As many of you will have noticed the last article called How To Get Hired – 6 Essential Tips for The Motion Graphics Freelancer  created a bit of a stir, garnering many interesting & worthwhile comments.   As a follow up to that I thought it would be only fair to present a post from the freelancer’s perspective – what do they look for in an agency when they get hired…?

After speaking to over ten experienced mograph freelancers, I have complied this Top 8 list of things that they would like design companies to think about….

1) Be honest about the job in hand – is the job going to be a tough one? Is the client demanding the earth but needs it in 3 days? When agreeing a job with a freelancer try and have a meeting with them or a least a phone call to make sure both parties know exactly what they are entering into.

In one example a freelancer told me she was booked on a specific job the week before, but when she found out she had been put on a totally different job when she turned up on Monday, without any advance warning! Bear in mind the job might not be suitable for the freelancer’s skillset. Also make sure each party knows how many hours they are expected to work for the quoted day rate.

2) Payment. If your Freelancer has delivered your job on time and budget, then they  should never have to wait longer than a month for payment. If you are a having problems with payments then someone should let the freelancer know – they certainly shouldn’t have to chase.

Some freelancers have a sheet of written terms and conditions that they send off to the agency before they start work – or at the very least an email.  These tend to deal with issues like – payments/fair costs/ hours/non completion of work due to cancellation and how to deal with scope change eg a change from a 2D to a 3D project.  Many Freelancers also ask for 50% of fees upfront and 50% on completion.

3) Creative Input - make it clear if you want a freelancer’s creative input or not – very early on. Also state if it is the kind of job that needs to be done on the freelancer’s equipment at home or in the design studio. This touches on the point that not all freelancers do design or creative so asking the right questions before the job starts is important here. For most, a  job isn’t going to be so attractive if it requires some creative director sitting on your shoulder all day… Also its good to give plenty of time at the beginning of the project to create style boards and experiment a little before going into production.

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