A creator contract fits on one page. Five clauses avoid nearly every dispute, and one alone decides the real value of the work.
One: what is delivered, exactly
That is the clause avoiding the most common misunderstandings.
Write the number of videos, their length, their formats, their languages, and what comes with the delivery: master with no text, recropped versions, rushes or not.
Add what is not included. That second list avoids more conflicts than the first.
Two: how many revisions are included
That is the clause protecting your time.
Two revisions are enough in most cases, provided you define what a revision is: one set of corrections sent at once, and not three successive messages over three days.
State the price of the next revision. That single figure is enough to make requests get grouped.
Three: the usage rights
That is the clause deciding the real value of the work.
Three elements, always: the duration, the media, the territory.
A video published once on an account has nothing to do with the same video run as paid advertising for a year. They are two different products, and they are invoiced differently.
Add the price of an extension, quoted in advance. A brand wanting to extend almost always prefers to pay rather than reshoot.
Four: price, currency and payment terms
That is the most important clause when the client is abroad.
Write the amount, the invoicing currency, the receiving currency when they differ, and who bears the transfer fees.
State the delay in working days from receipt of the invoice, and not from delivery, which are two different dates.
Add a short validity date for the quote. A price accepted six weeks later is not worth what it was worth the day it was written.
Five: cancellation
That is the clause nobody writes and that saves the bad months.
Three situations to provide for. Cancellation before the shoot, with a percentage retained. Cancellation after the shoot but before delivery, with the full production amount. And postponement at the client's request, when the product does not arrive.
That last case is the most frequent and the most costly: a day blocked and then cancelled cannot be recovered.
The six lines that are enough
| Line | What it fixes |
|---|---|
| Object | Number of videos and formats |
| Price | Amount, currency, due date |
| Licence | Media, duration, territory |
| Revisions | How many are included |
| Delivery | Date and form of the files |
| Termination | What happens if either side withdraws |
What is signed before the shoot, never after
The complete document. An agreement obtained once the video is delivered carries no negotiating power, and the creator has already done the work.
What applies to the people filmed
Every recognisable person gives written consent, including a relative. Without that document the video cannot be released, to be confirmed with a lawyer.
What does not need to be complicated
The document itself.
One page, written in plain language, signed by exchange of messages or by electronic signature. It is not length that makes it solid: it is the precision of the five clauses.
Add only, when the job justifies it, two extra mentions: the agreement of the person visible on screen, with the same duration and the same media as the licence, and the obligation to display the identification of the commercial nature on publication.
The applicable obligations depend on your situation, on the client and on the country of publication, and are checked with an adviser before the first significant job rather than after the first unpaid invoice.
