Terms, Conditions & Rates

Any form of confirmation, signature of the offer, written or scanned confirmation e-mail,  invoice payment, or purchase order form immediately implies a direct acceptance of the content of our terms and conditions of sale.  Our sales conditions prevail over all other conditions.

Article 1: Definition

Architect of Emotion (TCS-AOE BV, from now on referred to as AOE) is a creative service provider for production companies of any kind: television, events, theatre, open air shows, brand activation, museum, festivals and concerts….

In addition, AOE stands for creative consulting for communication and live experience in the broadest sense of the word.

Finally, AOE devises and realizes complete creative show and entertainments acts and complete narrative  show productions.  AOE is active on both national and international markets. This includes, not exclusively:

• Conceiving and developing concepts for (mostly live) experiences.
• Visualizing of these concepts: sketching, roughing, video mock-ups, design, etc.
• Design of stages and event/experience universe (scenography)
• Full bespoke show and experience creation and production for any kind of client, varying from corporate event shows/acts to public spectacles, TV, ceremonies etc.
• Conceiving and design of museum installations or emotioneering concepts.
• Conceiving and developing, producing of custom made show acts.
• Creative director for live experiences.
• Creative curating of an event/festival/season program.
• Artistic direction for events and communications strategies.
• Show direction (creation, rehearsals, mise-en-scène).
• Storytelling in the broadest sense to be used in any medium.
• Writing of scenarios and production of films and movies.
• Scenario, script, ghostwriting
• Speaker coaching and show calling.
• Emotioneerint (scripting and automating live experiences for a large audience, typical for leisure and amusement park attractions).
• Product development in the broadest sense.
• The innovation, conceptual and graphic development of corporate identities for companies in the field of advertising in the broadest form, name, market and brand awareness.
• The development of digital platforms, such as web site and software applications and the creation of manuals for this purpose.
• The creation and production of video mapping content, motion graphics and event show scenic video ‘wall papers’.

AOE is a consultant within his expertise, not an event producer nor communication agency.  AOE works together with a very large team of premium level freelance experts in many fields and can offer a power team for almost any production.

As part from the activities mentioned, AOE is frequently invited as keynote speaker for education, in companies and on events.

Client is understood to mean the client who requests AOE’s assistance within his professional disciplines in order to achieve a specific goal. This goal can be of any kind. The profile of this client can be private, a company, an institutional organization, a theatre or cultural organization, media or TV, or assembly with a social objective.

 

Article 2: Applicability of these general terms and conditions of sale

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, only these general terms and conditions shall apply. If another agreement has been drawn up, these general terms and conditions of sale shall continue to apply additionally.

These terms and conditions shall form an integral part of the agreement in contract or in simple mission confirmation statement of any kind and shall take precedence over all other terms and conditions of the other contracting parties involved. If the customer does not agree to anything, this must be notified in writing before the start of execution of the order.

 

Article 3: Offer

Any offer can only be made on the basis of the information and circumstances known at the time of the briefing given by the client. Any changes that may occur and from which additional costs or changes in rates, time estimates… appear, will be invoiced as extra. All amounts mentioned in our offers are exclusive of VAT and as to be expected according to the applicable regulations.

An offer remains valid for a maximum of 30 days unless otherwise discussed and mutually agreed in writing. Changes to the client’s briefing or working conditions will invalidate the current quotation, a new one will be drawn up.

Production partners or creative talents of any kind mentioned in the offer are responsible for their own service or product quote. In case of unilateral changes of these parties AOE has no liability. However, AOE will assist the client optimally to mediate in this situation.

 

Article 4: Purchase order

An order is always to be confirmed in writing. This can be done by returning the signed quote, written or scanned confirmation e-mail,  invoice payment or by a purchase order form the client. As soon as this order form has been signed or the offer signed for approval has been returned, it is considered as a binding contract between the parties. In this context, we refer explicitly to article 2.

The offer, the order form as well as the general terms and conditions are an integral part of this agreement. An unsigned order form can never be considered as an agreement between the parties.  These conditions will be sent together with the quote and is always available on our website: https://architectofemotion.com/legalscredits/sales-conditions/

Confirmation of the order will immediately send out the advance invoice. The project will be started after the first advance payment.

 

Article 5: Payments

Unless other arrangements have been made, the following spread of invoicing applies:

Service budget up to 8000€:

• 50% – at the start of the project, upon confirmation
• 30% – 1 week before delivery date of the project
• Balance the day after the delivery date of the project

Service budget above 8000€:

• 30% – at the start of the project, upon confirmation
• 30% – during pre-production period 1
• 30% – during pre-production period 2
• Balance the day after the delivery date of the project

Any invoice from AOE, is payable within 30 days of the invoice date to the account number BNP Paribas Fortis:

BE 56 0018 7818 1088.

Any costs, bookings, purchases, reservations will only be made when the relevant invoice has been paid at this stage. If the invoice has not been paid within the stipulated period, AOE may temporarily or totally stop the provision of services and will not be liable to pay any compensation for this, nor will it be responsible for any consequences of this delay/stop.

In the event of full or partial delay or non-payment, the client shall automatically, without notice of default and by operation of law, owe a default interest. All relevant legal regulations apply.

 

Article 6: Force majeure

Any event or circumstance that constitutes force majeure on the part of AOE such as, among others bankruptcy of one of the suppliers/partners or companies related to the event, weather conditions, natural disasters, strikes, death of a political figure, threat of war or terrorism, serious health problems, pandemic (also the risk of a pandemic) or accident, police interventions, security problems, failure of power supplies, geo-political instability or similar circumstances… or any other circumstance in which the local or international authorities impose restrictive measures of any kind, will be reported in writing by the service provider and cannot give rise to any form of compensation on the part of AOE. Reasonable solutions will always be sought together.

Force majeure as described above does not release the client from his payment obligations. All circumstances that were reasonably unforeseeable when the offer was submitted and which are unavoidable and which make the execution of the agreement financially heavier or more difficult than normally foreseen, will be considered as a case of force majeure.

In the event that restrictive or prohibitive measures have been imposed by a government, or if there are serious indications that this could happen or a cancellation could take place due to circumstances known at the time of confirmation of an order, a full cancellation fee will be due, regardless of the moment of cancellation.

As the COVID19 pandemic risk is no longer new since April 2020, these arguments for cancellations, budget cuts, tariff rebates and the like will no longer be taken into account. The authorities are providing various formulas to cushion the risk of any new tightening of security measures in order to safeguard operators. It is up to the client to cover himself for this. Again, AOE shall try to look for a reasonable solution together with the Client.

 

Article 7: Complaints

Any complaints must be reported in writing and at the latest within 5 days of the invoice date, after which the complaint will no longer be admissible. In the event of a complaint, the customer shall in no way refrain from complying with the terms and conditions of sale and terms of payment. In this case, dialogue will lead to the

avoidance of the complaint in the future cooperation and the ideal solution will be sought together if necessary/ desirable.

If a customer is dissatisfied with the delivered work, the possibility will be given to rectify this work with an adjusted proposal before any other form of compensation. This dissatisfaction as well as a request for rectification must be reported in writing and at the latest within 5 days after the delivery of the proposal, afterwards this complaint will no longer be admissible.

 

Article 8: Provision of services

Within the scope of the assignment, AOE will propose partners to the end customer. These partners have to apply the values that the creative service provider puts first in their own elaboration. This implies a correct and respectful cooperation with all parties, permanent eye and attention for safety and security, an ecologically responsible approach in service provision, total intolerance with regard to the use of drugs or alcohol, smoking ban in public buildings and event locations… In case of violation of these principles, AOE reserves the right to immediately stop the cooperation with these parties, without any form of compensation.

The core team of AOE will not be questioned by the Client at any time. When TCS-AOE develops a proposal, this is done with the support of a team of experts. These experts are needed to ensure that the production is of the highest possible quality standards in the working conditions and budget scope. The core members of this team who start up a project will always remain involved within the project for the functions determined by AOE. This rule can only be deviated from in very exceptional cases, but only with the upfront approval of AOE and the partner involved.

We consider these functions to be inherent to our core team:

• Technical director
• Assistant artistic direction
• Production Assistant
• Head Choreographer
• Show caller and stage managers
• Front of house expert operators
• Lighting designer and operator
• Set and props designer
• Video designer and operator
• Content partner
• Talent
• Styling

AOE reserves the right at all times to refuse certain people or companies as a chosen partner, but only on the basis of concerns regarding level of quality, experience, knowledge and possibly on the basis of previous disappointing experiences.

If the client selects/enlists other parties to cooperate with AOE and its teams, AOE cannot guarantee that our quality level will be achieved. There is no a priori reason not to cooperate with the partners of the client, and to doubt their experience and quality, but the responsibility for this cannot be taken on by AOE. During (pre) production these parties should use the same values and work in the same way as AOE teams do.

 

Article 9: Liability

When a client contacts AOE for the execution of a service, the latter may assume that the client is entitled to do so and therefore bears full responsibility for this towards AOE and third parties. AOE will be indemnified from any prosecution if this is not the case.

TCS-AOE BV cannot be held responsible for:

• damage to third parties, unless clear and evident proof of an incident with reponsability of AOE or one of its team members (booked by AOE). All subcontracting partners are responsible under the applicable laws for their own responsibility, liability and insurance.
• Damage, destruction or theft of the materials / clothes / holdings of participants, employees or suppliers/ production partners
• Failure by participants to comply with safety regulations or instructions
• A possible shortage of material, personnel, food or other items due to a higher number of attendees or higher quantities than provided for in the quotation.
• AOE has a civil liability insurance; any liability is always limited to the cover provided by the civil liability insurance taken out by AOE.

Participants or employees of any partner who are in a state of alcohol intoxication or drug use or under heavy medication are exclusively liable themselves for all harmful consequences of the accident or damaging event.

AOE cannot predict that third parties will disrupt the project (labor union actions, strikes, manifestations, political situations, threats, (risk of) terrorism…) and can therefore not be held responsible for this.

 

Article 10: Modification or additional order

Any change will be the subject of a new offer which must be reconfirmed by the Client. Some changes may have a scale advantage, others just a disadvantage. There is no standard logic, the change must always be analyzed and argued. Different factors can influence the budgets.

Last minute changes/savings, may not be possible because work has already been done in preparation and possibly commitments have already been made.  Work already performed and expenses will always be charged without exception, by AOE and by its partners and employees.

Certain proposed parties / talents / service providers proposed by AOE do not give options on their availability. As many elements as possible are proposed of which several executors / companies can take on the implementation. If the option is no longer available, this cannot be recovered from AOE. A worthy replacement will then be sought.

 

Article 11: Deontology

AOE works as a creative and strategic consultant within creation, design and/or production requests of its customers. These are often companies that operate competitively within one and the same activity or market (e.g. event production companies). For this reason AOE will only pass on purchase budgets and will never draw up final end client budgets. At no time AOE wants to get insight in the budget build-up, margins and sales strategies of its customers to guarantee deontological neutrality at all times.

 

Article 12: Operation

Like a technical rider (specifications) for an artist/music band, AOE also has a list of operating resources needed to ensure an optimal service within the quality that is handled and guaranteed. The Client guaranteeing these mentioned elements is therefore also an integral part of the agreement. Failure to respect any of these working resources/conditions can be cited as a valid reason for not (properly) carrying out or even cancelling our assignment. In no way does this release the client from his financial responsibilities with regard to the assignment.

It is therefore extremely important to go through this list thoroughly so that discussions and stress during preproduction and on site can be avoided.

A safe and fully installed (printer, electricity, furniture…) production space must be available on site with a good fast internet connection (not exclusively, we only may need it for last minute downloads and prints of updated run of show documents). This space ideally also allows small work meetings. In the front-of-house a local and closed wifi network should be available reserved to front of house techs and stage managers only.  We will use this for our show calling software.

In case of a longer stay on the event site itself, especially if it would be in the open air or on a non-equipped location, the customer must provide nonpublic quality and clean sleep / shower / restroom facilities.

In the show direction area (front of house) of the event a space should be provided for the AOE showcaller and creative/show director of 2,5 m width, with 2 chairs and a decent table or similar. At this location a power point should be provided with 2 power boxes of each 4x 16A Shuko sockets. In international productions please be aware of possible different plugs and provide adapters.  This work location must have a solid and fast internet connection. If this is not the case, a solution must be provided by the customer. A mini-jack audio line to the sound desk (to be used for Streamdeck or jingle playout app), must also be provided.

At the stage (in front or on the side) a 4x 16A schuko power plug-ins as well as 1 mini-jack audio line to the sound desk must be provided for easy rehearsal purposes.

A reliable and pre-tested intercom system of solid quality must be provided with at least 1 wireless post per stage manager and 1 fixed intercom for the show caller and 1 wireless and fix intercom for the creative director.  Other front of house and technical operators in the direction should also be on fixed/wireless intercom.

The Client must provide all necessary items for a comfortable and safe, healthy working environment.

This can be coordinated by AOE if this is the subject of the assignment. All possible costs in the field resulting from not providing these working conditions in a correct manner will be charged on in the final invoice. The client, in default due to non-compliance with these conditions, will not exercise any recourse against this supplemental invoice. This condition does not only apply to material goods, but also to transport, accommodation, sufficient and healthy crew catering, etc.

A healthy and varied crew catering for the entire team should be provided by the Client. This may be on site, in a hotel, or at external locations. As long as the timing of any transfers is considered. The catering should consider allergies, intolerances or religious preferences of team members. The moment of crew catering is a short moment of rest during the busy working day, and we strive to protect this for the entire crew. The customer provides tables and chairs for this purpose. The timing of at least 45 minutes should be included in the timing of the entire crew.

If, due to circumstances, the front of house and show direction technicians (stage managers, operators, sound, light, video etc.) have to eat at their consoles during the ongoing rehearsals, the Client provides an improvised mini buffet with food and drinks, to be set up at the front-of-house.

From load-in to load-out, the client has to provide coffee, drinks and small snacks as well as fruit for the crew.

 

Article 13: International productions

All travel expenses and arrangements (tickets, accommodation, catering, per diems…) must be provided by the Client. When travelling by air, the following rule applies for all flights outside Europe or longer than 3 flight hours, business class must be provided by a reputable airline. When travelling by train, first class must be booked, ideally with internet connection. All other travel arrangements must be booked in consultation with written confirmation from both parties. Travel tickets are ideally booked as flexible as possible, especially for the return journey.

At the destination, the customer is responsible for all transfers to and from the airport, hotels, event locations, meetings with customers, restaurants … we insist on having responsible and down-to-earth dedicated drivers, with approved and suitable safe cars for the job allowing luggage to be brought as we often need to take a lot of equipment, props, costumes…

All accommodation must be guaranteed by the customer. Hotel rooms with breakfast should be non-smoking, clean and tidy with a decent bed and bathroom with bath. A minimum level of 4* for short stays and 5* for long stays must be provided for our teams.

Internet connection must be available free of charge at an acceptable speed and download rate (as this is a very important tool for your production) at all work locations. An absolute maximum of 25€ (or local equivalent) per day per person must be allowed on the room bill, unless per diems are counted. The bill for hotel accommodation and costs will be settled directly by the client.

Per diems: for all small expenses incurred daily on site and during travel (and therefore difficult for the Client or for AOE to foresee), a daily allowance per person per day must be provided. This amount is determined based on local market prices and mentioned in the detail overview at the end of this document .

A standard travel cost of 100€ per trip will be charged for small travel expenses (parking, taxi…), even if not explicitly mentioned in the offer.

Per diem within Europe: 60€ VATexcl.

Per diem outside Europe: 85€ VAT excl.

Per diem in expensive countries: 125€ VAT excl.

 

Article 14: Pitches

Quality, cheap and lightning-fast service are unfortunately 3 conditions that do not go well together. When you choose 2, you automatically loose the third. AOE strives to recommend the ideal ratio within the available circumstances (time on site, pre-production time, rehearsal time, budget…).

To be able to assist the client in this, who calls on our experience and expertise, we consider the negotiation of our rates as a lack of respect for this expertise.

If AOE is more expensive than others, it is because we are a better investment, work faster and are more efficient. With over 30 years of experience and a premium international network of experts AOE has a very complete professional expertise that is fully at the service of the client. We also continuously study new technologies (like Artificial Intelligence) to make our service offer as relevant and innovative as possible.

AOE uses rates in function of the assignment to be carried out, to keep the budgets as correct and honest as possible. All our budgets are fully transparent, no hidden margins.

At the request of the Client, AOE can also work on a time sheet basis. In this case an estimate is made of the assignment to give the customer an idea of the total budget. Based on this estimate an advance invoice will be made. After this, a monthly invoice will be drawn up for the hours worked as soon as they exceed the amount of the advance invoice. At the end of this document, you will find our most applicable rates.

In case of pitches, competitions, requests for proposal, tenders AOE never works on a ‘no cure no pay’ basis. Our work is valuable and is therefore never offered for free. However, in this phase a one-pager of the approach and basic idea and a ‘letter of intent’ can be provided without any cost.

Under no circumstances will references from AOE be used without our permission. These references must always be mentioned correctly, with the name of the end customer and the organizing production company that was the Client of AOE. They are references of AOE relevant to illustrate a concept to a new client, at no time may they be displayed as references of another party or client or be used in any form of communication (e.g. as advertisement image). A previous collaboration or previous permission on the use of references does not give the permission for a future project of the client under any circumstances. This permission must be requested again and again. The abuser is fully and exclusively responsible for the consequences and possible prosecution.

Commercial name-dropping is only allowed when the customer uses it correctly. AOE is a separate entity with a specialization that can be hired by the customer. In no way may the end client be misled by confusing or wrong communication about this as if AOE or its employees / freelancers / partners were a permanent in-house part of the ordering client.

All rates for the services listed are exclusive of applicable VAT rates. They are estimates based on experience with similar projects. Expenses are never included and must be proven. With each quotation a calculation is made for the most complete service package in each phase of the (possible upcoming) project. It is then up to the client to choose from this list and thus clearly define the task of AOE.

It will never be allowed that a show concept or animation concept created and presented by AOE will be developed by a third party, unless clear written agreements have been made beforehand. This is possible in extremely exceptional cases, provided that all copyrights and creative property rights are respected.

A concept created for one client and end client, is not automatically property of the client to be used for the same or other end clients by the same production company.  Each use of any concept created by AOE will be subject of a new invoiced fee.

If for any reason a pitch / competition / request for proposal / procurement… is won with a concept worked out by AOE, but you decide to have it carried out by a third party, this can only be done by paying a winner fee of 8,5% of the total production budget confirmed by the end customer. This will then be invoiced without any further quid pro quo.

Even in this case, the intellectual and creative property right remains with AOE with full right of use for the customer and end customer. If a client wants an exclusive use of the concept AOE developed for them, an extra concept IP buy-out fee of 10.000€ needs to be paid for all projects under 100.000€.  Exception to this rule is the creation of shows, festivals or any other concepts with a ticketing sales model.  For these a separate IP contract will be drafted.  This does not automatically apply to all concepts developed.

 

Article 15: Mentions in communication and social media

All images, footage or any other form of communication in any kind of (social) media should always mention:

#Architectofemotion #stevenmartin

In case of a full bespoke show or act creation the following should be mentioned:

“A SHOW BY STEVEN MARTIN”

with a second line in smaller font:

“Architect of EMOTION: WE DESIGN MEMORIES”

The only correct titles are:

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Creation and production of a full bespoke show or experience concept, a technological act or show act.

CURATOR

Creative supervision and art direction of a full program or campaign in live experiences.

SHOW DIRECTOR / METTEUR-EN-SCENE

Show direction of the full show creation, bringing all elements together in the perfect balance and rhythm.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Creation and production of a show or (communication) experience concept with ingredients and/or storyline by the client.

 

Article 16: Cooperation with TCS-AOE BV partners, talents…

In principle, the customer will reimburse the services and products of the parties introduced by AOE by means of direct invoicing. The related specific services of AOE will be settled in a separate invoice, in full transparency, no hidden margins. Exceptions are possible but will be avoided as much as possible. After all, AOE is not an event agency nor a bank. In case an invoice does go through AOE for payment, a surcharge of 15% will be applied.  The same due dates apply for the AOE partners billing directly to the production company or end client.

If the client is introduced to an artist, talent or production partner through AOE and later wishes to use them again in another production where AOE has no active part, AOE will be informed by the Client. In the case of an artist, talent or production partner with an exceptional profile, a commission of 15% will be charged on his performance. If you book us for this production as your creative/show director, this is part of our general assignment, and this commission will be forfeited.

 

Article 17: Cancellation

Unfortunately, circumstances may arise that result in the cancellation of a project. Any cancellation must be reported in writing. Except for the invoices already paid to AOE, in the event of any (full or partial) cancellation of the assignment, compensation will be payable by the client to AOE which will be determined on a flat-rate basis.

Basic principle: the basic working hours already performed in the assignment must always be  compensated.  In addition, a cancellation fee may be charged:

• up to 1 month prior to the assignment: advance payment will be retained as damages with a minimum of 30% of the full mission.
• between 1 month and 1 week before the order: 75% of the amount of the full mission
• from 7 days before the order: 100% of the full mission is due.

AOE has the right to demand the forced execution in court and/or to prove that its damage and loss of profit represent a larger amount.

AOE always reserves the right to stop the cooperation if the circumstances in which work must be done are not in order, not safe, illegal or if there is an actual risk due to a discourage action / resolution / idea…

As we only strive for the safety and protection of your company and your guests, as well as our teams, no compensation can be claimed by the production company or end customer in this case.

 

Article 18: Intellectual property law

All creative and immaterial performances of AOE remain the intellectual property of the latter and cannot be used/reused by the client or by third parties without his explicit written consent and a possible replicable concept fee. All related revenues are and remain the exclusive property of AOE. Any amendments to this rule may be described in a mutually confirmed NDA Non-Disclosure Agreement in writing.

Celar and obvious alterations of the concept just to avoid this rule will not be accepted as an exception.

 

Article 19: Publicity and public relations

As the task of creation is always a team effort, the intellectual and creative property always remains with the parties involved insofar as their input is valid. They are entitled to all image use (image, video and/or audio) for use within the rules of the game defined by the client. Even if no external communication is permitted by the customer, they will receive the footage for archiving and may always use it commercially as representation material for personal customer contacts or for internal use.

All legal obligations regarding the use of music, visual material (static or dynamic) etc. must be set by the customer. AOE will at all times be indemnified from prosecution by the customer if the use of these documents has not been brought into line. If the client wants to use visual material of one of our creations for commercial purposes (sharing over the internet, advertising…) a one-off royalty buy-out is negotiable.

AOE has the right to use the references of the executed service in publicity, both descriptive and visual as well as for presentation of ideas and concepts for new projects for different clients.

All visual material and audiovisual material realized with AI by AOE within the framework of an order may only be used within that order by the customer, unless otherwise stipulated in writing.

 

Article 20: Licences & fees

As a consultant, AOE will never be responsible for the necessary permits, royalties, legals and (advertising) taxes for the actions/productions it works on.

AOE is not an events production company nor agency.

 

Article 21: Safety

AOE emphasizes the importance of general safety on the

productions on which they work, both for their own people and hired talent as well as for the guests / audiences. We insist that in every production a safety manager is appointed who is responsible for the safety plan and ensures that the necessary arrangements are made regarding first aid, security,…

 

Article 22: Nullity

The nullity of a clause shall not lead to the nullity of other clauses of these general terms and conditions.

 

Article 23: Competent court

Only the Flemish courts of Leuven, Antwerp and Brussels have jurisdiction to rule on any dispute concerning the contract between the parties. If the dispute falls under the jurisdiction of the Justice of the Peace court, only the Justice of the Peace court of Leuven has jurisdiction.

 

Article 24: Applicable law

The conclusion, existence and consequences of the agreement between the parties are exclusively governed by Belgian law and by these general terms and conditions.

  

Article 25: Mutual agreement

The cooperation, the payment of an advance or confirmation of order form or offer (by signature) is equivalent to both parties declaring their agreement with the provisions of these general terms and conditions and its annexes.