For video editors

Contracts for video editors

A UK video editor needs a signed agreement before the first cut: the edit, masters versus project files, usage of the edited work, fees, unused booked days, and who stores the rushes. Film authors are the producer and the principal director — CDPA 1988 ss.9(2)(ab) and 11. Lex drafts that on one shared link.

Last updated 7 November 2026

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Lex drafts it in Plain English beside the legal wording. Share one link; both sides agree and sign.

Templates video editors use most

Client workFreelancer agreementA freelancer agreement sets the brief, deliverables, rate, rights and payment terms between a freelancer and a client.Read →Client workServices agreement (MSA)A services agreement sets the standing terms for every project with a client, so each new job needs only a short statement of work.Read →Client workStatement of workA statement of work sets the scope, deliverables, milestones and fees for one project under a wider services agreement.Read →Client workVideography contractA videography contract covers the shoot day, deliverables, usage rights and payment, plus cancellation, rescheduling and releases.Read →NDAs & IPMutual NDAA mutual NDA lets two businesses share confidential information both ways before a deal, and says what each side can do with it.Read →HiringIndependent contractor agreementAn independent contractor agreement hires someone to do work as a business of their own, setting the work, pay, ownership and how the arrangement ends.Read →Client workRetainer agreementA retainer agreement sets a monthly fee for a set amount of your time or availability, and what happens to unused hours.Read →

Which clauses decide a video editor contract?

Five lines decide most post bookings: the edit and the cuts, what is delivered as a master versus a project file, the fee plus unused booked days, whether the paper is a or an , and who stores the rushes. Write them in a freelancer agreement or a services agreement before picture lock. Lex puts them on one paper the client signs from a link.

The clauses that usually decide a UK freelance, studio or agency post-production booking. Authors of a film are the producer and the principal director — CDPA 1988 ss.9(2)(ab) and 11. Assignment of copyright you hold must be in writing, signed — CDPA 1988 s.90.
ClauseWhat it doesTypical freelance line
ScopeWhat “done” looks like in the edit.Offline to picture lock; one 16:9 master; no colour grade.
Masters and project filesWhat they download, and what stays on your drive.Exported masters only; Premiere project extra and priced.
Fees and unused daysDay rate, project fee or cutdown package, and unused booked days.Named project fee; unused booked days charged as the line.
Licence or assignmentNamed uses of copyright you hold, on full payment.Licence of original titles you hold on full payment; film copyright not assigned.
Kill feeWhat a cancelled or unused booked day costs.Booking cancelled inside 48 hours is charged.

What contract does a video editor need?

Contracts.io has no video-editor template. Start from a freelancer agreement or a services agreement. Those papers already have fee, usage, cancellation and IP slots. Repeat bookings can hang a statement of work under standing terms, or sit on a retainer. A job that also covers the shoot can sit next to a videography contract. Company-to-company contractor work can start from an independent contractor agreement. If you are sharing an unreleased cut or campaign before the deal is signed, a mutual NDA sits next to it. This page is post-production — offline and online edit, cutdowns, titles — not a shoot day. What should a UK video editor contract include? is the England and Wales deep-dive. Lex drafts from one sentence; the client signs from one link.

How should scope and deliverables be written?

Name the edit, the cuts, the formats, the revision rounds and the turnaround. “Some editing” is not a list. “Offline to picture lock, one 90-second 4K 25p 16:9 master, two consolidated rounds, ten working days, no colour grade, no sound mix, no 9:16 recut” is a list. Extra cutdowns, a new aspect ratio and a second language version are a change of scope, quoted first. You deliver the named masters; the shoot is their production. See What should a UK video editor contract include?.

Who owns the edit, the timeline and the film?

Authors of a film are the producer and the principal director. CDPA 1988 s.9(2)(ab) says so; s.11 makes those authors the first owners unless the employee exception applies. Both of them own first copyright, not the producer alone. A freelance editor is not, by cutting, an author of the film. Licence named uses of copyright you hold, or are authorised to license, in original titles or motion graphics on full payment. That licence does not move film copyright. Assignment of any copyright you hold in original titles or motion graphics must be in writing, signed — s.90. Project files are a deliverable, not copyright. Client-supplied rushes stay with their owners; third-party music, stock, fonts and plugins stay on their own licences. See usage rights and credit and intellectual property assignment.

How should fees, unused days and kill fees work?

Write the fee, whether it is a day rate, a project fee or a package of cutdowns, whether VAT is extra, when invoices go out, and what unused booked days cost. There is no default UK right to keep a or charge a kill fee; both sides have to agree it. Overtime and rush are extra sums you name. For a UK business client, late commercial payment carries statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. See payment terms and Client cancelled: can you keep the deposit?.

How should rushes, music and stock be handled?

Client-supplied rushes stay theirs to store or destroy as the paper says. Possession of a drive is not copyright. You do not clear music, stock, fonts or plugins unless the brief says so. Temp tracks stay temp. Third-party licences stay on their own terms even if you licence or assign the edit. Unreleased cuts stay confidential until the named go-live. See photographer RAW files for the stills sibling of a rushes line, and What should a UK videography contract include? for the shoot-day sibling.

How should personal data, contractor status and liability work?

Rushes with identifiable people, and client folders you hold for them, are personal data. UK GDPR Article 28 applies when you process that pile for the client. Write that in data protection. Typical brand, agency, studio and production bookings are B2B; a company brief does not get the consumer 14-day cooling-off. Cap liability at the fees. You cannot exclude death or personal injury caused by negligence — Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 s.2. If you book through a personal company into a brand, agency, studio or production, no IR35 label decides the tax. See limitation of liability and IR35 contract clauses checklist.

Frequently asked questions

What contract does a video editor need?

A freelancer or services agreement covering the edit and deliverables, masters versus project files, licence or assignment of the edited work, rushes storage, music and stock, fees and unused booked days, , and a . There is no video-editor template; start from the freelancer agreement. The longer England and Wales page is What should a UK video editor contract include?

Does the editor own copyright in the film?

Not by cutting it. CDPA 1988 s.9(2)(ab) takes the authors of a film to be the producer and the principal director. Combined with s.11, those authors are the first owners unless the employee exception applies — both of them, not the producer alone. Licence named uses of copyright you hold, or are authorised to license, in original titles or motion graphics. That licence does not move film copyright. Assignment of those rights must be in writing, signed.

Do I have to hand over the Premiere or DaVinci project?

No, unless the contract makes the project a deliverable. Payment buys what the paper lists. Handing over a copy of the timeline does not assign copyright. Write whether project files, caches and media are in or out, and how long you keep the archive.

Should a post booking be a licence or an assignment?

Licence named uses of copyright you hold, or are authorised to license, unless they must own those rights. An assignment of copyright is not effective unless it is in writing, signed. Paying the fee is not an assignment. Film copyright stays with the producer and the principal director. Project files, stock, music, fonts and plugins stay on their own terms. Client-supplied rushes stay with their owners. Price a buyout of original titles or motion graphics, or exclude them.

Can I keep the fee if the client cancels a booked edit day?

Only if both sides agreed unused booked days and what is kept. There is no default UK kill-fee rule and no default right to keep a deposit. For a business client the charge must not be a penalty: a secondary obligation that imposes a detriment out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation is unenforceable. Typical brand and production bookings are B2B, so the consumer 14-day cooling-off does not apply.

Can the client sign without creating an account?

Yes. You share one link, the client reads the agreement in Plain English, agrees and signs. It is free for them.

Sources

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The legal wording governsLast reviewed 7 November 2026Pending lawyer review