TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Scope, Phased, or Proposal agreements constitute an order for brand development, videography, photography, professional audio, and/or live event services, including taking of photos, video, or recording audio as agreed by both parties: Hitlab Studio (HLS) and Client.

FULL DISCLOSURE

HLS operates on a totally transparent basis with clients with the intent that full disclosure of cost and hours allocated will offer honesty and integrity to flow of work.  Hours will be disclosed on a regular basis to ensure that both client and project manager / HLS are aware of any timeline or expectation changes for completion at all times.

PRODUCTION STANDARDS

  1. HLS will provide its own production equipment (camera, lights, etc.) unless otherwise indicated.  HLS Representative will maintain proper decorum in regard to volume, language, dress, etc. at all times.  It is the client’s responsibility to secure access to areas for HLS Crew and Personnel and to obtain clearances from public relations and other departments within an organization. HLS will not be responsible for coverage lost due to access restrictions.
  2. HLS will not be held liable for any production problems beyond our control, e.g. bad weather, accidents, poor acoustics, lighting, interference from guests, inaccessibility to sound or audio boards or other equipment provided by a location or by Client.
  3. HLS reserves the right to terminate this agreement at any time for any reasonable cause, e.g. catastrophic accident, illness, transportation problems, or other unforeseen difficulties, which could arise as an “Act of God”.  HLS reserves the right to terminate or change agreed upon video production specifications if safety issues arise during productions.
  4. If a HLS representative cannot perform this Agreement in whole or in part due to a fire or other casualty, acts of God or nature or terror, or other cause beyond the control of the parties or due to representative’s illness or injury, then HLS will return all fees accrued beyond the initial deposit to the client(s) but shall have no further liability with respect to this Agreement.  This limitation on liability shall also apply in the event that any materials are damaged in processing, lost through mechanical malfunction, lost in the mail, or otherwise lost or damaged without fault on the part of the HLS representative. In the event that a live production is cancelled and needs to be rescheduled, re-planned, or reproduced at any capacity, HLS will provide a new, separate proposal and agreement. Terms and conditions are subject to change.
  5. Any extra time required to finish recording outside the time limit stipulated in this agreement will be charged $250 per hour per person required on set.

BILLABLE COMMUNICATION

All communication with HLS employees (Project Managers, Brand Managers, and Developers, for example) or HLS working partners is billable.  Communication about project planning and scoping is billable or recoupable.

LEGAL ISSUES

HLS is not a practicing legal representative and therefore cannot offer any legally binding advice.  While legal issues are discussed in the course of any project or campaign, clients should always refer to a licensed legal representative for legal advice.

CANCELLATIONS AND POSTPONEMENT

Production Cancellations and Postponement require 30 days notice prior to production date.  In the event of cancellation or postponement:

  1. In the event the Client does not provide mutually agreed prior notice of cancellation or postponement, the contracting-client will be liable to the production company (HLS) for:
    1. all out-of-pocket costs.
    2. 50% of director’s / photographer’s fee as bid.
    3. 50% of production fee on the job as bid.
  2. If notice of cancellation/postponement is given 3 business days (or less) prior to the commencement of the shoot, the contracting-client will be liable to the production company for:
    1. all out-of-pocket costs.
    2. 100% of director’s / photographer’s fee as bid.
    3. 100% production fee on the job as bid.
  3. In the event of cancellation or postponement of the project/job, after the project has begun, for any reason other than those of the production company, the contracting-client will be liable to the production company for:
    1. all out-of-pocket costs.
    2. 100% of director’s / photographer’s fee as bid.
    3. 100% of production fee on the job as bid.
  4. If Client specifies the project/job and postponement is required due to weather, the contracting-client will be liable to the production company for:
    1. all out-of-pocket costs.
    2. 50% of director’s / photographer’s fee as bid.
    3. 100% of production fee on the job as bid.
  5. DISCOUNTS: Upon cancellation at any point of a project/job, any and all discounts that may have been issued or deducted will no longer be valid and must be paid in full.

GENERAL MONTHLY SERVICE CONDITIONS

All monthly subscription services will be charged for by credit card on file once per month, on the first day of the month.  This means that whether your contract begins on the 1st of a month or if it begins on the 15th, you will be charged on a recurring basis on the 1st of each calendar month, each following month.  The contract term minimum is one year, so contracts will naturally expire on the last day of the month of its inception the following year unless renewed.

Monthly subscription services require a 90 day minimum commitment from the date of purchase.

Service cancellation requires a 30 day notice. All cancellations must be submitted request by email or phone call to a recognized HLS account manager. Accounts will be closed 30 days from the date of the request unless the request is made less than 28 days from your next billing date.  Requests for cancellation for accounts with less than 28 days remaining in the current billing cycle will be charged the following bill in accordance with continued service, these accounts will be closed at the end of the following billing cycle.

METHODS OF PAYMENT

Unless otherwise specified, a deposit of 50% the total is due one week prior to production date, 25% due on the first day of production, and balance due upon final product delivery.  Payment can be made electronically by credit or debit.

NON COMMERCIAL RATES (These rates apply unless otherwise noted in the Scope / Proposal):

Hourly rate is $250 per hour per individual.

Half day rate is $1250 per individual.

Full day rate is $2500 per individual.

If a day exceeds 10 hrs, it will be $250 per hour, per individual on top of the full day rate. There will be a notice and approval before any overages will be accumulated.  Discounts may be discussed with long term contracts and retainers.

BUSINESS CONSULT, BRANDING AND DEVELOPMENT

All branding, business and other development and website projects will be billed according to project scope and agreement.  Some production rates may apply, but project rates are typically dependent on each individual circumstance.

TERMS OF PAYMENT

  1. In consideration for any services rendered or products purchased from HLS, Client irrevocably agrees to pay to HLS the fees set forth on the Proposal.
  2. Client shall be responsible for all taxes owed in connection with HLS’s performance of the Services and all invoiced by HLS, excluding income and capital gains taxes owed by HLS.
  3. Deposits are non-refundable and serve to lock the date(s) for your booking(s) so that HLS does not book any work that would conflict with our involvement in your booking(s).
  4. A charge of 2% per month will be added on all balances over 30 days old.

HOURLY PRODUCTION RETAINERS

Hourly production retainers are billed every two weeks, with minimum guarantees of hours.  Hourly contracts need two weeks (or 14 days) notice to be cancelled. Any overage hours for hourly contracts are subject to approval from the Producer and from Management, and are subject to current standard HLS rates plus 50%.  There will be a notice and approval before any overages will be accumulated.

HOURLY PRODUCTION

All production that is billed at an hourly basis will be billed at current standard HLS rates.  Hourly production work is deposited before any work is to begin. HLS will work against the balance of that deposit at current hourly rates. There is no warranty or guarantee for any custom production.  If the work is rejected or not used, full payment is still expected. Estimates on time can be provided, but there is no guarantee of time or cost. If production hours exceed the projected estimate, all time over 10% is subject to a Change Order.  Estimates or Proposals are not guarantees of time. When 80% of initial deposit for estimate is consumed, 80% of remaining invoice for estimate will be billed. Subsequent invoices may be applicable until remaining amount is less than $2000, which is to be paid upon delivery.  If project scope changes, we will submit Change Order invoices to be added to the budget. Remaining amounts will be due upon delivery, unless otherwise specified.

FIXED PRICE PRODUCTION

Fixed Price Production or stock/packaged purchases are subject only to the scope defined in your proposal.  Any requests exceeding this scope or undefined in this scope will be forfeited or billed separately.

HOURLY GRAPHICS AND POST PRODUCTION

All graphic and post production work that is billed at an hourly basis will be billed at current HLS hourly rates.  Hourly graphic and post production work is deposited before any work is to begin. If the work is rejected or not used, full payment is still required.  Estimates on time can be provided, but there is no guarantee of time or cost. If design hours exceed the projected estimate, all time over 10% is subject to a Change Order.

FIXED GRAPHICS AND POST PRODUCTION

Fixed price graphic and post production work is subject to terms of Comps and Revisions defined in the proposal (standard: 2 revisions on single chosen comp).  Additional Comps or Revisions should be billed separately.

PROJECT BUDGET CAPS

Project Budget Caps are not Fixed Price Production, Graphics, or Post Production, nor any guarantee of cost or price of a project. A Project Budget Cap is a dollar amount that a project is not to exceed without written approval from the Client. If a project estimate has a Project Budget Cap, once that Cap is reached, no production or account work is to continue without written approval and potential deposit towards estimated resolution. If any change order is issued, the Project Budget Cap should be adjusted to meet the newly discovered requirements.

CHANGE ORDERS

All changes/change orders must be approved by both parties, and are to be paid upon approval.

RUSH ORDERS

Any requests that require a rush delivery will be subject to a minimum one hour project rate for any billable time spent under one hour. Any requests that require more than one hour of billable time commitment will be billed at a rate of “time and half” (150% of the one hour project rate. Rush delivery is defined as any request that requires delivery of a service or product as an immediate priority, any request that requires delivery outside of normal business hours, and/or any request that requires delivery take precedence over existing timelines for the subject client or others.

TRAVEL AND PER DIEM

Any travel over 2 hours one way will require travel expenses being covered.  Travel time begins once departed from the studio location, and concludes upon arrival at venue.  Travel expenses vary by instance and will be determined on a case by case basis.  Standard Lodging rates apply (standard lodging rate is $234, updated as of December 2020).

Per diem is required for any production lasting longer than one full day, including travel time.  As of 10 hours of work, or travel time is required for work, each producer or contractor shall receive a minimum standard per diem of $76 per work day, or day of travel for work (standard rates updated as of December 2020).

FREEBIES / BARTERS

Any courtesy hours or favors we give in exchange for negotiated terms must go into invoices at all times for clarity and the ability to track company gifts or gifts in kind, as well as the ability to justify change of scope, cost, etc.

MEDIA, COLLATERAL, AND PROMOTIONAL PURCHASES

All Media, Collateral, and Promotional Purchases must be paid 100% upfront. HLS will only purchase said items once the deposited funds have cleared our accounts for purchase. (This process may take up to 10 days.)

CREATIVE POLICY / DISCLAIMER

Disclaimer: HLS is not responsible for any defects, spelling errors, grammatical errors, or other types of errors associated with deliverables once approved by client. At that time, any and all changes are subject to hourly billing or an additional proposal as needed.  HLS works to provide unique assets but is not liable for any Trademark or Copyright infringement as it relates to likenesses of outside parties Trademarks or Copyrights.

EXTERNAL BRAND STANDARDS

HLS will only be responsible for adhering to brand standards if the estimate issued covers brand standard review and adherence time as a specific line item, and includes that an external brand standard will be adhered to in writing. In all other cases, the client assumes all responsibility and liability for brand standard adherence.

MARKETING AND CREATIVE ASSETS

Ownership of all Creative and Marketing assets is transferred to a client upon receipt for purchase from HLS.  Because of the collaborative nature of creative and marketing assets, and because of the nature of our pricing structure, HLS does not guarantee any indemnity to clients for any purchased creative or marketing assets.  HLS reserves the right to use any licensed or copyright free assets unless otherwise specified in contract.

WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS

Client warrants that the client Materials are either client’s property or that client has the rights to them and that the client materials do not infringe on any rights, including copyrights and trademark rights, of any third party. HLS shall not be liable for failures caused by third-party hardware or software (including client’s own systems), misuse of the produced materials, or the negligence or willful misconduct of client.

WORK PRODUCT OWNERSHIP

All works produced by HLS for client are eligible for use by the client for the intended purpose laid out by the working agreement, upon completion of work and final payment. Unless otherwise specified and agreed upon, it is understood that any and all rights to proofs, final or sample photo prints, audio, and/or video shall remain the property of HLS and may be used for advertising, display, or any other purpose thought proper by HLS.  Any copyrightable works, ideas, discoveries, inventions, patents, products, or other information (collectively, the “Work Product”) developed in whole or in part by HLS in connection with the services shall be the exclusive property of HLS. HLS reserves the right to use video, photos, negatives, and/or reproductions for advertising, display, publication, or other purposes. All photos, samples, videos, hard drives, and proofs remain the exclusive property of HLS unless waived by amendment to this agreement.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

It is illegal to copy or reproduce any photographs, videos, or audio in any environment unless purchased or licensed for an identified purpose from HLS by client. Violators of this Federal Law will be subject to its civil and criminal penalties.

INDEMNITY

Client and HLS mutually agree to indemnify, hold each other harmless from, and defend against each other any liability or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred as a result of any claim, judgment, or adjudication against the other arising from the breach of the indemnifying party’s warranties or obligations outlined in an agreement.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The parties agree, during and after the term of an agreement, to hold each other’s Confidential Information in strict confidence and to not make each other’s Confidential Information available in any form to any third party or to use each other’s Confidential Information for any purpose other than as specified in an agreement. Each party’s Confidential Information shall remain the sole and exclusive property of that party. The Parties agree that in the event of use or disclosure by the other Party other than as specifically provided for in an agreement, the non-disclosing party may be entitled to equitable relief. “Confidential Information” shall include, without limitation, all highly artistic, video/photo, texts, mottos, quotes and any other form of communication based on client’s own concepts and HLS written or oral contracts, trade secrets, know-how, business methods, business policies, memoranda, reports, records, computer-retained information, notes, or financial information. Confidential Information shall not include any information that (i) is or becomes generally known to the public by any means other than a breach of the obligations of the receiving party; (ii) was previously known to the receiving party or rightly received by the receiving party from a third party; (iii) is independently developed by the receiving party; or (iv) is subject to disclosure under court order or other lawful process.