THE SMALL PRINT

So you’ve chosen you’re videographer and you are about to formalise the deal, but first there is one thing left to do – take a close look at the contract.

Some of you may be reading this thinking, ‘What Contract?’, and if you are one of them well I must say you are a very trusting soul. Contracts may seem a bit formal and you won’t be alone in not having one, but in business they are a matter of course and without them it literally is your word against theirs. If something goes wrong on the day or if they don’t do what they were asked or if suddenly the price shoots through the roof, then you have very limited comeback and have only yourself to blame – so get one, and get one now!

There is no such thing as a standard contract so it is down to you to use common sense when looking at the small print. Many videographers of course will have a template which they will have worked with for many years and will simply use that, whereas others (and these are the ones you need to be a little more careful of) will be more inclined to scribble something down on the back of a receipt and pass that off as a contract. The latter is extreme and to be honest won’t happen (or at least shouldn’t!) but the simple truth is that you do need to read the small print of any contract regardless of whether is ‘look’s professional’ or not.

There are a number of things to look out for in any contract, so let’s take a look at the key points that should be visible in the videography one:

·         The name, address and telephone details for the videographer (company details as well as details of the individual(s) who will be filming on the day).

·         Correct personal details for you and your partner, pay particular attention to the phone number – you will surprise how many times this is incorrect and you will wonder why your videographer hasn’t been in touch!