9 Essentials for Your Videographer Work for Hire Agreement (When Hiring a Videographer)
Are you hiring a (freelance) videographer for your business? I’m telling you precisely what you must have in your videographer work for hire agreement.
Hiring a videographer for your business can take your business to the next level, but if you’re anything like me, you want to ensure you have all the ownership rights to the video footage to get what you pay for and remain protected. As a lawyer myself who drafts (freelance) videography contracts for entrepreneurs like you, I am giving you all the crucial elements you need in your videographer work for hire agreement.
You will learn about the essential terms your videographer work for hire agreement must have, which you can use in your work for hire agreement template (even if you are grabbing a work for hire agreement template free of charge from Google).
After learning all about everything you need for your videographer work for hire agreement, you will be able to protect your content and your business!
This post is all about the crucial terms your videographer work for hire agreement must have to protect your rights and yourself.
Essential Videographer Work for Hire Agreement
Work for hire agreement template
Whether you are looking to create a corporate video, an online course, or video content for your business’s social media or YouTube, it is vital to ensure that you have a solid work for hire agreement template in place to protect your interests and outline the terms of the project. Below, I will cover each essential element of a videographer work for hire agreement.
1. Scope of work & filming process
The scope of work and filming process are critical aspects of any work for hire agreement template. This section outlines the specific tasks and deliverables that you expect the videographer to complete.
The scope of work and filming process should include details such as the type of footage that will be captured, the dates of the video shoot, and the locations where the filming will take place.
The videographer work for hire agreement should also outline any post-production work that the videographer will perform for you, such as editing, insertion of subtitles, application of other texts or special effects, colour correction, audio design, insertion of music, etc.
2. Revisions
Your visualisation of how the video will turn out may differ from what the videographer has in mind. Therefore, it is crucial to be very specific in the scope of work but also to be able to request revisions if you are not happy with the final product. Your videographer work for hire agreement should outline the terms and conditions for revision rounds.
Your work for hire agreement template must include the number of revisions included in the initial price and any additional fees that may be incurred for additional revisions and edits.
Why should additional fees already be included in your videography contract? Because the videographer may increase its prices in the meantime and request a higher price when you request additional revisions. You also don’t want to enter a new agreement or an addendum just for additional revision rounds. Therefore, you want to have a fixed fee set in your current videographer work for hire agreement.
3. Deadlines
Deadlines are a crucial part of any video project, and your videographer work for hire agreement should clearly outline the deadlines for your project. Deadlines you need to have specified in your contract include filming deadlines and any post-production work that the videographer will perform.
You and your videographer need to set realistic deadlines to ensure that each party’s expectations are managed, the project is completed on time, and to avoid any delays or conflicts.
Also, specify for the revision rounds within how many days after your request and feedback the videographer must provide the revised version of the video.
4. Payment Terms
Payment terms are another essential element of your videographer work for hire agreement. It is important to specify the amount of compensation that the videographer will receive for their services and to specify that the amount covers all services AND the assignment of the intellectual property rights, which we’ll get to in the next section.
Also, include in your work for hire agreement template that the price covers all costs and expenses made by the videographer for the project. You don’t want the videographer to suddenly present a bill to you for extra costs made by the videographer that you have not agreed to.
The payment section should also include how payment is made, like through a direct wire transfer, Stripe or PayPal.
In addition, your payment terms should include the payment schedule and any late payment fees.
5. Ownership of Footage
Ownership of the video footage is the most important part when working with a videographer. The general rule is that the creator, in this case, the videographer, automatically becomes the owner of whatever the creator makes, which is video footage and the final video. You can only become the owner of that video if you agree to the assignment of all intellectual property rights to that video in writing. Thus, you must explicitly agree to the assignment in your videographer work for hire agreement.
Ensure that you are assigned not only all intellectual property rights to the final product but also to the raw footage. This must be clearly stated in your videographer work for hire agreement to avoid confusion or disputes.
6. Usage Rights
The work for hire agreement template should also include details about the usage rights of the videographer. For example, suppose the videographer wants to use the footage for his/her/their portfolio. In that case, the videographer work for hire agreement should specify that you grant the videographer a license to use the footage for this specific purpose.
This section should also address that the videographer may not use the raw footage and the final product for any other purpose.
7. Liability and Indemnification
The liability and indemnification section outlines who is responsible for any damages or legal claims that may arise during the project or from the final product. This could include claims of copyright infringement, defamation, or other legal issues.
Your videographer work for hire agreement should specify the circumstances under which the videographer may be held liable for any damages or losses that result from the videographer’s services and the video.
This section should also outline the indemnities, such as the videographer indemnifying you against any claims that may arise from the project or the video, like the infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.
8. Termination and Cancellation
In some cases, it may be necessary to terminate or cancel the videography project before the videographer completes it.
Your videographer work for hire agreement should outline the circumstances under which termination or cancellation may occur.
Ensure that your work for hire agreement template explicitly states that you do not owe the videographer any cancellation fees, compensation for damages or other fees if the contract is cancelled or terminated.
9. Confidentiality
Confidentiality is another important consideration for your video project. Your videography work for hire agreement should include confidentiality provisions, outlining any sensitive information your videographer may be exposed to during the project and specifying that the videographer must keep such information a secret during and after the project is completed. You don’t want the videographer to share your content or any of your business with anyone else.
In conclusion, hiring a videographer can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Still, it’s crucial to have a videographer work for hire agreement in place to protect your business and have complete ownership of your content!
Work for hire agreement template
Are you in need of a videographer work for hire agreement template? I draft reusable freelance agreements for entrepreneurs like you, hiring videographers, photographers, and other contractors! My template includes all the crucial elements I discussed in the blog post (and more) for your videography projects.
You can get your (reusable) videographer work for hire agreement on this page of my contract shop!
Via this page of my contract shop, you can request a work for hire agreement template for videography projects, but you can also request other work for hire agreements, such as the following:
work for hire photographer contract template
artist work for hire agreement template
illustrator work for hire agreement template
work for hire copyright agreement template
Work for hire agreement template free
Suppose you don’t want to purchase a work for hire agreement template and would rather grab a work for hire agreement template free of charge from Google. In that case, you can use the overview in this blog post to ensure that your free template includes all the essentials so you have the rights and protections you need for your business!
This post was all about the essential elements every videographer work for hire agreement must have for entrepreneurs hiring videographers.
Get the videographer work for hire agreement that includes all the essentials (and more) on this page of my contract shop!
If you are a freelance videographer, read this blog post on the 7 Essentials Every Freelance Videographer Needs in a Freelance Videographer Contract Template.
If you own a videography business and produce videos on a project basis, read this blog post on the 7 Must-Haves for Every Videographer Contract Template.
