VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Darren Altman]

Hey all. Until now I haven't been sending out terms and conditions to clients regarding what work is included in the price. As such I have been a bit naive as I have been recording numerous amendments and re-reads for no extra payment. At the moment I'm frustrating myself as I feel that I should be setting my stall out as soon as clients get in touch.

What do you usually include in your terms and conditions to clients as to what they can expect from you?

Many thanks in advance.
_________________
https://www.darrenaltman.com/
http://twitter.com/darrenaltman

[Philip Banks]

One of the disadvantages of working from home without client input during the session is that you are constantly trying to second guess what is wanted. It is impossible to do this.

Ignoring extra payment for the right to use, the basic rule should be 1 session = 1 fee. Needless to say if you make a mistake either technical or read something incorrectly then you put things right at your expense. Should a client change the script then it's an extra fee, should your read not be to the client's taste, extra fee.

In very simple terms the above approach is the one you should take.

A voice over session works as follows. You, the director and a sound engineer turn up at a studio. You read, the director listens and checks you have read correctly while the sound engineer makes sure everything works technically. 3 pay cheques and a studio fee. Needless to say thanks to ISDN you do not have to be in the same location as the director and engineer but the net result is the same. At the end of the session you confirm with the director that he has what he needs and you leave clutching your cheque for eighteen pounds fourteen shillings and sixpence. Should the client/director require more work after the event then you return and collect more money.

As you're working from home doing the work of three people you're probably charging less than the price of one person and throwing in the cost of your studio for nothing. That's not right but tis the way of things. Why a client should expect additional work for nowt is beyond me.

With the above in mind below are my standard written terms and conditions, they are as enforceable and legally binding as any I have seen.









.

[Darren Altman]

Phillip, thanks for the reply. You're right of course, the beauty of being in a studio or ISDN is that you get picked up on pronunciation and style straight away and will leave with the director/client happy. Having a home studio and no ISDN can cause problems as I am now finding:

Example: at the end of 10 web-adverts was written "a 100%.." I read this as "a hundred percent..." What the client wanted was " a one hundred percent..." so I had to read and edit all 10 last sentences again! - Is this my fault? There were also several pronunciation mistakes that I had to correct, all of which would have been picked up on in a second if I had been directed.

Also, for this one client, not only is he getting his reads and the hire of my studio, but I am sending them back fully edited. I don't particularly mind this as they receive a neat and professional sounding finished read, but I am beginning to think that I should really set out before hand what is to be delivered for the fee.

I couldn't see your t&c's Phillip, did you post them?
_________________
https://www.darrenaltman.com/
http://twitter.com/darrenaltman

[Philip Banks]

No pronunciation guidelines are not your fault. T&Cs for me do not exist but I know some people have them but I remain unconvinced as to how effective they prove to be.

[bobsouer]

Darren,

I'm with Philip on the terms and conditions stuff. I don't spell them out. I do have agreements with some of my on-going clients regarding fees for re-recording. One client, for example, that hires me every month for a large eLearning project, gets the odd fix of a line or 2 at no charge. When there are extensive changes, the fees are the same as for a regular session. For another frequent eLearning client, we've established one rate for changes involving less than half the original script and another rate for fixes involving more than half. All of my clients get fixes caused by my errors at no cost. However I do not have a contract of terms and conditions for each new client.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[SteVO]

I'm going to use Phillip's terms as a standard. I could call it the Phillip Banks standard but there is royalties involved I presume. No with all due respect this helps me out a ton...100% (how ever you want to read that).
_________________
"I'm thinking...and it hurts"

[Jeffrey Kafer]

I have a clause in my standard contract that says

[SteVO]

Still another reason why this forum is so valuable.
_________________
"I'm thinking...and it hurts"