what all legal redtape would i have to go through to shoot a short no budget narrative film depicting people singing karaoke. i intend for them to sing some rather popular songs. if i had them sing some wrong words or only show incomplete performances and not make any profit from the film, what would i really have to do to not get sued? i'm looking for any loopholes or ways to get around this, especially ones that do not cost much. thanks in advance.

this forum is not very active. is anyone here?

Sounds like a fun idea. Singing karaoke where? In a bar/restaurant? I do suggest you try to speak to an attorney - depending on how exactly you plan to film this, where you plan to film this, and a variety of other facts, you may need such things as releases from the singers, permission from the location owner, and perhpas copyright permission from the songwriters (though that can be a pretty complicated issue). It may not matter whether you intend to profit or not. An attorney would be able to advise you about all of your compliance obligations, many of which may not even be implicated here. You can find more information about an attorney through the locator service on LawInfo's home page at: http://www.lawinfo.com/. Good luck!