[Brian Mills]

Hi Lindsay:

I saw your video the other day when nofilmschool.com linked to it and was really impressed. Well done!

You’ve got talent and you’ve got skills, so heck yes it’s time to jump in and “go professional” (ie get paid).

When working in the professional video world, I generally find two types of clients: those that want you to spearhead the creative vision and those that want you to execute the vision of a creative director.

Big companies fall into both camps, actually, as sometimes you will be commissioned by one branch of the company to do a work that may not be the voice of the whole company, usually for “internal” consumption, and so you may be expected to spearhead creative. Or, the big company will have an outside ad agency or at least a marketing manager that will manage creative, with you executing their vision.

I make this distinction because when I was starting out at least, I found it much easier working under the direction of a creative director while learning the ropes. You will start to see how clients think and what they need with this person acting as a buffer, so to speak.

When talking to these potential clients, make sure you feel out exactly what they want and who will be in charge of directing the piece to get there.

My other advice is to just be really clear in mapping out what they want (graphics? animation? shooting? editing? how long final piece will run?), when they will get it, how the process will go (approvals? revisions?) , etc. I always have this conversation before I give a price, because this is info you gather in crafting your bid.

If you are unsure if you can deliver at the level the client expects (and hey, I’ve been doing this for years and still feel that way from time to time), a good thing to do is ask to see the last video they produced, or, if they haven’t produced one, ask them to show you an example of a video they would like to emulate. Then you will think: A) I can do that B) I can do that WAY BETTER or C) I am really not ready to tackle that level of work right now.

Only take on a project that you believe that you can actually deliver. BUT REMEMBER it is ok to stretch a little sometimes or you’ll never grow. If you have a little knot in the pit of your stomach by getting the job that means you’re on the right path. If you feel sheer panic at the thought of doing the project, you are in over your head.

Get everything in writing, at least in an email, as to what you will do, when you will do it by, how much they will pay you and when they will pay you. Also, how do revisions work?

It is hard when you are starting to give a project price. Once you have done this for awhile it gets easy because you pretty much know ahead of time how many hours it will take. If you do quote a set price for the project, make sure you put in there that the client only gets TWO ROUNDS of revisions without starting the clock of paying hourly for each and every revision or they will never stop tinkering with it EVER.

In negotiations, he who throws out the first number loses (or so the saying goes). Sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised if you ask “what kind of ballpark budget do you have to dedicate to this project?” and they throw out a number WAY HIGHER then what you were thinking. If that is the case, I always come in a little lower than that OR up my game and bring in more resources to the project than I originally planned to because I want to make the client happy and give them what they are paying for.

Sometimes the client will throw out a ridiculously low figure, but instead of simply saying “no”, I manage expectations and say “I can’t deliver what you are asking for for that price, but what I can do is save money and lower my bid by…” and then look for ways you can lower expectations by getting them to pay for the voice talent or maybe using stock footage or a template instead of starting from scratch. Be a problem solver.

I can’t say how much to charge, because that is such a varied number based on the market you serve. I charge $100/hr and some people tell me I’m too high, and I know I’m cheaper than a lot of people, so it really is a spectrum. But If you are doing it as a freelancer on your own system, I think anything under $75/hr is probably too low. I’m sure others will chime in with other thoughts on that.

It’s late and I’m rambling, but I really do wish you the best of luck in starting your career.

Oh, and keep making and posting amazing videos on YouTube. That way you can show them all of your amazing creativity.