Guide · Contracts and terms
Video production London: what's guaranteed and what isn't
We Stream is a London video and photo production company (We Stream Ltd, founded in 2022 by Violetta Coretnic and Vitalii Vakulchuk). Most clients never read a production contract closely enough to know what it promises, and the gap between what they assume and what's written down is where almost every dispute starts. Here is what we guarantee on every shoot, what we don't, and why.
The rule underneath
What's written into the booking gets delivered. What isn't, isn't promised.
However reasonable an extra request sounds on the phone, a guarantee only covers what both sides agreed before the camera rolls. That protects the client as much as us: the scope, the deadline and the price are fixed, so nobody renegotiates them on the day.
The honest answer to "you'll make sure it goes well, right?" isn't a warmer verbal promise. It's a clearer agreement. A company willing to say plainly what it won't guarantee is more trustworthy than one that promises everything and adds the caveats after something goes wrong.
Guaranteed
Three phases, three promises
A production booking covers three stages, and each carries a specific commitment from our side.
Pre-production
What was agreed is sourced
The crew assembled for the job, the kit prepared, and the location or rental arranged if that was part of the brief. If we said we'd find the room, finding it is on us.
Production
On time, set up, covered
The team arrives on time and sets up properly. If a camera body, lens or recorder fails, backup kit and our own problem solving cover it, not the client.
Post-production
The date in the booking
The edit delivered on the agreed date, not roughly on time: 7 working days for video and 5 for photos as standard, faster when it was booked that way.
A producer runs every project, Violetta or Vitalii on most, on set for larger shoots and remotely for smaller ones. What a typical project costs is on our prices page.
The safety net
Kit, weather and insurance
Equipment failure is the production company's problem, never the client's. That's the cost of hiring a company instead of one freelancer with one of everything.
Weather. For anything outdoors we carry rain covers for the cameras as standard, so a shoot doesn't stop because the forecast changed. The only open question on a wet day is whether you still want to film in heavy rain, and that's a creative call, not a logistics one.
Insurance. We carry £5 million public liability insurance, held separately by each of our lead operators. If kit or a crew member causes damage or injury on set, that's what it's for. Ask any company you're considering whether it has the same, before you sign.
Files. Material is backed up to drives straight after the shoot, before anyone leaves, and project files are kept for two months after delivery.
Creative control
You're hiring our judgement too
This surprises some first-time clients: a production company's creative judgement is part of what you pay for, and the booking usually says so.
Full control
Freelancers you direct shot by shot
If you want to decide every framing yourself, hire individual operators and direct them. You carry the creative risk and the coordination.
You make every call.
Production company
Your brand, our craft
We work from your visual style and brand guidelines, but the angles, the shot choices and the pacing of the edit carry our signature. That's the point of hiring people who do this every week.
Two rounds of revisions are where your notes go in.
Not guaranteed
When the client's side changes on the day
If something changes on the client's side, the original plan is no longer guaranteed. We still do everything we can to protect the result.
Rouje, London billboard campaign
- Vertical film, 0:15
Two things outside our control went wrong before lunch.
- The dress was meant to arrive from Paris and didn't, so we bought it ourselves at Rouje's London store
- None of the booked screens was showing the ad. We watched four full ad cycles at one site, tried another, and the shoot was called off
- The ad finally went live as the rental kit was going back. We rebooked the model and were filming again just over an hour later
- The brand asked for its billboard in every film, so we started at 5am, chasing a bus past a live screen
The client took every edit we delivered. But none of that rescue could have been promised in advance, because the dress, the screens and the model were never ours to control.
Access
Getting in is the client's side
At a trade show, a conference or a club ground, the company that hires us arranges the passes and accreditation. We can't guarantee coverage of an event we can't get into.
Confirm access well before the shoot day, with names, kit and arrival times, rather than assuming the crew will sort it out at the gate. On iGaming shows that usually means exhibitor badges booked through the organiser.
When it changes late, we move fast. For Kodansha's Blue Lock campaign with Dominic Solanke, the venue changed to a Premier League training ground, confirmed 48 hours out, and four hours with Dom became about 90 minutes. We got eight crew accredited in under two hours, had the set lit and both cameras built before he arrived, and wrapped ahead of schedule.
The footage was on a drive the next morning, and the grade went back to Story Arc in Los Angeles in under 48 hours, including a conform problem fixed on a screen share across eight time zones.
What we ask you for. The names of everyone on the crew, the kit list if the venue wants one, and the time and entrance for load in. With those a week ahead, access is rarely a problem.
Kodansha, Blue Lock "Diamonds in the Rough", with Dominic Solanke.
Read the booking
What the booking actually covers
The clearest production agreements say which promises are unconditional, which depend on the client, and which are excluded altogether.
| Category | What it covers | Who carries it |
|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed regardless | Delivery date, working kit and backups, insurance, revisions included | The production company |
| Guaranteed if your side arrives | Location access, passes, talent, products and props on time | Shared: we plan it, you supply it |
| Excluded | Views and engagement after posting, scope never written down | Nobody can promise it |
| Added on the day | Extra videos or set-ups requested mid-shoot | Discussed and quoted, often possible |
If a client asks partway through the day for five extra social videos that weren't in the brief, that's a new request, not an extension of the promise. We usually find a way, but it's quoted, not owed. Adding it to the brief in writing before the shoot avoids the question entirely.
Dates and cancellation
What holds the date, and what releases it
A 50% deposit holds the date. The balance is due on delivery, within 14 days. Cancellation is in writing, and the charge depends on notice.
- 50% deposit holds the dateThe date is yours from that point, and we turn other work away for it.
- Deposit forfeited, nothing furtherCancelling more than 28 days before the first shoot date costs the deposit only.
- 75% of the total feeThe deposit is applied against it.
- 100% of the total feeThe same applies to a no-show. Non-refundable travel already booked is payable on top.
The charges reflect the dates held for you and the pre-production already done. Full terms come with every quote, and the stages of a project are explained in our production timeline guide.
Deadline yes, virality no
We guarantee the film, not the views
Production and distribution are different jobs with different owners. We promise a film that's well made and on time; how it performs after posting depends on your marketing.
Heineken x Margot Lee
- Vertical film, 0:41
The date is ours to hit: under 15 hours, camera to cut.
- Shooting starts on a set script, in one morning
- Edited the same night. When the suggested track didn't suit the cut, we found better options rather than settle
- A finished cut with Margot, ready for the client
- Heineken approved it with no major changes and co-posted it
The view count was never ours to promise. Kodansha's Blue Lock film passed 170,000 views in its first two weeks, and we were glad, but the launch, the channels and the audience were Kodansha's and Story Arc's. A production company that guarantees virality is selling something it doesn't control.
Before you sign
Questions to ask before signing
Not "can you guarantee this will be great". No company can honestly answer that. Ask these instead.
- Scope. What exactly does the agreement commit you to, and what does it leave out?
- Deadline. Is the delivery date written down, and what happens if you miss it?
- Kit. What's your backup if a camera or recorder fails on the day?
- Insurance. What public liability cover do you carry, and who holds it?
- Revisions. How many rounds are included, and what does another cost?
- Changes. How do you handle requests that weren't in the brief?
- Access. Which passes, permissions and talent do you need from us?
- Cancellation. What do we owe if the date moves or the event is called off?
The answers tell you more about how a company acts when something doesn't go to plan than any showreel. More on choosing between a company, a freelancer or an agency.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does a video production company in London actually guarantee?
What was agreed before the camera rolls. In pre-production, the crew, kit and any location sourcing in the brief. On the day, arriving on time, setting up properly and covering any equipment failure with backup kit. In post-production, the edit delivered on the agreed date. With We Stream that is 7 working days for video and 5 for photos as standard, with two rounds of revisions included.
What is not guaranteed in a video production contract?
Anything that was not written down, and anything on the client's side. If a dress does not arrive, a model cancels or a venue changes, the original scope is no longer guaranteed, although a good crew will still work to rescue the day. Event access, scope added mid-shoot and performance after posting also sit outside the guarantee.
Who is responsible for event accreditation when filming a trade show or conference?
The client. The company that hires the crew secures the passes and accreditation, because a production company cannot guarantee coverage of an event it cannot get into. Confirm names, kit and arrival times with the organiser well before the shoot day.
Why doesn't a video production company guarantee virality or view counts?
Because production and distribution are different jobs. A production company guarantees a film that is well made and delivered on time. Views, shares and engagement depend on the client's own marketing and distribution, so a company that promises virality is promising something it does not control.
How much creative control does a client have?
Less than total, and the booking usually says so. We work from your visual style and brand guidelines, but camera angles, shot choices and edit pacing carry our creative signature. Your notes go in through the two rounds of revisions. If you want to direct every frame, hiring individual freelancers suits you better.
What happens if equipment fails during a shoot?
It is covered by backup kit and our own problem solving, not passed to the client as a delay. Material is also backed up to drives straight after the shoot, before anyone leaves, and project files are kept for two months after delivery.
What insurance should a London video production company carry?
Public liability cover for damage or injury caused by kit or crew on set. We Stream carries £5 million public liability insurance, held separately by each of our lead operators. Ask about it before you sign, not after something goes wrong.
What happens if a shoot is cancelled?
A 50% deposit holds the date. Cancelling more than 28 days before the first shoot date forfeits the deposit and nothing more; between 7 and 28 days it is 75% of the total fee; under 7 days, or a no-show, it is the full fee. Non-refundable travel already booked is payable on top, and cancellation must be in writing.
Ask us anything
Want the terms before you book?
Send the date, the place and what the film has to do. We'll come back within 24 hours with a quote and the full terms, so you know exactly what's promised.
A date in mind?
It is worth getting in touch early
We have a limited number of slots per month. iGaming expos, fashion weeks, and large-scale corporate events fill quickly.