Receiving and Returns

VDB ships via either UPS or Fedex courier services. If your institution or venue has its own courier account that it would prefer to use for shipments, please include the information when placing your order. 

Receiving rentals

For screening locations in the United States, rentals will be sent out to arrive at least four days before the screening date. International orders will be sent out to arrive at least seven days prior to the screening date. If you have not received your rental titles according to this schedule, please call the VDB office immediately so we have enough time to trace and/or replace the shipment.

Returning rentals

All rentals must be returned promptly after the agreed upon screening or exhibition dates. Please make all returns addressed as follows:

ATTN: Collection Manager
Video Data Bank
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
112 S. Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60603
312.345.3550

Video Data Bank grants a three-week grace period after the screening date to allow for rental returns. After this period, VDB will charge a $25 per week late-return fee.

Rentals can be returned via first class mail [with tracking number], or a courier service such as Federal Express or UPS. Client must pay all fees for returning rentals.

Receiving digital files

The VDB uses various online delivery services for sharing our digital files:

• Dropbox 
•  VDB FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server:
  The VDB collections manager sends an email to client with instructions on using our FTP server, along with a username and password. Please note digital files will remain on our server for no longer than two weeks. If VDB is contacted after two weeks for downloads, a rush fee will be applied to the order. We encourage all users to download their files promptly.
• Other file transfer services available by request.

When receiving a digital file, please confirm the delivery email address, and remember to check your spam folder if you are expecting, but have not yet received an email with digital file instructions.

Digital files after exhibition or screening

All digital files must be deleted after the agreed upon screening date. VDB screening and exhibition rentals do not include the rights for venues or institutions to retain a copy of the digital file. A member of the VDB distribution team will email deletion reminders after the agreed upon screening date.