Fast, Cheap and Good...When Will Producers Learn?

[adamr316]

If you've never heard it before, I believe it's called the triangle of engineering. Good, Fast, Cheap...pick two. Why is it that most producers/directors I work with think they can get all three?

Small budget. Tight schedule. Last minute changes (in scheduling). These are all things that SHOULD make me run but I don't. And it almost always becomes frustrating, whether it be during the shoot, before or after for whomever is editing.

I try to explain to producers/directors sometimes that things just might not happen. And either they don't want to hear the truth or they think I am lesser of a filmmaker.

What are some of your experiences/how do you handle things before they blow up on set or in the edit room?

 

[PerroneFord]

Under promise, over deliver.

Case in point:

Client needed a piece of gear to do audio recording. Set them up with a 4-track edirol and 4 mics. They brought it back today and wanted to verify footage. I bring my laptop with me, hook to the unit, verify they they recorded 2 GB of SOMETHING.. so far so good. I play the files off the laptop so they can relax. They've got it.

I ask the following:

1. What format do you want it delivered in? (Online is quick, CD/mp3/wma is pretty qucik, and audio cd is going to be SLOW)

2. Ask when they need it. They respond next week. (I know it'll take 2 hours but it's late in the day)

3. I tell them I am sure I can have it for them next week, but I'll try to work faster.


Now the stage is set. They are expecting product in a week, I know I can deliver by end of day most likely.

I hand the client a CD with the files about 60 mintues later. I'm the hero.

Doesn't always work like that, but people need to know that quality takes time, so I never promise to be fast, but I promise a superior product and deliver on it. And if I can't deliver, I put it on my shoulders. That's really the only solid way to do business, and if I was producing a show, that's how I'd want it handled.

 

[adamr316]

I've tried that track before Perrone and the next time clients EXPECT things to be fast, even if it's more work.

Case in point we did a program where the final run time was 3 minutes. Delivery was done in 3 days as a rush job. The next time they had an 8 page movie-type script and they're expecting to have it all shot in one day like the last one.

I definitely try to underpromise and overdeliver when I can but man I think some producers read that so and so did stuff in a week and what's not put in that news article is that they had 30 people working behind the scenes doing stuff (on-set, editing, etc.)...not just one or two like how most of my projects are.

By the way, I found a good article about Fast, Cheap, Good. http://freelancefolder.com/the-fast-good-and-cheap-pricing-method/ . Basically it says you can have all 3 but someone is going to suffer in the end.