Succesful Productions Depend On Margin

Successful productions depend on margin. 

Margin in time. Margin in budget. Margin in workload. 

Sure, I could get a 10-person production planned in a day. If all my go-to vendors are available, if the ideal locations are available, if the rentals we need are available. The trouble arises when things aren’t available. A week’s margin allows for the ability to brief new vendors, explore backup locations, and track down rentals from a few houses. 

Sure, I could pull off a 10-person production for incredibly cheap. If a first-time director agrees to work on spec, if I hire models for only one hour, if I hire the crew on half-day rates. The trouble arises when things get delayed. A few thousand dollars’ margin allows for a director who won’t second guess herself, a model who can try a few different looks, and a crew that can be on standby for the money-shot exactly when the sun sets. 

Sure, I could get a final edit turned around in 48 hours. If I have an in-house editing team, if the client returns notes upon receiving each version, if everyone’s expectations are on the same page. The trouble arises when people are pushed to their limits. Workload margin (as in not asking every vendor for the very most they can do in every situation) allows for favors from editors, clients who feel ok about stepping away from dinner with their families to review videos, and the founder who will inevitably interject his uninformed opinion at the last second. 

Yesterday, a client asked if I could bump up the delivery timeline of a project up by about eight hours going into the holiday weekend. I had a little margin in my editor’s workload, so I asked him to do it. I felt good about asking him because, I had margin in budget. If I needed to pay extra, I could. I felt good about the possibility of saying “no” to my client, because we had margin in time. It wouldn’t have killed the production. 

If you’re a producer, do everything you can to get as much margin as possible. The success of your job is dependent on it. Productions often push people, budgets, and timelines to the limit. But there’s a strategy to leaving some gas in the tank. There’s a strategy to margin. 

Good luck out there.