Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company

Based on the lessons I’ve learned by running a business, I have written several articles on this blog pertaining to entrepreneurship. Earlier this year I wrote an article providing tips on what you need to have in your contract before starting any job. As I looked back over that list, I realized that I missed something very important. What happens if your client decides to pull the plug before the project is finished?

“No problem,” you say, “my client paid me a deposit up front.” That may be true, but a deposit usually only covers certain up-front creative costs. Let’s say the time you have invested into a particular project now exceeds the amount of the deposit. Let’s assume that you are well into phase two, when all of a sudden, the project is put on hold. Your client becomes unresponsive. When he/she does finally return your calls, he/she says that the company has been forced to table the project. So, how do you recoup the cost of your time up to that point?

Since this has happened to me before, I now insert a clause into each of my contracts which says something like, “Should Client terminate the project before its completion, Client is responsible for paying Company all unpaid costs incurred in the production of this video up to the date of termination.” By inserting this sentence, I can cover myself in case my client decides to shelve the video project before it’s complete. The wording of your contract ultimately might be a bit different from mine, but the point is to make sure that you get paid for your time.

Last Wednesday (1/27/10) we debuted a new video that was produced for the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPCGB). The RPCGB is a community development organization that represents six counties and 84 municipalities in central Alabama. By leveraging state and federal funds, the RPCGB provides various services to its member governments that help facilitate growth and development. These programs are incredibly far-reaching, so they approached us and asked us to create a 4-minute video that would give viewers a basic introduction to the organization and the services it offers. We shot the video with the Panasonic HVX-200A at 720p/24p.

I’ve been drafting contracts recently for some new projects, and it got me thinking not only about the importance of having a contract, but the value in having the right content written up in your contract. You need to make sure that your contract covers any possible variable, so that if conflicts arise, you and your business will be covered. Of course, knowing exactly what to include can be difficult. After all, we that work in the production industry are creative folks, so the administrative tasks of running a business can be a challenge. Based on my experiences, here are a few guidelines on drafting a contract.

1. Describe the scope of the project. This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s very important. You need to make sure that both you and your client are clear on the project as a whole. What is this video for? What are the goals? What will the video hope to achieve?
2. Based on the scope of the project, define the specific services you will perform so that the project responsibilities are fulfilled. Make sure you spell out exactly what you will be doing over the course of the production. Also spell out what you need from your client. Sometimes, in order to complete a video, I need my clients to provide me with still images, company logos, backgrounds, fonts, etc. In any contract, both parties should be clear on what their individual responsibilities are.
3. Specify the video project’s budget. Verbage is important here. Don’t say, “the budget for the video production services described herein are estimated at…” Never estimate in your contract. Be specific. Just write in what the budget will be.
4. Specify how much time you will be investing in the video. Every budget I draft is based on a number of factors, including the amount of time I plan on spending in pre-production, production, and post-production. Place these figures in your contract somewhere. It can read something like this, “The above budget includes X hours of pre-production, X hours of production, and X hours in post-production.  Should Client request changes to the project and Company’s time exceeds the budgeted time, Client agrees to pay Company its standard rate of X in order to complete the changes.” This particular clause covers you in case you get into production and your client starts making a lot of unexpected changes. If you aren’t covered in this way, you may find that you’re spending a lot of extra time on the video and not getting paid for it.
5. Define the payment schedule. I always ask my clients for a deposit before I start work on any video project. This money helps to offset initial time invested in the pre-production phase. I also make sure to specify in my contracts that deposits paid are non-refundable. This covers me in the event that a client pulls the plug on the video. In addition to the deposit, you need to specify project milestones at which time additional payments are due. For example, I usually ask my clients for a second payment after the video shoot, with final payment due after the video is approved.
6. Insert a clause to cover late payments. To help my cash flow, all of my invoices are net-15. However, net-30 is more realistic. Clients will often push that to net-45 or even net-60. To ensure that you receive payment from your clients in a timely fashion, insert a clause indicating that a late fee will be applied to any balance that is more than 30 days overdue. This will protect you in case your client is negligent about making payments.
7. Specify the delivery date. Make sure both parties understand when project milestones are supposed to take place, including delivery of the final video. Now, look back to #3 on this list. It’s important to remind the client (within the context of the contract) that any delay on their part in getting necessary materials to you will delay the completion of the video. You don’t want to be locked in to a deadline on the 10th of the month when you’re in your office on the 8th still waiting for your client to send photos, logos, fonts, etc.
8. Be sure to retain certain rights to the video. Every video completed is an addition to your demo reel that can possibly help you land the next job. So, in your contracts, specify that you retain the right to use the final video for display, publication, exhibition, awards, etc. for your own promotional purposes. I have never had a client that had a problem with this and it grants me the permission to show my work to other potential clients.

Working in video production as an independent professional or business owner can be a trial-and-error existence. Mistakes will be made and hopefully, lessons will be learned. The way I write my contracts is based on my experiences as a professional producer/director and business owner. Hopefully, these insights will help you in your own ventures.

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Based on my last post, I received another question regarding clients and client relations. My last post discussed those who like to include a little too much information into their videos. This particular question focuses on clients who can’t stick with the shooting schedule. Here’s the question:

My client is very knowledgeable about his business, but won’t follow a cut sheet to save their lives! We’ve been there to give directions and they are great about that. However, any general advice on how to shoot this smoothly (even w/o the cut sheets) so the post production isn’t a hair puller?

Let me first say that video shoots rarely stay on schedule. Once you get on location, things can get shuffled around and your day can run late. So, don’t panic if you’re at the end of the first day and you haven’t accomplished all that you hoped. I have written some articles on this blog that discuss shooting schedules. Hopefully you can find some valuable info in my archives that will help you schedule your video shoots.

Second, when you’re talking to your client about the shooting schedule, try approaching the subject from a financial angle. Staying true to the shot list will help everything run more efficiently, which will save your client money. I always tell clients that spending the time in pre-production to create and maintain a solid shooting schedule is vital to staying on budget.

Third, realize that many times you will simply have to “go with the flow.” As I said earlier, things fluctuate. Often, the activity on location will dictate how and what you shoot, not the other way around. For example, while working on a video project for a manufacturing company, I simply had to shoot the action as it happened. I couldn’t tell the foreman, “Hey, we need to shoot ‘X’ at station 2 right now,” because the manufacturing process has its own schedule. Sometimes there was no activity at station 2. I simply had to stay flexible and go where the action was. It did mean I had to jump around quite a bit, but that’s part of the documentary process. Sometimes it can’t be contained in a nice, neat shot list.

If you find that you are shooting your project in this style, remember to do one of two things (doing both would be even better):

1. Maintain a running log of what’s been shot
2. Slate everything (simply write down on a piece of paper what the camera is looking at, hold it up in front of the camera, and film it for a few seconds, just for reference).

Having a reference marker in your footage will help tremendously in post-production. That way, your editor can easily match up your shot with what’s mentioned in the script. Let’s say your video is for a drilling company and the script reads, “With our new, state-of-the-art Hole-Maker 9000, we can…” Well, if your editor has hours of footage showing different types of machinery, how is he/she supposed to know which piece of footage is the Hole-Maker 9000?

Yes, staying on schedule will make everyone happier and it will keep production costs down, but remaining open to new possibilities means that you may find a great storyline when you least expect it.

Clients come in all shapes and sizes. For some of our video projects, we simply shoot and then turn over all raw footage to the client so they can edit it themselves. Some businesses we work with have their own in-house marketing team. They create the concept, write the script, and hire us to produce the final piece. Other clients will lean on our expertise to conceptualize, write, shoot, and edit their marketing videos. Every client is different. They have different needs, different expectations, different ideas, and different ways of doing things. Your job as a video producer/director is to listen to their needs, respect their opinions, and advise them when they need guidance throughout the production process.

A friend of mine recently sent me an email asking for my advice on a particular situation. She is currently working on a video and her client has some great ideas, but there is one problem: the client is trying to put too much into the video.

I’ve been in creative meetings when the client throws a lot of information at me. But that’s not a bad thing. When you first get started on conceptualizing and writing a video, you want as much information as possible. The biggest challenge comes when you have to narrow your focus and sculpt that information into usable material for the final script. If you’re having trouble convincing your client to reduce the amount of info that he/she wants in the video, here’s some advice:

1. Listen and Take Notes - during those creative meetings, pay attention to everything they say and take notes as you go. The act of physically writing down your client’s ideas tells them that you value their input. By engaging them in this way, you will earn their respect and trust and they will be more receptive to your creative suggestions.
2. After getting all the information, it’s time to trim the fat. Ask your client a few follow-up questions. These questions will encourage your client to narrow his or her focus and concentrate on those elements of their business that are most important: a) How do you want the public to perceive you?
   b) Using one sentence, how would you describe your company’s identity/mission?
   c) What is your mission statement?
   d) What are three key selling points for your business?
   e) What objections do people have when it comes to making a purchase? i.e. what prevents them from buying from you?
3. Explain the process - As politely as you can, explain the process of creating a video. Emphasize the importance of creating a video with a strong, central theme and a simple message. Bombarding the viewer with too much information will only confuse the audience and will result in more questions being asked than being answered.
4. Make Comparisons - Show the client samples from your reel and walk them through the case study of each project. Show them through these videos how a simple approach is usually the best approach. You might also ask your client to think of their favorite commercials or favorite long-format videos. Walk through those videos and ask your client, “What makes these videos so memorable? Why do you like them? Why are they successful?” Usually, it’s because the director boiled everything down to a simple concept that an audience could easily digest.

And remind your client of that adage, “The simplest solution is the best solution.”

Video production is an industry full of variety. In my career, I have covered several different businesses, topics, people, and places. Browse through any video director’s client list and you will no doubt see a broad spectrum of projects. However, there may come a point when you are approached by one of your client’s direct competitors to produce video content. Should you take the job or should you politely refuse because of your existing relationship?

The answer to this question depends on a number of factors - most importantly, the nature of the relationship with your existing client. Here are some things to consider:

• If you signed a non-disclosure agreement with your client, then legally, you might not be able to accept a job from a competitor.
• If you signed some kind of non-compete clause, then you probably won’t be able to take the competitor’s job.
• Let’s suppose you produce a lot of content for your client on a regular basis. And let’s suppose each video requires you to be out on location meeting with your client’s vendors and other people your client does business with. Over time, these vendors might come to think of you as part of your client’s business (even though you, in fact, are an independent contractor). If those same vendors see you representing a competing company, they may take offense and the credibility of your first client could be shaken.
• If your client considers you as their “go-to” guy/gal for production work, they may get their feelings hurt if they realize that you are doing work for their competitor. In which case, they may not want to hire you for their next project. Be careful not to burn any bridges.

Ultimately, the choice you make should be handled on a case-by-case basis, because every situation is different. Obviously, if you have only produced one video for a client, and that project is now five years old, it’s probably okay to accept a job from a competitor.

It also might be helpful to address these concerns with a new client before the first project gets underway. If the new client is looking for a long-term relationship, then you probably need to discuss any non-compete policies the company may have. I know it’s tempting to jump at a good offer when it comes your way, but more important than new jobs are the relationships you have established with your existing clientele.

So now I’ll open the floor for discussion. What would you do in a situation like this? Do you agree or disagree with the considerations mentioned in this post?

A successful video production crew is a prepared video production crew. Every possible variable must be considered before heading out on location to shoot a project for a client. Your job as a video producer is to make sure that the client has everything he/she needs. So, if something unexpected pops up, you will be there with a quick solution to the problem. Accommodating the client in a prompt, professional manner is essential in building good word-of-mouth and repeat business.

Being prepared means building a versatile production kit, so that you will always have the right tools while on location. Now, I realize that everyone doesn’t have a full two ton production truck sitting in the parking lot outside the office, but you do need to focus on building up a solid production kit. This happens gradually, so you will have to rent gear when you need to. The most important thing to remember is that you, as a video producer, need to anticipate. Always expect the unexpected.

In the world of video production, the word “schedule” is used very loosely. Things get shuffled around. Shot lists change. A client’s needs might shift depending on what’s happening on set. For example, a client might tell you, “Don’t worry about audio for Friday. We will only need it on Saturday.” What happens if you leave your audio gear at the office and Friday afternoon the client tells you, “Oh, we need to mike this guy up for a quick interview.”? It doesn’t reflect well on you as a producer.

Even the most experienced video producer/director makes mistakes. The goal is to learn from these mistakes. Remember, luck favors the prepared.

We all take pride in the work we do, but our self-confidence can be shaken in a heartbeat when someone responds negatively to a project that we’ve devoted so much time and attention to. The creative world is a subjective one. Someone might look at a video and deem it a masterpiece. Someone else might look at the same video and ridicule it. Criticism hurts, but its affect on our future work can be either positive or negative, depending on how we respond.

• Some clients will always be deconstructive. There might be some clients out there who will never be happy, regardless of what you present to them. If you find that a client is constantly tearing your work apart, without offering any suggestions for improvement, it might be time to end the relationship. Perhaps there is a personality conflict. Perhaps your style doesn’t mesh with their vision. Whatever the reason, it might be time to refer them to someone else.
• Criticism can help you improve. Some clients genuinely want to offer up their opinions to help you create the best work possible. Early in my career I had a client that took a chance on me. He saw my potential and hired me. I was excited to work on the project, but when I submitted a rough cut, I received a call from my client who said he hated it. I instantly felt sick to my stomach. The following weeks were difficult for me as I tried re-cut after re-cut. He responded to each version with a long list of changes. Although the project was frustrating and stressful, I can confidently say that the client helped me improve the quality of my work. Today, my clients are incredibly pleased with the videos I deliver.

Receiving criticism is never fun, regardless of the spirit in which it is given. But we need to use criticism in a positive way. Let it motivate you to view your own work from a different perspective. Let it encourage you to try new things. Let it challenge you to better yourself.

Our free e-newsletter is distributed every first Monday of the month. Included in each issue is the “Public Parc,” a forum for discussing different topics pertaining to sales, marketing, advertising, and branding. Subscribers to the newsletter and readers of the blog are encouraged to get involved in the discussion by posting their comments here. You can also post your thoughts on Twitter, using the hashtag #PublicParc. Here is this month’s Public Parc discussion:

In this month’s issue we posted an article about the importance of alleviating fear to pave the way for a sale. In your experiences, has there ever been a time when a particular company representative went out of his or her way to ensure that your concerns were addressed? Can you describe the situation and how the company’s efforts made you feel as a consumer?

The biggest challenge in writing the script for a sales or promotional video is not knowing what to include, but knowing what to leave out. I’m wrapping up work this week on a script for a 90-second sales video and so this particular topic has been on my mind.

The initial creative session with the client involves a lot of fact-finding. This may include tours of their facility and interviews with key personnel. It also includes sorting through a ton of  information. Usually the client will have brochures, articles, statistics, research results, etc. all pertaining to their particular product. They will also have ideas regarding what they want to say in the video and how they want to say it.

The problem is that there’s no time to include every statistic and little-known-fact into your final video - even if the running time is upwards of 10 minutes. It’s the job of the writer and the director to sit down with the client and trim everything down into simple concepts. This is why it’s so vitally important that you find out who will ultimately see the finished video. Writers and directors have to speak to the audience. Different demographics respond differently to certain keywords and images.

Basically the script must do the following:

• Identify the viewer’s problem
• Empathize with that problem
• Show why the product is the best solution to that problem
• Alleviate the fear that prevents the customer from buying the product

The client for this 90-second script I’ve been working on has a great product, and they have an abundance of supporting information. But understanding who would eventually see this video helped me tremendously when I had to decide what material to include and what to omit. Do the research. Absorb the information. Then simplify everything into key points that will motivate the viewer to act.