There’s an old and wise saying in the world of services: “The customer is always right.” Nobody told us, however, what happens when the client wants to fit the entire history of their company into 60 seconds, brings the whole marketing department to align slippers that aren’t even in the shot, and then delays payment for months with the classic line: “Don’t worry, you’ll get your money.”
This article is dedicated to every videographer who knows these situations all too well.
Story #1: The 60-Second Epic
The client arrives with a brief. The brief is 4 pages long. They want to cover:
- The company’s history since 1987
- The philosophy, vision and mission statement
- All 14 products
- Testimonials from 3 clients
- A nod to sustainability and the environment
- And of course it should be “accessible to everyone, from 8 to 80 years old”
Total video length: 60 seconds.
You try to explain that this works out to roughly 4 words per topic. The client looks at you calmly and says: “Can the voiceover just speak faster?”
The lesson: Fewer messages = stronger video. The best corporate video doesn’t say everything — it says the one thing that matters, and says it well.
Story #2: The Slipper Situation
You arrive on location. You’ve prepared the shot, set up the lights, the camera is ready. The frame is a clean, professional office — exactly what’s needed.
Then the marketing department walks in. All of them. Five people. They study the frame. They huddle in silence. The team leader points to the area under the bed in the background and says, with complete seriousness: “Those slippers aren’t aligned.”
You explain that they’re not in the shot. That the focus is on the interviewee. That even if they were visible, nobody would notice.
It doesn’t matter. For the next 20 minutes, everyone is focused on the slippers.
The lesson: A proper briefing before the shoot saves hours on set. Decide what matters before the camera rolls — not after.
Story #3: The Payment Philosopher
The project is finished. What a project — 25 pages of revisions, 8 editing versions, the title colour changed three times (“a little more blue… no, darker blue… actually, maybe the first blue was better”). The client is finally happy. The video is delivered.
Then comes the invoice.
The client goes quiet. A week passes. Two. A month. You send a reminder. The reply comes back promptly: “Relax, you’ll get your money.” Classic variation: “That’s just how the market works.”
Yes. The market. The same one that charged you for your equipment, your software, your electricity bill — all on time, every time.
The lesson: Always agree on payment terms in writing before any work begins. A 50% deposit upfront isn’t rudeness — it’s professionalism.
Epilogue
We love our clients. Genuinely. Without them we wouldn’t be doing the work we love. But the best collaborations are built on honest communication — not 25 pages of revisions and out-of-frame slippers.
If you’re planning your own video production and want to get it right from the start, get in touch. We promise we won’t ask about the slippers.