Here is roughly what to expect when you work with us. Of course, your project is unique, so the process and timing may differ, but the outcomes will be curated to optimize your deliverables.
00
Initial Contact
If you get in touch about your project, we can give you a rough estimated cost and timeline for your project. There's no charge for this, and at point, you might quickly see that we're not the right shop for your budget.
Because we also hate pushy sales people, you don't have to worry about that kind of pressure -- we focus on a love of our work and, as a boutique atelier, we charge just what we need to charge to do an amazing job. A breakdown of our hours will be provided weekly if desired. (So, if your team is looking for the "best" price, you're in the right place, but if you're simply shopping the "lowest price," please go elsewhere... we may be even able to make a referral, on price, and will certainly do it if we lack the expertise you need.)
​
We also use this stage as a getting to know you phase. If the culture meshes on both sides we can proceed to stage one discussions.
01
Kickoff (Technical Review)
We begin with a discussion of your goals for the project and will try to offer guidance as to the best way to reach the desired outcome. You will, of course, have the final say within the bounds of what's technically feasible. But, you'll be pleasantly surprised as to what IS possible, however...
02
Proof of Concept
If your project is more complicated than most, or involves something we've never done, we'll first construct a working proof-of-concept, demonstrating crude workability of each concept to our satisfaction that we can deliver the specified functionality. If any items are not immediately reproducible, we will inform you and rework the project if possible and may continue to attempt the barrier alongside timely progress on the project. An NDA, (Non Disclosure Agreement), must be signed at this point, as many of our procedures are considered intellectual property. This also prevents you from taking our solutions to another firm. (We hope you understand why we need this protection, given the generosity of the initial proof of concept freely provided.)
03
Proposal (SOW)
We will draw up a software-inspired Statement of Work, (SOW) contract, outlining the timeline and deliverables along with the appropriate penalties for us, and costs to you for "major changes" beyond the the allowed number specified in the SOW. These protect both you, the client, and us against surprises. At this point you can accept or reject the formal proposal.
​
A Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) will accompany the SOW and the project will be divided into thirds for milestone deliverables, as outlined below.
Beta (User-Focused Prototype)
04
BETA (User-Focused Prototype): We will deliver the rough project at this stage, where the focus shifts to user. You should plan to make most of your 10 (ten) "major changes" here. Clients must make all (100%) of their major changes in this stage, as the teams speed toward the "Gold" deliverable. Both functional and look and feel changes should be nearly finalized during beta discussions. Major changes are those taking more than 5 minutes to complete, such as changes to the model. Minor changes are restricted to surface such as color changes, material and camera movements for stills (this excludes animations, as change/render times may exceed 5 minutes).
​
Late Beta is where you sign off on the project as essentially functional and photo-real -- meeting the standards outlined in the SOW.
05
Gold Version
The Gold deliverable is where the project is polished and mostly finished; (it's the version your team can show the boss). And, remember, you cannot make major changes to the project, once the gold version is delivered, without incurring hourly charges, as specified in the SOW.
Final Deliverable
06
Final Deliverable: We will deliver the rough project at this stage and you will be allowed to. I make most of your 10 (ten) major changes without penalty, at this point. Generally clients use about 70% of their changes here as we speed toward the Gold deliverable. Both functional and look and feel changes should be nearly finalized during beta discussions.
07
7) Project Post-Mortem
If desired we can meet with you to discuss your experience with us, as well as our own internal experience on the project, the main reason being to tease out ways that we could have done things better. We do this internally, so it is helpful to have client input either in written form or face to face.