The Documentary Mentorship
Client agreement
These are the terms for working with me, Sebastian Solberg, through Documentary Film Academy. I’ve written them in plain English so we both know where we stand. By joining, you’re agreeing to them.
What’s included
- One 60-minute call a month, online, recorded with a written summary
- Up to two voice note reviews a month, each on up to 20 minutes of footage or cut, or one document
- Once during the edit, a watch of your full rough cut (up to 60 minutes) in place of that month’s two reviews
- Messages through your private space
- Your own private space with a lesson path, my templates and planning software
- Lifetime access to Documentary Fundamentals, including the Starter Kit
Unused calls and reviews don’t roll over to the next month, unless the delay was on my side.
What I need from you
The mentorship works when you do the work between calls. I can guide, give feedback and help you make decisions, but I can’t make your film for you, and I can’t guarantee a particular outcome, festival selection or result. We’ll agree a realistic goal together on our first call.
Calls and rescheduling
If you need to move a call, please give me at least 24 hours’ notice and we’ll find another time that month. A call missed without notice counts as used. If I need to move a call, I’ll always rearrange it.
Payments
The six-month mentorship is either six monthly payments or one payment in full. Ongoing Film Support is paid monthly. Monthly payments are taken automatically on the same date each month. If a payment fails and isn’t sorted within 14 days, I may pause your access until it is.
Your right to cancel
You have 14 days from the day you join to cancel and get a refund. If you’d like us to start within those 14 days, for example by having our first call, you’re asking me to begin the service early. If you then cancel within the 14 days, I’ll refund what you’ve paid minus the value of the support you’ve already received.
After 14 days you’re committing to the full six months. If something serious changes in your life, talk to me. I’d always rather find a fair way through, such as pausing, than hold anyone to something that no longer works.
Ongoing Film Support after your six months
In month five we’ll review your film together. If you’d like to carry on, Ongoing Film Support is $450 a month and includes, each month:
- One 45-minute call, online, recorded with a written summary
- One review: up to 20 minutes of footage, or one full cut of up to 60 minutes
- Messages for specific questions about your film. Footage and cuts go in your monthly review rather than in messages.
It runs month by month with no minimum term. You can stop at any time before your next payment date. Calls and reviews you don’t use don’t carry over.
Ongoing Film Support is for people who have finished the six-month mentorship, and I keep a small number of places. If your film needs more help again, you can move back to the full mentorship when a place is free, at $725 a month for at least three months.
If I need to end the mentorship
In the rare case that I can’t continue, or our working relationship isn’t working, I’ll tell you honestly and refund any months you’ve paid for but not used.
Your film and your privacy
- Your film, footage and ideas are yours. I’ll never use or share them without your written permission.
- I keep everything you share confidential.
- Calls are recorded so you can watch them back. Recordings stay in your private space and aren’t shared with anyone else.
- I’ll only use your name, story or words in my marketing if you’ve said yes.
The small print
My responsibility to you is limited to the amount you’ve paid for the mentorship. Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights as a consumer. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, email me at [email protected] before you join and I’ll happily talk it through.
