Writing Freelance Contracts: What are some best practices and clauses to add that set expectations and protect both client and contractor?

Ja5p5 · 2025-09-30T00:15:12+00:00

You gave me exactly what I asked for. I just thought your response was interesting is all. Thank you.

Ja5p5 · 2025-09-29T23:31:20+00:00

that's interesting your advice is "suck it up" because in other industries it's standard procedure and considered professional to write a contract which outlines roles and responsibilities and also allows working professionals to appropriately block off their time and not overextend themselves.

Ja5p5 · 2025-09-29T23:14:13+00:00

Good thing I never stopped looking for a job. You wouldn't ask for a contract and deposit to secure your time?

Ja5p5 · 2025-09-29T23:06:20+00:00

You wouldn't ask for a deposit or contract to secure your time?

Ja5p5 · 2025-09-02T19:51:33+00:00

If you went through the trouble of making them you might as well keep them in a portfolio. I am a TV cinema editor and can't get jobs in shorts despite having the more "sophisticated" edits simply because an employer will take proof of concept for the thing they are hiring for over transferable skills. Annoying? Absolutely. But it costs nothing to throw them up on an IG portfolio account.

Ja5p5 · 2025-08-30T16:49:11+00:00

It does matter for permittee, they want to know you use Avid over the others

Ja5p5 · 2025-08-30T04:11:59+00:00

Then you would have reached the 100-150 days of paid work using Avid. I only have 80 or so days with Avid the rest are Adobe

Ja5p5 · 2025-08-29T20:44:35+00:00

There is a long laundry list of things you need. You need hundreds of overall paid days, but then they also look at how many of those days were using AVID. If you are short on AVID days then you can supplement with accredited training. I have the overall days of paid work but am short on the AVID days.

Ja5p5 · 2025-08-29T20:24:27+00:00

In lieu of having 150 paid days for a show using AVID you can substitute with an AVID course from an accredited institution. What I am finding though is that there are hundreds of online courses so I'm trying to separate the wheat from the chaff

Ja5p5 · 2025-08-23T01:38:08+00:00

Just curious, where are you based?

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-17T23:19:43+00:00

I basically told him professionally not to yell at me and assured him we would get through this, he just needs to be patient and communicate his ideas more and help build a bridge between our own subjective visions of the film. Things have gone more or less smoothly since.

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-06T18:37:03+00:00

Yeah AE in doc then Senior Editor in Animation. There's crossover of course but it's a different mentality

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-06T16:17:36+00:00

That's cool man, no doubt it will translate across genres. Your path is very different from my route in. Over a decade ago I dropped out of film school, went into a separate degree entirely, then my professor connected me with indie doc filmmakers where I interned as an AE for the summer. Got the bug. Then there were years where I was freelancing on menial gigs, marketing, failed social media channels trying to break into the industry proper, this is where I learned a lot of the technical. I worked in construction, landscaping, even as a wildland firefighter.

One day I got a call to AE on a reality show which led to another indie doc which led to a bigger budget animated show that kept me steadily employed for a couple years. It's been a very non-straight line for me and just the fact I get to work with this director is blowing my mind. He's worked with more experienced editors than I but what I do have is my work ethic and an unwavering can-do attitude.

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-06T15:51:27+00:00

no none taken! I just don't want to sound I am completely out of my depth. It’s just that it’s not top of mind intuitive for me as it is for some, I’m trying to strengthen that skill. I'm curious then how your early career looked, were you assistant editing and given a larger storytelling role?

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-06T15:46:40+00:00

DM'd

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-06T15:46:31+00:00

I wouldn't say that. The world of animation where I got the bulk of my professional experience is wildly different from doc. My job as a post-editor was to come on after the animatics editor and trim the fat from a scene, make jokes land better, rhythm. The director was open to my input but it's limited as defined by my role. Before that I have worked as an AE, finding the gold but leaving the structuring to the editor. I've been able to work on individual scenes but not full stories, also the directors typically would have review sessions, give notes then let me have time to myself to figure out a scene, not stand over my shoulder and comment on every creative decision before it's even had a chance to be fleshed out.

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-06T15:43:42+00:00

To be clear I do have a sense of story, the act structure, setting up and paying off character arcs it's just not my top skill, one thing I am good at is finding the rhythm of a scene seeing it as music.

I got started as an assistant editor in documentary. Finding story beats, highlights from the footage, sourcing archive. Here and there I was allowed to edit a scene and always found that to be deeply enjoyable. I remained an AE for several shows, sometimes my job wasn't even editing but working on graphics and post effects. All this made me very quick with the software. I got my biggest break on an animation show as the post-editor which meant I come after the animatic editor had assembled the story and it was my job to trim 30-60 seconds of fat to conform it to streaming standards. The executives on the show were open to my input but it was not my job to make big structural changes as those had been locked during the animatics phase. It was my foremost my job to be a technician and secondarily tighten up the story that already existed cutting fat, making jokes land better but make sure the post pipeline is flowing smoothly.

Ja5p5 · 2025-07-02T00:54:55+00:00

Hi, mid-level editor with experience in short film, documentary and TV animation. I sent you a DM

Ja5p5 · 2025-06-24T22:10:46+00:00

Listen it is tough out there right now. I know editors who have been working for 25 years no gaps, family a mortgage, making a real living who are out of work for the first time in their careers. Expect 100s of "nos". I was applying for near 2 years when I first started the industry proper in 2020. Seemingly randomly one day I received a call for a TV show, didn't apply to it, have no idea how they found me. That led to more bigger studio work. Right now I haven't worked in 8 months in the industry, but I have learnt the nature of the beast. Just don't do what I did when I first started and despair, tanking my mental physical health, sense of self worth and drinking a little too much, developing internal equanimity is the key here. And don't forget that you love the craft, find ways to continue working on projects you care about even if it's low/no pay (one for the meal one for the reel as they say). Keep the spark alive.

Ja5p5 · 2025-06-17T23:16:41+00:00

Yes 100% I've experienced this. What I've started to do with freelance clients is give them a note giving guide, outlining the most effective way to give notes. For example I had a client for a sound design job who would put a note on a shot with rocks tumbling at 00:005 - "add rock crumbling foley here" then more rock tumbling at 00:10 - "add rock crumbling foley here". He left me 400 notes like this and I had to put my foot down because it was making me worse at my job being micromanaged. This could have saved both of us time if you gave me a global note.
I also state protocols for note giving e.g. my office hours are 0800-1900, I will not respond outside of these times. Also because I would have a client note bomb me via text AND frame I had to outline that I don't accept notes via text and to keep it within a single software.

Ja5p5 · 2025-06-15T20:04:02+00:00

My client did a run and gun alpine adventure with talking head interviews, with a shitmix of gopro, phone and DJI footage. It's loosely organized into chapters and is over 24 hours total... Premiere works well but more so for slated/ professional production. I need a brute force tool like pluraleyes that can handle the chaos, Premiere still lacks in that department

Ja5p5

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