A videography contract protects your time, your footage, and your payment before a single frame is shot. This template covers scope, payment, cancellation, and usage rights for any video production job — commercial, event, or brand work. Copy it as-is, or send it as a real e-signed agreement from SupaBook in a couple of minutes.
This is a starting point, not legal advice. Contract laws vary by state, province, and country. Have a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction review this template — and adjust the bracketed terms — before you send it to a client or rely on it to protect your business.
Service Provider agrees to provide videography services for [Project Name] on [Date(s)] at [Location].
Scope includes: pre-production planning, on-site filming for up to [X] hours, and post-production editing.
Any filming beyond the agreed hours or additional shoot days will be billed at the hourly/day rate specified in the Payment Terms section below.
This engagement is (check one and delete the other): [ ] Direct engagement — Service Provider is contracted directly by Client, the end recipient of the work, with no other business acting as an intermediary; or [ ] Subcontracted engagement — Service Provider is engaged by [Hiring Business/Agency/Production Company Name] ("Hiring Party") to perform work on behalf of Hiring Party's own client. Where subcontracted, Service Provider's contractual relationship is with Hiring Party only, and Hiring Party remains solely responsible for its own agreement with the end client, including that client's payment obligations.
Service Provider is an independent contractor, not an employee, partner, or agent of Client or Hiring Party. Service Provider is responsible for their own taxes (including self-employment tax), insurance, equipment, and business licensing. Nothing in this agreement creates a joint venture, partnership, or employment relationship, and Service Provider is not entitled to employee benefits of any kind.
Service Provider controls the manner and method of performing the work and may, where subcontracted, be identified to the end client as the person performing the work, subject to any confidentiality or non-disclosure terms separately agreed with Hiring Party.
Total project fee: $[Amount], due as follows: [X]% non-refundable deposit due upon signing to reserve the date, with the remaining balance due [X] days before/after the shoot.
Late payments beyond [X] days may incur a [X]% late fee and will pause delivery of final files until resolved.
Additional services requested outside this agreement (extra editing revisions, rush delivery, additional locations) will be quoted and invoiced separately.
If Client cancels more than [X] days before the shoot date, the deposit is non-refundable but no further fees are owed.
If Client cancels within [X] days of the shoot date, Client agrees to pay [X]% of the total project fee to cover reserved time.
If Service Provider must reschedule due to illness, equipment failure, or emergency, a new date will be offered at no additional cost within [X] days.
Weather-dependent outdoor shoots may be rescheduled once at no penalty to either party.
Service Provider will deliver [X] final edited video(s) in [format, e.g. 1080p MP4] within [X] business days of the shoot date.
Client receives a personal-use and commercial-use license to the final delivered video(s) for their own marketing and business use.
Service Provider retains ownership of raw/unedited footage and may use final delivered work in their own portfolio and marketing unless Client opts out in writing.
Revisions: this agreement includes up to [X] rounds of minor revisions (color, trims, music swaps). Full re-edits are billed at the hourly rate.
Service Provider is not liable for delays or footage loss caused by equipment failure, acts of God, venue restrictions, or third parties outside their control.
Service Provider carries [general liability / equipment] insurance and will provide a certificate of insurance if the venue requires one.
Client agrees to indemnify Service Provider against claims arising from Client's use of the delivered footage.
Where this engagement is subcontracted through a Hiring Party, indemnification and insurance obligations run between Service Provider and Hiring Party as named in Section 2; Service Provider has no direct contractual relationship with, and assumes no liability toward, the end client unless separately agreed in writing.
This agreement is entered into by and between [Business Name] ("Service Provider") and [Client Name / Hiring Party Name] ("Client") as of [Date].
Service Provider Signature: _________________________ Date: _____________
Client Signature: _________________________ Date: _____________
Treat it as a starting point, not a finished legal document. Contract law varies by state, province, and country, and this template cannot account for every situation. Fill in the bracketed terms, then have a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction review it before you send it to a client or rely on it to protect your business.
At minimum: scope of work (what's being filmed and for how long), payment terms and deposit amount, a cancellation/rescheduling policy, who owns the footage and how it can be used, and a liability clause. Missing any of these is the most common cause of payment and ownership disputes.
Yes — contract size should match risk, not job size. Even a half-day shoot benefits from a one-page agreement covering the deposit, delivery timeline, and usage rights, since verbal agreements are hard to enforce if a client disputes payment or footage ownership later.
By default, the videographer owns the raw and unedited footage; the client is licensed to use the final delivered edit. This template gives the client full usage rights to the finished video while the videographer retains the raw files and portfolio rights, which is the industry-standard split.
Yes. This structure works for brand videos, commercials, and corporate shoots — just tighten the usage rights section to specify whether the client gets exclusive commercial use or a broader/perpetual license, since commercial clients often need more explicit usage terms than event clients.
Load this template into SupaBook to send clients a clean online link instead of an emailed PDF. Clients e-sign from any device — no printing, no account required. Every contract tracks its status (draft, awaiting signature, fully signed) against the client record, and each signature captures name, email, IP address, timestamp, and user agent. Plans start at $15/mo, with e-signature and contract tracking included on every plan.
Canonical page: Videography Contract Template (Free) canonical page