Never answer "what do you charge" with a number. Each answer moves the price.
"What are we cutting: raw footage, a long episode, or both?"
"How many finished videos per month, and how long is each?"
"Show me two videos you love the style of. Show me one you hate."
"Who gives feedback, and how fast do they usually turn it around?"
"When does the first one need to publish?"
| Answer captured | Notes |
|---|---|
| Deliverables and lengths | |
| Counts per month | |
| Style references (two loved, one hated) | |
| Feedback owner and turnaround speed | |
| First publish deadline |
Paid test line on the call: "Before we set up anything monthly, let's do one video first. For this scope I'd charge two hundred dollars, delivered Thursday, one revision round included. If it lands the way we both want, I'll propose the monthly version and you'll know exactly what you're buying."
| Clause | What it says | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Deliverables, lengths, counts, style reference | "One quick video" becoming four videos |
| Schedule | Delivery dates, and how fast the client must send footage and feedback | You absorbing their delays |
| Revisions | One or two rounds included; further rounds billed at a stated rate | Revision hell |
| Payment | Amount, deposit, due dates, and a late fee | The quiet invoice |
| Kill fee | What happens if the client cancels mid-project | Working free on abandoned work |
| Ownership | Who owns the footage, the project files, and the finished edit | Disputes over reuse |
| License | All music and stock in deliveries is licensed for the client's commercial use | Copyright strikes |
Fill in the blanks. Principle: revisions are bounded, and the boundary is written down before anyone is emotional. One published creator practice after being burned: one revision round included, additional rounds billed at fifty dollars each (the exact number is yours to set).
The fee includes revision round(s) per deliverable. Additional rounds are billed at $ per round. A revision round covers consolidated feedback from the named feedback owner; feedback arriving after a round is closed opens the next round. Deposits are non-refundable once the timeline starts; cancellation after delivery of a draft owes half the project price.
| Project type | Rule |
|---|---|
| One-off projects | Half up front, half on delivery, before final files hand over |
| Retainers | Billed in advance, at the start of the month, invoice automated; included volume capped in writing |
| Late fee | 1.5% monthly, common and enforceable, actually applied |
| Escalation ladder | Reminder at 7 days, pause in work at 14, final delivery-hold notice at 30 |
All music and stock delivered under this agreement is licensed for the client's commercial use on the channels named in the scope.
Where the client supplies music or stock, the client warrants that it is licensed for this use.
Ownership chain: the client's raw footage stays theirs; the finished edit is theirs on full payment; your project files, presets, and templates are yours unless a client pays specifically to own them (price it as a deliverable, not a courtesy).