Managing an outsourced video project

Manage an outsourced video project by giving the supplier a clear brief, naming who can approve decisions and checking each delivery against the agreed scope. The client remains responsible for its message and for decisions only its people can make.

Give the supplier a usable brief

State the audience, the question the video must answer, where it will appear and what viewers should understand afterwards. Supply approved product or service facts, including conditions that limit a claim.

Identify the people, places and existing material the supplier may use. Name who will arrange access and who can answer questions during production.

List the finished assets rather than asking for “a video”. These might include a main edit, a shorter version, captions, a transcript and specified exports. Mark what is required and what is optional. Ask the supplier to identify assumptions that still need a client decision.

Decide accessibility needs during planning, not at delivery. W3C advises considering the needs of people with disabilities from the start, and notes that integrated description is easier to include when planned in the script before filming.

Brief checklist: what to give the supplier

Agree on scope and decision points

Once the supplier is chosen, put the agreed scope in the agreement, including completion conditions, payment points, review arrangements and how changes will be approved. Specify the files and usage rights the client needs later; commissioning a finished video does not by itself settle every underlying right or file transfer.

At the start of production, keep one current brief and a record of who decides what.

These are suggested decision points, not a required number of edit rounds. A small project may combine them; a consequential claim may need specialist review.

Decision points: who decides what

Make contract responsibilities explicit

For a written contract, include each party’s full legal name and business address. business.gov.au advises including both parties’ ABNs if needed, and an ACN if a company’s ACN differs from the last nine digits of its ABN. Both the contractor and hirer must sign the contract.

Use plain English so both parties can understand what they are agreeing to. business.gov.au suggests asking a lawyer to explain anything unclear if one drafts the contract. Clear wording makes it easier for the client lead to distinguish an authorised decision from an assumption or informal comment.

The contract can also set out how confidential information is treated, who is liable for loss or damage, insurance obligations and any subcontracting arrangements. State whether the contract can end early, so the parties have agreed how to handle that possibility rather than leaving it to an informal discussion.

Where the engagement is a contractor arrangement, business.gov.au advises including a statement that the person or business is a genuine contractor, not an employee. Sham contracting is illegal. A court may consider the statement if the relationship status is disputed, so make sure the description reflects the actual arrangement.

Contract checklist: responsibilities to make explicit

Control feedback and changes

Name a client lead to own feedback and communicate authorised decisions to the supplier. Separate a fault in agreed work from a new request, such as another audience, location or cut. For a proposed change, ask the supplier to explain its effect on scope, fee and delivery before both parties agree and record the variation.

Watch the cut as a first-time viewer would. Check whether picture, speech and text make the intended claim, including any material condition. Check captions and other agreed alternatives against the final edit. The published player and page will need a separate check once they exist.

Keep substantiation for factual or promotional claims alongside the approved wording, and make it available to the supplier when needed to check the video’s message. The ACCC can require businesses to back up claims about their products or services, so the client should not treat a supplier’s confident presentation as evidence for a claim.

Feedback and change control process

Accept a usable handover

At handover, confirm delivery against the agreed completion conditions and record acceptance. Assign an owner to revisit the video when its claims, process or permitted use changes.

If an agreed accessibility deliverable is included, check it against its intended audience and purpose. W3C explains that captions should convey speech and non-speech audio, while a transcript can include both; a descriptive transcript also describes visual information, and sign language may be needed when the audience requires it.

If an agreed completion condition is not met, record the issue against that condition and use the contract’s allocation of responsibility for faulty or incomplete work. If the parties disagree, follow the dispute process set out in the contract rather than treating an unresolved issue as accepted.

Handover acceptance checklist

Accessibility deliverables to check at handover