stems (WAV 24/96)
- Song IT Tracks (WAV 24/48)
- Multi-tracks/stems from the scoring sessions and final 5.1 stems from the final mix (if applicable) (WAV 24/96)
- Song Cutdowns (15sec, 20sec ,30sec) (WAV 24/48)
- Song lyrics transcribed in Roman English
- Song translation in English (in case of a regional song)
- All songs’ credits
- X-Ray Music List - a track list of all commercial music to be delivered within one week of final mix.
All required music deliverables must be received and approved by the AS Music team before delivery can be considered final.
Music Rights Contract Agreements for all music hires (including composer, music supervisor, music producers, artists, songwriters, and label waivers) are a Legal Deliverable.
Ratings (India)
Global Ratings Policies
All content made available on Prime Video receives a Content Based Rating (CBR). CBRs combine movie and TV ratings into five recommended audience age bands: Kids, Older Kids, Teens, Young Adults, and Adults. These age groups are intended to help customers around the world make informed viewing decisions about the content available in the Prime Video catalog. The attached chart provides some information about the assignment of CBRs. Amazon Originals may also receive a local rating classification in certain territories of distribution.
In India, the official rating body for rating Movie titles locally produced in India CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification). There is no official rating body that provides rating values for TV Show titles, hence anything where we need to provide rating apart from the CBFC board is under the DMEC (Digital Media Ethics Code) rating scheme.
Note that all rating evaluations consider the totality of the content, including presentation, duration, frequency, degree of visual and audio details, and cumulative effect; the following guidelines are indicative only and do not guarantee that the content will not receive a higher rating classification on review.
Prior to the commencement of principal photography of each program, producers should discuss the desired CBR for the program with their creative counterparts at Amazon Studios (“AS”) to ensure that the program ultimately delivered by the producer adheres to the Ratings Guidelines for the desired rating.
A | B | C | D | E | |
1 |
Rating |
Violence/Gore |
Language |
Sex/Nudity |
Tobacco Substance Use |
2 |
All Ages: Designed to appeal to all ages and are suitable to be viewed by very young children. |
Content should not include any violence. Scenes depicting minimal to mild peril and unlikely to cause anxiety, fear, or horror are permissible. |
No strong or coarse language. |
Content should not include any nudity or sexual themes. |
Content should not include references to or depiction of smoking, alcohol, or drug use. |
3 |
7+(Older Kids): Designed to appeal to children aged seven (7) and above. |
Violence should be limited to mild depictions of menace/fantasy horror or peril, slapstick or comic violence, and minimal gore/blood without gratuitous or graphic depictions. |
Infrequent, non-aggressive coarse language may be permitted. |
Non-erotic nudity depicted in a scientific, artistic, historical, or cultural context may be permitted. |
Content may include limited contextual depictions of the legal use of tobacco or alcohol. |
4 |
13+ (Teens): Contains mild instances of mature themes; parental guidance is advised |
Moderate violence, as depicted by non-gratuitous and contextualized gore, may be permitted. |
Coarse/pejorative language and infrequent profanity may be permissible. |
Discreet, non-sexualized depictions of nudity may be allowed (e.g., bare buttocks); verbal references to sexual acts or sexual humor may be permitted. |
Reference to or infrequent depiction of drugs/alcohol/tobacco without implying or glorifying underage use may be allowed. |
5 |
16+ (Young Adults): Contain mature themes; parental guidance is strongly advised |
Contextualized graphic violence/gore/fright may be permitted in limited duration, including verbal references or narration. |
Sexual language/innuendo may be permitted. Coarse/pejorative language and profanity may be permissible. |
Depictions of intimacy, including brief/non-descript nudity; non-sexual, contextualized full nudity may be permissible |
Depictions of drug/tobacco/alcohol use may be allowed. |
6 |
18+(Adults): Contain frequent, recurrent depictions of mature content and are designed for an adult audience. Elements of these programs are presented here. |
Graphic violence/gore; intense horror involving disturbing scenes. |
Sexual language/innuendo; Coarse/pejorative language, profanity. |
Sexualized and/or non-sexualized full-frontal nudity and simulated or explicit sexual activity. |
A pervasive theme of illegal drug use. |
CBRs are visible on the Prime Video detail page for each Amazon Original and inserted via a dynamic overlay in the upper left side of the screen at the beginning of playback. Each episode of a television series receives a separate rating, but summary ratings for each season will default to the most-restrictive rating received by any individual episode.
In addition to assigning a CBR, Prime Video also will assign Content Descriptors for all content made available on Prime Video, including descriptors for nudity, sexual content, violence, alcohol, smoking, substance use, foul language, and flashing lights, and in the future, will add gradations for the severity of the content. Like the CBR, Content Descriptors will be visible on the Prime Video detail page for each Amazon Original and inserted via a dynamic overlay in the upper left side of the screen at the beginning of playback. Notwithstanding the addition of Content Descriptors, Amazon Studios may, in its sole discretion, add a card at the beginning of the program that includes one or more disclaimers.
For example, an Amazon Original with severe scenes of sexual assault or self-harm that may be triggering for Amazon’s customers may include a disclaimer card such as:
The following program contains scenes of rape. Viewer discretion is advised.
As another example, an Amazon Original documentary including political views or racially insensitive language that the Show Team and producers determine is important to include to retain authenticity for the project may include a disclaimer as follows:
This program is a documentary and presents the content as it was originally captured. The views of those featured in the program do not represent the perspective of Amazon.
The verbiage depends on the content type and is shared by Legal for every Indian Origin Amazon Studios title.
Visual Effects (VFX) (India)
Producer Dashboard
We have set up a VFX-specific Producer Dashboard that you can access via Airtable here:
https://airtable.com/shrppPy2P9VIaHWlx
Password: amazonVFX
Report submissions will be done through this dashboard.
Show Start Packet
Please download and review the Show Start Packet found in our Airtable Producer Dashboard
Password: amazonVFX
The show start packet contains forms and templates that will be referenced throughout this manual.
Please see the F.A.Q. section for more information. You can also reach out to your show’s VFX Executive team if you have further questions.
Any exceptions to workflows outlined in this manual must be noted in writing and approved by the show’s lead VFX Executive. The information contained in this manual is proprietary and may not be reproduced or made available in any form other than to those with a legitimate business need.
VFX Breakdowns
Amazon Studios requires a VFX breakdown to be submitted that outlines VFX needs by sequence, shots, assets, and estimated overhead and on set expenses based on the script.
We have included in your Show Start Packet (and for download through the Airtable Producer's Dashboard) templates for both episodic and feature projects. These breakdowns are to be updated throughout development, prep and into production based on script revisions and methodology discussions in order to get a good idea of what VFX will be required and estimate costs and time needed to accomplish them.
VFX HOD Hiring & Vendor Policies
- Amazon MGM Studios VFX must approve the candidates hires for VFX positions (e.g. VFX Supervisor or VFX Producer) for both Wholly-owned and Co-Productions.
- Amazon VFX & Content Security must pre-approve all systems used by the ProdCo and VFX vendors to store or share assets. Please see the Tech Menu for pre-approved systems or contact content-security@amazon.com for assistance.
- The process to get a vendor approved can take up to 9 weeks, so please allow enough time ahead of the planned start. Until approval, no sensitive material can be shared with the vendor. To get the process started, the following information needs to be shared with the Amazon MGM VFX team:
-
- Vendor business name
- Vendor location (city, country)
- Vendor’s security POC name / title
- Vendor POC email
- Vendor POC mobile contact number
- AS project name / code
-
- Amazon MGM Studios VFX must be informed of vendors being asked to bid on Amazon MGM productions. Prod Co must communicate with the show’s assigned Amazon MGM VFX Executive about any active or potential VFX vendor engagements.
- Amazon MGM Studios works with VFX Vendors globally to streamline the contracting process. Multiple visual effects houses currently have Master Service Agreements (MSA) in place with the studio to cover multiple shows under one legal umbrella. Production should check with the Amazon VFX Executive to see which vendors have an MSA in place.
- Please note, vendor contracts such as Master Service Agreements and Certificates of Engagement may take up to 6-8 weeks to be fully executed.
VFX Breakdowns
Amazon Studios requires a VFX breakdown to be submitted that outlines VFX needs by sequence, shots, assets, and estimated overhead and on set expenses based on the script.
We have included in your Show Start Packet (and for download through the Airtable Producer's Dashboard) templates for both episodic and feature projects. These breakdowns are to be updated throughout development, prep and into production based on script revisions and methodology discussions in order to get a good idea of what VFX will be required and estimate costs and time needed to accomplish them.
VFX Pre-Production Deliverables
- Detailed VFX breakdown
- Detailed VFX budget - Approved by Amazon MGM VFX Executive
- VFX shooting methodology and expectations statement
- VFX Vendor bids
- Crew list, storyboards / mock-ups for VFX sequences
VFX Production Reporting
-
Weekly VFX Report: Amazon MGM Studios VFX requires a weekly report from VFX Producer/Supervisor on the progress of the VFX work, used to understand if there are savings / overages / schedule impacts.
-
- Template for US projects:
- Template for European projects:
-
- Weekly VFX Hot Cost Report: Amazon MGM VFX requires a weekly report from on-set VFX Producer/Supervisor on what was shot and how it affects VFX, used to understand if there are savings / overages / schedule impacts.
- Weekly VFX meeting: A weekly meeting must be set to for the Amazon MGM VFX to align with VFX Supervisor and / or Producer; receive updates, facilitate solving of issues, ensure all is going according to plan. When there isn't a production side VFX team this will be with the nominated person(s), normally the LP, Post Supervisor and/or Producers. Normally starts off on bi-weekly basis, moving to weekly basis at start of post.
- Weekly VFX/Creative meeting: Regular review session giving creative team the chance to view and comment on the VFX work. Setting this up for success is especially important to maintain creative alignment through the entire VFX schedule. Meetings to start when there are creative aspects of the VFX work to be reviewed, and cadence is decided on the schedule and amount of work to review (ranging from bi-weekly to twice a week depending on project and current phase).
VFX Creative Review & Approval
Creative Amazon MGM VFX Reviews must showcase the development of all hero assets, shots and conceptual work up until approval. When submitting for approvals on timing, continuity, or environments and effects that happen over a cut we will need a sequence edit provided.
Submissions should be accompanied by a submission sheet that specifies the scope of work, vendor, and relevant notes for each review item.
Productions are not required to submit shots which involve work limited to clean-up, retimes, split screens and reframes.
Please seek approval with your Amazon MGM VFX Executive on the proposed reviewing platform and cadence as soon as possible to secure availability of required attendees.
Attendees must include:
- Amazon MGM VFX Executive
- Amazon MGM Creative Executives
- Production VFX Supervisor & Producer
- Production Showrunner(s) and Directors (optional, to be dictated by production)
- Production Executive Producers (optional, to be dictated by production)
Productions must send an agenda and review playlist at least 2 hours before a session, as well as provide written notes from the session within 24 hours of the review ending.
If a review needs to be cancelled or changed to an offline session, Productions should provide 24-hour notice. For all offline sessions, Productions must provide a submission list, with any relevant notes included to allow for productive feedback.
Virtual Production (VP)
- Amazon MGM Virtual Production Executive must be consulted regarding the overall approach/plan for Virtual Production from development/planning through final delivery.
- Please Contact the VP Executive using the alias vp-global@amazon.com and copy the project's Production Executive on the email
- The VP Executive will create and share a one-pager VP assessment of the project
- Amazon MGM Virtual Production Executive must be informed of all VP vendors being asked to bid on Amazon MGM productions. Prod Co must communicate with the VP Executive about any active or potential VP vendor engagements.
- Amazon MGM Content Security must approve all VP vendors prior to the start of asset building and shooting.
VFX Wrap & Deliverables
Upon completion of a project, the following visual effects specific wrap materials must be provided to the production’s AS VFX Executive team for archival:
Item | Explanation | |
1 | Final VFX Summary Report | A one-sheet summary using the Amazon MGM VFX Wrap Summary template that provides an overview of final VFX costs, rebates, and shot counts. Refer to the Wrap Summary Template. |
2 | Final VFX Estimated Final Cost (EFC) Weekly Report |
A final EFC report using the applicable VFX Weekly Report template. Refer to Shoot & Post Weekly Report for Vendor. Final cost template to be used in Europe: |
3 | VFX Shot List | A final shot list of all VFX shots including episode numbers (when applicable), scene numbers, and approved version numbers. Shot lists should also identify the vendor(s) that worked on the final approved versions. A template is found in Shot List. |
4 | Overage History | A final overage history report using the VFX Overage History Template. |
5 | VFX Digital Assets |
VFX assets created during the course of shot production must be delivered to Amazon MGM VFX. VFX End of Show Data Delivery Specifications v3.1 |
6 | VFX Digital Assets Manifest | A summary report outlining all of the projects final VFX assets. Digital asset creation varies by project. A template is found in Digital Asset Manifest. For projects where unique technology is used to accomplish the visual effects work, Amazon MGM VFX requires vendors to provide platform specs in the form of a text file listing the hardware and software environment in which the work was completed for AS. This file is meant to be opened with Macros enabled in Excel in order to access the drop down lists provided. |
7 | Cyberscans & LIDAR | If cyberscans or LIDAR are captured during the course of production, a copy of all packages must be uploaded to Amazon MGM VFX for archival. Communicate with the production’s Amazon MGM VFX Executive during the wrap process to facilitate uploads and drive deliveries. |
VFX Templates & Exhibits
Overage History Template
AZS_VFX_Overage_History_20220112.xlsx
Shoot & Post Weekly Report for Vendors
- Episodic for Series
- Features for Movies
AS_VFX_Post_Weekly_Report_Episodic_ForVendors_20220112.xlsx
AS_VFX_Post_Weekly_Report_Feature_20220112.xlsx
AS_VFX_Shoot_Weekly_Report_Feature_20220112.xlsx
Final Shot List Template
AS_VFX_Final_Shot_List_20220112.xlsx
Digital Assets Manifest Summary Report
This file is meant to be opened with Macros enabled in Excel in order to access the drop down lists provided.
AS_VFX_Digital_Asset_Manifest.xlsm
VFX End of Show Data Delivery Specifications
VFX End of Show Data Delivery Specifications v3.1
Wrap Summary Template
X-Ray (India)
Introduction
X-Ray is Prime Video’s native bonus content feature, designed to extend and enrich the viewing experience for Prime customers. X-Ray’s experience offers viewers one-click access to a suite of bonus content including after-show videos (e.g. Inside the Episode, Round Table discussions, BTS Featurettes etc.), scripted companion pieces, deleted scenes, curated trivia, cast information, character biographies, music information, and more.
Premium X-Ray Requirements
Our team of creative producers works closely with Amazon Studios Production and Development, in addition to show creatives and production companies to design a custom ancillary experience for select titles. Our mission is to set the standard for customer expectations from a streaming video service by allowing viewers to discover, watch and engage deeply with content they love.
Asset | Description | Examples and Templates |
Master Cast List |
The master cast list should include a headshot, actor name, character name, the actor’s IMDb page URL, the episodes the actor appears in, and actor’s headshot uploaded to their IMDb profile. An actor cannot be tagged within X-Ray and Prime Video if they do not have an IMDb page or headshot uploaded to their IMDb page. | Master Cast List Template |
Music Cue Sheets |
X-Ray requires music details for all commercial and original music used within the series or movie; this does not include score or background music. Details must include song title, writer or lyricist, performer and in and out timepoints in hh:mm:ss format for each usage. |
Metadata Template Music Tab Example |
IMDb Series/Movies Page Updates |
Work with the Launch Marketing Manager of the title to know when an IMDb page should be created and updated. |
IMDb Title Page Example |
IMDb Cast Pages |
If a cast member’s IMDb page has not been set up yet, one will need to be created by the production company, talent, or talent’s agent. Cast IMDb pages will need a headshot and a biography. The headshot should be uploaded by the production company and should be chest up with good lighting on the face and preferably centered in a 2:3 portrait-style aspect ratio, in JPG format with a file size ranging from 50kb to 10Mb, and a minimum 72 dpi resolution (recommended 300dpi). If a headshot is not uploaded on IMDb, the actor cannot be included and tagged in the X-Ray experience on the platform. Character names will need to be added to the IMDb series or movie page. For unscripted, character names can be things like ‘Self,’ ‘Player,’ ‘Host,’ etc. The cast members on IMDb should match the X-Ray master cast list. Please mention spoilers concerns with the X-Ray POC or a titles PR/Marketing executive. |
Prime Video Headshot Example and Delivery Specs |
Timecoded Trivia |
At least 8 pieces of timestamped and fact-checked trivia per 30-minute episode or at least 15 pieces per 60-minute episode is required (1 piece of trivia for every 4 minutes of runtime on average). Individual trivia items should strive to be as succinct as possible, no more than 100 words in length. Trivia text, timestamp, episode number, trivia number and source(s) should be added to the X-Ray Metadata Tracker. |
Trivia Example and Delivery Specs Metadata Template |
Bonus Videos |
Videos: X-Ray requires at least 1 16:9, 4K video clip, no more than 5:59 minutes in length per series episode and 4 video clips for each feature film. The Prime Video end card at the end is required on each video provided by PV X-Ray producer. Videos require final sound and color, and versioning that includes an X-Ray Master, Textless Master, AV Master, and Archival Master. Videos will require metadata, including titles and a 1-2 sentence description in English which should be added to the X-Ray Metadata Tracker. If the video content is not in English, an English transcript will be required. Thumbnails: X-Ray requires a textless thumbnail for each video, delivered in 4:3, JPG format, max file size of 5MB. Check the delivery specs for file naming convention required. |
Bonus Video and Thumbnail Delivery Specs |
Bonus Photos / Graphic Galleries |
At least 1 photo gallery including 10 or more high-resolution photos per episode or movie is required. We advise the main action or subject is centered in the photos for the best viewing experience. Photos should be delivered as .jpg with a file size ranging from 50kb to 5Mb, and a minimum 72 dpi resolution (recommended 300dpi). |
Bonus Photo Delivery Specs |
Character Biographies (Scripted only) |
X-Ray requires a 50-250 word backstory for every major character in the title. Backstories should be original and include a history of the character, their journey and arc, without including any spoilers. Backstories should be added to the X-Ray Metadata Tracker. For every character backstory, a character headshot must be provided on Box. |
Cast Biography Example Metadata Template |
Character Headshot (Scripted only) |
X-Ray requires one high-resolution headshot of every major character in the title. The headshot should be chest up with good lighting on the face, centered, and with a 2:3 aspect ratio. Photos should be delivered as .JPG with a file size ranging from 50kb to 5Mb, and a minimum 72 dpi resolution (recommended 300dpi). For every character headshot, a character backstory must be provided on the X-Ray Metadata Tracker. |
Character Headshot Example and Delivery Specs |
X-Ray Metadata Tracker |
Metadata required on the X-Ray Metadata Tracker includes timestamped trivia, music details, and video descriptions, types and episodic ordering. |
Metadata Template |
Essentials X-Ray Coverage
If a title is not slated for Premium experience, which means if there is no bonus content produced or curated for it, it may automatically receive an X-Ray Lite experience at launch. This will showcase general, non-timepoint specific, Cast details vended directly from IMDb; if customer sourced Trivia has been added to the title’s IMDb page, that will also appear within an X-Ray Lite experience.
Post-launch partners and launch leads are responsible for ensuring that all actors, character names, and any trivia on each episode's IMDb page is accurate and approved for customer viewing. If you have any questions related to setting up your title's page, please see IMDb's Contributions Help Guide or reach out to IMDb customer service directly.
IMDb (India)
- Production Companies must create and update the IMDb pages of their titles with accurate and complete information and assets.
-
Production Company must register on IMDb.com with an official email id.
- Production companies, distributors and other similar entities wishing to submit posters, gallery images, trailers, clips, key credits or other related assets for multiple titles should use IMDb Scorecard, our free service which enables industry partners to easily review and update the titles they represent on IMDb.
- Production companies can request for Scorecard access by writing to: imdbindia-industry@imdb.com
-
Production companies must ensure that their title pages have all the information filled out and updated like title, plot summary, plot outline, title images, production status, release date/year, videos and cast and crew credits.[FL1]
- To make the page more engaging for prospective viewers, we recommend adding data like trivia and quotes.
- Information on IMDb is contributable by multiple sources like individual contributors, companies, industry professionals and other trusted sources.
- To create an IMDb page - there must be an official Amazon Studios (AS) PR announcement OR written approval by AS Creative Executive
- Do not post or update the IMDb page until the information is officially announced through Amazon channels or legitimate Amazon partners
- The IMDb page must never mention the project code name or working title:
- A project code name (aka “alias”, “codename”, or “high-security title”) is a name used to obfuscate or disguise a project and/or associated items from the actual project
- A working title is a temporary title where the official title has not been decided upon or finalized
- Leaked/unofficial information regardless of its accuracy, should not be used to create or update an IMDb page
- If any unreleased pre-release content/info is noted on IMDB, please reach out to video-takedown@amazon.com and Content-Security@amazon.com
If posting information is deemed appropriate, refer to Data Submission SOP Exhibit for more details on how to post to IMDb
Glossary (India)
ATL: Common abbreviation for ‘above the line’ and generally refers to persons attached to the creative of the Production (e.g. Actor, Prod Co, Producer, Writer, Director).
AC/NC: Commonly used abbreviation for Amazon Cut. Referred to as Network Cut.
AD: Commonly used abbreviation for Assistant Director or Audio Description.
Addendum: Standards and/or procedures with a more limited scope (e.g. standards and/or procedures for implementing the policy on a specific content format or territory).
Airtable: Online platform that is a spreadsheet / database hybrid.
Amazon Chime: Preferred application for Instant messaging and video conferencing. Request Chime when signing up for Originals Access.
Originals Access - email domain occasionally shared by Amazon on a need to know basis.
AMR: Commonly used abbreviation for Amazon Maturity Rating (Kids, Older Kids, Teens, Young Adults, Adults).
Censor Certificate - Ratings that certify the suitability of feature films, short films, trailers, documentaries, and theatre-based advertising for public viewing
AMXT: Commonly used abbreviation for All media excluding theatrical.
Ancillary Costs: Costs after content has been produced with no direct link to the production or creation (e.g., marketing)
Highlighted Script: Script that includes explanatory notes or comments. Such notes or comments including, for example, references supporting factual statements, and/or references to characters or events based on true events or people. This might also include research/reference links.
AOM: Commonly used abbreviation for Amazon Original Movie, usually referencing a US/India original movie.
APAC: Commonly used abbreviation for Asia Pacific.
Appendix / Appendices: Additional details and/or examples directly related to the document (e.g. chart or grid). Appendix pages are usually included as attachments at the end of the main document. Appendices is the plural of Appendix.
Apps: Software applications most commonly used on phones and laptops.
Archival phase: Physical assets in long term storage for future retrieval.
AS: Commonly used abbreviation for Amazon Studios.
Aspect Ratio: The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of its width to its height, and is expressed with two numbers separated by a colon, such as 16:9, sixteen-to-nine. It determines the shape and size of the image being recorded or generated.
Asset: Any item that was purchased or created on behalf of the Production (e.g. costume, set, office computer).
Asset categorization: Physical Production assets created or purchased for Production should be tagged and logged as per Amazon Asset Policy
Assumptions: Document outlining Creative and Production expectations used in creating the production budget.
ASVP: Commonly used abbreviation for Amazon Studios Virtual Production.
Audio Description: Verbally describe the visual elements happening on screen by conveying plot-pertinent and character information.
Audit: Inspection of bank accounts and financial spending.
3P - Third Party - commonly used for an external vendor hired for a specific role on a project
3P Auditor: Third party auditor engaged by Prod Co, vetted by PV
AV: Commonly used abbreviation for Audio Visual.
BA: Commonly used abbreviation for Business Affairs.
Background Plates: A piece of footage filmed to be composited into a visual effects shot.
BTL: Common abbreviation for ‘below the line’ and generally refers to persons responsible for the day-to-day work associated with the production of a show (e.g. Production Coordinator, accountant).
Bi-Weekly: Every 2 weeks, also known as Fortnightly in UK.
Box: Preferred application to digitally organize, manage, and distribute production documents.
BTS: Commonly used abbreviation for Behind the Scenes.Most commonly audio/video materials that show how elements of a production are produced.
Call Time: The time the cast and crew of a production needs to be on the set, ready to work.
Camera/lens metadata: Information logged by the camera during shooting that includes details on file types and camera settings.
Cash Flow: Document showing how money is coming in/out of an account.
AWBI: Commonly used abbreviation for Animal Welfare Board of India.
Cast: The group of actors who make up a film or series.
CC: Commonly used abbreviation for Closed Caption - Subtitles for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing (SDH).
CCSL or CDSL: Commonly used abbreviation for combined Dialogue (or Continuity) and Spotting List.
Clearance: Process of acquiring the required legal permission for all aspects of a production. The necessary clearances can include sets, actors/extras, music, stock film, art, posters, products/brands, books, broadcasts, computer programs, dramatic works, photographs, etc.
COA: Commonly used abbreviation for Chart of Accounts or Certificate of Authorship. Chart of Accounts are the list of financial accounts used for budgeting and cost reporting. Certificate of Authorship refers to title clearance.
Code of Conduct: Agreement on rules of behavior for the members of that group or organization.
COI: Commonly used abbreviation for Certificate of Insurance.
Color Files: Files often in the form of .ccc, .cdl, or .cube files that provide VFX artists with color space transformations to ensure their work will match the show's overall color.
Compliance: Adherence to a rule, such as a policy, standard, specification, or law.
Concept Art: Visual designs done in the early stages of visual effects development.
Copyright: Exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (such as a literary, musical, or artistic work).
Cost Report: Financial documents that provide a comprehensive breakdown of all expenses associated with the production. They are generated on an ongoing basis and provide current snapshots of the production’s finances as well as how the overall series budget is trending. A Cost Report should list the estimate final cost in each chart of account line item, broken out by Actuals, POs, and Estimate Cost to complete.
Creative production assets: Assets that are acquired through creation or procurement and directly support the creative production team. Examples include artwork, sketches, 3D models / prototypes, physical plans, physical scripts, blueprints, props, puppetry, vehicles, key set pieces, physical costumes, prosthetic molds, wigs, sculptures, weapons, decorations, paperwork from the show.
CTM: Commonly used abbreviation for color timed master.
Cyberscans: The use of photogrammetry to build a 3D textured model from a non-static object.
Dalies: Unedited footage that is collected at the end of each day for viewing by a select group. Traditionally film was developed overnight and viewed the following day. Also known as rushes in the UK.
Data Wrangler Databases: A set of files created by the VFX team during filming that logs set data for VFX shots.
DCDM: Commonly used abbreviation for Digital Cinema Distribution Master (Uncompressed DCP) as image-based .tif sequence. Delivered without audio.
DCP: Commonly used abbreviation for Digital Cinema Package.
Deal Memos: A short-form, binding document that memorializes the terms of engagement for cast or a crew member on a production. Often included in crew Start Paperwork.
DEI: Commonly used abbreviation for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Deliverables: Any document, asset, or file that must be provided at the various phases of a production as well as at wrap (e.g. cost reports, releases).
Development Phase: The writing and project development period prior to set up of a production entity and funding of soft or hard prep. Development is commonly the period where the creative of the project is explored and evolved to a point where the Creative Executives feel confident about its ability to engage and sustain an audience.
Digital Preservation Master: DPF - 4K un-color-corrected image-based sequence.
Digital Source Master: DSM - files commonly known as Color Timed Master.
Disposition phase: At end of useful life, physical assets are sold, destroyed, recycled, or donated.
DKDM: Commonly used abbreviation for Distribution KDM – Targets Server (as opposed to DCP) which allows to manipulate and create KDM’s. Effectively a master key.
DocuSign: Preferred application to securely manage getting electronic signatures on all important documents.
DPSA: Commonly used abbreviation for Development and Production Services agreement.
Dubbing: In reference to post, is also known as Language Replacement. It substitutes a target language with each person appearing on screen. Dubbing services are recorded by professional voice actors who mimic the expression, tone and lip sync of the actor on screen but in a different language. In Japan this is known as audio mixing.
DTS: Commonly used abbreviation for Direct To Streaming (Streaming Movie).
E&O: Commonly used abbreviation for Errors & Omissions Insurance. Also known as a Media Liability policy.
EFC: Commonly used abbreviation for Estimate Final Cost
Entity: Type of Company (e.g. Amazon Studios, Amazon Alternative).
EOD: Commonly used abbreviation for End Of the Day. Also known as COB (Close of Business)
EPK: Commonly used abbreviation for Electronic Press Kit.
Equipment Rentals: Items rented from third party vendors (including crew) which are used by the general crew.
Essential Delivery: ED - Items prioritized within a project’s schedule (the bare essentials, different departments have their own versions). Marked with asterisk on delivery schedule.
ETC: Commonly used abbreviation for Estimate to complete.
Exhibit: Examples directly related to the document (e.g. templates)
Extras: Background actors who do not have any speaking roles.
Fare: The cost of an air ticket paid to the airline or common carrier, not including taxes, surcharges, or government fees.
FN: Commonly used abbreviation for Forced Narrative. Translated language with on-screen text in non-OV language, often delivered as timed-text or burned into picture.
Fully Executed: Refers to documents on which all necessary parties have physically or virtually placed their signatures.
SFX: Refers to special (visual) effects work that incorporates dynamic partical simulations (examples: water, fire, electricity).
Guest/Special Role: A role featured in only one episode of a series. Occasionally Guest/Special apprearance roles can be extended across additional episodes at which point, the character might be designated as a recurring guest star.
Guidelines: General statements, recommendations, or administrative instructions designed to achieve a policy's objectives. Guidelines are not mandatory, rather suggestions of best practice.
H&S: Commonly used abbreviation for Health & Safety.
Hard Prep: Pre-Production stage. Commencement of fabrication begins at this stage.
HD: Commonly used abbreviation for High Definition.
HDR: Commonly used abbreviation for High Dynamic Range.
HMW: Commonly used abbreviation for Hair, Makeup, Wardrobe. Another common abbreviation is H&M (Hair and Makeup).
HOD: Commonly used abbreviation for Head of Department.
Iconic assets: Amazon Studios (or Assets team) interprets iconic as being:Widely identifiable from or representative of the show/program, Used prominently on screen or by a main character, Recognized by the industry (i.e. costume design awards, major artists).
Rebate Location: A city, state, or country that offers a financial rebate in the form of tax rebates or refunds for using local resources as part of the production.
Intimacy Coordinator: An advocate, a liaison between actors and production, and a movement coach and/or choreographer in regards to nudity and simulated sex and other intimate and hyper-exposed scenes.
JPEG or JPG: Commonly used abbreviation for Joint Photographic Experts Group, an Image file format.
KDM: Commonly used abbreviation for Key Digital management: Unlocks screening encryption so that movie can be shown in theaters. Targets DCP for finite amount of time for exhibition purposes.
Kit Rentals: Items owned and used exclusively by the employee during the production for an agreed amount stipend.
L&D: Commonly used abbreviation for Loss & Damage.
LATAM: Commonly used abbreviation for Latin America.
Lead: Usually the Protagonist, in the series or movie. Typically the cast member(s) with the largest role(s) in the project.
LIDAR: Commonly used abbreviation for Light Detection and Ranging. Refers to the remote sensing method of targeting objects with lasers and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver.
Locked Budget: Refers to the final version of the production budget with all comments and revisions fully incorporated. This sets the expected final cost for the project and will be the number Amazon Studios will use to track all project spend against. Once Amazon Studios and the Production Company approves all notes from the budget, the budget can no longer be changed.
LOM: Commonly used abbreviation for Local Original Movie.
LOS: Commonly used abbreviation for Local Original Series.
LP: Commonly used abbreviation for Line Producer
EP: Commonly used abbreviation for Executive producer
Manuals: Documents containing multiple policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines relating to a particular activity (e.g., Production Manual).
Media assets: Physical assets that hold media content (photoshoots, video, key digital documents, etc.). Examples include DVDs (and other optical media), thumb drives, hard drives, LTOs, camera cards, and film negatives.
Minors: Persons under the age of majority in the applicable jurisdiction.
Miscellaneous assets: Examples include office supplies and awards.
Motion Capture: Motion capture, also called performance capture or mo-cap, is a technology that blends real life and animation, allowing to film someone live and transfer them into computerized form
Movie Magic Scheduling (MMS): Preferred application to Set schedules, break down scripts, and create comprehensive digital production schedules.
Flow Capture (Originals Access): Use Amazon’s unique version of Flow Capture to review dailies in HDR (with metadata) from any location on any devices
PSA: Commonly used abbreviation for Production Service Agreement.
Music Cue Sheet: A cue sheet is a document that lists all of the musical elements of an audiovisual program. Amazon Studios usesRapidCue®to create cue sheets
Nearfield Audio: Mixed for Home Entertainment.
Non-Subtitled: No subtitles for secondary non-OV language within film, includes foreign languages in addition to American Sign Language (ASL).
OOO: Commonly used abbreviation for out of office.
OT: Commonly used abbreviation for Overtime.
OV: Commonly used abbreviation for Original Version or language of a feature/project.
Overtime: Labor performed outside of the normal working hours, owed premium pay.
Outside Counsel: A lawyer or a law firm hired to render legal services on a production.
PA: Commonly used abbreviation for Production Assistant.
Clean up: Refers to a type of VFX work that involves removing/adding elements to a shot. Common examples include painting out production gear left on set or adding in elements for continuity in the edit.
PEAR: Commonly used abbreviation for Production Environmental Accounting Report. It is a tool to measure the environmental impact of production based on the energy used in offices and on stages, the fuel used in vehicles and generators, and the emissions from air travel and accommodations.
Per Diem: Stipend given to employees to cover living expenses when traveling or on location.
PFE: Commonly used abbreviation for Production Finance Executive.
Physical asset: Items purchased, rented or fabricated by production, which will not be expended or destroyed during the course of their use.
Picture Vehicles: Any vehicle used on camera in a production.
Pilot: The first episode of a Series; it can be ordered as a stand alone episode prior to a full series being ordered.
PM3: Commonly used abbreviation for Post Mastering, Media Management.
PMC: Commonly used abbreviation for Post Milestone Calendar.
PO: Commonly used abbreviation for Purchase Order.
POA: Commonly used abbreviation for Plan of Action.
POC: Commonly used abbreviation for Point of Contact
Policy: A formal, brief, mandatory high-level statement or plan that embraces Amazon's leadership principles, goals, objectives, and acceptable procedures for a specified subject area.
Post production - Technology assets: Physical technology assets, which may or may not contain, digital assets laptops, smart phones, tablets, monitors, printers, accessories, server storage devices, and network devices. (The management of the digital assets is covered under separate policy: tbd.)
Post-Production: The stage of a Production, after filming has wrapped and editorial officially begins. Includes all aspects of picture and sound editorial and finishing. Post Production ends and Delivery begins when there is a final file available.
PR: Commonly used abbreviation for Public Relations.
Pre-Production: The stage of a Production, usually includes casting, location scouting, camera tests, and setting up offices. Also known as ‘hard prep’.
Premium Economy: Available on international routes and some domestic aircraft, Premium Economy offers extra legroom and shoulder room, plus additional comforts in the seat. May include upgraded meals and baggage.
Previz: Early stage visual effects development used for planning out visual effects prior to production beginning.
Principal Photography: Stage of Production where the majority of filming occurs.
Procedure: A series of steps taken to accomplish an end goal. Procedures define "how", are the mechanisms to enforce policy. Also interchangeable with Process.
Prod Co: Commonly used abbreviation for Production Company.
Product Placement (aka Product Integration): Accepting or agreeing to receive payment or other valuable consideration in exchange for including or referring to a particular product, service or brand/trade mark within a film, series, or other audio-visual content.
Production Assets: Examples include furniture and local production set-up items (cubes, desks, etc.)
Production Master: Delivered by Production during delivery, includes Pro Res files with 8+ channels of audio, timed text, and audio description prior to final conform including split out narratives
PTO: Personal time off
Vendor Onboarding: The process of registering an entity onto Amazon systems before any financial transactions can occur
Stakeholder: All key people involved in a project.
Zero Balance: A dedicated bank account opened by the prod co for each project
Brand Integration: Placement of a particular product, service, or brand/trade mark within a film, series, or other audio-visual content.
Public Domain: Refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. Public domain status can vary by country.
Publishing Platform: Refers to the website or host where information will live (e.g. Airtable, Inside Studios).
PV: Commonly used abbreviation for Prime Video.
QC: Commonly used abbreviation for Quality Control.
RapidCue: Web based tool used to create and file all music cue sheets for productions. It’s the preferred application to create and submit music cue sheets to performance rights organizations and collective management organizations.
RAW: A RAW file is an image file generated by digital cameras that contain uncompressed, raw image data.RAW files store higher-quality images than more common image files, like JPGand PNG.
Recurring Role: Typically, a character that appears in multiple episodes in a season but is not contractually obligated to the production.
Reference Photography: Images captured on set for VFX artists to review while working.
Respeed: Changing the timing of a clip by speeding it up or slowing down.
Retention phase: Useful life of physical assets beyond their original purpose for re-use (sustainability or creative), re-purpose (marketing), audit (regulatory) and archive.
Rigs: When in reference to VFX, Skeleton-type structure built by artists for computer generated characters or objects that require animation.
Room Rate: The cost of a hotel room or other sleeping accommodation per night, not including any taxes, surcharges (i.e. destination fee), or government fees.
Rooming List: A list of guests with arrival and departure dates at a hotel or accommodation provider. This list will also detail the room type, room rate, and room type for each guest.
ROW: Commonly used abbreviation for rest of world.
S&P: Commonly used abbreviation for Standards and practices.
Scenechronize: Preferred application to digitally organize, manage, and distribute production documents. Used to receive and review scripts, call sheets, production sheets, and wrap reports.
Scout: Assess a location ahead of filming, usually done in pre-production. In the UK it is known as a recce.
SDR: Commonly used abbreviation for Standard Dynamic Range.
Series: A project with content spanning across more than one episode. Defined in the US as a show with one or multiple seasons. UK – One season of a Production.
Series Regular: A leading role on a television show that is contracted to the show for multiple episodes and/or a certain number of seasons.
Showrunner: The lead producer of a series, often the creator.
Social Media: Websites and apps used for networking (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat).
Soft Prep: Pre-production phase of a project - usually consists of an UPM or LP hired to draft a budget. Location scouts can also occasionally occur at this stage.
Split Tracks: 2TRK DME on Channels 9-14.
SRA: Commonly used abbreviation for Security and Risk Assessment.
Stakeholders: People who must implement the policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines.
Stock Footage: Archive and Library footage (photo and video) that can be used in Productions.
STC: Standard Terms and Conditions signed between Amazon & Prod Co
Storyboards: A type of concept art used to visually represent shots in a shot list.
Subtitles: Translated language with on-screen text in non-OV language often referenced as forced narrative.
Supporting Role: Any role that is not the lead role in the project.
Sustainability: Conducting business without negatively impacting the environment, community, or society as a whole.
Term: An amount of time (e.g. six months).
Territory: Region.
Texted: On-screen text (texted elements) remain Includes but not limited to (lower thirds, location markers, dates, etc).
Textless: No burned in subtitles or FN, no text graphics, including credits over picture.
Theatrical Audio: Mixed for theatrically with no loudness requirements, typically reel based.
TIFF or TIF: Commonly used abbreviation for Tag Image File Format, an Image file format.
Tracking: Process of automatically locating points from frame-to-frame in a sequence, allowing VFX artists to replicate camera movements captured on set.
Travel: Moving distant hires from their home to a filming location, transport of cast/crew from one production location to another for production related needs. Methods include ground transportation, air, rail, chartered transport, and accommodations at the destination.
UHD: Commonly used abbreviation for Ultra High Definition.
UPM: Commonly used abbreviation for Unit Production Manager.
VAM: When in reference to Post, it a commonly used abbreviation for Video Archival Master. Also known as Value Added Marketing (e.g. Trailer or special content in details page).
GST: Commonly used abbreviation for Goods & Services tax.
VFX: Commonly used abbreviation for visual effects. VFX refers to imagery that is created, manipulated, or enhanced with digital tools for any piece of media.
Virtual Workstations: Set up studio-class, high-powered virtual workstations for rendering and shot review directly in AWS.
VP: Commonly used abbreviation for Virtual Production. It can also be referred to as VProd. Discipline of visual effects work that utilizes LED Volume walls and virtual reality engines to capture fully rendered VFX in-camera live on set. VP is also a commonly used abbreviation for Vice President.
VTR: Commonly used abbreviation for videotape recording.
Watermark: A design on a page that identifies the owner of the document.
WFH: Commonly used abbreviation for work from home.
WIP: Commonly used abbreviation for work in progress.
Wrap: End of a Production.
X-Ray: A feature of Prime Video, gives users access to cast, music, and, on select titles, trivia details, character information, bonus videos and photos with just a click of a button.