Setting a Scope

In general: 

• Establish a timeline – Projects to be completed between X and Y date.
• Establish clear deliverables – for example: 1 original draft, and 2 revisions. This concept is scalable. If you have multiple deliverables, either deliver everything at once or apply the “review round” concept to each. 1 original/2 revisions is industry standard. Be careful to include and breakout concept and wireframe and/or animatic rounds.
• Define the specifications of those deliverables – resolution, frame rate, codec, format, etc
• Propose a project timeline, knowing that there will be some back and forth there and there is a certain degree of acceptable flex that breaks the “final timeline.” I’ve never worked on a project where the timeline didn’t change constantly throughout the project.
• Include obvious, high-level, caveats in-line 
  

Example Scope Breakout

You can use the model below for most projects and replace, add, or subtract elements to make it specific to your project. If you’re doing a Projection Engineering Design, for example, you might want to include rounds for drafting, or systems’ diagrams, or R&D, etc, etc. 

• Deliverables

  • Boards 1 Original, 1 Revision

  • Animatic 1 Original, 1 Revision

  • Final deliverable – 1x 90s animation 1920x1080, Apple Pro Res 422, 24fps

    • 1 Original Draft, 2 Revisions

• Timeline – August 1st through October 20th, 2024

  • Project Kick Off August 1st

  • Boards R1 8/15, consolidated feedback due 8/19 EOD

  • Boards R2 8/30, consolidated feedback due 9/4 EOD

  • Animatic R1 9/10, consolidated feedback due 9/14 EOD

  • Animatic R2 9/20, consolidated feedback due 9/25 EOD

  • Animation R1 10/1, consolidated feedback due 10/4 EOD

  • Animation R2 10/10, consolidated feedback due 10/15 EOD

  • Animation R3 Final 10/20

  • Additional time or versions will be budgeted on a case by case basis

• Assets

  • Stock, Voiceover to be provided by client. 

• Changes outside of defined review cycles will be handled case by case.

That last point there – notice how I’m not saying “change order?” People see “change order” and they get a bad taste in their mouths. Instead, I like to soften the language. Given the amount of reviews in this example, additional rounds are unlikely – and if it’s something minor, you generally give a pass. Read more about change orders here. 

Once you have this breakout clear in your mind, you can apply hours to each round and then create a rate based on those hours. Remember to add a wide margin on top as contingency (and as… margin). Then, track your project hours to make sure you’re on track and that you’ve budgeted appropriately. This skill is worth quite a few bucks and is worth getting good at! 

Also, once you have an established and trusted relationship with a client this can become quite casual.