Sledgehammer Studio (Pty) Ltd
Terms of Service

Effective Date: 14/04/2026
Company Registration Number: 2016/459045/07
VAT Number: 4180289870
Address: 5 Howe Street, Cape Town, 7925

These Terms of Service apply to all work performed by Sledgehammer Studio (Pty) Ltd unless otherwise agreed in writing.

1. Scope of Work

Sledgehammer Studio will provide the services and deliverables described in the relevant project brief, proposal, estimate, or quote accepted by the client.

Only the work expressly described in that document is included in the agreed scope.

A standard shoot day is a maximum of 10 hours. Any production time extending beyond 10 hours may be charged at the overtime rates set out in the applicable quote, budget, or call sheet.

Any additional work, extra shoot days, added deliverables, added formats, additional locations, or changes to the approved brief will be treated as a variation and may be quoted and billed separately.

2. Fees and Payment Terms

A non-refundable 50% deposit is required to secure Sledgehammer Studio’s services and to commence pre-production, planning, scheduling, and related work.

The remaining 50% balance is due upon completion of the project.

For purposes of these Terms, completion means the point at which Sledgehammer Studio has completed the agreed production and post-production services, including the included rounds of revisions, and has notified the client that the deliverables are ready for release.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing:

  • no dates, crew, or production resources are confirmed until the deposit has been received

  • Sledgehammer Studio may pause work if payments are overdue

  • final deliverables will only be released once all outstanding amounts have been paid in full

Any third-party costs, approved out-of-pocket expenses, travel, accommodation, permits, music licences, talent fees, location fees, courier costs, upload costs, hard drives, storage media, or specialist rentals may be charged separately if not expressly included in the quote.

3. Revisions

Unless otherwise stated in writing, the agreed fee includes one round of revisions to the first submitted edit.

A revision round means one consolidated set of client feedback on a submitted version. The client must provide one consolidated set of feedback per revision round.

Any additional revisions, re-edits, restructuring, late-stage creative changes, or changes outside the approved scope will be billed at R1,200.00 ex VAT per hour, or such other rate as may be agreed in writing for a specific project.

4. Client Responsibilities

The client agrees to:

  • provide all necessary information, materials, access, approvals, and feedback timeously

  • ensure that it has the necessary rights and permissions for all materials supplied to Sledgehammer Studio, including logos, scripts, images, music, brand assets, and third-party content

  • nominate a person with authority to give instructions and approvals on its behalf

The client must provide consolidated feedback within 5 business days of receipt of any draft edit, unless otherwise agreed in writing. If feedback is not received within that period, Sledgehammer Studio may adjust the project timeline accordingly..

5. Cancellations, Postponements, and Delays

If a project is cancelled, postponed, or delayed by the client, or due to circumstances outside Sledgehammer Studio’s reasonable control, including weather, location restrictions, access issues, illness, force majeure events, or third-party supplier failure, the client remains responsible for any hard costs already incurred.

These may include:

  • equipment rentals

  • crew fees

  • location fees

  • travel and accommodation costs

  • catering

  • permit costs

  • media or transfer costs

  • any other committed third-party expenses

The 50% deposit remains non-refundable and may be applied to work already performed, time reserved, and production resources committed.

Where possible, Sledgehammer Studio will work with the client in good faith to reschedule the project, subject to availability and any additional costs.

6. Ownership, Copyright, Footage, and Project Files

Subject to full payment of all amounts due, and unless otherwise agreed in writing, the client will own the copyright in:

  • all commissioned footage captured specifically for the project

  • the final edited deliverables created specifically for the client under the agreed scope

This clause records the parties’ express agreement regarding ownership of those commissioned materials.

Once all invoices have been paid in full, the client may use, copy, edit, adapt, repurpose, publish, distribute, and share that footage and those final edited deliverables at its discretion.

Notwithstanding the above, Sledgehammer Studio retains ownership of and all rights in its internal working materials and production infrastructure, including:

  • project files

  • editing timelines

  • source project files

  • working files

  • templates

  • workflows

  • internal notes

  • drafts not approved as final

  • production documents and internal working materials

These items are not included in delivery and will not be handed over unless expressly agreed in writing.

If included in the quote, or otherwise agreed in writing, Sledgehammer Studio will provide the client with a copy of the raw footage captured for the project. Delivery of raw footage may be made in its then-existing format and may be subject to media, storage, courier, upload, or transfer costs if not expressly included in the quote.

Any third-party materials incorporated into the project, including music, stock footage, fonts, graphics, licensed assets, or software-dependent elements, remain subject to the rights of their respective owners and the terms of the applicable third-party licences. No copyright or ownership in those third-party materials is transferred except to the extent permitted under the relevant licence terms.

7. Portfolio Licence

Notwithstanding the client’s ownership of the commissioned footage and final deliverables, the client grants Sledgehammer Studio a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free licence to display and use the final delivered work, and reasonable excerpts from it, for Sledgehammer Studio’s portfolio, website, showreel, social media, award submissions, presentations, and self-promotional purposes, unless the parties have expressly agreed in writing that the project is confidential.

8. Confidentiality

Each party agrees to keep confidential all non-public information disclosed by the other party in connection with the project, including commercial information, budgets, campaign plans, creative concepts, scripts, business operations, client lists, production information, and any other information that is reasonably understood to be confidential.

Neither party may disclose or use the other party’s confidential information except as reasonably necessary to perform the project or where disclosure is required by law.

This clause does not apply to information that:

  • is already public through no breach of these Terms

  • was lawfully known by the receiving party before disclosure

  • is lawfully received from a third party without restriction

  • is independently developed without use of the other party’s confidential information

If the client requires strict confidentiality, embargoed release, or a no-portfolio arrangement, this must be agreed in writing before production begins.

9. Credit

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Sledgehammer Studio may identify itself as the producer or creator of the work in a reasonable manner, including in portfolio use, showreels, submissions, and online case studies.

The client is not obliged to provide an on-screen credit in paid media, broadcast, social cutdowns, or campaign deliverables unless this has been specifically agreed in writing.

Where editorial context, festival submissions, or extended-form releases make credits appropriate, the parties will act reasonably in discussing an appropriate production credit.

10. Storage and Archiving

Sledgehammer Studio is not obliged to archive or retain raw footage, project files, or final deliverables for any minimum period unless agreed in writing.

If Sledgehammer Studio agrees to retain any materials after project completion, this is done as a courtesy and without guarantee. Retrieval, re-export, archive preparation, or long-term storage may be billed separately.

11. Limitation of Liability

Limitation of Liability To the fullest extent permitted by law, and excluding cases of fraud, wilful misconduct, or gross negligence, Sledgehammer Studio will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential loss, including loss of profit, loss of opportunity, or reputational harm.

Sledgehammer Studio’s total liability in relation to any claim arising from the project will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be strictly limited to the total fees actually paid by the client for that specific project. By accepting these terms, the client acknowledges that this limitation of risk and liability has been explicitly drawn to their attention.

12. General

Any amendment to the agreed scope, deliverables, fees, schedule, or rights must be recorded in writing.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and any dispute arising from them will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Western Cape, unless otherwise required by law.