Frequently Asked Questions

Pre-production is everything we do before we hit ‘REC’ or start animating pixels. It’s the phase where we get to know you, what you want to achieve and what you already have in mind. It’s where we discuss the project, come up with new ideas and explain what and how we’re going to achieve the goals. It’s the phase where the creative juices flow. Skipping this important step would mean we don’t know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. Pre-production is the most important step of the entire production. You work with professionals and you pay them because of pre-production.

When we say ‘Production’ we mean everything that is involved in making images. We only use this term when we make footage. So it’s all about hitting ‘REC’. When the video shoot is done, we move to post-production, which is usually done in our Perth studio or sometimes on site.

Post is Latin for ‘After’. So when we have shot the images we go into post-production. When we start making animations we call it post-production too. The work always happens on a computer, and we use editing or animating software to create Hollywood magic. What we do in this phase has always been discussed with you; that happened in ‘pre-production’.

Corrections are always included. Every video or animation we deliver is made up of 1 correction round. That’s only fair. When you’re on top of a project and the decision making process is easy, 1 correction round is usually enough. It gets tricky when more people are involved and even trickier when they’re not available in the pre-production phase. If that sounds like something that might happen in your case, you need at least one service level up.

We have four different service levels. Every video has at least a ‘Standard’ level. You can choose 3 service levels up, going from Premium, to Premium+, to Platinum. Get to know your Service Level.

When the full amount is paid for. It’s a fair exchange: we do the work, you pay for it. In some cases we offer payment plans. Ask us about it, when you think this could be beneficial for your organisation.

Yes. And any logo of any stakeholder that you’d like to involve. We also might need other graphics like stills or graphics delivered by third parties.

Yes, but please do it in a structured way. Nothing worse than receiving 40 random emails with no explanation other than IMG2853.jpg. We recommend to batch upload all your pictures via www.hightail.com/u/multimediamakers and to label them clearly. E.g. receptionist-Mary.jpg, projectmanager-Roger.jpg, engineering-team-oil-platform.jpg etc

When we work with a script (sometimes we don’t) we want you to approve the script prior to the shoot. Two reasons. 1. We need to be 100% sure about the content we will shoot. 2. After a shoot we move to post-production, and when voice over is needed, we need an approved script as well.

When our team is ready to shoot your footage, we want you to be prepared. That way we can maximise our time on site to create fabulous shots. So how do you prepare yourself? Let’s put it this way: everything that’s in your office or on site potentially will be captured. So if there’s stuff that needs to be hidden, please do. Often it means tidying up desks, or cleaning vehicles. Your team needs to be prepared to. See next question 🙂

Something you feel comfortable in and that’s in line with your branding. Do not wear any striped shirts, or clothes with fine patterns. They cause a strange effect in the footage. Don’t worry about it; just wear plain clothes and it will be alright. Plain clothes also means plain tie. Ladies, don’t wear noisy jewels. You can wear make up. We don’t usually apply make-up ourselves, but if this is really important to you, ask us to arrange for an optional make-up artist.

You will be better prepared, you’ll be more at ease, deliver better and ultimately have a better video. There’s a lot we can do to make your video stand-out, but we can’t go in your head. It’s your or any team member’s responsibility to prepare well.

Your help can be very valuable. Introducing us to your team members, guiding us in your office, making sure everyone is prepped. It really makes a difference. We prefer this over cups of coffee. No joke.

Usually we start editing straight after the shoot. Video animation starts right after script approval. We always make milestones so that you know when starts what.

Usually within a week. This really depends on the milestones we have set but typically you get to see a first preview quite soon in the post-production phase.

That depends on the service level you have chosen.

Yes. We call it a scope change since everything has been approved at this stage. Depending on the kind of change you’re after we will let you know what the extra cost will be. We always strive to avoid this, hence taking pre-production so seriously. We realise though this flexibility is necessary for some organisations, so yes you can change your mind and yes it will come with a price tag.

We’re not the cheapest in town and definitely not the most expensive. If our quote is more expensive than the others, it might be that you’re comparing apples with pears. Let’s put it differently: when you consider to buy a huge Samsung flatscreen TV it’s easy to compare quotes: shop X is cheaper than shop Y and it’s the same TV. On top of that, shop X’s installation costs are cheaper as well. The decision to go for shop X is easily made. The thing is: when you “shop” for a video there’s no guarantee that the cheapest quote will deliver the best product. There are so many variables that determine the price of a video. The most underestimated price determinator is the amount of time spent on pre-production or research. Some of our competitors won’t do any of that (so they won’t charge you for it either). However, doing the research is the most valuable thing you can do to make a successful video. Why? Because you want views. And you want your audience to understand your message. You want them to buy. By simply hitting REC and not doing the research it’s unlikely that will happen. That’s why we’re reluctant to quote when we haven’t met. Your business is unique. And so is your video. To quote accurately we need to understand you so that we can advice you the right strategy.

A free one. You need a strong case though to negotiate a free video 🙂 We’re a business and fairness is one of our core values. We nurture our team and find their growth important. We pay our bills on time, we respect our suppliers. It costs real money to make videos, you know. Every project is different so we can’t answer that question. We need to ask you questions, we need to understand your goals, and we need to make sure you’ll get a return on investment. Therefore we’d like to sit down first, have a cuppa and then give you ballpark figures.

Curious hey? 🙂 It wouldn’t be fair to give you a number because there are many variables that might not be applicable for your project. E.g. aerial footage? Travel to the other side of the world? Waiting hours for the prime minister to give a 10 second statement? There is no such thing as ‘the most expensive video’. If a video costs $50k but you’ll get $25m in return, the question is “was that an expensive video?” If a video costs $1,000 and there is no return, was that an “expensive video”?

Because every project is different. It’s like going to ‘that car dealer’ in Victoria Park asking for the cost of a car. What’s the guy going to say? What car do you expect? It’s the same with video. We’ve made real budget videos, and often they served the purpose, and we’ve made videos in the high-end-budgets, and they served the purpose too. Mind you, they had very different purposes, hence the different price tags. At the end of the day, the real question is: what do you expect the video to do for you? If we get an answer to that, we will always look for your best solution, for a solution that fits your budget and for a solution that will exceed your expectations.

Yes, we are. The owners moved to Australia in 2009 after having started the company in Europe in 2005. First they were on a 457 visa, then they became permanent residents and now they are proud Australian citizens.

Heaps. The owners started the company after successful careers in European TV newsrooms and radio stations. The company has been founded around that knowledge & expertise and all team members are trained following European and Australian broadcast standards. We’ve been making corporate videos and animations since 2005 and have been respected by hundreds of customers, both in Europe and Australasia.

Communication, growth, love and fairness. We did a course with the entire team to define our values (We highly recommend Hazel Ruby) and we live and breathe our values. Most of the times projects are a good fit. But if they aren’t, we know we can say ‘no’. In all fairness.

A great challenge makes us tick. Wether it’s a passionate customer who wants to shake the world with his product or service but doesn’t know how. Or a customer with a great idea who doesn’t know how to visualise the concept. Either way we love challenges like this. So please throw your challenge to us. Bet we’ll catch it!