Need Very Simple Producer-Editor Contract Sample Please

I am a newbie short film director/producer and the pre-production stage is almost done.
I need to get an editor to do the post production (editing the raw footage, providing the film output file as well as 1 trailer)

I've seen long and complicated contract samples on the net.

I appreciate very much if you could share any simpler editor-producer agreement contracts (should sound like a gentlemen agreement, rather than lawyer contract) which should also cover the followings:

-Confidentially: not sharing or storing any details, project files, any film related files in anywhere (including the cloud sync if adobe used) other than the external USB disk I provide where the source files are.

-I will always be present during the editing process

Thank you for your further suggestions, samples and any improvements in advance
 
I am a newbie short film director/producer

New? No way ;)

Just write down the terms of what you're offering and what you expect and obligations of both parties in plain English. If both parties agree, then both sign. There's your gentlemans agreement.

-I will always be present during the editing process

-Confidentially: not sharing or storing any details, project files, any film related files in anywhere (including the cloud sync if adobe used) other than the external USB disk I provide where the source files are.

Are those conditions absolute deal breakers? If I were interested in editing with you, they'd be pretty big red flags. Not saying it'd cause me to automatically pass, but I'd start asking questions to figure out whether we could effectively work together.

I don't mean to sound negative. If you raise red flags when you don't mean to, you may have to settle for a lesser editor for your project without good reason.

You might already have an editor who has already agreed to these conditions, in that case, forget about it.
 
New? No way ;)

Just write down the terms of what you're offering and what you expect and obligations of both parties in plain English. If both parties agree, then both sign. There's your gentlemans agreement.


Are those conditions absolute deal breakers? If I were interested in editing with you, they'd be pretty big red flags. Not saying it'd cause me to automatically pass, but I'd start asking questions to figure out whether we could effectively work together.

I don't mean to sound negative. If you raise red flags when you don't mean to, you may have to settle for a lesser editor for your project without good reason.

You might already have an editor who has already agreed to these conditions, in that case, forget about it.

Thank you Sweetie.
I shouldn't sound negative too and raise red flags when I don't mean too.
The ones I mentioned are important, I should mentioned them with a positive spin.
Any suggestions to soften them please?

PS1. I am a newbie I am afraid. Believe you me.
PS2. I don't have any editors whom I mentioned these yet.

all the best

please you and anybody else do continue to improvise ...
 
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-I will always be present during the editing process

Often means the director is looking for a button pusher and not a creative collaborator. As an added bonus the editors schedule will be subject to the directors whims and time table.

I had this happen to me recently, so maybe I'm just being overly sensitive on the subject. Don't get me wrong, I do like working close with a director. In this case, the quality of the finished product suffered with a tight schedule and a lot of wasted time (the director didn't turn up for a week and had a limited schedule every other week). The circumstances may end up being different for you, so YMMV.

Having a director sit in on an edit from time to time is expected. Towards the end of the edit, the director typically sits in more and more. Some directors don't sit in as much as others. I've had others never sit in on an editing session.

-Confidentially: not sharing or storing any details, project files, any film related files in anywhere (including the cloud sync if adobe used) other than the external USB disk I provide where the source files are.

I've never come across this before, EVER. Confidentiality, sure. I've signed many NDA forms in my time. If you feel you cannot trust your editor, don't use them. Find someone else. Since it's a short film, not a high paying studio sequel where leaks can cost money, this restriction can cause unintended issues with little to no benefit.

(editing the raw footage, providing the film output file as well as 1 trailer)

Usually means: I know I'm saying editor, even though I don't know it, I mean Offline editing, fx, trailer editing (yes, it's different), sound mix, sound design, music, online edit and so on.

Any suggestions to soften them please?

If I were you, I wouldn't include them.

To put it into perspective, good editors are in demand. Why would they pick your project to work on instead of another if your project has red flags?

Perhaps if you included the reasons why, there may be a way to write it.

All this is predicated on the fact that inexperienced directors often require an editor to discount their day rate.

If you have a budget to pay your editor their full day rate, you run the roost. You fail to turn up on a scheduled day, they still get paid. If you slow down the edit, extra editing days need to get paid. If your HDD fails and we need to start from scratch, guess who's paying for added editing days?

Also note, others editors may not care. If you're looking for a free editor, they're unlikely to see the red flags, or for that matter know how to edit.

Questions?
 
Often means the director is looking for a button pusher and not a creative collaborator. As an added bonus the editors schedule will be subject to the directors whims and time table.
Very true. I needed to be reminded I guess

If I were you, I wouldn't include them.

To put it into perspective, good editors are in demand. Why would they pick your project to work on instead of another if your project has red flags?

Perhaps if you included the reasons why, there may be a way to write it.

Well said. I should be extra careful what to say, with the reason

If your HDD fails and we need to start from scratch, guess who's paying for added editing days?

Questions?

I have never thought of the failure of my HDD. I have the video clips backed up in another hdd, and the files the editing suite creates are the most important bit not to get damaged I guess, and it is Ok to get the file on their pc and have the copy kept in mine then
 
I appreciate very much if you could share any simpler editor-producer agreement contracts (should sound like a gentlemen agreement, rather than lawyer contract)
I second what Sweetie said;

For a gentleman's agreement you should simply write down what you
expect from the editor. That will not sound like a lawyer contract.

If it is essential to you that you always be present during the editing
process then you need to make that very clear - in writing. Again I'm
with Sweetie on this; that's a difficult clause to include especially for
a short film. Will you be paying the editors full rate? Or will you be
looking for an editor to work for very little money?

Most newbies are over-worried about "sharing". You don't need to be.
You would have to work hard to find an editor who is so disrespectful
to a director/producer that they will take footage and "share" it without
permission. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be discussed and put in
writing. It means there is not much of a problem.

I do a lot of editing. I, too, would be concerned about a director who
must always be present during every editing session. Especially what
I'm not being paid my full, hourly rate. I'm also concerned about a
filmmaker who is so worried that I am going to "share" their footage
that they hold tightly to everything. I would simply decline the gig.

My advice is to lighten up a bit and believe that most editors are
professionals.
 
I have never thought of the failure of my HDD. I have the video clips backed up in another hdd, and the files the editing suite creates are the most important bit not to get damaged I guess, and it is Ok to get the file on their pc and have the copy kept in mine then

There's a lot of other potential issues that aren't always discovered until details become clear afterwards. What happens if you need a higher throughput than your current HDD can handle? Are you happy to pay for a raid system, or use large expensive SSD's which are a lot more expensive and slightly more prone to failure?

What happens if the editor hands you the hard drive and before you walk out the door, you drop it, destroying the information before you get a chance to make a backup. Or if you have an accident on the way home etc.

While it doesn't happen often, it has happened to me on a few occasions. When sharing project files with directors and/or producers, occasionally they make changes on their own. I've had a project turned into a unpolished steaming pile of shit with my name still attached. To avoid this from happening, some editors don't release the project files.

There are other potential legal issues when it comes to rights (stock footage, fx etc) that can pop up.

You would have to work hard to find an editor who is so disrespectful
to a director/producer that they will take footage and "share" it without
permission.

It's a legitimate concern which should be clear in the agreement that it's not allowed. I know an untalented hack who shares everything they get their grubby mits on. This example is the exception to the SOP.
 
I second what Sweetie said;

For a gentleman's agreement you should simply write down what you
expect from the editor. That will not sound like a lawyer contract.

My advice is to lighten up a bit and believe that most editors are
professionals.

I like this very much. I now realize that "lighten up" bit is the essential part I will follow
 
There's a lot of other potential issues that aren't always discovered until details become clear afterwards. What happens if you need a higher throughput than your current HDD can handle? Are you happy to pay for a raid system, or use large expensive SSD's which are a lot more expensive and slightly more prone to failure?

What happens if the editor hands you the hard drive and before you walk out the door, you drop it, destroying the information before you get a chance to make a backup. Or if you have an accident on the way home etc.

While it doesn't happen often, it has happened to me on a few occasions. When sharing project files with directors and/or producers, occasionally they make changes on their own. I've had a project turned into a unpolished steaming pile of shit with my name still attached. To avoid this from happening, some editors don't release the project files.

oops . . . I must be ready for these consequences if something goes wrong. Thank you for showing the darkside of it I needed to be reminded again and again
And like in the Murphy's law 'If anything can go wrong it will'.
 
And like in the Murphy's law 'If anything can go wrong it will'.

Smith's Law: "Murphy was an optimist."

I must be ready for these consequences

You're never going to be able to avoid all mistakes. You're never going to learn everything. It's why film making is a collaborative art form.

Good luck with your film.
 
Smith's Law: "Murphy was an optimist."



You're never going to be able to avoid all mistakes. You're never going to learn everything. It's why film making is a collaborative art form.

Good luck with your film.

I appreciate your support and guidance very much

I'm pretty sure I cannot thank you enough Sweetie.

All the best

PS: never been to Brisbane yet but I've spent some wonderful years in Sydney.
 
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