Ronny Young is founder and president of OddBeast, an award-winning motion design and production studio, serving such recognized clients as Seagram’s VO, John Frieda and Febreze. In this exclusive interview, Ronny speaks on an often-overlooked process that can get lost amid the hype of a job win, yet that is critical to success for all creative studios - Pre-Production.
“Woah...we got the job – incredible!” High-fives and good vibes abound as we revel in that sweet multi-deliverable/multi-faceted launch campaign we just landed. After a victory lap, we sit down and start putting together a buttoned-up statement of work that protects not only us but everyone involved in the project. This is our blueprint for setting expectations so we can dig in and kick ass. Without it, there's no measure of when the project is finished or if all parties involved held up their agreed-upon end.
Our producer raises the first red flag, revealing that the agency doesn't want to spend too much time in pre-production as the due date is already fast approaching for the amount of work required. A record scratch echoes loudly in our collective brain when we realize we’re in for a bumpy ride.
This scenario (and others like it) is seen all too often in our industry, and even though it’s the source of frustration, turmoil and likely those new gray hairs I shouldn’t have at my age, I also want to say that I get it. To my agency friends, I feel your pain. Who wouldn’t be tempted to skimp on pre-pro when you’re staring down deadlines with your client pretty much superglued to your back. They’re expecting the moon at a steal, and you just need to deliver it… yesterday.
The problem is, you put your launch campaign at risk of shitting its pants when you don’t prioritize pre-production, a process critical – in so many ways – to determine whether and how you deliver your clients what they’re asking to begin with. An ideal project flow is:
Script > Storyboard > Style Frames > Animatic > Draft 1 > Draft 2 > Draft 3 > Final
Getting there requires a bit of front-loading and a lot of backbone, but your project and sanity are worth it. From my vantage as a creative studio owner (and just one of many important cogs in this process), these are the 10 anti-project-bed-shitting best practices I’ve come to recommend to creatives and agencies alike:
1 - Stop being the YES man/woman/person to your client. In other words, be the badass expert we know you are and tell them NO when that’s the right answer. When too many people say YES, a project can see insane scope creep, which sends budgets through the window, makes jobs no longer profitable and burns everybody (staff and vendors) out. If people lose steam or bail, you have zero chance of making your deadline OR budget.
2 - Get a contract signed and approved by all parties involved BEFORE starting work – non-negotiable! From my Lessons Learned department comes perhaps the most pre- of all pre- production. We once started and delivered on a project before receiving a PO because the timeline was so fast. Cut to one year later and we still hadn’t received payment. When this happens, studios are put in the position of having to withhold deliverables until there’s a PO or signed contract in place, thereby delaying or killing the project anyway. And can you blame them?
3 - Don’t move to the next milestone without approvals on gates (an absolute MUST). The amount of rework this causes is insanity. I can’t tell you how many days are thrown in the trash because creatives and agencies didn’t clarify or agree to something in writing. We all know what happens when a client approves part of a project and then goes backwards: it means more time and/or more money.
4 - Find a way to keep track of overages… and not just timesheets. If pre-production isn’t locked, you will, of course, have scope creep. Track it in a running document, so you have a list at the end of the project. Assign a dollar amount to each one for bonus points.
5 - Managing client expectations is KEY. Use constant communication that goes beyond email to stay on track and clarify needs. Talk face to face, or text if you’re in a good relationship with them. Think of your producers as uncertainty killers. If something is vague or unknown, it’s their job to go kill it.
6 - Empower your producers. Not only are they uncertainty killers (as I noted above), but they’re also more likely to be realists as opposed to creative dreamers. These Type A people will save your life when your Type Bs are time optimists that could miss deadlines. While many of our managing partners are also creatives doing projects, our producer has the authority to run each job more pragmatically. That’s why it’s also crucial that experienced producers (not entry-level staffers) take the lead on big jobs.
7 - Storyboards are meant to be detailed, but not too prescriptive. The nuance here is what causes some friction between creative studios and clients. If we discover a better way to tell your story (or show something off) when creating the animatic, we should explore it by all means. That said, storyboards should be pushed as far as possible. Instead of loose sketches, consider composition, transitions and pace – all the things your editor will want to know.
8 - Conversely, style frames are meant to show you exactly what the end-product will look like. Let’s call it 90% or better. Sure, there might be a slight deviation in color grading or effects. But for all intents and purposes, style frames are what your video will look like. Because of this, there should be no surprises. This means that if a client approves style frames and then later changes things in your scenes, it’s absolutely a change order -- no IFs, ANDs or BUTs. It’s more time and/or more money.
9 - Pre-production is even more important on the live-action side. When you’re filming talent and with a large crew on location, everyone needs to be aligned to the schedule and know their roles and responsibilities. Cash burns so fast on set, you can’t afford not to be buttoned up. We witnessed a shoot burn 4 hours trying to capture an “easy slam dunk shot,” something they believed would go fast. Talent and crew sat around waiting. Plan your shoot: when you need to move on, when to expect certain people and where. Plan, plan, plan. And then plan for contingencies.
10 - Involve decision makers early. Have you ever delivered 6 rounds of revision, only for the CEO to finally see it and blow the entire project up? It’s essential that final decision makers see early progress and weigh in. This is especially important when there’s an agency between production and client. Ideally, this is a back-and-forth that occurs 3 official times (6 rounds of revision total from our POV).
With thanks to Ronny and OddBeast!
