Workflow
There’s a sea of solutions out there, so we’re picky with depending on our tried-and-true methods to make projects run smoothly. Get familiar with Heck’s standard operating procedures.
Project lifecycle
Use this checklist as a template for taking a project from lead to delivery:
Lead: Somebody asks us for a video. Or we pitch one! Our reels are our best tool to grab attention and show our capabilities.
Creative Brief: start with gathering the key details using our creative brief questionairre, no meeting required. Use their responses to prep an estimate and SOW for review with the client (but don’t send it just yet).
Scoping call: the one and only meeting needed to land the job. This eliminates the traditional Proposal process, which is slow, tedious and offers no guarantee of work. You already have all their answers from the questionnaire, so this call is to clarify their answers and get a complete sense of the project. End this call with a clear sense of the core details:
Budget: How much do they plan to spend? We’ll tailor the scope to it
Deadline: Their real delivery day, or one that works for Heck
Scope: The number of videos, their formats, and runtimes
Story: A rough idea of the beginning, middle and end of the video
Creative: Reference stills or video that steer us toward the right look and feel
Send proposal deck
Greenlight: pending any tweaks the client may need, they’ll give a green light by signing the docs. Invoice for a deposit, and once the client confirms the deposit is being processed, work can officially begin on the project.
Paperwork: turn that verbal agreement into proper paperwork:
Statement of Work. To be nested in SOW.
Video Service Agreement. Send this for a digital signature.
Deposit.
Kickoff call: educate them on what to expect for our process.
Onboarding: Setup the client and the Heck team with project infrastructure, typically our Heck process of a shared Slack channel, Drive folder structure, Frame project and Asana tasks. Spin up the machine.
Prep: Plan ahead and set milestones for every department. Be sure to update the client – even daily – to avoid any impatience or surprises.
Schedule: As fast as possible after signing, connect the client with the project producer (if it’s not already you), and give them a detailed schedule of milestones, showing Heck’s process and their involvement. It’s critical to assure the client we have the project organized and under control.
Writing
Storyboards / Pre-vis
Crewing
Production: Create the dang video!
Approvals: for every round of revisions, set clear expectations for what the client is looking at, what Heck will do next, and what you need from the client. Re-orient them to the schedule, budget and our process, so they understand their options. Use Frame as a single destination for feedback and approvals, to avoid emails, groupthink and meetings.
Delivery: Export a full-quality master (like ProRes 4444), and a compressed version (like H.264), with clear instructions for how the client should post the file (sometimes they mess with it). The final invoice will be sent.
Archival: When it’s time to wrap the project, clean up the digital trail. Archive slack channels, Asana tasks and other apps. The project’s Drive folder needs to be tidied of any unneeded exports or files, and organized. Then move it to the z_Archive shared Drive for a safe cloud copy.
Apps
Here’s a recap of tools we use for a smooth operation.
Slack: this is our main communication platform. Slack solves many problems all at once – instant communication, video calls, team collaboration, and searchable history. Far more effective for teams than email or texting. Everyone on the team should use both desktop and mobile apps to make sure they don’t miss any notifications. The key to Slack working well is organizing info into project specific channels, where all project-specific conversations should happen.
Name project channels as Client-job (for example, ATT-COM)
If multiple channels are needed, Add _internal and _client or _agency to specify who’s in each channel
Archive channels as soon as the project is wrapped
Only add frequent collaborators or project-critical guests as members of the Heck Slack team. Clients, agencies and other job-specific partners should be connected with Shared Channels, to avoid unnecessary costs and confusion
Google Workspace: Heck uses Workspace for all company email addresses and calendars.
Google Drive: Every project should exist as a self-contained single Drive folder: easy to work in, easy to archive, easy to resurrect. All working files and project assets should be stored in a single folder in our shared Drive “Heck”, and synced via the desktop app. Some projects or assets might be too large for storage or uploading, and can be kept on a local drive, as long as it’s backed up.
Folders should be named with the project code
Use our template folder structure called “z_Folder structure”, stored at the bottom of the Heck shared drive, and modify as needed.
Frame.io: The most effective tool for gathering and tracking client feedback is Frame. Use it for clear rounds of review, with comments functioning as a to do list for the next round.
Asana: It’s a powerful platform, but we use it for task management. It shows at a glance all our active projects, who owns them, and their status. Weekly team meetings are based on syncing around this list.
Adobe Creative Cloud: We don’t limit projects to Adobe apps, but it’s our favorite suite of tools
Data Safety
Carefully observe these steps to avoid misplacing or destroying important digital files:
Be meticulous as you move, copy and delete files to avoid mistakes.
Work in a new copy of your project files regularly, with clear version numbers
All project files and assets need three copies:
A primary working copy
A physical backup
A cloud backup
Limit subcontractors’ and other guests’ access to Heck files and services.
When a project is wrapped, it needs to be cleaned up, collected and archived in three places:
A primary server archive
A physical archive
A cloud archive
Cyber Security
Our remote operations make Heck vulnerable to cyber attacks, so be diligent:
Network-attached storage needs to be running anti-malware software
Passwords should never be stored online or emailed, only messaged with encryption and deleted immediately
Crew should use highest-grade passwords for work apps, and unique from their personal passwords
Passwords must be updated annually
Beware of links or requests to reset passwords, transfer money, or share access to Heck resources, even if they appear to come from employees. Call to confirm
When a project is wrapped, subcontractors and other guests need to be removed from shared folders and cloud services
File Naming
Every project we touch needs a singular name: the project code, a two-part name made of the client code and the job code. It’s the One True Name of the project across all our files, documents, folders, comps, exports, invoices, and records. But it’s not an abstract ID number – it should be as short and simple as possible; natural enough to stick like a nickname. It’s permanent. And it’s internal, but should be comfortable for clients to use too because they’ll see it everywhere. Make sure to base it on the end client, not the agency. Every project code is listed on the Job Tracker to avoid duplicates.
Project Code Format
It starts with a client code, so we can track all the projects for that client.
Client Code
It should be two to five letters, the shorter the better. Easy to read and recall, never cryptic – just a nickname, or at least their stock ticker. Remember, our crews use these as shorthand countless times. For example:
Adobe: ADO
Google: GOOG
Facebook: FB
Neuropace: NEP
Wells Fargo: WFO
Think long term – most of our projects are reopened months or years later. When working for a company called ‘Bloom Tech’, it may make sense to use ‘BLM’ as a code – but it might lead to confusion if we later do work for ‘Bureau of Land Management’ or ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Try something unique like ‘BLOT’, ‘BLT’ or ‘BTEC’.
Job Code
Then a dash (-), and the job code. This job code is project-specific and follows the same rules, but might include numbers for repeating or annual projects. Combined, they look like this:
ADO-ACA: Adobe Assets Content Automation
ADO-PLT1: Adobe Platform video 1, part of an extended series that needed separate codes
ADO-MAX21: Adobe Max 2021 convention video
For example, if we did a 1-minute commercial with several cutdowns for the Nike Air Max recurring launch event in 2021, through Wieden Kennedy, we might name it like this:
Versions vs Dates
It’s common to see dates included in file or project names, but we’ve found version numbers to be more effective. Version numbers connect a clear, linear path from the first animatic to final delivery, and they’re instantly sorted alphabetically. By contrast dates look like a jumble of numbers and don’t hold much meaning long after the project is over. And to be properly sorted they have to be unnaturally rearranged with years first. Besides, all files have dates automatically baked into their metadata already. All we need to know is which version of any given file came first, and which came second. So, the version number.
Housekeeping
Producers should tidy up monthly to manage digital clutter and file safety:
Slack: archive channels
Drive: collect assets, delete unnecessary files, and move to z_Archive shared drive
Frame.io: verify that only copies have been uploaded, then delete Frame.io project