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Waiver for technology shortcomings?
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“That’s a good idea, but I wonder if any insurance company sells that type of insurance. If they do I could buy it, since most likely it would be cheap like renter’s insurance”
It’s called Errors and Omissions Insurance.
If you’re a WEVA member you can get it for about $100/year. -
[Justin Parker] “It’s called Errors and Omissions Insurance.
If you’re a WEVA member you can get it for about $100/year.
“Really?! That’s a blanket license for anything you do or does that only cover corporate? We just got E&O for a new series and it’s $4,000 per 13 episodes.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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It’s geared towards Event Video, so I don’t know if it would cover the needs of bigger budget production work.
The Liability insurance is seperate and I think it’s around $500.
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You folks are too hard on Sebastian. Sure, it’s great to cover yourself, be careful, check everything. But every professional I know has at some point made mistakes, or failed to notice immediately when a piece of equipment has gone wrong. Every piece of back-up gear I carry has a story behind it. That’s why I bring it.
I think Sebastian is indeed demonstrating a sense of professionalism in posing the question, “What if?” Most people in his position, just starting out, are a lot less aware of the fact that bad things do happen.
Ron, your suggestion for a cover-up of the missed kiss is great. I’m convinced that the wedding videographers started a whole black-and-white vogue, when they shot the happy couple emerging from the church… still set to tungsten!
But back to Sebastian’s question. Here’s a hypothetical situation:
Client hires you for a one-camera shoot of a fast-paced event. The event is a one-time-only deal. No time for monitoring, no opportunity for checking tapes, and the event can’t be adequately covered by a static, unmanned second camera. It’s all dependent on your camera operating perfectly. You maintain your camera well.
In that case I think it is perfectly professional to tell the client, “You are hiring me to cover this event with one camera. I have never had a failure to record with this camera. But it could happen, and due to the one-of-a-kind nature of this event, I think it should be covered with a second camera, just in case. If we don’t, we’re running a risk, however small, of not covering the event in its entirety, with perfection.”
Stuff does happen, folks, and usually it ain’t us, thank God. I covered a construction “event” involving a new concept, requiring an extremely complex “dance” of very large cranes, dozens of workers, even a weatherman. We used two cameras. Both worked fine. They haven’t asked for the footage though; the structure partially collapsed a week later.
I think it is reasonable, for Sebastian’s level of production, to include a clause stating that his liability is limited to the amount of his fee. But at the same time, he really should just have a second camera as a wide shot to cover any glitches.
Actually, Sebastian is making me think: what if, on the way home from that construction job, my vehicle were totalled and burned up, destroying all the tapes/back-ups. Would the construction company be able to bankrupt me because I’d cost them the irreplaceable opportunity to document their event?
Obviously, that’s where insurance comes in. I’d like to hear from some of you about your experiences with actually filing a claim. I have a very low level of trust in insurance companies. Seems to me they are in business for two reasons: (1) TAKE your money; (2) KEEP your money. And they have all the lawyers and resources to execute (2) to perfection.
Untoward events are, thankfully, so rare that most of us have zero experience of actually exercising our insurance. Anybody able to shed some light? Good, ethical E&O companies who have actually paid claims?
Keep your head up Sebastian. Get that second camera for event coverage (or cover two performances). Do what you can, work hard, be honest. Perfection is the goal, not the promise; your best effort is your promise, and if you are successful, it will owe a lot to your skill, your hard work, and some luck!
bob c
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[Bob Cole] “You folks are too hard on Sebastian. Sure, it’s great to cover yourself, be careful, check everything. But every professional I know has at some point made mistakes, or failed to notice immediately when a piece of equipment has gone wrong.”
Bob,
As your friend, I’m gonna tell you bluntly that, I think that’s a lot of hooey.
Sebastian’s entire premise is based upon the premise of finding a way to escape responsibility. That’s become pervasive in our society, and something we need to discourage.
Also, if Sebastian doesn’t know by now that HDV requires a rather lengthy pre-roll, and ignorance of that fact bites him, it’s not Sony’s fault, and it’s not a technical issue. It’s a fact when working with HDV, and one that’s been well-known and well documented for years.
Furthermore, the entire objective of event videography is “coming back with the goods.” Any videographer who can’t deliver should get into another line of business as quickly as possible.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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[David Roth Weiss] “As your friend, I’m gonna tell you bluntly that, I think that’s a lot of hooey.”
I don’t think you read my post with your usual detail – I did urge Sebastian to use a second camera.
btw, I ALWAYS tell my new grips – many of whom arrive with that “show must go on, what we do is SO IMPORTANT” attitude — that the worst thing that can happen is NOT coming away without results — it’s getting somebody hurt on the job. It’s up to me to see that the shoot is successful. I want everybody else to stay cool and safety-first.
I mainly posted because I don’t like to see folks jumping all over a guy for posing a reasonable question, basically, “How can I prepare for something going wrong, despite my best efforts?” “Something going wrong” DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUAL “I screwed up” or “I’m not a real pro.” Steve Wargo told us about a tape which may or may not have been ruined by the client — that and Ron’s comment about the close-up-kiss-coverup were the most helpful remarks yet.
I still don’t believe Sebastian’s question has been addressed adequately, despite the length of this thread, which seems mainly given over to “I’m such a pro” examples. I believe you! I’d like to know more about the whole E&O insurance deal, especially the critical question: has anyone ever actually used it?
This topic of bad video hit the news recently. Did you see the story about the Canadian Liberal Party leader (Stéphane Dion) who provided Canadian TV with an out-of-focus video of his speech? The camera was focused on the bookshelf behind him, including a book titled “Hot Air.”
Happy holidays.
Bob C
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interesting insight, but i must say i disagree. for 30 years i worked for other people and whenever there was a screw up with anything (and there always can be!) the big song and dance would start, followed by the finger pointing. well i have to say i no longer am ever in that situation. why ?? because my very first contact with the client is all about what to expect and being perfectly honest. i dont make false promises and there lies some of the biggest pitfalls. i never got caught up in the “client is always right” trap and have even told a few that they are wrong. my honesty is always appreciated and most even return. we all know the world could end at anytime or our plane might crash and burn so let’s not not get so caught up in this self sacrificing attitude. you are only denying your self. make proper plans, build in r oom for error and above all tell the client….this may take a while! ever go to a dentist and NOT hear “this may hurt a bit”. of course not ..he will always tell you the worst case scenario, then when he’s done and your still alive and realize it wasn’t so bad, you thank him for a job well done. since working for myself i vowed never to get caught up in the b.s. that eats up our industry. we all have had to work late and work hard and work smart but you can’t always win….and guess what? life goes on.
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Kim,
I agree with you that a large part of customer service is managing the customer’s expectations. So you do the best you can and if there are concerns that something won’t go right, you do what you can to address it with the client before crunch time.I simply don’t charge for what I don’t deliver.
Having said that, I do think there is a place in your agreement that covers your time as a deliverable. This is useful in cases where it’s a possibility that the client would call off a shoot at the last minute. (For instance, if you are hired to document a wedding and the groom doesn’t show up.) That’s different.
In any case, it is important to be very clear with the client about what is to be considered “the products”. Is it just the final edited tape? Is it also raw footage? Is it your time? Ensuring deliverablity of those “products” is another reason to structure your agreements where they are divided by phases (such as preproduction, taping and post).
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