Fast Turnaround Videos, How To Make Them Work
Fast turnaround videos. What we do and what our clients do to make it work.
Our Managing Director, Emily Blanden, shares what we’ve learned from creating fast-turnaround videos for our clients - without the panic stations. From getting the brief nailed down early to keeping feedback clear and speedy, Emily talks through the little things that make a big difference when deadlines are tight.
My team might not thank me for writing this.
We’ve just completed two motion graphics projects on extremely tight turnarounds. A three minute video briefed in and delivered within six working days. A five minute video done in four.
Sharing how we did this might result in us getting even more last minute briefs, sorry in advance to my team!
Short lead time work is stressful. We’d always love more time. But over the years we’ve developed a process that makes it possible to create quality work, fast and I think it’s worth sharing, because a lot of it comes down to what both sides of the relationship do along the way.
What we do:
We build a detailed schedule from day one, a hour by hour production schedule. What time a version will be ready, when review meetings are booked in. What’s expected from each round of changes. Everyone knows exactly where they are at every point.
Our written storyboard process is vital. Before anything is produced, we map out exactly what will be in the video, every message, every visual. On a tight turnaround there is no room for fundamental changes mid production. The storyboard is where all of that gets resolved, and we don’t move forward until it’s signed off by everyone involved.
For graphics heavy work, we create style frames. Static mockups that show exactly how the video will look before we build anything. Clients approve the visual treatment upfront, which removes one of the most common causes of late stage amends.
If there is a voiceover, we pick the artist carefully. Not just for style and tone, but for availability. On a short turnaround, we need a VO artist who can record quickly and importantly turn around pick-ups fast if we need them. Having the client joint the call for the recording is absolutely essential.
For communication, we use screen sharing and calls rather than email. Sharing a screen and talking through feedback in real time is dramatically faster than written notes going back and forth. On a tight schedule, a quick clarification call can save days.
My team go above and beyond. Out of hours work, weekend work, it happens on these projects. We always make sure people get that time back. The commitment they show is not something I take for granted.
What our clients do:
Fast budget sign off. If a decision about budget has to go through three layers of approval, the clock is already against us before we’ve started. Knowing who can authorise spend quickly and having that person ready is one of the most practical things a client can do.
A proper brief upfront. Clear on the audience, the messages, the purpose, the deadline and where the video will be shared. If you want help structuring your thinking before our first call, tools like Claude or ChatGPT are genuinely useful for this. Our own briefing document covers everything we need to know.
Get everyone with an opinion involved at the brief and storyboard stages. On a normal timeline, a late arriving stakeholder is an inconvenience. On a four day turnaround, it can be seriously impact the delivery deadline.
Consolidated, prompt feedback. One set of notes, from one person, at each stage. Not five emails from five people with contradictory views. Our clients nominated point of contact owning that process is genuinely one of the biggest things that determines whether we hit the deadline or not.
Keeping it real:
We always do our absolute best. But on the very tightest turnarounds, there are occasionally compromises to be made in the amends stage not on quality, but on the number of rounds we can accommodate. We’re always transparent when that’s the case, and we’d rather have that conversation early than disappoint at the end.
If you need a quality video fast, we’d love to help. Drop us a line at hello@ch-video.com.
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