Avoid Corporate Video Producer Stress

For a lot of corporates that we deal with video production isn't high on their agenda and they tend to be quite fresh to the whole process. So it's integral that you are patient and hold their hand through every step of the production. It's easy to book the locations, hire the crew and arrive with the kit because you have done this a thousand times. But for the client it could be a new experience and they need to understand where the budget is going. A good code of practice is to talk the client through the shoot and the post production timeline, explaining when they will receive the offline and any further edits or graphics for sign off, don't bore them with the in's and out's of lighting and camera equipment but make sure they feel they understand and trust you are doing a good job.

Understand the Brief:

The best way to avoid your corporate video producer hangover is to understand the brief fully from the off. I promise you WILL get the best results from not only understanding the brief but understand your client and empathise with their corporate image. The brief defines the specifics, and functionality of the project but your understanding of the client will indentify how and why the project needs to be executed.

Get everything in writing:

Make sure you agree the terms of the sign off and have everything in writing before you even start pre-production. Some clients will have a tendency to try and veer a project off on a tangent once things start to come together, but it is vital to your sanity that you keep the reigns and maintain focus on the goals you all decided was the reason to produce this corporate video.

Be flexible and adaptable:

Being flexible and adaptable is key to pull off the best possible corporate video production you can. You might have to re-edit elements of the video or possibly even reshoot whole scenes. So stay versatile and flexible to save yourself an early grave in this industry.

Payment:

I think it's safe to say that corporates and large agencies are generally known for being late payers which is their privilege as they can pick and chose whom they spend their budget with. If you're a one-man band or a start up, you can save yourself a lot of worry and stress by agreeing on an upfront deposit. This means you can pay off most your expenses before the production and not have to go into the red while waiting on your client's next "payment run."

Pick your projects carefully:

If you do end up with corporate video producer anxiety you can't blame anyone but yourself. At the end of the day no one forced you to take the job on, no one other than yourself agreed to the brief or terms of the project. Even if you said yes to the work because the bank balance was heading towards nil, it's still your responsibility. This means you need to take active steps to ensure you only take on clients that you enjoy working with, who truly value what you do and always pay on time.

That really is the best way to avoid your trip to the corporate video producer clinic!