Terms of Service
In short:
You are hiring Sunpop Studios to provide VidLauncher Service. We will remotely download footage that you send us, edit productions at your direction, and deliver finished videos to you.
Production Length:
The total recording time of flat rate videos is up to 7 minutes of footage per video, with a maximum of 10 separate clips per video. For a given video you have the option to send raw footage longer than 7 minutes at a cost of $50 per additional minute.
Recording Videos:
You are in charge of providing the raw video footage. We do not provide live assistance during video shoots. However we do provide online training and assistance to ensure that you are comfortable with the editing workflow after you’ve recorded your videos.
Usable Footage:
The workflow depends on your footage meeting a minimum threshold of professionalism. If you mess up during the recording process and create footage that is technically deficient (i.e. extremely dark or quiet), we’ll do what we can to help, but we can only help so much. Fortunately, if you mess up your shoot then you can simply re-shoot it and send us usable footage.
Editing Workflow
To keep things organized, all your editing requests should be made through the online Collaborative Video Player (Launchpad). We are available for email tech support, but specific video directions should also be communicated in the Launchpad to maintain clarity, and keep your entire video team informed.
When you upload raw footage to the Launchpad, you should include notes about how you want the video edited. That note-making function is seamlessly integrated into the Launchpad. When we download the raw footage we will reference those notes as we edit the video. This is how we ensure that the finished product looks and sounds the way you desire.
Directing Your Video Production
There are 2 paths you can take to get a finished video.
A) Micromanage: Give us as many detailed notes as you want in the Launchpad to ensure that the finished project is just like you imagined. The more notes you make, the better you’ll communicate to the editor exactly what you’re hoping for. This is a good option when you have plenty of time & energy to spend getting it just the way you expected.
B) Chef’s Choice: Give us fewer instructions, and more freedom to edit the video according to our professional judgment. The advantage here is that you’ll spend less time & energy making notes, and you may get a better result trusting an expert. The downside here is that the editor can’t read your mind, so the finished product may not closely resemble what you had expected.
You are free to take either path in any given video, and as detailed later in this document, if we make a mistake and don’t follow your directions then the fix is free. But if you make a mistake in your instructions by omitting some request, if you’re vague or ambiguous, then that’s not our fault. If we accurately followed your original instructions and you still wish to make changes to the video, then it will cost $100 to produce a revised version.
Starting an Edit
When you upload new raw footage to the Launchpad, we are automatically updated. However, we won’t start downloading and editing the videos until you tell us that you wish us to begin. When editing, we will reference your notes and polish the footage into a finished video, then upload the new polished video to the Launchpad for you to review.
If the polished video looks good, you can click ‘Approve’ to sign off on the finished video and then download it.
If we made an error with our implementation of your original notes, simply point it out to us and we’ll fix it for free.
If you’d like to make new editing requests, you can ‘Reject’ the video, and then note the requested changes in the Launchpad. This will start the production of a new revised version, and you’ll be charged accordingly.
Style Guide:
When we first start working together, we will coordinate with you to establish a style guide that suits your company, your needs, and your aesthetic. Each style guide is unique to each company, but generally you can think of a style guide as the visual and auditory theme that unifies all of your productions. So you may have a certain music bed, a certain logo appear in a certain position at a specific point in the video, title graphics that introduce people with a particular appearance, etc. The implementation of your particular style guide is free and included in every edit.
Additional Content:
On top of the your style guide you may want to add your own assets such as JPEG logos, music stings, sound effects, product images, or B-Roll video. You will supply us that content digitally via upload and we will implement it into the finished video.
Your photos and images can be added during your initial instructions at no additional cost. B-Roll video counts against your 7 minute footage limit, and if you exceed 7 minutes of combined raw footage plus B-Roll footage, you will be charged for the extra video length.
We offer a variety of free text graphics, lower thirds, and preset animations that can be added to your videos at no additional cost. If you wish to obtain custom graphics work that is not part of our standard library offerings (such as customizing your own After Effects 3D animation), that graphics work is not part of this service.
Delivery:
We will present current productions to you via the Launchpad. Once you have approved a polished video in the Launchpad, you can download the video file directly from the Launchpad interface. We do not deliver Project Files (the save files from the editing software), or raw footage.
Storage:
We are a production company, not a storage company. You have 25 gigabytes of storage space on your Launchpad for free as part of your service, which is plenty for current and recent projects. As time goes by, old footage on your Launchpad could become unavailable if you exceed 25GB and need room for new projects. If you wish for more storage to be added to your Launchpad workspace, contact us to discuss your options and associated costs.
Nobody can guarantee that incidents such as fire, computer viruses or hardware failure won’t destroy footage stored on their servers. We highly recommend that you keep copies of your videos at your location.
Point Person:
When too many people are involved in a production, it’s very common to get conflicting feedback on videos.
To maintain a high level of focus and consistency, you will designate a single point-person through which all of your communications will be channeled. If you have several people on staff, they will need to coordinate their feedback and communications through your point-person.
Free Personal Training:
Each month you’ll receive 1 free personal training session up to 30 minutes long. Simply schedule a time with us to conduct a video conference, and we’ll help you get the most out of your editing service. These sessions cover the logistics of VIDLauncher, but if you want to get deeper into strategic video and marketing advice then you can ask about our VIDGenius services.
Additional support:
We are not a video hosting company, an IT company, website developers, animators, or graphics artists. Though we may volunteer some helpful direction or implementation advice at our discretion.
We may know a thing or two about marketing, but we’re not ultimately responsible for generating your marketing messages, strategies, scripts, or coming up with each new idea for your videos.
We are your video editing team. When it comes to support, guidance, and best practices for our video productions, we’re here for you.
Monthly Charges:
At the start of each month you will pay for that month’s service. That monthly payment includes the production of one flat rate (7 minute) video for free, as well as access to email technical support, and online video training.
Like all productions, if the total raw footage for your free video exceeds the 7 minute flat rate maximum, then you’ll be charged for the extra length when you request the edit.
Monthly Free Video:
Free videos do not carry over from one month to the next. If there’s a month that do not request a new video, you will lose your free video that month, and no refunds or extensions may be given.
You Control Your Invoicing:
You are free to upload content to the Launchpad whenever you like and make as many notes as you wish before any video is ever invoiced. We don’t charge for the video production until you tell us to start editing.
Renewal:
If you are on a month to month service, your service will automatically renew each month until you decide to cancel, and there will never be a cancellation fee.
If you are on a longer service term, like 6 months or 12 months, then your service will automatically renew each month until you cancel. But if you cancel before your service term has been met, you will be charged an early termination fee.
Cancellation:
If the service is discontinued before the end of your term, an early termination fee will be charged. That fee will equal 35% of the total dollar amount that would have been due if the remaining service term was completed.
Additional Services:
If you want to request additional work not outlined in this document, then you may do so and we may then specify a separate quote for you. Examples would include requesting a live interviewer via Skype to facilitate your shoot, or custom graphics work outside of your free style guide.
Legal:
We aren’t liable to you or any third party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of the production and distribution of the videos.
Copyrights:
You guarantee to us that you have permission to use any elements of text, graphics, videos, etc. that you provide us. You are paying for finished videos. Upon paying the full amount of an invoice, you will own all the finished videos that were completed and delivered during that invoice period. If the service is discontinued for any reason, the footage we have on our machines will not be delivered.
We love to show off our work and share what we have created with other people. Unless you request otherwise before starting a production, we may display or link to your completed project as part of our portfolio, and write about the project on web sites and elsewhere.
Invoicing:
Any valid invoice should be paid within 10 days of receipt. If an invoice remains unpaid for 30 days, we may charge a late fee of 10%. If an invoice remains unpaid for 45 days, we may terminate your service. You will not be entitled to any compensation. You will be subject to pay your outstanding invoices and the early termination fee of 35% of your remaining service obligation.
Credit Card Payments:
To safeguard your payments and save both parties time, we use a secure online payment system. You will pay by credit card which will be kept safe and private by a third party PCI compliant vendor.
Your card will be charged automatically for the monthly service. When you request productions (beyond your monthly free video), we’ll send you a separate invoice for each production request. We begin editing as soon as that invoice is paid.
By default you are on our one-click payment system, which means we invoice and charge your card as soon as you send an edit request or revision request. We also offer a two-click payment system which you can request at any time. In the two-click system, when you request an edit we will first send you a quote in writing, and your credit card won’t be charged until you approve that quote.
Any time your card is charged you will immediately receive a receipt, and if you ever have a question about a charge you have up to 30 days to bring it to our attention.
Wrapping Up:
Neither party can transfer this agreement to anyone else without the other’s permission. If for some reason one part of this contract becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining parts of it remain in place.
We have kept the language simple to help you can understand this document. But the intentions are serious and this agreement is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of American courts.