Table of contents

NEONFISH Media Client Work Agreement

Agreement and Parties

This Client Work Agreement is between Neonfish Digital Creations, doing business as NEONFISH MEDIA (the “Service Provider”), and the party receiving the services (the “Client”). It applies to every project for which a Project Details Agreement is signed or accepted.

In simpler terms: This is the agreement behind every project we take on.

Project Details

The details for each project, including filming dates, locations, deliverables, due dates, usage and licensing, are set out in a separate Project Details Agreement. If the Project Details Agreement and this Agreement conflict, the Project Details Agreement governs for that project.

The Service Provider will make every reasonable effort to meet agreed deadlines. Where delays arise from circumstances outside its control, the Service Provider will communicate promptly with the Client and complete the work as close to the target date as possible.

In simpler terms: You’ll get a separate document with the specifics of your project. If something delays us, we’ll tell you right away and keep things moving.

Scope of Work

The scope of each project is detailed in its Project Details Agreement and may include:

Work requested outside the agreed scope will be quoted in writing and begins once the Client approves the quote.

In simpler terms: We handle everything from planning to the finished edit. Anything extra gets quoted first so there are no surprises.

Flexibility and Adaptation

The Service Provider will keep open lines of communication throughout each project to accommodate reasonable feedback and adjustments. Both parties acknowledge that creative direction, interviewee availability and location suitability may evolve during a project. Such changes will be communicated in writing (for example by email or text message) and may carry additional fees, which will be confirmed with the Client before the work proceeds.

In simpler terms: Projects evolve. When something changes, we’ll talk it through and confirm any cost before going ahead.

Payment Terms

The Client agrees to pay a deposit to reserve production dates. The deposit amount, whether a percentage of the project cost or a fixed dollar amount, is set out in the Project Details Agreement, and where none is specified it is 50% of the total project cost. The deposit is due no later than when the invoice is due, and dates are held once it is received. The remaining balance is due upon the Client’s approval of the final draft, unless the Project Details Agreement sets out a different schedule.

Payment of the balance in full activates the Client’s licence under the Project Details Agreement and is required before the deliverables are published or publicly released. Where a watermark has been applied to drafts or deliverables, it will be removed once payment is received. All fees are in Canadian dollars and are subject to applicable taxes, including HST, which will be shown on each invoice.

In simpler terms: A deposit holds your dates, and the amount is listed in your project details. The rest is due when you approve the final video, and once it’s paid your licence is active and the video is ready to share. Taxes are added on the invoice.

Modification of Payment Terms

The Service Provider may set a different payment schedule for a specific project, such as milestone billing for larger productions or monthly billing for retainers. Any such schedule will be written into the Project Details Agreement before the project is accepted.

In simpler terms: If your project needs a different payment schedule, we’ll agree on it in writing before starting.

Late Payment

Invoices not paid by their due date accrue interest at 2% per month, calculated as simple interest, which is equal to 24% per year. The Client agrees to pay reasonable costs of collection, including legal fees, for amounts that remain unpaid.

In simpler terms: We’re flexible here and often waive this when there’s an understandable reason, but it needs to be in writing. Late invoices can carry interest, and if we ever have to take legal steps to collect, those costs are passed along.

Scheduling, Rescheduling and Cancellation

Rescheduling by the Client

The Client may reschedule a production date once without penalty by giving written notice at least fourteen (14) days before the scheduled date. The deposit carries over to the new date, which must fall within six (6) months of the original date and is subject to the Service Provider’s availability. Further reschedules, or reschedules with less notice, may carry a rebooking fee set out in the Project Details Agreement.

In simpler terms: Plans change. With two weeks’ notice, you can move your shoot once and your deposit comes with it.

Cancellation by the Client

If the Client cancels the project, the deposit is non-refundable and the Client will reimburse any non-refundable expenses already incurred beyond the deposit, such as travel, accommodation, rentals or talent fees. If the Client cancels within seventy-two (72) hours of a scheduled production day, the full production fee for that day is payable. Where a cancellation is caused by events outside anyone’s control, the Service Provider may waive some or all of these fees at its discretion.

In simpler terms: If you cancel, we keep the deposit, and any booked costs like flights or hotels are passed along. A last-minute cancellation means the shoot day is still billed, since we’ve turned other work away to hold it.

Cancellation After Filming

Once filming is complete, the production fees are fully earned. If the Client cancels during post-production, the Client pays the production fees in full plus the post-production work completed to the date of cancellation, calculated at the rates in the Project Details Agreement or in proportion to the work completed. If the Client cancels after the first draft has been delivered, the full project fee is payable. On payment, the Service Provider will deliver the work completed to that point under the licence in the Project Details Agreement.

In simpler terms: Once we’ve filmed, that part of the work is done and billed. If you stop during editing, you pay for the editing completed so far, and once you’ve received your first draft the full project fee applies. Everything we’ve completed is yours to use once it’s paid.

Weather, Aerial Work and Conditions on the Day

Where weather or conditions make a shoot unsafe or would significantly compromise quality, the Service Provider will consult with the Client and may move the shoot to the next mutually available date. A weather reschedule is not a cancellation and carries no fee. All drone operations are conducted under Transport Canada’s rules for remotely piloted aircraft, and the pilot has final say on whether a flight is safe and permitted. Where a flight cannot proceed, the Service Provider will capture alternative footage or reschedule the aerial portion.

In simpler terms: Safety and quality come first, especially in Atlantic Canadian weather. If we need to move a shoot for weather, it costs you nothing extra, and if the drone can’t fly we’ll make a plan with you.

Rescheduling by the Service Provider

If illness, emergency or equipment failure prevents the Service Provider from attending a scheduled production day, it will provide a qualified substitute crew member where possible or reschedule at the earliest mutually available date. If neither is possible, the Service Provider will refund any amounts paid for work not yet performed.

In simpler terms: If something happens on our end, we’ll find a qualified replacement or a new date, and if we can’t, you’ll get your money back for the work we didn’t do.

Non-Responsiveness

If the Client does not respond for thirty (30) days after the Service Provider has made repeated attempts to reach them through more than one channel, the Service Provider may treat the project as cancelled by the Client, retain payments made, and invoice for work completed and costs incurred to that point.

In simpler terms: This is for situations where a project has gone quiet on purpose. If you were on vacation or dealing with an emergency, there’s no need to stress. We understand life happens and we’ll pick things back up with you.

The Service Provider’s Right to Pause or Cancel

Respectful Working Environment

The Service Provider is committed to a safe, respectful set for everyone involved. The Client is responsible for the conduct of its owners, staff, contractors, guests and on-camera participants during the project. If any of them engage in conduct the Service Provider reasonably considers hostile, abusive, harassing, threatening, discriminatory or unsafe, whether in person, by phone or in writing, the Service Provider may:

  1. raise the concern with the Client and pause work until it is resolved;
  2. leave the location immediately where the crew’s safety or wellbeing is at risk; or
  3. cancel the remainder of the shoot or the project by written notice where the conduct continues after the concern is raised, or is serious enough that continuing would be unreasonable.

Where reasonable, the Service Provider will give the Client an opportunity to address the concern before cancelling. Disagreements about creative direction, scheduling or budget are a normal part of production and are handled through ordinary conversation under this Agreement.

In simpler terms: We work best when everyone on set is treated with respect, and that goes both ways. If someone on your side becomes hostile or abusive toward our team, we’ll raise it with you first when we can. If it continues, or if it’s serious, we can stop the shoot and leave.

Faith-Based Content Standards

NEONFISH MEDIA is a faith-based company that proudly serves businesses, organizations and people of every faith and background, across commercial, corporate, tourism, nonprofit and community work. This clause concerns specific activities being filmed, not the identity or beliefs of the Client or anyone appearing on camera.

The Service Provider reserves the right to decline to film, produce or edit any activity it considers to conflict with its Christian convictions, such as occult practices.

The Client agrees to disclose, before booking, any element of the project it knows or reasonably expects may involve such an activity, so both parties can discuss it in advance. If such an activity arises after a project is agreed, whether planned or unexpected on the day, the Service Provider may decline that portion of the shoot or cancel the remainder of the project by written notice.

In simpler terms: We’re a Christian company that works with businesses and people of every faith and background. Once in a while an activity may conflict with our convictions, such as occult practices, and we may choose not to film that part. If anything like that is planned, let us know before booking so we can talk it through, and if it comes up after we’ve agreed to the shoot, we can step away from that part or, if needed, the whole project.

General Content Standards

The Service Provider may also decline to film or produce content that it reasonably believes is unlawful, defamatory, sexually explicit, promotes hatred or violence, or would infringe the rights of others.

In simpler terms: We keep our work lawful and respectful of others, and that applies to everything we produce.

Financial Outcome of a Cancellation Under This Section

In simpler terms: If the shoot ends because of how our team was treated, or because something wasn’t shared with us up front, it’s handled like a client cancellation. If something unexpected comes up that you couldn’t have known about, you only pay for what we’ve already done.

On-Set Safety, Locations and Access

The Service Provider will secure the permissions, permits and property-owner consent needed to film at agreed locations, and the Client will assist by providing contacts, details and introductions as needed. Permit and location fees are billed at cost unless included in the Project Details Agreement. The Client will provide timely access to any locations it controls and will inform the Service Provider in advance of known site hazards and any site-specific safety requirements, such as protective equipment or orientation, and the crew will follow them.

The Service Provider may pause or adjust filming where it reasonably believes conditions are unsafe for the crew, the Client or the public. Time lost because of late access, missing permissions or delays on the Client’s side may be billed at the overtime rate in the Project Details Agreement.

In simpler terms: We take care of filming permissions, and we’ll lean on you for contacts and details along the way. Let us know about any safety rules on site, and if waiting on access eats into the day, extra time may be billed.

Lasers and Equipment Safety

Laser lighting and laser effects can permanently damage camera sensors, lenses and other production equipment, often in a single moment of direct exposure. The Client agrees to tell the Service Provider in advance about any lasers that will be present at a shoot or event, including laser light shows, stage and DJ lighting with laser elements, laser projectors and laser pointers.

When lasers are disclosed ahead of time, the Service Provider will work with the Client and the venue to find a safe approach, which may include adjusting camera positions, scheduling filming around laser segments, or asking that lasers be paused or redirected while filming. If the Service Provider determines that the risk to its equipment cannot be reasonably managed, it may decline to film the affected portions of the event, or the event as a whole.

If lasers are present on the day without prior notice, the Service Provider may stop filming during laser use or end coverage of the event at its discretion to protect its equipment. In either case, the full project fee remains payable, and any coverage missed as a result will not be considered a failure to deliver. Where equipment is damaged by lasers that were not disclosed in advance, the Client agrees to cover the cost of repair or replacement.

In simpler terms: Lasers can ruin a camera in a single moment, so tell us ahead of time if any will be at your shoot or event, including stage lighting, laser shows or a laser pointer. We’ll work with you and the venue on a safe plan, such as moving the camera, filming around the laser segments or pausing them while we shoot. If we can’t make it safe, we may sit out that part or the event. If lasers show up on the day without notice, we may stop filming to protect our gear. The full fee still applies, missed coverage isn’t a failure to deliver, and repair or replacement of any damaged equipment is on you.

Ownership and Licensing

The Service Provider retains copyright in all footage, photographs and productions it creates. Once the project is paid in full, the Client receives a license that outlines the permitted uses of the deliverables. The scope of that licence, including permitted uses, media, platforms, territory and term, is set out in the Project Details Agreement, and only the uses listed there are included. Where none are specified, the licence covers the Client’s own website and organic social media. Any other use, such as paid advertising, broadcast, theatrical or extended terms, requires a separate licence. The deliverables may not be sold, sublicensed or materially altered without written consent.

In simpler terms: Your licence covers exactly the uses listed in your project details. If you’d like to use the video somewhere new later, such as paid ads or TV, just ask and we’ll add it to your licence.

Portfolio Use

The Service Provider may feature the Client’s name and the deliverables in its portfolio and marketing once the work has been publicly released, or on another agreed timeline.

In simpler terms: We’ll showcase the work only after it’s been released.

Music

Music in the deliverables is licensed only for the uses set out in the Project Details Agreement. Many music licences, including those from subscription music libraries, cover online and social media use and do not extend to broadcast television, radio, paid advertising or theatrical use. Before using the deliverables in any medium beyond the licensed scope, the Client must notify the Service Provider so the music licence can be upgraded or the track replaced, at the Client’s cost. The Client is responsible for any claims, takedowns or fees arising from use of music outside its licensed scope, and for properly licensing any music it supplies.

In simpler terms: The music in your video is cleared for the uses in your project details, which is usually web and social. If you plan to air it on TV, radio or in paid ads, check with us first so we can upgrade the licence or swap the track.

Artificial Intelligence

The Service Provider may use AI-assisted tools in post-production for tasks such as transcription, noise reduction and colour work, and will not create synthetic voices or likenesses of real people without their consent. The Client will not use the deliverables or raw footage, including the voices or likenesses of crew or participants, to train AI models or create synthetic media without written consent from the Service Provider and the individuals involved.

In simpler terms: We use smart tools to speed up editing, and we protect everyone’s voice and face. The same goes for how you use the footage.

Revisions and Creative Direction

Each deliverable includes two rounds of revisions during post-production. Revision requests must be submitted in writing as one consolidated set of notes per round. Corrections of errors made by the Service Provider do not count toward this limit.

A revision is a refinement within the approved direction of the edit, such as:

The following are changes rather than revisions and fall outside the included rounds:

Changes, additional revision rounds, and edits requested after final approval are billed at the post-production hourly rate in the Project Details Agreement. Larger changes will be quoted in writing and require approval before work begins.

In simpler terms: Your two rounds of revisions are for polishing the edit, like trimming shots, swapping takes or fixing text, and anything we missed is on us. Bigger changes, like a new song, a new story structure or a new version of the video, are billed at our hourly rate, and we’ll always quote larger ones before starting.

Creative Direction

The Client engages the Service Provider for its creative style and judgment. Feedback will be incorporated where it supports the project’s agreed direction and goals.

In simpler terms: You’re hiring us for our style, and we’ll shape your feedback into the strongest version of the project.

Delivery and File Retention

Final deliverables are provided by digital download link, and access is granted once the final invoice is paid in full. The Client is responsible for downloading and backing up its files promptly. During the project, the Service Provider takes reasonable precautions to protect footage. After delivery, the Service Provider may keep project files at its discretion but is not obliged to store, back up or retain them, and is not responsible for the loss of any files after delivery, including through hardware failure. Requests for older files will be fulfilled where they are still available and may carry a fee. Long-term archiving can be arranged as a paid service.

In simpler terms: Download your files and keep your own backup, because once they’re delivered, safekeeping is in your hands. If you need something later and we still have it, we’re glad to help, and we offer paid archiving if you’d like us to store your project long-term.

Consent of People on Camera

The Client is responsible for obtaining consent from individuals appearing in the footage, including written consent from a parent or guardian for anyone under eighteen (18). The Service Provider can supply a standard release form on request. The Client assumes liability for any failure to obtain consent.

In simpler terms: If people appear in your video, it’s your job to make sure they’re on board, and we’re happy to give you a release form to use.

Review and Approval of Deliverables

The Client is responsible for reviewing all delivered material, edited or raw, before use or distribution. Material the Client chooses not to review within fourteen (14) days of delivery is considered approved. Once approved or deemed approved, the Client is responsible for how it is used, including any legal, privacy or consent matters arising from its use or distribution.

In simpler terms: Once we hand off the footage and you’ve approved it, or had two weeks to look it over, how it’s shared and published is in your hands. For example, if you know someone asked not to appear on camera and you still use the clip, that responsibility is yours.

Indemnification for Releases

The Client will hold the Service Provider harmless from claims arising from use of footage without proper releases.

In simpler terms: If the right permissions weren’t secured and someone makes a claim after you’ve signed off, that’s your responsibility.

Privacy and Legal Compliance

Both parties will handle personal information collected during a project in line with applicable privacy law, including PIPEDA. The Client agrees to use the deliverables in compliance with all applicable privacy, advertising and media laws, and to tell the Service Provider about any industry-specific rules that apply to its content.

In simpler terms: We know the laws we work under, but some industries have extra rules, so please give us a heads up. Make sure your use of the video follows the laws where you publish it.

Indemnification and Liability

Responsibility for Subcontractors

The Service Provider is responsible for any subcontractors or vendors it engages.

In simpler terms: We’re responsible for the people we bring onto the project.

Mutual Indemnification

Each party will protect the other against third-party claims arising from its own negligence or breach of this Agreement, except to the extent the claim is caused by the other party’s misconduct.

In simpler terms: If a third party makes a claim because of something one of us did, the one who caused it covers the cost.

Limitation of Liability

Neither party is liable for indirect or consequential damages, such as lost profits. Each party’s total liability is limited to the total fees for the project, except in cases of gross negligence, wilful misconduct, fraud or infringement of intellectual property.

In simpler terms: Neither of us can be held responsible for more than the cost of the project unless something serious happens.

Collaboration and Consent

Both parties will work in good faith to secure the permissions and clearances a project needs. Neither party is liable for actions taken with the other’s informed consent.

In simpler terms: We’ll both make sure permissions are in place, and when we make a decision together, neither of us is on the hook for it later.

Client Content

The Client retains ownership of the materials it supplies, such as logos, footage and photographs, and grants the Service Provider permission to use them to complete the project. The Client confirms it has the rights to supply them.

In simpler terms: Your materials stay yours, and we use them to get the job done.

Confidentiality

Each party will keep confidential any non-public business information it receives from the other during a project and use it only for the project. This does not apply to information that is already public or that must be disclosed by law.

In simpler terms: What you share with us behind the scenes stays between us.

Accuracy of Information

The Client confirms that the information it provides is accurate. Deliberately false information is a breach of this Agreement and may result in damages. Honest mistakes will be resolved together in good faith.

In simpler terms: Please be upfront with us, and if there’s an honest mistake, we’ll work it out together.

General Terms

Pre-Agreement Discussions

Discussions, meetings and preliminary work before a Project Details Agreement is signed or accepted are preliminary and non-binding. The obligations and protections of this Agreement begin once it is signed or accepted.

In simpler terms: Our early conversations help with planning, and the signed project details are what we both work from. If anything was missed, let’s add it before we start.

Governing Law and Disputes

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of Nova Scotia and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. The parties will first try to resolve any dispute through good-faith discussion, and if that does not succeed within thirty (30) days, either party may propose mediation before starting proceedings in the courts of Nova Scotia.

In simpler terms: If we ever disagree, we’ll talk it out first, then try mediation, and Nova Scotia law applies.

Independent Contractor

The Service Provider is an independent contractor, and nothing in this Agreement creates an employment, partnership or agency relationship.

In simpler terms: We’re your production partner, working as an independent business.

Electronic Acceptance

This Agreement and any Project Details Agreement may be signed or accepted electronically, and electronic signatures and copies are as valid as originals.

In simpler terms: Signing online counts.

Updates to These Terms

The Service Provider may update these terms from time to time. Each project is governed by the version in effect when its Project Details Agreement is signed or accepted.

In simpler terms: If these terms change, your project stays on the version you agreed to.

Severability

If any part of this Agreement is found invalid or unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect, and the invalid part will be replaced with terms that reflect the original intent as closely as the law allows.

In simpler terms: If one clause turns out to be unenforceable, everything else still stands.

Entire Agreement and Application to All Projects

This Agreement, together with each Project Details Agreement, is the complete understanding between the parties. Changes must be made in writing and accepted by both parties. All projects, including retainers, follow this Agreement unless the Project Details Agreement states otherwise.

In simpler terms: This document plus your project details is the full deal, and any changes happen in writing.

Source of Truth

The plain-language summaries under “In simpler terms” are included for clarity. If a summary conflicts with the legal text, the legal text governs.

In simpler terms: The summaries are here to help, and the official wording is what counts.

Definitions