We recently had a buyer come to Wooshii in order to try and have a short animation made.
There was some issues over the project brief and rightly questions were asked on the project itself. That said a few were a little aggressive. This is only my oppinion but many of these buyers will be having a video etc produced for the first time. you guys have a wealth of expeireince so lets try and help them give the right answers to your questions rather than be simply told their brief is bad.
They after all want this to work and have paid good money to make it so.
We are in the process of changing the whole project posting process so a good deal will change so here is my question.
What one thing would you change / add to make pitching clearer?
As you mentioned, many buyers will be having a video produced for the first time, so they won't necessarily know what to ask for. Even if they have an idea, possibly based on something they've seen, they might not know how to define it.
On the new posting page, the list of preferred types of media for buyers to choose from would be improved with definitions, or even links to good examples of each.
An option such as animation is too vague and needs to be split into 2d traditional, stop motion, 3D, motion graphics, flash etc.
Give the buyer as much information and as many tick boxes as possible, so that they can narrow down their requirements before posting the brief.
Well said Richard, lots of checkboxes - even if they have a choice of a,b,c,d and 'don't know/will take your advice' at least we clarify the position :-)
I have an idea, and I think it's a good one -
If clients don't understand how to spec a film, perhaps we can also offer a (tiered-fee-based depending on budget - maybe from £50 upwards) spec-writing service, where an experienced producer will discuss the requirement with the client on the phone/emails for maybe 30 mins, and use their experience to make some decisions for the client, and draft the brief for them.
For instance the client may not know the video format/framerate they require, or even realise they'll have to host the video files in a suitable web streaming format (for instance) in the first place, so whoever wrote the spec for them would inform them, work out if they had the infrastructure required, or if it needed mentioning specifically.
The brief-writer/producer would act as the client's advocate (and be barred from pitching for that job to prevent conflicts of interest). They could also help the client to choose which best suits their needs, too.
This adds a layer of formality (it's a financial transaction, formality is good!), the client has just one person gathering all the information from them as opposed to them having to post blind. The creatives get clearer briefs which encourages more suitable pitches. I'm thinking as a producer here - the clearer you make communication, the fewer surprises or disappointments everyone has at the end of it. Fewer wasted pitches making assumptions and guesses at the missing parts of the brief, and fewer inappropriate pitches leaving an unqualified client unsure about how to pick one.
I deserve shares for that idea, Fergus - stick 'em in the post ;-)
Yeah a way for them to include how they want the video delivered with format, frame rate, size, etc would be nice. I've ran into some problems where they ask for ridiculously large formats and not even knowing what they're talking about and then turning around and wanting it in a totally different way making it a bit of a hassle talking to them about it.
Sometimes they ask for screenshots they can use for their websites and banners, so something along that could be thrown in somehow. For example they may want a screenshot to link to the video with along with their logo on it. So anything additional they may want could be added.
Paddy - like Ricardo says, the idea of assisting the buyers with their pitch is a really good one.
As you probably know, we're in the process of overhauling the project posting and pitching process, and one of the most difficult aspects is getting the right balance between making it simple for the buyer and still getting enough information for the creatives.
The fact is that many of the buyers simply won't have the technical knowledge to answer questions about things like format, framerate etc. If we confront them with a load of tickboxes featuring technical questions, a large proportion of buyers may get scared off, which is the last thing we want!
Hopefully over time there will be more and more buyers who *do* have technical knowledge and know exactly what they are looking for. But a lot of the buyers right now will be "dipping their toes" into the world of online video for the first time, and will probably be looking for advice and assistance from you lot. So Paddy's suggestion makes a lot of sense.
On a similar note, it's not always realistic to expect a buyer to be specific about the type of work they are looking for. Taking Richard's example of animation, some buyers might not actually know the difference between 2d traditional, stop motion, 3D, motion graphics, flash etc.
And even if they do, they might not have a preference. One of the reasons people use Wooshii is the diverse skills of our creative community, so many buyers are interested to receive pitches from people with a variety of skills and ideas, rather than narrowing the field to a particular subcategory.
Clearly we understand that creatives might become frustrated by constantly pitching on projects that they don't win because it turns out their skills weren't what was required after all. But we'll be making the pitching process much easier so that, in the majority of cases, you'll be able to submit a pitch in pretty much one click, and let your portfolio speak for itself.
And one thing that will definitely be included in the new project briefs is Richard's suggestion about the length of the animation/video. Even a non-technical buyer should be able to say whether they want the work to last 30 seconds/2 minutes/5 minutes etc.
It's always going to be difficult to balance the needs of the buyer with what the creatives want to know. But that's what Wooshii is here for - to provide a platform to bridge the gap between the two parties and make the transaction as smooth as possible. Hopefully...!
"The fact is that many of the buyers simply won't have the technical knowledge to answer questions about things like format, framerate etc. If we confront them with a load of tickboxes featuring technical questions, a large proportion of buyers may get scared off, which is the last thing we want!"
Many buyers do have technical knowledge so the tickboxes should be in place for them.
For those without technical knowledge, this is an opportunity to educate them. It's as simple as having a question mark that pops up an information box when clicked. This should be the briefest possible explanation, possibly with a link to more in depth information.
For buyers who still aren't sure or who don't have time to read lots of information, there can be a big bold "don't know/not sure" tickbox. This could even go at the top of the list!
Buyers will need to answer these questions at some point and I think this is the clearest and simplest way.
"On a similar note, it's not always realistic to expect a buyer to be specific about the type of work they are looking for. Taking Richard's example of animation, some buyers might not actually know the difference between 2d traditional, stop motion, 3D, motion graphics, flash etc."
Which is why I suggested linking to examples! Again, it's about educating the client at this stage, so creatives don't have to ask the same questions every single time they pitch.
"And even if they do, they might not have a preference."
Then simply direct buyers to "tick as many options as you like" as opposed to "tick one box only".
What we need is a questionnaire that allows buyers who know exactly what they want to narrow things down with as many tickboxes as possible, without scaring off less technical buyers.
The design needs to be user friendly, neat and compact. Instead of a daunting page of tickboxes each set of questions should be hidden in a slide panel or accordion menu, becoming increasingly technical. If a set of questions is too scary looking for some buyers then they can just hide it away and ignore the whole section!
I don't know anything about web design but found examples 1, 4a and 4b on this website in about 2 minutes of googling: http://www.webdesignerwall.com/demo/jquery/
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There was some issues over the project brief and rightly questions were asked on the project itself. That said a few were a little aggressive. This is only my oppinion but many of these buyers will be having a video etc produced for the first time. you guys have a wealth of expeireince so lets try and help them give the right answers to your questions rather than be simply told their brief is bad.
They after all want this to work and have paid good money to make it so.
We are in the process of changing the whole project posting process so a good deal will change so here is my question.
What one thing would you change / add to make pitching clearer?
On the new posting page, the list of preferred types of media for buyers to choose from would be improved with definitions, or even links to good examples of each.
An option such as animation is too vague and needs to be split into 2d traditional, stop motion, 3D, motion graphics, flash etc.
Give the buyer as much information and as many tick boxes as possible, so that they can narrow down their requirements before posting the brief.
The length of the animation is extremely important but many briefs never even mention this, or use vague terms such as "short".
Technical information is also rarely included in a brief, so checkboxes for aspect ratio, frame rate, resolution etc would also be really helpful.
I have an idea, and I think it's a good one -
If clients don't understand how to spec a film, perhaps we can also offer a (tiered-fee-based depending on budget - maybe from £50 upwards) spec-writing service, where an experienced producer will discuss the requirement with the client on the phone/emails for maybe 30 mins, and use their experience to make some decisions for the client, and draft the brief for them.
For instance the client may not know the video format/framerate they require, or even realise they'll have to host the video files in a suitable web streaming format (for instance) in the first place, so whoever wrote the spec for them would inform them, work out if they had the infrastructure required, or if it needed mentioning specifically.
The brief-writer/producer would act as the client's advocate (and be barred from pitching for that job to prevent conflicts of interest). They could also help the client to choose which best suits their needs, too.
This adds a layer of formality (it's a financial transaction, formality is good!), the client has just one person gathering all the information from them as opposed to them having to post blind. The creatives get clearer briefs which encourages more suitable pitches. I'm thinking as a producer here - the clearer you make communication, the fewer surprises or disappointments everyone has at the end of it. Fewer wasted pitches making assumptions and guesses at the missing parts of the brief, and fewer inappropriate pitches leaving an unqualified client unsure about how to pick one.
I deserve shares for that idea, Fergus - stick 'em in the post ;-)
I rather like it myself, I have to say ;-)
Sometimes they ask for screenshots they can use for their websites and banners, so something along that could be thrown in somehow. For example they may want a screenshot to link to the video with along with their logo on it. So anything additional they may want could be added.
As you probably know, we're in the process of overhauling the project posting and pitching process, and one of the most difficult aspects is getting the right balance between making it simple for the buyer and still getting enough information for the creatives.
The fact is that many of the buyers simply won't have the technical knowledge to answer questions about things like format, framerate etc. If we confront them with a load of tickboxes featuring technical questions, a large proportion of buyers may get scared off, which is the last thing we want!
Hopefully over time there will be more and more buyers who *do* have technical knowledge and know exactly what they are looking for. But a lot of the buyers right now will be "dipping their toes" into the world of online video for the first time, and will probably be looking for advice and assistance from you lot. So Paddy's suggestion makes a lot of sense.
On a similar note, it's not always realistic to expect a buyer to be specific about the type of work they are looking for. Taking Richard's example of animation, some buyers might not actually know the difference between 2d traditional, stop motion, 3D, motion graphics, flash etc.
And even if they do, they might not have a preference. One of the reasons people use Wooshii is the diverse skills of our creative community, so many buyers are interested to receive pitches from people with a variety of skills and ideas, rather than narrowing the field to a particular subcategory.
Clearly we understand that creatives might become frustrated by constantly pitching on projects that they don't win because it turns out their skills weren't what was required after all. But we'll be making the pitching process much easier so that, in the majority of cases, you'll be able to submit a pitch in pretty much one click, and let your portfolio speak for itself.
And one thing that will definitely be included in the new project briefs is Richard's suggestion about the length of the animation/video. Even a non-technical buyer should be able to say whether they want the work to last 30 seconds/2 minutes/5 minutes etc.
It's always going to be difficult to balance the needs of the buyer with what the creatives want to know. But that's what Wooshii is here for - to provide a platform to bridge the gap between the two parties and make the transaction as smooth as possible. Hopefully...!
Many buyers do have technical knowledge so the tickboxes should be in place for them.
For those without technical knowledge, this is an opportunity to educate them. It's as simple as having a question mark that pops up an information box when clicked. This should be the briefest possible explanation, possibly with a link to more in depth information.
For buyers who still aren't sure or who don't have time to read lots of information, there can be a big bold "don't know/not sure" tickbox. This could even go at the top of the list!
Buyers will need to answer these questions at some point and I think this is the clearest and simplest way.
"On a similar note, it's not always realistic to expect a buyer to be specific about the type of work they are looking for. Taking Richard's example of animation, some buyers might not actually know the difference between 2d traditional, stop motion, 3D, motion graphics, flash etc."
Which is why I suggested linking to examples! Again, it's about educating the client at this stage, so creatives don't have to ask the same questions every single time they pitch.
"And even if they do, they might not have a preference."
Then simply direct buyers to "tick as many options as you like" as opposed to "tick one box only".
What we need is a questionnaire that allows buyers who know exactly what they want to narrow things down with as many tickboxes as possible, without scaring off less technical buyers.
The design needs to be user friendly, neat and compact. Instead of a daunting page of tickboxes each set of questions should be hidden in a slide panel or accordion menu, becoming increasingly technical. If a set of questions is too scary looking for some buyers then they can just hide it away and ignore the whole section!
I don't know anything about web design but found examples 1, 4a and 4b on this website in about 2 minutes of googling: http://www.webdesignerwall.com/demo/jquery/