Protecting your material before payment

Does anyone have any good ideas about how to protect your project before you are paid so the customer doesnt just take your sample and not pay? Do you generally show the client the work and have them give you changes and then you take the files with you or do you give them a copy with some sort of sample watermark on some of the video? Also do you ask for a deposit up front and then payments along the way? Best practices people have found? Thanks so much, Jen

I don't generally work with anyone I would be worried about, but one of the easiest things to do without making them feel un-trusted is to burn in timecode. At least it has a theoretical purpose for getting their feedback.

As for payment and billing that's really for you to figure out with the client. If you need to and can manage to get money up front, by all means do it. I bill for work completed to date.

This will be all over the map depending on the type of work, type of client, level of expertise and equipment, personal preference, and "undisclosed financial factors".

> but one of the easiest things to do without making them feel un-trusted is to burn in
> timecode.

Watermarks are also pretty popular.

To be honest, anybody bothered by such very common copyright practices probably isn't very professional.

Another good way is to never give them too high-quality a proof. A 320x240 MPEG-4 with 64kbps mono audio, for example.


www.derekmok.com

Back when I shot and edited commercials, we took a 50% deposit up front. Always.

My very first gig, I was advised to do this, and did not because the client was an ad agency
for a respected client. They loved the commercial, aired it for 6 months, and I never
got a dime.

Get over being shy and get a deposit next time.

In my experience

Often Shooting and Editing Commercials 50% upfront and 50% on delivery

However just edit would be invoiced on delivery.

Sometimes for Corporate is 30% pre-production 30% after shoot 40% on delivery.

Broadcast often pay weekly as per staff but you invoice them at the end of each week.

There are laws regarding payments and contracts - get a written contract or purchase order for your work and invoice them on delivery.

Big corporate will often try to pay later on big budget stuff - state clearly you terms to them when you talk budgets and when they are expected to pay you, at the beginning of the project.

I usually give clients 30 days to pay before adding interest. This is law in the UK but I would talk to a lawyer in the US about what you can do to expediate payment and/or chase late payment for work/services rendered.

Ben



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Use the law to your advantage.

Put a clause in your contract (you do have a written contract, don't you?) that says in effect, you own the copyright to your work up until payment in full is received.

If they don't pay, you can sue them for copyright infringement... a much more "serious" infraction than just late payment. Just the threat of that action should compell payment by all but the most bonehead or immoral clients.

Mark