Terms & Conditions

The First Studio Group Ltd

These Terms & Conditions apply to bookings and services provided by The First Studio Group Ltd, trading as The First Studio ("The First Studio", "TFSG", "we", "us" or "our").

They apply together with our Booking Policy, Cancellation Policy and Privacy Policy.

By making a booking, accepting a quotation, paying an invoice, entering into an agreement for our services or using our studio, you agree to these Terms & Conditions.

1. Bookings

A standard booking is confirmed once:

1. the booking has been accepted by The First Studio; and

2. full payment has been received.

Unless otherwise agreed, all standard bookings require 100% payment upfront.

Approved corporate clients may book on invoice.

Corporate invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

We may refuse a booking at our reasonable discretion.

2. Prices & VAT

The First Studio Group Ltd is not currently VAT registered.

VAT is therefore not currently charged on our prices.

If our VAT registration status changes, any VAT legally payable on future bookings will be clearly stated before the relevant booking is completed.

3. Minimum Booking

The minimum booking period is 2 hours.

We recommend allowing additional time beyond the minimum for most recording sessions.

4. Booking Period

The booked period includes all time required for:

• access;

• setup;

• soundchecks;

• lighting;

• equipment changes;

• recording;

• photography;

• guest preparation;

• pack-down; and

• departure.

Clients must vacate the studio by the scheduled finish time unless an extension has been agreed.

5. Late Arrival

Late arrival does not extend the booking.

The session will finish at the originally scheduled end time.

No refund or credit will be given for time lost because a client, guest or member of their production arrives late.

6. Overruns

Where studio availability allows, additional time may be purchased in 30-minute increments.

Standard clients will be charged the applicable pro-rata booking rate plus a 10% overrun premium.

Members will be charged the normal applicable pro-rata rate without the 10% premium.

Additional time is subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed.

7. Attendance

Unless otherwise specified, studio bookings include up to 4 attendees.

Additional attendees are charged at £20 per additional person, per hour.

The booking holder is responsible for the behaviour and actions of everyone attending under their booking.

8. Cancellation

Bookings cancelled at least 5 Working Days before the scheduled booking will be refunded less a 5% administration fee.

Bookings cancelled with less than 5 Working Days' notice are non-refundable, subject to the member benefit below.

A Working Day means Monday to Friday excluding public and bank holidays in England.

9. Member Cancellation Benefit

Members cancelling with less than 5 Working Days but at least 48 hours' notice will receive a 50% refund.

No additional administration fee is deducted from that refund.

Bookings cancelled by members less than 48 hours before the scheduled start time are non-refundable.

10. Rescheduling

A booking may be rescheduled once without a rescheduling fee if at least 5 Working Days' notice is provided.

The new booking date is subject to availability.

Once rescheduled, the booking becomes:

• non-refundable;

• non-transferable; and

• ineligible for further rescheduling.

11. No-Shows

No-shows are 100% non-refundable.

12. Exceptional Circumstances

Cancellation rules remain applicable to illness, transport disruption, childcare problems, travel disruption, guest availability and other personal circumstances.

The First Studio may make an exception in exceptional circumstances at its sole discretion.

An exception on one occasion does not create a precedent or obligation to make a future exception.

Nothing in these Terms affects rights that cannot legally be excluded.

13. Cancellation by The First Studio

If The First Studio has to cancel a booking and cannot provide the booked service, the client may choose:

• a full refund of the amount paid for that booking; or

• a replacement booking on an available mutually agreed date.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The First Studio will not be responsible for third-party or consequential costs resulting from a cancellation, including travel, accommodation, crew, talent, equipment hire, loss of earnings or loss of opportunity.

14. Studio Access

Members may access the studio 24/7 subject to:

• membership terms;

• building access;

• safety requirements;

• maintenance;

• temporary closures; and

• reasonable operational restrictions.

Non-members may access the studio during published operating hours unless expressly agreed otherwise.

The First Studio may require photographic identification before permitting access.

15. Conduct

Clients must behave responsibly and safely while on the premises.

The following are prohibited unless expressly approved where applicable:

• smoking;

• vaping;

• illegal drugs;

• open flames;

• pets;

• alcohol; and

• children under 15.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to restrict legally protected assistance animals.

16. Prohibited Productions

The studio must not be used to create or facilitate material or activity that is:

• illegal;

• dangerous;

• abusive;

• threatening;

• hateful;

• pornographic;

• defamatory;

• deliberately damaging to another person's rights;

• likely to cause material damage to the studio or premises; or

• otherwise reasonably considered unacceptable by The First Studio.

We may refuse to begin or may immediately terminate a production where we reasonably believe these conditions are being breached.

A booking terminated because of serious client misconduct or a serious breach of these Terms may be ended without refund.

17. External Equipment, Sets & Props

Clients may bring external equipment, props and set pieces provided they are safe and do not damage the studio.

Prior written approval is required before:

• drilling;

• attaching fixtures;

• painting;

• using potentially damaging adhesives;

• using smoke or haze;

• using open flames;

• moving substantial furniture;

• installing unusually heavy equipment; or

• materially altering the studio.

The client is responsible for ensuring that equipment brought onto the premises is safe, suitable and appropriately operated.

18. Insurance

The First Studio reserves the right to require evidence of appropriate public liability insurance before permitting a booking or production.

This may particularly apply to:

• dry hire;

• external crews;

• large productions;

• substantial external equipment; or

• productions presenting additional risk.

Failure to provide requested evidence may result in access being refused.

19. Damage

The booking holder is responsible for damage caused by them or anyone attending under their booking.

The client must pay the reasonable cost of repairing or replacing damaged property, including studio equipment, furniture, cameras, microphones, lighting, fixtures and fittings.

Where an item cannot reasonably be repaired, the client may be charged the reasonable replacement cost.

20. Cleaning

The studio must be left in a reasonably clean and tidy condition.

Where additional cleaning beyond normal use is required, a minimum £50 cleaning charge will apply.

Where specialist cleaning, waste removal, repair, restoration or other work costs more than £50, the client will also be responsible for the reasonable additional costs incurred.

21. Personal Property

All property brought onto the premises remains at the owner's risk.

Clients are responsible for protecting, supervising and removing their own belongings and equipment.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The First Studio accepts no liability for theft, loss or damage to client or guest property.

22. Equipment & Technical Services

The First Studio will take reasonable care and skill in providing its services and maintaining and operating its equipment.

Where an engineer or operator is included, they will provide reasonable assistance with the agreed technical setup and production.

However, technical production inherently involves risks including:

• hardware failure;

• recording failure;

• corrupted media;

• software errors;

• internet outages;

• power interruption;

• storage failure; and

• unexpected equipment malfunction.

We do not guarantee that such issues can never occur.

Where a technical problem caused by The First Studio materially affects a production, we will assess the circumstances and provide an appropriate remedy where required.

23. Creative Satisfaction

Creative work is subjective.

A client's dislike of a creative choice, style, performance, appearance or other subjective element does not automatically mean the service was defective and does not automatically entitle the client to a refund or re-record.

Where The First Studio has made a genuine production or editing error, we will take reasonable steps to remedy it.

Nothing in this clause affects a consumer's statutory rights in relation to services that have not been provided with reasonable care and skill.

24. Editing & Revisions

Where editing is included in the agreed service, one round of reasonable revisions is included unless otherwise stated.

Additional revisions may be charged separately.

A revision means a reasonable amendment to the agreed edit.

Material changes to the original brief, additional deliverables or a request to substantially recreate the production may be treated as additional work and quoted separately.

25. Client-Supplied Materials

Clients remain responsible for all materials they provide or instruct us to use.

This includes:

• music;

• logos;

• trade marks;

• photographs;

• artwork;

• scripts;

• graphics;

• video footage;

• archive material;

• fonts; and

• other third-party content.

The client warrants that it has all licences, permissions, consents and other rights reasonably required for the intended use of those materials.

The client is responsible for claims resulting from material supplied by the client or used at the client's instruction, except to the extent the claim results from The First Studio's own unauthorised use.

26. Participants & Permissions

The booking holder is responsible for ensuring that people participating in their production have been appropriately informed that recording will take place.

The client is responsible for obtaining any releases, permissions or consents reasonably required from:

• presenters;

• interviewees;

• performers;

• guests;

• employees;

• models; and

• other contributors,

where those permissions are required for the client's intended use of the production.

The First Studio may also request individual releases where appropriate.

27. Intellectual Property — Productions Created by The First Studio

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, intellectual property rights in material created or produced by or on behalf of The First Studio as part of our production services remain with The First Studio, subject to any third-party rights.

This may include:

• video recordings;

• photography;

• audio recordings;

• edits;

• graphics created by us;

• raw footage;

• production files; and

• project files.

Once the agreed fees have been paid in full, the client receives a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use the final content delivered to them.

This licence allows the client to reproduce, publish, display, distribute, edit, adapt and commercially use the final delivered content for its own purposes.

The client may allow its agencies, distributors, platforms, broadcasters, partners and service providers to use the final content to the extent reasonably necessary for those purposes.

Unless expressly included in the agreed package, this licence does not require The First Studio to provide editable project files, working files or other internal production materials.

28. Client Materials

The First Studio does not acquire ownership of pre-existing intellectual property supplied by the client.

Client logos, brands, trade marks, scripts, presentations, existing footage and other client-owned assets remain the property of the client or their respective rights holders.

The client grants The First Studio permission to use those materials solely as reasonably necessary to perform the agreed services.

29. Dry Hire

Where the client hires the studio on a dry-hire basis and creates content using its own cameras, recording equipment and production personnel, the content created by the client remains the client's property.

The First Studio does not claim copyright ownership merely because the content was created on our premises.

30. Promotional Use

Unless the client tells us otherwise in writing before the session, the client permits The First Studio to use reasonable:

• excerpts;

• clips;

• still photographs;

• behind-the-scenes material; and

• examples of completed work

for The First Studio's:

• website;

• portfolio;

• social media;

• showreels;

• awards submissions;

• advertising;

• promotional campaigns; and

• sales materials.

We will not knowingly publish material while it remains confidential, subject to an NDA, under embargo or forms part of an unreleased confidential project.

Where content has not yet been made public by the client, we will either wait until it has been publicly released or obtain permission before publishing it ourselves.

A client may opt out of promotional use by notifying The First Studio in writing before the session.

Where additional individual consent or another lawful basis is required for a particular use of someone's personal data, The First Studio will handle that use in accordance with applicable data protection law.

31. Confidentiality

The First Studio will treat non-public information received in connection with client productions as confidential.

This includes unreleased content and confidential project information.

We will not intentionally disclose confidential client information to third parties except:

• where necessary to provide the agreed services;

• to employees, contractors or production partners who reasonably need access;

• where the client has authorised disclosure;

• where the information is already legitimately public; or

• where disclosure is required by law.

A separate NDA may be entered into where appropriate.

32. Files & Storage

Unless otherwise agreed, raw recording files are retained for 14 days following delivery.

Clients are responsible for downloading and backing up their files during that period.

After the retention period:

• files may be permanently deleted;

• continued storage is not guaranteed; and

• recovery may not be possible.

The First Studio is not responsible for a client's failure to download or back up files after they have been made available.

33. Booking Transfers

A booking may not be sold, assigned or transferred to another person or organisation without prior written approval from The First Studio.

34. Liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful.

In particular, nothing excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability which cannot legally be excluded.

Subject to those exceptions, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, The First Studio's total aggregate liability arising from a particular booking will not exceed the amount actually paid by the client for the booking giving rise to the claim.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The First Studio is not responsible for indirect or consequential losses, including loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of opportunity, travel costs, accommodation costs, crew costs or talent costs.

Nothing in these Terms affects mandatory consumer rights.

35. Responsibility for Guests

The booking holder is responsible for ensuring that all guests, employees, talent, crew, contractors and other attendees comply with these Terms.

Any additional charges, damage or losses caused by those people may be charged to the booking holder.

36. Safety

Clients must comply with reasonable safety instructions given by The First Studio or the management of the building in which the studio operates.

Fire exits, access routes and safety equipment must not be obstructed.

The First Studio may stop any activity it reasonably considers unsafe.

37. Force Majeure & Events Outside Our Control

The First Studio will not be responsible for failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control.

Where such an event means we cannot provide the booked session, the client will be offered either a full refund for the affected booking or the opportunity to reschedule.

The First Studio will not be liable for additional third-party costs arising from such events except where liability cannot legally be excluded.

38. Changes to a Booking

Any material change to the scope of a production may result in additional charges.

This may include changes to:

• recording duration;

• attendee numbers;

• equipment requirements;

• crew requirements;

• editing requirements;

• deliverables; or

• the original creative brief.

We will notify the client of material additional charges before carrying out additional chargeable work wherever reasonably practicable.

39. Consumer Rights

If you are booking as an individual consumer rather than for business purposes, you may have statutory rights in addition to these Terms.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude, restrict or replace rights which cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

Where mandatory consumer law gives you greater rights than these Terms, the applicable law will take precedence.

40. Privacy

Personal information is processed in accordance with The First Studio's Privacy Policy.

41. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time.

The version applicable to a booking will normally be the version in effect when the booking was confirmed, unless a change is required by law or the parties agree otherwise.

42. Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising from them are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Where legally permitted, the courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction.

Nothing in this clause removes any mandatory right a consumer may have to bring proceedings in another court where applicable law provides that right.

43. Contact

The First Studio Group Ltd

Containerville, Unit 45
1 Emma Street
London
E2 9FP
United Kingdom

hello@thefirststudio.com