How do you deal with re-edits?

[Ana Conlon]

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

Let me clarify something. IF you do decide to do some sort of re-edit for the client and decide not to charge them for it, do an invoice anyway. Put the number of hours and the hourly charge for those hours along with the total charges including any "discount " you might have offered (I HATE the word "discount") and then across the invoice in big bold letters mark it NO CHARGE! Why? First, you need to make the client understand that there would be a charge and what it would be and that YOU as the business owner made the ultimate decision to give them the work for NO CHARGE! Second, why NO CHARGE and not FREE! Think of the connotation of the words. In the minds of most people FREE means not worth anything where as NO CHARGE means the product and or service has a value and they are receiving it at NO CHARGE!
Like I said before, your business, your choice but for all my years in business I have NEVER given anyone anything for FREE except maybe a cold! Even FREE advice is worth exactly what you pay for it in almost every case.
Just sayin'!

I like this idea...I'm going to end up do the work so at the very least I want the extra hours I'm putting in for free to be recognised!

[Bernie Johansen]

My routine is similar to Rickey's. When I complete my edit, I upload a Teaser video and email it to them, and invite the couple (and also close family/friends) around to my house to view their main feature in an afternoon. I'll get them tea and coffee and popcorn and try to give it a 'opening night/movie premiere' feel. So far the biggest group I've had arrive is six (couple + bride's parents + two bridesmaids). It's a great experience and builds rapport with clients and I think they are very likely to recommend me to others.

I stole this idea from another wedding video team in my city that filmed my sister's wedding back in 2007 and they do this for their clients.

I show their video via HDMI from my laptop as a 720p mp4, and then just give them DVDs unless they specifically ask for blu-rays (shhh!!). This way their first viewing is in sparkly high definition so it gets a good first impression.

Back when I used to charge a deposit before the day and full payment only when the final video is ready, I would also ask for payment on that day. I've since required full payment ahead of time so this is now a non-issue.

I let them know that this is their once chance to let me know if they want anything changed. So far the biggest change anyone has requested was simply removing a shot from the photo shoot where the bride is trying to clean some dirt off of her dress. I though it was cute and funny but they didn't see it that way as the dress was handmade by her family and is now stained. That was a fairly easy fix though.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Bernie

You are brave!! I don't re-edit and they don't get any sort of teaser or "proof copy" When their DVD's are ready I email them and once they have paid in full, I deliver the sets. I have never had to do a re-edit ever since adopting that policy. If it's something very special where they might want a different DVD apart from the normal already delivered sets, I'll gladly do it BUT they pay for my time and media.

I found a long time ago, if you show the client a "proof copy" they seem to feel obliged to find something wrong with it just to make you happy so I stopped that rubbish many years ago and my contract also states I have full editorial control. (I would obviously re-do disks if I made an error like spelling a name wrong)

Chris

[Arthur Gannis]

I consider a small re-edit as an excellent money making opportunity, especially during the slack season.
I recently charged $250 for 4 small changes that took 2 minutes to make. I rendered while I was sleeping and burned 3 DVD copies at a cost of 90 cents. Delivered the copies myself the following day, got paid cash, went to the local tavern and life was beautiful.

[Kelly Langerak]

Sometimes the request had made my product better so no charge or the change was simple like add a shot of my brother. So easy to do and it doesn't effect the story. No charge. But a laundry list then it's $90 if DVD's have not be printed and $200 if they were.

[Arthur Gannis]

My # 4 video commandment written in stone: Re-Edit =Time and Time = Money

[Al Gardner]

I agree with Don's take on it. Nothing is free.

I think wedding videographers are often not convinced that they are a "for profit" business.

You even convince yourself that charging for re-edits will leave a bad taste in the bride's mouth. No way, grow up and be a business. Will they take it for free, yes. But they will happily pay if you have portrayed yourself as a real business.

I had one bride request changes after dvd's were burned and delivered. I wrote a nice email to her just asking was she sure she wanted to spend that much for those changes? 2 days later she wrote back and said nah, no big deal, it's fine. And I did her sisters wedding the following year.

I always put in my contract that the final edit is my decision. FINAL. I post the prices upfront for re-edits. The same as I do with corporate clients.

As a matter of fact when I sit down with a corporate client to finalize a price I always tell them to add 8 hours of re-edits in the price and if we don't use it I will refund it. A contingency of sorts. That way they don't have to go back to their boss and approve more funds. I find that managers hate going back to their boss for more funds after the fact.

[Arthur Gannis]

Al, you said it best. I totally agree with you.

[Bernie Johansen]

Here is the term from my contract regarding re-edits:

Creative aspects such as shooting and editing style may be discussed beforehand, but final decisions are at the discretion of Unforgettable Multimedia.

One re-edit may be requested on the day of initial screening of the finished product. Additional revisions may incur additional costs.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Bernie

I still don't even go that far... Yes, I will discuss the shoot if they insist and want to include special segments but once it's on the card, it's my baby and they simply get the finished product at the end..no edits and no changes. Try telling the plumber who has just re-piped your laundry taps that you want the pipes to now come up on the left side and not on the right ..I think we had a TV ad about that too!

Inviting changes is still a bad idea as far as I'm concerned unless you add another pile of money to the price to allow for it. It's just not good business practice.

Chris

[Adrian Tan]

To change the conversation a little, what sorts of edits do brides actually ask for?

I think there tend to be three type of requests:
-- "I had a funny expression on my face in that shot; please change"
-- "There's not enough shots of x; please add more". "X" could be a particular part of the day, or a family member/friend, or even something like accessories or a car.
-- "I prefer different music"

It's mainly the third one that has the potential to wreak havoc, I think, though the second is no joy to deal with if you have to go back to your footage and search through for more shots.

So maybe more one trick, if you do offer clients the option of changes, is not cutting according to musical beats. Because if the client wants to change the music, you're in trouble.

What brides don't mention, I think, are things like:
-- that shot's too shaky
-- the focus in that shot is terrible
-- the colour grading doesn't match well between scenes.

[Stelios Christofides]

I agree with Katie to keep the customer happy. Of course here in Cyprus there is no such thing as a contract. Never made one (wedding contract) and as far as I know nobody does here. Give them the videos and get paid, that's it.

stelios

[Al Gardner]

******I agree with Katie to keep the customer happy.*****

Run your business like a business and your clients will be happy.

The reason they can get unhappy is if the lines are blurred as to whether you operate like a business or not.
If you can't handle this situation without making the bride unhappy it's your fault for creating a hobby like business model that only serves to confuse your customers.

If you make it clear upfront that there is a charge for re-edits and what that charge is, there should be no problem.

Whether you're doing weddings are corporates you have to run your business like a business. Your customers will respect you for it.

[Don Bloom]

The hardest word in the English language (or any for that matter) to say, especially if you run a business, is NO! We're all afraid that if we say that word to a client we will make them mad, they won't use us, they'll bad mouth us and we won't get any more work. To that I say NO! First they might be mad for a minute but if you explain is clear, non-technical easy to understand terms they generally will get it and be fine with the answer. Hey everyone is going to push as far as they can to get the most they can for the least amount. Once you say NO in a nice way with an explanation it's liberating. I'm not saying to say NO to everything but when clients start asking for freebies, like re-edits or whatever it is they want if you don't learn to say NO you'll be saying YES for as long as you're in business. I remember before the internet, yes there was a before the internet, people would still be mad at you and tell other people, just not as quickly as today. My take is if it's a legit ask, I'm OK with them asking and I'm also OK with saying NO. I've known people thru the years that aren't in business anymore because they never learned to say NO. they literally ran themselves out of business. One of the reasons I've been self employed for 45 years is I learned a long time ago to say NO when needed, be it a wedding client or a fortune 100. Sometimes ya just gotta know when to say NO!

Meet me in Chicago and we'll put together a protest!
NO MORE FREEBIES!!! ;-)

[Stelios Christofides]

Don you are so right after all!!!

stelios