Terms of Service

1. Booking & Deposit

• Securing the date/slot: A non-refundable deposit of 20% of the total project price is required to secure your booking date or project slot. The date/slot is not held, and/or the project will not start until the deposit is received.
• Balance: The remaining balance is due no later than 14 days before the shoot date, or before final delivery for motion/video/photo projects with no fixed shoot date, a preview-only link of the final delivery will be sent. Bookings made within 14 days require full payment at the time of booking.
• Method: Payment can be made by bank transfer. Details are provided on the invoice.

2. Milestone-Based Pricing (Larger Motion & Animation Projects)

For motion design and animation projects above a set scope or value (confirmed in the quote), payment is split across project milestones instead of a single deposit-and-balance structure. This ties payment to deliverables actually reaching sign-off, rather than to time elapsed.

• Milestone 1 — Booking (20%): The standard non-refundable deposit under Section 1, due to secure the project slot.
• Milestone 2 — Concept/storyboard approval (30%): Due on written sign-off of the concept, script, or storyboard. Work does not proceed to animation/edit until this milestone is paid.
• Milestone 3 — Rough cut/draft approval (30%): Due on written sign-off of the first full draft (rough cut, animatic, or equivalent), before final polish and revisions begin.
• Milestone 4 — Final delivery (20%): The remaining balance, due on or before final files being released. Final exports are not released until this milestone is paid in full.

How this works with revisions: The two included revision rounds (Section 4) apply within each milestone stage. Sign-off at a milestone locks that stage in; reopening an already-approved milestone (e.g. requesting concept changes after the rough cut is approved) is treated as new scope and quoted separately.

Non-payment: If a milestone invoice is not paid within 7 days of being issued, work pauses until payment is received. The project timeline in Section 8 resumes from the date of payment, not the original schedule.

Smaller motion projects, and all photography/video shoot bookings, follow the standard deposit-and-balance structure in Section 1 unless milestone pricing is specifically agreed in the quote.

3. Cancellations & Rescheduling

• Cancellation: The deposit is non-refundable, reflecting the date or slot being held exclusively for you and turned away from other enquiries.
• Rescheduling: One date change is accommodated free of charge, subject to availability, if requested more than 60 days before the original date. Changes within 60 days, or a second change, may incur a re-booking fee.
• Creative unavailability: If the Creative is unable to attend or deliver due to illness or an emergency, a suitable replacement will be arranged where possible, or the deposit refunded in full if no replacement can be found.

4. Briefs, Scope & Revisions (Motion & Video)

• The brief: Motion design and video projects begin with a completed project brief. The brief forms the agreed scope of work; work outside it (new concepts, additional deliverables, extra formats) is treated as a change request and may be quoted separately.
• Revisions included: Two rounds of revisions are included per project. A round means consolidated feedback on a single cut/version, returned as one set of notes. Further rounds, or revisions requested after final sign-off, are billed at the Creative's standard hourly rate.
• What counts as a revision vs. new scope: Adjusting pacing, timing, colour, text, or music within the agreed concept is a revision. Requesting a different concept, structure, or direction after work has started is treated as new scope and re-quoted.
• Client-supplied assets: Any footage, logos, brand assets, music, or copy the client supplies must be delivered in usable formats and cleared for use (see Section 6). Delays in supplying assets may push back the delivery timeline.

5. Editing & Revisions (Photography)

This section applies to photography bookings. For motion design and video, see Section 4.

• Signature style: A signature edit is applied to all delivered images. This consistent style, including colour, tone and retouching approach, is part of what you're booking, and raw/unedited files are not provided.
• Revisions included: One round of minor revisions is included per gallery: small adjustments to colour, crop, or retouching on the images already selected for delivery, submitted as one consolidated set of notes.
• What counts as a revision vs. new scope: Minor colour, crop and retouching tweaks within the agreed signature style are a revision. Requesting a different edit style, additional image selections beyond those originally delivered, or changes requested after the revision round is closed is treated as new scope and billed at the Creative's standard hourly rate.

6. On the Day / In Production

• Coverage: Coverage hours, locations, shot lists, and second-shooter/crew arrangements (if any) are confirmed in the individual quote or brief.
• Travel: Travel within 30 miles of Belfast is included. Beyond this, travel is charged at standard HMRC mileage rates, agreed in advance.
• Breaks: A short break (15–20 minutes) during long coverage or shoot days is appreciated but not required.

7. Locations, Model Releases & Third-Party Assets

• Location clearance: The client is responsible for securing permission to shoot or film at any private property, business, or venue not already covered by the Creative's own arrangements, including any associated access, permit or location fees.
• Model releases: The client is responsible for obtaining consent (a model release) from any person appearing in the images or footage who is not the client themselves, including guests, models, employees or members of the public where required, before the shoot or before any commercial use of the resulting work.
• Music & stock licensing: Where the client supplies music, stock footage, fonts, or other third-party assets for a motion or video project, the client is responsible for ensuring they hold the correct licence for the intended use (including any public or commercial distribution). Where the Creative sources licensed music or stock assets on the client's behalf, the scope of that licence (personal, social media, broadcast, etc.) will be confirmed in the quote.
• Creative's role: The Creative will flag obvious location, consent, or licensing issues where noticed, but is not liable for disputes, restrictions or claims arising from a location, subject, or asset not properly cleared by the client.

8. Delivery & Turnaround

• Timeline: Edited photo galleries are delivered within 8 weeks of the shoot date. A small preview selection is typically shared within 1 week. Motion and video projects follow the timeline agreed in the brief or quote, generally 2–6 weeks depending on scope, starting from receipt of all client-supplied assets.
• Format: Final images are delivered as high-resolution digital downloads via a private online gallery. Final video and motion work is delivered as rendered exports in the format(s) agreed in the brief (e.g. MP4, ProRes). Prints and albums can be ordered separately.
• Project files not included: Delivery covers final rendered exports only. Raw footage, project files (e.g. .prproj, .aep), and source files are not included and are not provided as part of standard packages.
• Editing style: A signature edit is applied to all delivered photo and video work, and raw/unedited files are not provided. What's included in revisions, and what counts as new scope, is set out in Section 4 (Motion & Video) and Section 5 (Photography).
• Retention: Delivered files are retained for up to 1 year following project completion, after which they may be deleted. Clients are responsible for downloading and backing up their own copies within this period. This service should not be used as storage, and the Creative is ultimately not responsible for retaining client files beyond this window.

9. Communication

• Response times: The Creative aims to respond to client emails, messages and calls within 3–5 business days.
• Standard hours: Standard communication takes place 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday. Contact received outside these hours is picked up within the next standard working period.
• Excessive contact: More than 5 calls in a day, in addition to messages or emails on the same matter, is treated as excessive contact. Where this happens, the Creative may ask that further correspondence be consolidated into a single email so it can be dealt with properly.

10. Ownership, Copyright & Usage Licence

• Ownership: Copyright and ownership of all images, video and motion work remains with the Creative at all times. No sale of copyright, project files, or source files is included in any package.
• Default licence: By default, clients receive a personal-use licence only: the right to display and share their images or video for private, non-commercial purposes.
• Commercial use: Commercial use of any image, video or motion piece (including business marketing, advertising, resale, merchandise, or use by a third party such as an employer or brand) is not permitted under the default licence and must be agreed with, and cleared by, the Creative in advance. Commercial usage rights may be quoted separately, and are the default assumption for branded/commercial motion and video projects unless otherwise agreed in writing.
• Promotional use: The Creative retains the right to use work from your project for portfolio, marketing, social media and print promotional purposes, unless you opt out in writing before the shoot or project start date.
• Restrictions: Images and video may not be sold, submitted to competitions, or used commercially by the client without written permission.
• AI use: You may not use any of the images, video, motion files or project deliverables in any LLM or generative AI tool for any reason, including image generation, video generation, generative art, or training data. Using the work in any AI tool will immediately revoke the licence.

11. Liability

• Coverage limits: Every effort is made to capture and deliver your project fully, but the Creative cannot guarantee every specific shot, moment or subject will be captured, particularly during unstructured or fast-moving parts of a shoot day.
• Equipment/data loss: In the unlikely event of equipment failure or file corruption beyond the Creative's control, liability is limited to a refund of fees paid for the affected portion of coverage or deliverables.
• Insurance: The Creative holds public liability insurance; a copy can be provided to your venue on request.
• Location/model release/licensing claims: The Creative is not liable for claims arising from a location, subject, or third-party asset the client failed to properly clear under Section 7.

12. Data Protection

Personal details (names, contact information, project date and venue) are held only for the purposes of fulfilling your booking or project and are not shared with third parties beyond delivery and payment processors. Full details are available on request, in line with UK GDPR.