{"id":55040,"date":"2015-04-28T11:00:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T16:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=55040"},"modified":"2015-04-28T18:22:54","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T23:22:54","slug":"freelance-video-managing-client-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/freelance-video-managing-client-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Freelance Video: Managing Client Expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freelance video pros need to set clear client expectations around timelines, budgets, and production value… and then get it all in writing.<\/h2>\n

Most of your clients will not have an intimate knowledge of video production or what it takes to create the images in their heads.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Now that the tools for capturing video are more accessible than ever, non-professionals are making a lot of assumptions about your work based on their ability to pull out their iPhone. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re working with an aspiring artist wanting a music video or a large corporate client needing a video training series, to some degree, you\u2019ll need to educate them on the process and the resources needed to get them to their desired goal \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>and that\u2019s usually not a cell phone video.<\/span><\/p>\n

Creative Plan<\/h3>\n

\"Creative<\/em>
\nWorking out the creative plan. Image from Red Lemon Club<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

When you go in to talk to them about their project, be prepared to ask a lot of questions so you can understand their vision and advise accordingly.<\/strong> They need to tell you where will the video go, what the desired length is, and who the target audience is. You\u2019ll also want to ask what the goals of the video are (to educate, entertain, excite?), the tone of the video, and what the core messaging needs to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kimbe MacMaster<\/a>, with Vidyard<\/a>,\u00a0notes that all the stakeholders in any given project need to be on the same page if they want to be successful and even supplies a template for questions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Lay everything out ahead of time in a creative brief, send it to everyone who will be involved in the project and allow at least one meeting for walking through the brief and answering any related questions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Service Agreement: What is It?<\/h3>\n

\"Production<\/p>\n

An example of a\u00a0standard video production agreement. Image from Nimia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The point in the process in which most of the expectation management takes place is in the crafting of the service agreement.<\/strong> After the client agrees to move forward with you on the project, you\u2019ll want to create a service agreement that, among other things, outlines the scope of the project<\/strong>, an engagement summary<\/strong>, and all the defined deliverables<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Video marketplace,\u00a0Nimia<\/a>, offers an example of a standard video production agreement<\/a>\u00a0(partially pictured above) that you can use as a resource for creating your own.<\/span><\/p>\n

Service Agreement: What’s Covered?<\/h3>\n

1. Project Scope <\/span><\/h4>\n

Project scope<\/strong> will include hiring talent, music selection or production, and a tentative production schedule.<\/strong> Examples of deadlines to include in this phase are script delivery, shoot date(s), and delivery of first and final drafts<\/strong>. To emphasize that the agreed-to deadlines are dependent on both you, the producer, and them, the client,<\/strong> you can use language like this: <\/span><\/p>\n

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Any delays caused by the client including cancelled meetings, delays on creative feedback or direction, and especially delays from the final decision-makers, will cause delays to the final deliverable. Changes to the estimated project schedule may affect pricing.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here’s a quick tutorial\/reminder about all the things to consider when managing the scope of your project:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n