Crew subcontractor agreements

A crew subcontractor agreement is the standing contract between you and a crew member, independent contractor status, confidentiality, IP assignment, and similar terms, signed once and covering every future booking. It is separate from a deal memo, which confirms the rate and dates for one specific shoot.

Where to find it

Settings → Crew Agreements.

Write your agreement

Click New agreement (your first agreement instead shows Start blank and Start from standard agreement buttons, since the list is empty). Give it a name (for example "Standard crew subcontractor agreement") and write the terms in the Agreement text field. Start from standard agreement prefills a starter template covering engagement terms, independent contractor status, compensation, IP assignment, confidentiality, non-solicitation, and electronic signature consent, which you can then edit or replace entirely.

Use the merge field chips (like {{CREW_NAME}}, {{CREW_ROLE}}, {{STUDIO_NAME}}, {{EFFECTIVE_DATE}}) to insert placeholders that fill in automatically for each crew member at signing. Any {{double-brace}} text that is not a recognized field shows up to crew exactly as typed, so double-check the field names before sending.

Note: These templates are a starting point, not legal advice, and have not been reviewed by an attorney for your jurisdiction. FirstSlate recommends having a licensed attorney review any agreement before you use it with crew.

Set a default

Click Set default on the agreement you want to use (it shows a star and a Default label once active). You cannot generate an onboarding link at all until a default agreement exists. An onboarding link always shows whichever agreement is currently the default at the moment your crew member opens it, not necessarily the one that was default when you sent the invite, so if you switch the default after sending a link that has not been signed yet, the crew member will see and sign the new one.

Sending for signature

Crew agreements go out through crew onboarding, not from this settings page directly. Once a crew member completes the onboarding form and types their name to sign, FirstSlate freezes the exact agreement text they saw (merged with their name, role, and the date) into a permanent signed record.

The signed record and executed PDF

Once a crew member is onboarded, open their card on the Crew page and click Documents (the same button that read Onboard before they signed). View signed agreement (PDF) opens the executed agreement: the frozen contract text plus an electronic signature record (signer name, timestamp, and a certificate of completion). This record does not change even if you later edit the template, editing only affects agreements signed after the change (an already-sent link that has not been signed yet will reflect your edit too, since it always loads the current default at open time).

Common questions

How is this different from a deal memo?

A crew agreement is signed once and covers the working relationship in general. A deal memo is signed per shoot and confirms that specific booking's rate, dates, and location, referencing the standing agreement. Crew agreements are available on every plan; deal memos are Pro and Studio.

Can I have more than one agreement template?

Yes. Create as many as you need (for example, different terms for different crew categories) and choose which one is the default sent through onboarding.

What happens if I edit the agreement after someone has already signed?

Nothing changes for them. Their signed record is a frozen snapshot of the text at the moment they signed. Your edit reaches any invite that has not been signed yet, even one you already sent, since it loads the current default agreement each time it is opened.