Custom Video

A video that arises to the brief of a single commissioner — usually with a wish as to clothing, process, address or length. What is sold is not a finished title from stock, but a performance that did not exist beforehand, and that is exactly where the particularities arise.

What stands in writing before you accept

• Content. What exactly is wanted, in the commissioner’s wording and confirmed by you. Not in gist, but word for word.
• Length. A minute count with a tolerance, so that no later demand comes.
• Delivery date. A concrete date you can still keep even if you are ill.
• Usage right. Almost always exclusively private. Further distribution, publication and resale are excluded.
• Price and payment. Total amount, payment route and due date before production starts.

These five points belong in a message that both sides confirm. An oral or half-spoken arrangement is worth nothing in a dispute — the same principle applies here as with every model contract.

Why payment in advance is the default

A Custom Video is unsaleable after production. The content is tailored to one person, often with a named address, and cannot be offered to anyone else. If the commissioner drops out after completion, your working time is completely lost.

That is why payment is made before production starts, as a rule the full amount. On larger bookings a deposit with the balance before delivery is usual. Anyone who refuses payment in advance in principle is saying they want the risk to sit with you — that is a sufficient reason for a refusal. Also watch your platform’s payout interval: paid does not mean paid out.

Draw usage rights more tightly than usual

State expressly that the usage rights are limited to private use. Without that wording a dispute arises as to whether a pass-on was allowed.

That can only be secured to a limited extent. Visible or invisible watermarks with an order number help assign a later distribution, but they do not prevent it. Expect that a video can land in circulation, and decide on that basis what you produce — not on the basis of the commissioner’s promise.

Where the line runs

Your No-List applies here just as on set, and it applies independently of the amount offered. A request outside that list is refused, not negotiated — by the same principle that also applies to bookings and is described on the safety page.

Certain requests are ended without discussion and not answered: everything that suggests or stages minority; everything that depicts real violence or missing consent; any request for personal data, place of residence or a meeting. In those cases block and report the incident to the platform. Negotiating or explaining is not worth it.

Practical handling of special wishes

Keep a short list of what you do in principle, and publish it. That reduces unsuitable requests considerably. For tax these earnings are ordinary business income; the placing for that stands in the article on trade and tax. This text places the practice in context and is not a substitute for legal advice.