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Home: Video University Forums: Marketing & Business:
Should I release the video clips

Jim D.
Novice

Mar 22, 2005, 12:41 PM

Post #1 of 7 (1544 views)
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Should I release the video clips	Can't Post

I was just wondering if I should charge a client a small fee for a request for the video footage I shot for him specifically for a pending project that may be aborted.

I have an indecisive client who is not sure what he wants, so I am charging him for shooting clips separate from the project (music video) he requests. He has no script and just wants me to shoot "wild video" of his band. I told him the risk of not getting the desired clips and he doesn't care. However, he might want to take the clips and do something on his own. Does it sound like I release the tapes to him since he in essence paid, or should I charge a fee to release them since he aborted the project they were intended for? Since I am shooting on demand, I only have a contrct for each shoot that only stipulates that I am shooting video intended for the project I am to work on. Perhaps I should have gotten more "stingy" and stipulated that I am preventing him from taking them. Though the project is not yet in writing, I am getting paid for the shooting anyway.

KevinShaw
Veteran

Mar 22, 2005, 2:35 PM

Post #2 of 7 (1538 views)
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Re: [Jim D.] Should I release the video clips [In reply to]	Can't Post

If there's no agreement in writing about any of this then you'd better figure out what makes sense to you before you get much farther with the project. Sounds like you're concerned he might take the footage and do his own editing on the cheap, which is probably a realistic concern. So do you care whether he does that, and if not are you getting paid enough for the shooting time to make it worth your while? Your call...and next time get everything in writing!

videobear
Veteran

Mar 23, 2005, 10:00 AM

Post #3 of 7 (1518 views)
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Re: [Jim D.] Should I release the video clips [In reply to]	Can't Post

This is sticky, unless you have a written contract that specifies who owns what.

As an independent contractor, you own the footage. But if you have signed a Work for Hire agreement, your client owns it.

Even if you own the footage, you can't do anything useful with it unless you have a signed talent release from the client, since it contains their voices and likenesses, and the client owns the rights to those.

If you've already been paid for the project, but the client wants to skip the editing part, I'd say "Fine! Here are the tapes!"
If you've received partial payment, say for just the shooting part, I would also say "Fine! Here are the tapes!"
If you haven't received any payment, I'd say, "My standard fee for shooting is $XX per hour. Give me a check, and you can have the tapes."

Regards,
Doug Graham
Panda Productions

hlanden
The Dean / Moderator

Mar 23, 2005, 4:17 PM

Post #4 of 7 (1497 views)
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Re: [videobear] Should I release the video clips [In reply to]	Can't Post

When I'm hired to shoot, I feel that the client owns the footage I shoot. When I shot for the networks, that was certainly the case. No one in their right mind would say to 60 Minutes or 20/20 that the shooter owned the footage. I believe the same holds true when I'm shooting a business video. Weddings may be different, but even there's certainly a case for the client owning the footage.

Hal
Produce Profitable Special Interest Videos

DVXGalt
Veteran

Mar 23, 2005, 8:50 PM

Post #5 of 7 (1485 views)
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Re: [Jim D.] Should I release the video clips [In reply to]	Can't Post

Clients pay me for final product or they pay me by the hour. If by the hour, they are entitled to whatever I do during that time. If they pay me for shooting and for the tape stock and any equipment rental, then they get the tapes. My implied hourly rate on a production tends to be less than my hourly rate for just shooting, but I could easily make a case that the production should cost MORE per hour than straioght camera work, since on an hourly basis they have no recourse if they do not like the result. It sounds to me like you had in essence a "shoot-for-hire" agreement (at least in principle if not in writing).

Jim D.
Novice

Mar 23, 2005, 10:47 PM

Post #6 of 7 (1479 views)
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Re: [galt] Should I release the video clips [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yes, basically I have an agreement to shoot for hire until the client actually signs onto the project (which they are wavering on). I only had the question because the clips are earmarked for a specific project (not yet signed) and the client isn't yet sure what he wants to do. He hasn't even submitted an outline or script yet for the "proposed project," just wants me to keep shooting. I warned him that this is more expensive. I guess I'll just keep taking his money.
Thanks for the advice.

vidguyz
User

May 18, 2005, 6:02 PM

Post #7 of 7 (1266 views)
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Re: [kwshaw1] Should I release the video clips [In reply to]	Can't Post

Very good points .. all of them.

You did mention ... 'Sounds like you're concerned he might take the footage and do his own editing on the cheap..'.

I find that funny, as we all know there's nothing cheap about editing, either in costs of professional looking output or time involved. Giving the person the clips to edit themselves is 'not' really a gift, in my opinion. You'll probably get a call back and a check to just take the clips back and edit them yourself .... justice is served.