All About Contractual Boundaries for Post-Production

Video Transcript

"I'm going to talk to you about staying within contractual boundaries with a client on any given project. Number one, you want to make sure that when you set out at the beginning of a project, you discuss in detail with the client what they are expecting you do deliver at the end. You want to make sure that when you're talking with them, you're bouncing ideas off each other. They're expecting a certain thing and you're going to be delivering that. It is also very important to make sure that you get as much in writing as possible. For instance, sometimes you might get to the middle of a project and the client will ask for something that they said they asked for, but you have notes from meeting which is contrary to what they're claiming. You don't have to be adversarial about it but you want to make sure that you have as much written documentation so that you can stand your ground in the event of a conflict of interest. You also want to make sure that once you get to the end of the project, you deliver what they've asked and they're happy with everything but a lot of times, at the end of a project, a client will ask for one or two or maybe three things that they didn't bring up at the outset. You want to make sure that you're protecting yourself, protecting your time, so that you're not offering them services for free or as a favor. You want to make sure that you maintain a good client relationship but at the same time protect yourself against someone who is asking for too much or asking for something that they're not paying you for. Obviously, as a freelancer or a subcontractor, everything you do equals time, and your time is valuable, and they need to pay for it. So make sure that at the end of the day, whatever the project is, you know where you're headed, you know what they're expecting, you're both in agreement as to what that's going to be."