Terms and Conditions for Clients

11/02/2026

• Terminology:

1. The paying client (you/your) is to be considered the ‘Producer’ of the film or films and, once released, distributed or screened, the ‘Publisher’, ‘Distributor’ and ‘Exhibitor’ of the film or films made using services provided by Sort Of...Films Ltd.
2. Sort Of…Films Ltd (we/us/our) are not the ‘producers’ or ‘co-producers’ of your film. Sort Of...Films Ltd will be described as a ‘video/film production service provider’ in any contracts and communications.

• Payments/Invoicing:

1. Our standard payment terms are 30 days following the delivery of our invoice. We reserve the right to charge interest on any and all payments made after 30 days and more details regarding this can be found on our invoices.
2. With all budgets greenlit over £1500 excluding VAT, we request a 50/50 payment split. That is, 50% of the agreed budget is invoiced upon green light and is payable in advance of production. We appreciate that in some circumstances, payment cannot reach us in time for a relatively last minute booking. The final 50% is invoiced upon the delivery of approved/signed off master versions.
3. During some (particularly larger) projects, requirements may change following green light. For instance, the number of shoot days may increase or decrease. We commit to discussing all such changes and agreeing any revisions to our quote before proceeding with any such additional work. The final invoice will reflect and clearly indicate these changes.

• Copyright and Legal:

1. Once the payments for all invoices have cleared into our account, the paying client owns 100% of the copyright of all delivered master versions and can release, disseminate and exhibit the film in any part of the world, through any medium, in perpetuity.
2. If making copies of the film (such as DVDs or USB sticks), there is no limit to the number of copies that can be made.
3. The client is also free to then edit the master version file (for instance, to add a new logo onto the end) without our input should that be necessary. However, we commit to retaining and archiving all rushes, project files and notes for a minimum of 7 years following the completion of a project. We commit to making it very easy for a client to come back to us to ask for revisions to the film within this 7 year period and charge for these services by the hour or day, depending on the amount of work needed.
4. We also permit all clients (once the final payment has cleared) to access and make use of the rushes/raw footage although we don’t supply this by default. If requested, we can provide the footage via a range of routes, each with a slightly different nominal charge. We can provide details of this service if requested. Once supplied, the footage can be used by the client in any projects, in any medium, anywhere in the world, in perpetuity without incurring any additional fees or requiring any royalties to be paid to Sort Of...Films. This includes footage shot for your project by freelancers who are not full time employees of Sort Of...Films.
5. Sort Of...Films ensure that all music, sound effects and images used in the film or films have appropriate clearances for the client’s usage expectations. This is normally world wide, non-broadcast distribution but all such expectations will be agreed at kick off. Productions for broadcast such as commercials require a different set of clearances for copyrighted material such as music. Any such changes to distribution or usage should be discussed with Sort Of...Films even if this is following project completion.
6. Sort Of...Films retains the copyright ownership of all project files associated with the production of your film or films. This includes, for instance, Adobe Premiere, After Effects and Photoshop files. We will not ordinarily share these files with anyone, including the client. These files represent our process, something which we have developed and honed over many years in order to offer the services we can offer. The process holds commercial value and by retaining all project files, we are able to hold onto this commercial value, ensuring the sustainability of our business.
7. Sort Of...Films accepts no liability for any copyright infringement, defamation or other legal claims made against the paying client as a result of the film or films’ production, distribution or existence in any circumstances. However, Sort Of...Films does commit to providing all clients with informal advice regarding the legality of all aspects of their films. For formal advice, we recommend that all clients retain the services of a media lawyer.
8. Sort Of...Films also commit to using the highest standards of journalistic integrity throughout all projects and commit to providing training for all members of staff around legal compliance in media production. We further commit to a cautious and conscientious approach to all stages of all projects in terms of legal compliance and promise to immediately flag any aspects of a project brief or process which we reasonably believe may require additional attention in terms of legal compliance.

• Use of content as stock footage:

1. We reserve the right to make reasonable use of any suitable footage as ‘stock’ or ‘royalty free’ footage via providers such as ShutterStock and Pond5. This means we may derive additional income from some shots which have also been used in your film or films. This will not include footage of any identifiable locations or individuals unless release forms have been signed by said individuals or suitable location representatives. We offer a 5% discount for the day of production to clients who allow and facilitate the signing of release forms relating to that shoot day for these purposes. We will not attempt to gain releases from any contributors or locations without explicit advance permission from the client/producer. Please ask for more details at any time if you would be interested in taking advantage of the 5% discount.

• Sharing content on social media:
• It is important that we can demonstrate our track record to new potential clients. With this in mind, we often share our work on one or more of our social media or video sharing channels. We commit to only doing so once the client has released the film themselves and are happy for us to also share the film. The descriptions we provide will always make it clear that the film is a piece of client work and we would normally also provide a link to the client’s website. Please inform us if you prefer that we do not share your film in this way.

• UK GDPR Compliance

We undertake to ensure that all members of staff are aware of up to date UK GDPR compliance regulations and understand the systems we as an organisation have in place to respect the rights of all citizens regarding privacy and personal/sensitive data. This includes:

1. Working with clients to ensure that as producers and publishers of content, they are aware of UK GDPR and have systems in place within the project framework to ensure compliance.
2. Providing support to clients in the production and gathering of signed release forms as necessary. This includes parental/guardian permissions for the filming of any person under the age of 16 years.
3. Providing appropriate signage in public or busy private spaces to inform persons present of filming activity and the purpose and usage of the resulting footage.
4. To severely limit or entirely eliminate the on-screen presence of identifiable individuals who have not explicitly or implicitly given consent to be filmed.
5. o store/archive all raw footage and supplied assets in a manner which will prevent it from being accessible remotely by third parties and in a manner which would not allow individuals to be located/targeted should hardware containing footage be stolen or maliciously hacked.
6. To only retain personal data of contributors, cast or other filmed/recorded persons when absolutely necessary and to do so in a secure manner. Please see our extended GDPR compliance page for more details.

• Cancellation policies:

1. Please note that the following terms and conditions refer only to shoot days, not to editing or pre-production work. Also note that these policies exist in order to prevent clients from booking days without 100% intent of using the company for those days. Once a day has been booked, we and the freelancers who work for us will begin turning down other work that comes in for those dates. Cancellations and postponements therefore very often lead to significant loss of revenue and complex knock-on effects in terms of equipment and personnel bookings.
2. CANCELLATION: If a shoot day that has been booked in writing is completely cancelled (rather than postponed) on the actual day, then the entire budget relating to that day (minus any related editing/post-production costs/fees) will be payable. If cancelled less than 48 hours before the call time of the shoot day, then 50% of the entire budget relating to that day will be payable. If cancelled more than 48 hours in advance, there is nothing payable except for any fees for work already undertaken (such as production coordination) and/or any other expenses incurred up until that point. If the payment has been split into two payments of 50% (with the first 50% payable in advance of production) and invoice 1 has already been paid at this point, a credit note will be immediately issued for any refundable amount.
3. POSTPONEMENT: If a job is postponed due to poor weather, no additional charges are levied. However, we do ask that decisions regarding weather postponements are made as early as possible (at least 24 hours before the call time of the relevant shoot day). For reasons other than weather, we can accommodate one postponement of a booking at any time up to 12 hours before the call time of the first day of production without any charges being levied. If that first postponement is received less than 12 hours before the call time, the day will be charged in full. For a second and third postponement, if the decision is received less than 48 hours before the call time, the day will be charged in full. If received earlier than 48 hours before the call time, no charges will be levied. At the point of a third postponement taking place, we would ask for a conversation about the likelihood of further postponements and based on this conversation, would make a decision whether to continue with the project or not. In the unlikely circumstances of our withdrawal from a project for these reasons, we will provide a written report of the reasons behind our withdrawal and offer support and guidance as necessary for the handover to an alternative production company.

• Post-production procedures:

1. The following outlines the normal procedure for progressing from the delivery of the rough cuts of your film(s) to the payment of the final invoice. We outline it here in order to enable an efficient post-production process that is free from confusion, contradiction or additional expense.
   1. Delivery of ROUGH CUTS to the client via Vimeo, Youtube or Dropbox.
   2. Client gathers and agrees all feedback from all relevant parties and returns this to Sort Of...Films in a single email. Feedback about specific moments in the film should always be accompanied by a reference to the timecode so that we can find the moment easily.
   3. Delivery of FINE CUTS via Vimeo, Youtube or Dropbox.
   4. Client collates and agrees all feedback on fine cuts from all relevant parties and returns this to Sort Of...Films in a single email. The feedback should ideally not contradict earlier feedback or the initial brief. Feedback would also normally be in the form of minor tweaks at this stage If feedback does contradict previous requests or the initial brief, additional charges may be incurred. All such charges will be discussed with the client in advance of any such work being completed. It may be the case that no tweaks are required at this stage and the films are signed off without further alterations.
   5. If required...delivery of FINAL CUTS for sign off via Vimeo or Dropbox.
   6. Sign off from all relevant parties. If any further tweaks are required, these would normally be very minor (such as a slight change to some text) and may not require the delivery of a further version for sign off. Such changes can be made as we create the master versions.
   7. Delivery of all master versions via Dropbox or hard drive or upload to specific online location. All raw footage and project files are archived at Sort Of...Films for at least 7 years for no additional charge. We offer a footage retrieval/compilation service. If you require any footage in unedited or edited form at any point following project completion, please get in touch to discuss.
   8. It is important that you confirm with us the moment that the project is signed off. We have had instances in the past of sign off being reached without the client informing us of the fact, leading to a significant delay in payment and archiving of the project. Once a project has been signed off and master versions have been delivered, any additional changes requested will be chargeable (normally by the hour).
   9. Payment of final invoice.

• Insurances:

1. Sort Of...Films are fully insured against Public Liability (£5million) and certification can be provided upon request.
2. If providing drone/aerial services, we will include the cost of the specific insurance required for this within our quote for this work. Again, certification can be provided upon request.

• Termination

1. In the unlikely situation that Sort Of...Films decide or need to terminate the agreement to provide our services to a client, we will always endeavour to do so, in writing, as early as possible in advance of production.
2. In such circumstances, we commit to doing all we can to help the client to secure the services of a suitable, alternative provider in plenty of time.

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