Budgeting a 10 hour lecture series of six DVDs

[Jim Brodie]

Hi folks,

Keep the cards and letters coming. The discussion has been fascinating.
The client is still eager to do the project but is on the road all this week. I hope to discuss the three options today or tomorrow and report the results. I agree that as a professional you want to do your best for your client and if he wants to do it on the “real” cheap I’ll wish him well and move on. I think its important for everyone to realize that the distinction maybe that they only want this for internal archival purposes to train other employees. If it is for sales or promotional purposes then a one camera, no cutaway route is a bad choice that I need to convince my client to avoid. He is intelligent and successful so I’d like to assume he’ll understand. I’ll find out soon.

Cheers,

Jim

[Bill Davis]

This is morphing into a good philosophical “how cheap is OK thread.” Which I personally welcome.

The more experienced folks here keep pushing FOR higher standards and AGAINST “just get it done and get by” work. And there’s a reason for that.

It’s also true that the practitioners struggling to just keep their heads out of the water want to be able to satisfy their customers who are clearly sensitive about cost issues.

But I’ve got to say that it’s not just COST or COMPETITIVE ISSUES any longer. It’s about a headlong rush to TOTALLY devalue video production work overall.

For proof, here’s a little chuckle I saw on one of my rare glances at Craigs List at local video jobs…

ACTUAL CRAIGS LIST POST TODAY>>>
Small Company needs Video Production Intern and Video Spokesmodel

Freelancers Needed: Proactive duo capable of working independently to produce and deliver a high quality video clip for our employment website.
Production intern
*Shoot, edit, and upload video/web clip to our employment website.
*Should have access to studio, production equipment, tools and resources
Video Spokesmodel
* To work collaboratively with above producer to appear in web clip
* Must have strong verbal, public presentation and communication s
Location: Phoenix
it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Compensation: $150 each

So congrats to all of us. Our overall work WITH EQUIPMENT is now valued at the marketplace at EXACTLY the same rate as a Standup Talent who might show up, work 30 minutes and LEAVE – however, we must now PROVIDE A PACKAGE THAT INCLUDES THE TALENT as well as our gear – in order to EARN this precious $150 “internship” fee!

Aren’t we LUCKY to be in the video production business in these times!

Too much, is sometimes TOO MUCH.

The ONLY way to keep our industry alive is to all become rational voices that will HOLD LINES regarding wha’ts reasonable and what’s LAUGHABLE.

As long as some bend – EVERYONE must bend, but there’s a difference between bending and breaking – and right now, this industry is breaking down.

Sucks, but there it is.

[Noah Kadner]

I’m all about standards and so far haven’t ever had to resort to Craigslist. Just saying it is what it is sometimes. Lots of “PROS” in L.A. struggling to survive these days. Just sayin’….

Noah

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[Mark Suszko]

Quoting:
“maybe that they only want this for internal archival purposes to train other employees.”

This sentence raises my hackles as a writer/producer. It reminds me of a common line of thinking that is utterly wrong but common. I’m not beating up on you for saying it. I’m trying to make a wider point, and your statement gave me a foot in the door for that. So don’t take this too personally.

Why is it that employees are not worth the same effort as outside customers in a video? That’s what the sentence implies. That if the audience is mandated to watch something, you don’t really need to go to the effort of making the video watchable or even effective. What you get from work like that is the ability to check a box on a piece of paper somewhere that says the information was communicated… and some federally-funded things require video proof that the money was spent on something related to the grant. So the video proves the training was given… but was it, really? No, your audience retained as much of that information as you would when you see the on-screen user agreement that nobody reads and just clicks “accept”. That’s too-often what these kind of videos become. As I see it, that’s a failure at the job we’re hired to do. If all you do is that kind of work, there’s no point in being in this line of work. The clients can stick a flip camera on a tripod and do that kind of junk themselves.

Training employees should take the same amount of dedicated effort as any other commercial production. Because anything less is actually more expensive than doing a good job, the first time. Think that through: training that wasn’t absorbed and integrated by the staff means the point of the training was missed. Whether that point was reducing waste by using a new procedure, or raising productivity with a new method, or solving a human relations problem with new directives, there was a reason to make the effort to teach the workers something they need to know. Reason enough to spend dollars on it. That expenditure was an investment, one that expects a result. If you do a “half-fast” job of that, the losses in productivity or etc. will continue, while the organization goes ahead under the assumption that the training was effective and everybody is working under the new information. And that assumption could turn out to be a costly error. When the bosses find out the staff is still not “getting it”, they will have to pay to do it over again, and they may also ask themselves the question of why you are assigned this duty, if it couldn’t be executed right the first time?

Or they will look at the poor results of the half-hearted effort and assume that video is just not the tool for this job. That very well may be, by the way, but for the moment, assuming that’s not the case, the logical conclusion that follows, in the management thinking, is that having a video department is a waste and they might as well dissolve it.

Our job is, or should be, much more than being quiet order-takers. We are a resource to be consulted, we can warn of mistakes before they happen, we can save our clients money and wasted time, we can advise clients what our expertise knows is a better way to solve their communication problem. Now, they can still decide not to take the advice, that’s is their choice, but it is irresponsible of us not to give it.

If you are doing anything less than this for clients, you are putting your long-term job in jeopardy, because ultimately, as a simple order-filler doing a minimal effort, you are making yourself irrelevant to the process, a *thing* that can be commoditized and underbid. Video, and especially training video, is already suffering from too much of this mentality, by people that really don’t grasp the power of the medium when it is put to full and effective use. You, with your skills and experience ARE the “added value” of this proposition.

So add some value.

Treat each project like it is your entry for a contest, and the judges are those people that have to sit and watch what you did.

[Mark Suszko]

“I’m taking the goldfish… who’s with me?”

[Rob Neidig]

You had me at “hackles”.

Actually a very insightful post, Mark. I hope people are motivated to at least try to educate their clients and increase the actual, as well as perceived, value of what we do.

Rob

Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon

[Brent Dunn]

This is about a week late, so hopefully you’ve landed the client. Always, meet their needs as long as you are getting your rate.

I also look at a corporate client as a continuing revenue source. So, after you’ve finished what they want, do a short demo edit of how it could be the next time your work together, to give them something to think about should they want to use your services.

Do the boring edit they want, and them show them a 3 minute, wow edit to educate them.

Finally, you have to build the relationship with the client. Once the trust is there, they will always look to you for advice and guidance. Money will be less of an issue to them and they will always come to you first and not waste time bidding.

Sometimes it’s easy to loose a job because of pushing production over what the client is asking for.

Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.net

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Canon 7D
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HP i7 Quad laptop
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