Business Advice - Client Delays

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iservin

Member
I'm working on a project with multiple rounds of shoots/deliverables and the last location shoot has been delayed for over a month now. I asked for additional compensation to cover the delays and the extended period of work. Workload hasn't necessarily changed but the project went from a 1 to 4+ month gig and it's gotten in the way of other client work (especially when I had to block out days for the last shoot which didn't materialize as delays increased). This was a marketing experiment for the client (major nat'l brand) so I took a reduced rate knowing that if successful, future gigs would have better budgets.

As a freelance director, I usually bake in kill fees and stipulate that delays over 'x' days require rates negotiation to cover my butt when projects stall out or slow down. Unfortunately, I made a big mistake and started work on this project without a contract. It's been a long time since I've done that, and I would usually never consider it these days, but the client is a huge one and the production company seemed very trustworthy and totally on my side. I thought that I wouldn't have a bad experience and even if I did, the benefits of working for such a high-caliber client would outweigh the bad. I'm on the fence about that at this point :happy:

Anyways, I was curious if anyone had advice for dealing with this situation (besides 'work with a contract,' I know, I've definitely learnt my lesson)? I know I have little leverage here, but any insight is useful.

Also, when you do have a contract, what kind of protections do you have built in to make sure bad projects don't kill you financially? I just moved back to freelancing after leading production at an agency so most of my freelancing experience was working on pretty small projects. The switch has been quite the learning experience so I'm interested in how other people do it at the higher levels. Better to use this as a learning experience rather than just getting upset.
 
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It's just as easy to lose money, and waste time on big clients as it is small clients. Sorry to hear your going through such a hassle. I just had a similar incident myself.

I recently bid a job for a client I've done work for in the past. I drew up the contract, sent it. I heard nothing for a month which was two weeks after they originally wanted to do the project. I suspect they hired someone else or got other bids in the meantime which may have pushed the job out of when it was thought to happen. So last week I get a text saying their waiting on the check to be approved and sent to begin the job. Mind you, I spent several hours planning, and talking with the client about their vision. Well in the last text, they began to ask more questions about this and that, as if we were on schedule and I received the deposit. (WHICH I NEVER DID) To make a long story short, I didn't even bother responding. I'm so busy now I can't find time to sleep, and the way I look at it, they didn't have enough courtesy to let me know what was going on, or to let me know there was a delay of some sort or to send a deposit. I had to fill the slots in the last minute due to this. What I'm getting at, is it's not always worth putting yourself out for big clients that don't respect your schedule or have the courtesy to keep you in the loop with a project they called you to do in the first place. I tend to think some of the bigger clients can be more hassle and less fulfilling to work for at times than the small mom and pops.

Sorry to rant, I didn't mean to steal your thread, It just started flowing out cause it really was insulting.
 
no worries, sorry to hear about your experience

I'm doing some long term contract work with a local production house and we were talking about how there's a ton of education out there for filmmakers, but very little for clients, yet they can have a huge impact on the final product. Andy Baker's (NatGeo) The Client Blog is a great resource, but there should be so much more. For fun, I started working on something like Pitcherator for clients, sort of an interactive checklist that can walk people through what they need to bring to the table beyond the basic "I want a video" attitude that some clients bring to the table. I'd love to do a series of interactives, like one that demystifies things like budgets and why a video costs 'x' or explains how complex post production really is, a lot of clients think it's just sequencing and have no clue about color grading, audio mixing, sourcing a soundtrack, etc.
 
iservin said:
no worries, sorry to hear about your experience

I'm doing some long term contract work with a local production house and we were talking about how there's a ton of education out there for filmmakers, but very little for clients, yet they can have a huge impact on the final product. Andy Baker's (NatGeo) The Client Blog is a great resource, but there should be so much more. For fun, I started working on something like Pitcherator for clients, sort of an interactive checklist that can walk people through what they need to bring to the table beyond the basic "I want a video" attitude that some clients bring to the table. I'd love to do a series of interactives, like one that demystifies things like budgets and why a video costs 'x' or explains how complex post production really is, a lot of clients think it's just sequencing and have no clue about color grading, audio mixing, sourcing a soundtrack, etc.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea! I would love a link when you finish, this would be a great resource. Some clients just don't get it, the ones that actually do, pretend they don't. lol
 
Interesting thread, and some good thoughts/ideas.

The creative arts/business is not always tangible, making it difficult to put a value on it. More so knowing that all the variables are in constant flux: schedules, locations, crew availability, weather, time, equipment failures - and the ever shape-changing client. I don't think there is a formula that fits the myraid of possibilities. It will be experience alone that dictates how you draw up each contract (I would avoid a blanket contract, by the way).

This is the second creative arts/business field I have worked in (self-employed-freelance) and my experience has been similar in both: clients seek us out because, for one, they do not have the needed skills (experience and background) and/or equipmet - or tiime - to do the job themselves. Second, they just are not VISUAL. They can't see it in their mind, which is where the intangible comes in to play. If they can't see it - be a mental concept on how the finished product will look, or the TIME needed to make it happen, then it has little value. They're not buying a car or a radio or a can of beans, so they are reluctant to pay some monies up front, or in the end when things went off schedule, off budget, off the deep end through no fault (at least entirely) of the hired person or persons.

One month, four months, what's the difference?

Well, it's the difference between making a living or heading for the soup line.


My experience in both fields taught me to draw up a contract for each project, and try to think through as many scenarios as you can. An outdoor shoot will have different needs/problems than an indoor shoot. You need to consider distance traveled, crew, comforts, and time limits. Most important, are any and all changes suggested or demanded by the client. They must understand and agree that these can and do cause delays, which equals money, be it through losing other clients/projects, or any out of pocket expenses, or planned income that didn't materialize in time to pay bills. The tricky part is keeping the project moving when these brain farts occur, without having to stop everything and risk momentum in order to modify the contract.

I think in your situation, emails (if you have them) will be a big help in arguing your case for more compensation. Course, they can always turn it around and say 'You said this will take this much time and this much whatever, and look where we are ...' - even if it was not your doing.

Emails have helped me in the past, though I don't think in my case they were legally binding - just very persuasive.

I'm surprised a 'big client' went into this without a contract in the first place. I thought that was pretty standard - unless of course they saw a chance to work this to the limit and not be held acountable. No contract?! Woot!!

And of course there is the client that can - or thinks they can - visualize the finished product and the time, and will not waver a centimeter from it no matter the sky falls. That, too, shall come out of your pay.

Contracts, by the way, can also be ripped part when s*%t hits the fan. They are not lock solid as one would hope.

Go back through any retrievable agreements (emails?) and put together a letter explaining your concerns - avoid negative words and finger pointing when at all possible.

a
 
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Recently i traveled all across the country filming a number of spots for one large pharmaceutical company. In the process the account was transferred to a different ad agency which drove the producer crazy because all the sudden original objectives have changed (mind it it was a huge, expensive campaign). So things like that happen all the time. Your "BIG" client is not really your client - the ad agency you work with is, so it's much more about pleasing the agency then the people from the "big" client.

Bottom line, expect the unexpected and budget accordingly.
 
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