So I'm chatting with an animator on skype. He's "highly recommended" by a friend. I tell him I need:
So he quotes me at $10/animated second, which is a reasonable price...
However, as we move forward, it becomes clear that he doesn't intend to create animations from scratch. He plans to use 'fill-in-the-blank' templates off of VideoHive...
After I confront him about this... he understands, and we continue talking about UNIQUE animation.
NOPE!
Kid starts sending me examples of his "original work" which are just more templates. I know because I own them myself. They still have the "your text here" placeholders in them.
LISTEN KID:
I can buy and edit templates myself!
WERE YOU NOT LISTENING TO ME THE PAST 30 MINS?
There must be a misunderstanding, right?
NOPE!
Turns out he DID understand what I was asking for, but he was trying to cut down work on his end, but still charge me the full price for it.
Apparently he didn't care that it'd break the license agreement of the original work. He didn't care that I could be sued for illegally breaking copyright. He thought I wouldn't figure it out.
Templates are MEANT to be used with clients. I understand showing off templates you own as a producer trying to book clients. Except in this case, he's not the producer.. I am. He's an animator FAKING his skillset, trying to squeeze extra money out of me, and knowingly setting me up to break copyright laws.
This is why it's important to be an expert in what you do.
The person who referred this kid to me said he was a "very gifted video artist". This is because the referring party isn't well versed in video.
I SAW the templates because I own them myself.
I spotted his hesitance in following my storyboards, his hesitance when I told him I'd need access to the project files when he was done.
I knew when that him "checking his files" before quoting me, was him templates similar to what I asked for.
Imagine if I had spend a few grand on this kid and then gotten sued?
Not cool bro...
- ORIGINAL animated designs
- Full resale license rights
So he quotes me at $10/animated second, which is a reasonable price...
However, as we move forward, it becomes clear that he doesn't intend to create animations from scratch. He plans to use 'fill-in-the-blank' templates off of VideoHive...
After I confront him about this... he understands, and we continue talking about UNIQUE animation.
NOPE!
Kid starts sending me examples of his "original work" which are just more templates. I know because I own them myself. They still have the "your text here" placeholders in them.
LISTEN KID:
I can buy and edit templates myself!
WERE YOU NOT LISTENING TO ME THE PAST 30 MINS?
There must be a misunderstanding, right?
NOPE!
Turns out he DID understand what I was asking for, but he was trying to cut down work on his end, but still charge me the full price for it.
Apparently he didn't care that it'd break the license agreement of the original work. He didn't care that I could be sued for illegally breaking copyright. He thought I wouldn't figure it out.
Templates are MEANT to be used with clients. I understand showing off templates you own as a producer trying to book clients. Except in this case, he's not the producer.. I am. He's an animator FAKING his skillset, trying to squeeze extra money out of me, and knowingly setting me up to break copyright laws.
This is why it's important to be an expert in what you do.
The person who referred this kid to me said he was a "very gifted video artist". This is because the referring party isn't well versed in video.
I SAW the templates because I own them myself.
I spotted his hesitance in following my storyboards, his hesitance when I told him I'd need access to the project files when he was done.
I knew when that him "checking his files" before quoting me, was him templates similar to what I asked for.
Imagine if I had spend a few grand on this kid and then gotten sued?
Not cool bro...
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
