Getting It Right

For the last few weeks I’ve been working with a new client on a few videos. The client is a pre-school that, due to Covid, has had to change up their enrollment strategy for next year since they cannot have parents tour the facility. It has been an interesting process for me. Working with a very different client than the small businesses I usually deal with has been a whirlwind. For the most part, the board of the school is made up of parents and so they are the client.

I was asked to turn around two videos for them within a week. One shoot day out at the school on a Saturday and then produce two videos of varying lengths with information for the prospective parents. I’m on week two now, because there was some miscommunication about what could and could not be included in the video, and so I needed to re-shoot most of my content. I’ve been trying to guide the client so that they know what they are asking for in terms of production, but I also have very little experience with pre-school so I’m trying to understand their needs and make it into a production. Unfortunately, with the tight turn around there wasn’t much time for pre-production. The day I shot was the first time I’ve ever seen the facility, there was no meeting with the entirety of the board to discuss ideas, and due to the time constraints, the script and shot sheet were minimalistic. After sending the board two videos I thought would fit the bill I was asked to come re-shoot, with guidance from a teacher to ensure I was capturing the real highlights of each classroom.

I’m now awaiting feedback from the second two videos, and hoping I got it right this time. I’ll need to go back in the spring when there is no snow on the ground to shoot some exteriors for the team, but other than that I am hoping for success. It was a learning experience for sure, learning the experience and needs of different clients is part of the process, and doing so with limited time is difficult, but delivering a finished product that lives up to their expectations is what matters most.

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