I can't fly (for whatever reason) How do I cover myself with Client?

[chrisozman]

Surprisingly this hasn't happened to me yet but the bigger the jobs that come along, the more I worry it will.

Scenario 1: I'm shooting a big U.S. show next week with 100 cast/crew. So what happens if it's too windy or too hot or I can't fly for whatever mechanical/physical reason? I can't charge them a shoot fee, what do I charge them a "turn-up" fee? Alternatively could they instead sue me saying "we really needed this aerial shot to tell the story and you were contracted to give it to us, if you can't fly it's your problem".

Scenario 2: I have to go to the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory for a big science organisation next month. That is the when the "wet season" starts. High heat and humidity, frequent thunderstorms etc. and the plan is to fly me up for a 1 day shoot. What happens if it rains all day and the next day and the next day, what am I charging them? A full shoot rate or some sort of standby rate? Again, could they then turn around and blame me that my equipment isn't able to shoot in rain/thunderstorms and they then pay me nothing including accommodation/airfares/standby rate! There are many more scenarios for all of us I can't even imagine raising their head.

Does anyone have a contract clause or terms of some sort that covers these sorts of situations? It's something we will all have to face some day.

 

[BigAl07]

Depending on how you work with your clients and what arrangements you make in advance will determine how you answer.

If it's a large (and expensive) shoot we get a 50% nonrefundable fee up front. For normal shoots where there is minimal travel etc if we don't provide a finished product we don't charge. That's part of AVIATION and part of PHOTOGRAPHY so when you have a Flying Camera you are going to have times you just can't fly. It's part of the business.

 

[PatR]

Acts of God, stand by rates, and contingency fees have been part of business contracts almost forever. Always good to cover as much as you can and reach understandings with clients long before a contract is written.

 

[chrisozman]

Thanks PatR, but all very well to say that, if the client/shooter relationship is heavily imbalanced it's not so simple. My first scenario is with a multi-billion film studio who give you almost no room to negotiate but I can still try. They have the upper hand on everything, they supply the contract and they pay some very big money as well. The scenarios I've given above and any number of similar ones, are not covered in the contract. My very specific question is:

"Does anyone have a contract clause or terms of some sort that covers these sorts of situations?"

 

[2edgesword]

This type of stuff (conditions unsuitable for flying) has to be covered in any contract to fly. If those conditions occur, I can't see any customer being willing to pay for what they didn't get. There is some risk to the pilot/owner but that risk can be somewhat mitigated with preflight planning, knowing before you go that the conditions aren't going to be right so you're not dealing with the expense of travel, set-up, etc. only to ultimately determine you can't fly.

That said I'm sure there are situations where even with the best planning unpredictable things can occur that delay or cause a flight to be cancelled.

 

[chrisozman]

This type of stuff (conditions unsuitable for flying) has to be covered in any contract to fly. If those conditions occur, I can't see any customer being willing to pay for what they didn't get. There is some risk to the pilot/owner but that risk can be somewhat mitigated with preflight planning, knowing before you go that the conditions aren't going to be right so you're not dealing with the expense of travel, set-up, etc. only to ultimately determine you can't fly.

That said I'm sure there are situations where even with the best planning unpredictable things can occur that delay or cause a flight to be cancelled.

Good comment, but just wanting to know if anyone has been able to summarize all that in writing and in what form

 

[PatR]

Thanks PatR, but all very well to say that, if the client/shooter relationship is heavily imbalanced it's not so simple. My first scenario is with a multi-billion film studio who give you almost no room to negotiate but I can still try. They have the upper hand on everything, they supply the contract and they pay some very big money as well. The scenarios I've given above and any number of similar ones, are not covered in the contract. My very specific question is:

"Does anyone have a contract clause or terms of some sort that covers these sorts of situations?"

When dealing with large, wealthy organizations, regardless of what’s written in a contract, the “Golden Rule” always maintains a presence. As the larger companies control all the money they can change the rules at whim and let you pay your legal team to fight the contract breech in court later. It won’t phase them a bit. Been there, done that, and got to continue paying a legal team after winning because the client appealed their loss. Having lots more money than me I stopped the fight to stop hemorrhaging money in legal fees. Point being if they want to take you for a ride no piece of paper is going to slow them down.

So have a meeting, discuss this stuff so everyone is cognizant, and put it in the contract. If that big, bad, super deep pocket client doesn’t want to hear it, just how secure do you think you will be? They understand “business” extremely well.

 

[AMann]

Look at page 2 and 3:
https://www.ppa.com/assets/documents/contractchecklist_1214.pdf

Some good info to help with this, especially if your client is harmed by not getting a product from you. I offer pole based aerial photography as a backup too, it’s only 20ft high, but does a good job and is very easy to set up and it is inexpensive. Poles are even permitted in most places where drones are not allowed.

 

[chrisozman]

Look at page 2 and 3:
https://www.ppa.com/assets/documents/contractchecklist_1214.pdf

Some good info to help with this, especially if your client is harmed by not getting a product from you. I offer pole based aerial photography as a backup too, it’s only 20ft high, but does a good job and is very easy to set up and it is inexpensive. Poles are even permitted in most places where drones are not allowed.

Ok thanks! Will check out

 

[SubseaFlyer]

OR....if you are that worried about it, or if their contract is too stringent and non-negotiable.....just don't do the shoot.

Let some other poor droner deal with them, or let them pay for a helicopter and a licensed helo pilot. If they want to be stinkers with deep pockets, rather than let them beat me up with their checkbook, I always leave the door open to walk out and let them dig deeper into their pockets for someone else.

 

[2edgesword]

I think to cover every conceivable type of occurrence in a contract is impractical. In my mind something simple like...

"fulfilling this contract is contingent on having weather conditions that do not compromise flight safety based on FAA regulations and aircraft performance limitations as specified by the aircraft manufacturer."

BTW, the wording is based on my concept of common sense (not always so common). I am not a lawyer and as someone else mentioned a company with deep pockets can take anything to court.

 

[Free2Fly]

We spell it out in our contracts that the UAS has an operating limitation (usually along the lines of ~15kts wind, 100° temp, eg) and that we are not responsible for acts of God, force majeuere, war, etc. I'd suggest hiring a lawyer to write you up something definitive if you're dealing with major players that might have a penchant to go to court. A few hundred bucks up front for contract language might save you several thousand in the long term.