CompuServe Messages

Greg, What DTI has implemented is a series of "set plays" that the customer has to "fill-out" or sign before the quote is supplied. Basically, what I would suggest is the following: 1) Give a fixed price on doing a storyboard. Make a storyboard template which has a screen, some lines for descriptive text to one side and a place for a customer's initials. Ours has 3 screens per page. After the customer initials each sceene in the stroyboard, then you can give a fixed animation price. 2) Have a standard contract written up which states that if changes are made to the animation which deveate from the SB, then it will be charged a $xxx/hr. 3) Have well defined customer approval points in the animation process and have these also spelled out in the "standard contract". I'd suggest a) Storyboard b) Geomerty, Materials and Lighting d) Keyframing e) Final render preview (typically 75% screen FLC) and a couple stills At each step, have a place for them to initial. After these points if changes are made, then charge them $xxx/hr. If you have all of this paperwork ready … the contract .. the blank storyboard sheets it accomplishes a couple things. First, it lends a high level of credability to you since you obvioussly have "been down this road before" and it is very professional. Second, this may sell the customer to just let you bill'm per hour for the animation .. to much paperwork and you show them that to provide a fixed price, they will not have the freedom that they would get on an hourly basis. Ang