Scope of work in 3D

[hockley91]

I'm working on a two part interior animation. There is a 4 bedroom unit and a 2 bedroom unit. On my proposal I had a part in it that read that anything done outside the "scope of work" would be on an hourly basis.

 

Several changes have been made during the rendering process and I've had to re-render parts of it because of changes to the design.

 

The length of the animation has changed from 30 seconds to 45 seconds for each animation. There have been changes made to the dining area and entertainment center. I compensated for some changes in my fee, but just when I thought I was finished with it, they sent me more changes.

 

Now, as a courtesy and for "scratch my back, I scratch yours" I've made the changes so far without using my hourly fee.

 

I just need an opinion about what you guys think. When is a good time to initiate the hourly fee for these people?

 

Thanks!

[STRAT]

it depends how far they go. if your happy at the moment, which it sounds you are, then continue doing it as a favour.

best to keep the client happy, he'll be more eager to have you for return work, when you can slightly up your fees.

 

i used to do this when i started freelancing. i did a shed load of free and cheap work just to start me off. it can only get better.

 

but if he's taking the piss you'll be able to determin this. dont be afraid to voice ur concerns. sit down with the client and come to an agreement. they dont bite (usually).

[tcorbett]

The changes he made sound like the could be accomplished rather quickly, so maybe charging the hourly fee is ok, but only for the time that you work.

 

I had seen it suggested here before to set up a "rendering rate", essentially renting the time of your equipment, at a much lower hourly rate. If your client realizes that it costs to render the animation, they may be more likely to give you all of their changes in advance.

[Ernest Burden III]

Now, as a courtesy and for "scratch my back, I scratch yours" I've made the changes so far without using my hourly fee.

 

When is a good time to initiate the hourly fee for these people?

It sounds like you are there right now.

 

Getting taken advantage never feels very good. And you may find most clients, once they have their back scratched once, get regularly itchy.

 

Also, it would be a good idea to list the changes you made for free on your invoice as 'NC' (no charge) or 'courtesy' or similar. That would make sure they recognize your choice to not charge for an otherwise chargable item. It certainly beats losing your temper and screaming at them "after all I've done for you..."

[hockley91]

Thanks for the responses everyone! It really helps!

 

The changes could be made rather quickly and they were. I would send them still shots to look over, and then they would give me the go ahead to render. The problem is that it's kind of troublesome when your computer is already in the middle of rendering the animation and they had already told you previously that everything looks good. So, your just happy and how it's going, and then you get the call to make changes.

 

It wasn't a problem for a lot of the changes, because it was during the render process. I would stop the process and then make the changes and continue. This happened a few times during the project. (They are developers and they keep changing they're minds about stuff.)

 

Well, the rendering is completed and the animations have been uploaded to my website and I made all the changes that they had wanted, took my sigh of relief. Then, I get the email yesterday afternoon about more changes....uggghhhhhh.

 

Reading all your suggestions have helped. I've already sent them my invoice, so I can't add the "courtesy work" on any sheet of paper. They love my work so much, that they have pretty much adopted me to do all they're 3D work for them. I get along with them great. They are very picky about details, and they are not well educated in the 3D process, so I've had to educate them and explain things.

 

I guess what I can do is tell them the amount of time it's going to take to make these changes and that it's going to prolong their product. I could also tell them that the changes during the time of rendering had affected the timetable as well. I still don't know if I should charge them or not. Very frustrating.......

 

Hockley91

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

we tend to bend on adding updates here and there, especially if we should have cought it the first time. then we state that we are going to proceed with rendering the finished frames, and any changes beyond this pint will be billed as an additional service.

 

during the layout process of the animation we are careful to show paths animated without textures or shadows, and at 320x240. we show them still renderings that are on the path of what the final product will look like. we explain to them that it is a long process to crunch the frames. give them stats like how many computers we will be using, and the number of hours it will take, ect.. ect... we try to lay it out that once we proceed with the rendering process, it takes a lot of effort to stop, go back and start making design changes.

[hockley91]

I had done everything that you just stated. I had shown them a loq quality walkthrough. They approved both schemes as a 30 second animation. Then after it was rendered, they wanted it longer, because the turns were to fast in the animation. (It looked fine to me, but like I said they are picky). As far as catching anything the first time, I had made sure to write down all my questions and answers on a sheet. They would come up with changes always after seeing the still shots. Since they were seeing how it was looking in 3 dimensional space, they wanted to make more changes to it.

 

I know changes are inevitable, and I did compensate for that in my pricing, but I don't know.....I think it would be "fair" at this point to have any more changes as an "additional service".

 

Sound good?

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

Originally posted by hockley91:

Since they were seeing how it was looking in 3 dimensional space, they wanted to make more changes to it.

the ongoing problem created by doing work for an architecture firm.

[hockley91]

Very funny! That is the truth though.....I'd like to think that we are all a part of that process and that we help in making projects that much better you know?

[John Dollus]

It's amazing how less picky clients can be when they realize that they will be paying for their whims.

[hockley91]

Well everyone, I went ahead and made the changes. They already have another project lined up for me. Since this was my first project with them, I'll be better prepared this time for what to expect. I think I will over-compensate my fee for this next one. :ebiggrin:

 

They are a great group of people to work with. They are just a little picky about things :angeuhoh: