Module 0A · section 5.2 · 947 words · ~8 min read
Contract template
1Why there is no AI section in this file
The other two working assets in this kit have one. This deliberately does not, and the reason is recorded in the blueprint: generating a contract per engagement invites drift on exactly the clauses that matter.
A rate calculation should be redone for every brief, because every brief is different. A contract should be the same every time, with the variables filled in — because the value of a reviewed document is that it was reviewed, and a freshly-worded clause is an unreviewed clause however sensible it reads.
Fill in the brackets. Don't regenerate the wording.
2The template
CONTENT CREATION AGREEMENT
Between: [YOUR NAME / BUSINESS], "the Creator"
And: [CLIENT LEGAL NAME], "the Client"
Date: [DATE]
1. DELIVERABLES
The Creator will produce:
[N] × [FORMAT] video, [LENGTH], [ASPECT RATIO]
[Any additional formats, crops or stills, listed separately]
Delivered as: [FILE FORMAT, RESOLUTION]
By: [DATE], from receipt of an approved brief.
2. USAGE RIGHTS
The Client may use the deliverables:
Channels: [ORGANIC ONLY / PAID / BOTH — be specific]
Platforms: [NAMED PLATFORMS]
Territory: [MARKETS]
Duration: [N MONTHS] from first publication
Rights not granted above are retained by the Creator.
Any extension of channel, territory or duration is a separate
agreement and a separate fee.
Whitelisting (running paid ads from the Creator's own handle) is
[NOT INCLUDED / INCLUDED, on these terms: ____].
3. EXCLUSIVITY
[None.]
[OR: The Creator will not produce content for [NAMED COMPETITORS]
for [N MONTHS] from delivery.]
4. FEE AND PAYMENT
Total fee: [AMOUNT], itemised at Schedule A.
Deposit: [%] payable before work begins.
Balance: due within [N] days of final delivery.
Late payment: [TERMS]
Expenses: [WHAT IS REIMBURSABLE, IF ANYTHING]
5. REVISIONS AND APPROVAL
Included: [N] rounds of revisions.
Further rounds: [RATE] per round.
Approval owner: [NAMED PERSON, ROLE] — a name, not a department.
Deemed approved: if no response within [N] working days.
6. CANCELLATION / KILL FEE
If the Client cancels after work has begun, the Creator retains
the deposit and invoices [%] of the balance for work completed.
7. DISCLOSURE
The Client will specify disclosure requirements in writing before
publication. The Creator will comply with those requirements and
with the platform's current guidance.
Neither party relies on the other to determine what disclosure law
requires in any market.
8. RAW FOOTAGE AND WORKING FILES
[NOT INCLUDED. Raw footage remains the Creator's property.]
[OR: Included for an additional [AMOUNT].]
9. CREDIT AND PORTFOLIO USE
The Creator may show the delivered work in their portfolio and on
their own channels [FROM DATE / AFTER FIRST PUBLICATION], unless
the Client has notified an embargo in writing.
10. WARRANTIES
The Creator warrants the work is original and that any claims made
about the Client's product are drawn from the Client's own approved
materials or the Creator's genuine experience.
The Client warrants it has the right to grant use of any brand
assets, products or copy it supplies.
11. TERMINATION
Either party may terminate on [N] days' written notice. Fees for
work completed remain payable.
12. GOVERNING LAW
[JURISDICTION]
Signed:
Creator ______________________ Date __________
Client ______________________ Date __________
SCHEDULE A — FEE BREAKDOWN
Production [AMOUNT]
Rights [AMOUNT]
Exclusivity [AMOUNT]
Add-ons [AMOUNT]
Total [AMOUNT]3Notes on the clauses that matter most
Clause 2 is the one to get right. Everything in Section 2 of the teaching about rights being the valuable half lives or dies here. "Rights not granted above are retained by the Creator" is the sentence doing the work — without it, scope creeps by assumption.
Clause 5's "deemed approved" line exists because the commonest cause of a stalled job is a client who goes quiet. It gives the silence a consequence.
Clause 7 is deliberately narrow. It obliges the client to tell you their requirements and obliges you to follow them — and it explicitly does not make either party the authority on what the law requires. That matches how the guardrails intake handles the same question: record what they told you and when, confirm the current requirement yourself, don't rely on a rule someone printed.
Clause 9 matters more than it looks. Without it you can find you're not allowed to show your own work, which makes Module 4's whole approach impossible. Ask for it every time; embargo periods are a reasonable compromise.
Clause 10's second half protects you from a client supplying assets they don't own — which happens, and which you do not want to be holding.
4Using it
- Get it reviewed once for your market. Change what your reviewer says to change.
- Save the reviewed version as your master.
- Per job: copy it, fill the brackets, send as a PDF.
- Do not reword clauses per job. If a client pushes back on a clause, that's a negotiation to have and possibly a change to make to the master — after asking your reviewer, not in the moment.
Schedule A is the output of 01-rate-calculator.md, which is why the two files
use the same four line items.
Source: content/module-0a/kit/02-contract-template.md