VideoMax Working Guidelines
- Jun 1
- 10 min read
Updated: Jun 18
Last updated: June 2026
These guidelines work alongside the terms you've already agreed to in your accepted VideoMax proposal — they are not additional terms or conditions. The terms governing your plan are those outlined in your VideoMax Plan Terms. These guidelines simply explain how the system operates day to day.
Your producer will guide you through everything as it comes up, so there's no need to study this guide in order for VideoMax to work. This is your living reference for a deeper understanding of how requests flow, how credits are managed, or how production is structured.
We'd recommend giving it a read when you have a few minutes — not because it's required, but because it's a good opportunity to raise any questions or flag anything you'd like us to clarify before it comes up in practice. The earlier we can address any confusion, the smoother everything runs.
1. VideoMax at a Glance
VideoMax is a monthly video production retainer that gives you consistent access to a dedicated production team. Instead of fixed deliverables, you have a flexible credit budget — managed by your producer — that you direct toward whatever video content your business needs most.
A few core principles:
VideoMax is built around a monthly credit budget, not a fixed number of videos. The amount of work completed each month depends on the scope and complexity of what you request.
Every account operates from an approved VideoMax Brand Brief. This ensures every video is produced using the same strategic and creative standards without needing to re-explain your brand every month.
Every request is reviewed and scoped before production begins. Your producer confirms timing, credits, and deliverables before work starts so there are no surprises.
One project is in active production at a time by default. A single project may contain multiple deliverables when they share footage, scope, or objectives.
Your producer manages the process proactively. You'll always know what is being worked on, how credits are being applied, and what should happen next.
Production begins once scope is approved and your first payment has been received. Onboarding and planning can happen beforehand, but active production starts only after activation.
Your first payment must be received before active production can begin. Everything leading up to that — onboarding, the Brand Brief, the request, and scope confirmation — can move forward in the meantime, but the production clock doesn't start until the first payment is processed.
2. Credits & How They're Applied
VideoMax credits are a flexible production budget — not a fixed number of videos. What gets produced each month depends entirely on the scope and complexity of what's requested.
Credits may be applied toward:
Editing and post-production
Social and website video
Motion graphics and animation
Creative development and scripting
Production shoots such as interviews and b-roll
Larger productions, major campaigns, or high-scope consulting work are scoped and quoted separately. Available VideoMax credits may be applied toward any separately quoted project.
Credits are always confirmed before production starts. Your producer will never begin work without first aligning with you on scope and credit usage.
2. The VideoMax Brief System
Every VideoMax account operates with a standing production brief system that ensures your content remains consistent, strategic, and aligned over time.
These briefs establish the standards your production team works from, so you don't need to re-explain your brand, goals, or content priorities with every request.
The system consists of three layers:
Every VideoMax account operates with a three-tier production brief system. Understanding how these documents relate to each other helps explain why VideoMax works the way it does — and why the monthly request form can stay focused on the specific video you need rather than re-explaining the brand every time.
The Brand Brief
The Brand Brief sits at the top and governs all production for your account. It captures your brand positioning, target audience, voice, approved messaging, and competitive context. Every team member who touches your account reads this document first, regardless of what type of content is being produced. It changes rarely — typically only when something meaningful shifts in your brand strategy.
Content Track Brief
Content Track Briefs sit in the middle and govern specific categories of recurring content. When a particular content type — like customer testimonials — becomes a regular part of your production program, it gets its own brief that covers how that category of content is selected, formatted, and deployed. This layer only exists for established recurring tracks. For one-off productions outside a defined track, it is skipped entirely.
Project Brief
The Project Brief is generated for every individual production. When you submit your Video Request Form, your producer reviews the request and returns a scope confirmation — together, those two documents form the project brief that governs that specific video. It captures the unique details: the specific footage, the message, the audience, the angle, the deployment context. Everything that changes from video to video.
Once the Brand Brief and any relevant Content Track Briefs are approved, they become standing references. You do not need to revisit or resubmit them. What drives each production from that point forward is simply your monthly request form — a focused submission of what you need this cycle.
3. How Requests Work
A request is any new piece of work submitted through the VideoMax Video Request Form.
This includes:
A new video or edit
A new platform version not previously discussed
A new concept, direction, or use case
Any work not clearly implied by a prior request
Each request is reviewed by your producer before work begins. Submitting a request does not automatically start production.
One request form can cover multiple deliverables when they are related in scope, share source footage, or are tied to a common objective. Your producer will confirm how deliverables are grouped before work begins.
For your first project, your producer may complete the request form on your behalf using everything gathered during your kickoff session, and walk you through how the form works so you're ready to submit future requests independently.
Some clients establish one or more recurring content tracks — a category of video content produced on a consistent cadence with a reserved portion of the monthly credit budget. Even when a recurring track is in place, a Video Request Form is submitted each cycle. The form captures what changes with every new production — the specific footage, the audience, the goal, the direction — so your producer has everything needed to scope and confirm that cycle's work. Credit allocation for recurring tracks is established in collaboration with your producer and can be adjusted at any time through a new request.
Production Approval
All VideoMax work follows the same approval process:
You submit a request.
Your producer reviews and scopes the request.
You receive a scope confirmation outlining credits, timing, and deliverables.
Production begins once written approval is received.
Submitting a request does not automatically start production. Work begins only after scope confirmation has been approved.
4. Full VideoMax Production Cycle
VideoMax operates on a monthly postproduction cadence by default. Each cycle runs for approximately 28 days beginning from your cycle start date — not necessarily the first of the calendar month — and follows a general structure:
Days 1–7 — Request & Scope Window
The first week of each cycle is the window for submitting your video request. Once received, your producer reviews the request, confirms scope and credits, and sends back a scope confirmation for your approval. Production does not begin until that approval is received. (If your request requires assets that need to be provided by you — such as existing footage, recordings, screen captures, or other materials — those assets should be submitted during this window as well. Assets received after the scope window may delay the start of active production.)
Days 7–21 — Active Production
Once the scope confirmation is approved, active production begins. First cut is typically delivered within 5–7 business days of production start, which means initial feedback rounds can often begin mid-cycle, before the finalization window opens.
Days 21–28 — Finalization & Delivery
The final week(s) provides space for any remaining revision rounds, final adjustments, and sign-off. Because first cut usually arrives well before this window, finalization is typically straightforward — a brief consolidation of any last notes before final delivery.
This cadence assumes the scope of the work can be completed within a single, one-month postproduction cycle. For more complex productions, the cycle may extend across two or more months — your producer will always outline the full timeline of any request upfront in the scope confirmation so you know what to expect before production begins and can make informed decisions.
For clients whose cycle start date falls mid-month, we offer the option to align your production cycle — and your recurring billing — to the first of the following calendar month. If you choose this option, your first payment covers the period from activation through the end of that calendar month, and your recurring monthly billing begins on the first of the following month from there. This option is available at the start of your plan only and must be confirmed during onboarding with your producer.
For productions planned across multiple cycles in advance — such as a series of three interview edits over three months — a single request form can cover the full scope. Your producer confirms the complete credit allocation and production schedule at once, and you approve the full run in one scope confirmation. Production executes sequentially across cycles. All specific details for each production in the series must be provided in the initial submission.
5. Revisions
Each project includes up to three structured revision rounds.
A revision round is a consolidated phase of feedback and implementation — not a series of individual isolated notes. When a round is complete, you submit your feedback as a single consolidated response through our online revisions system, then notify your producer by email that your notes are ready. Your producer will not begin revisions until that confirmation is received. All actual revision notes and threads should stay in the revisions system — not email.
Revisions are adjustments to how an approved request is executed, such as:
Tweaks to pacing, music, text, or selects
Refinements to tone or structure within the approved direction
The following are not revisions:
New creative ideas introduced after the request has been approved
Changes to previously approved direction or structure
Expanding the purpose, audience, or platform after approval
When a change introduces new direction or materially expands scope, your producer will confirm it as a new request and align on credits and timing before work continues. Additional revision rounds beyond those included may require additional credits.
6. Assets & Feedback
Active production cannot begin until required assets are received and the scope has been confirmed. If assets are already on file at the time of request, the request may move directly into active production as long as scope has been approved.
If required assets are delayed or incomplete, the request will pause until everything needed is available. Timelines will adjust accordingly.
To keep production moving, feedback and approvals should be provided within 2–3 business days per revision round. If feedback is delayed, the request will pause and resume once feedback is received, which could delay final delivery.
7. Production Capacity & Active Production
To maintain quality and predictable turnaround, one project is in active production at a time by default.
A single project may include multiple video deliverables when they share the same source material, creative direction, and scope — for example, multiple cuts from a single interview or shoot.
Concurrent production of separate projects, meaning work with distinct source material or substantially different creative direction, may be approved by the producer on a case-by-case basis when scope and capacity allow.
8. Shoot Requests & Asset Capture
The monthly post-production cycle described above applies to editing and postproduction work performed on existing assets — whether footage you've provided or assets previously captured on your behalf.
When new footage or photo assets need to be captured, those requests are submitted through a separate VideoMax Shoot Request Form. Shoot requests operate on entirely different timelines than post-production requests and follow their own planning and scheduling process.
Timelines vary based on the type and scope of the shoot:
Smaller captures such as b-roll or single-subject interviews require less lead time to plan and schedule
Larger or more complex shoots — multi-subject productions, location-dependent captures, or projects requiring specialized equipment — require more lead time and are custom scoped
Once a shoot is completed, the captured footage becomes source material for a subsequent post-production cycle. The shoot and the edit are treated as two separate requests with two separate timelines.
Your producer will confirm planning timelines and any credit requirements when a shoot request is submitted.
9. Turnaround & Rush Requests
Turnaround times are measured to first cut — the initial edit based on the approved request. Final delivery depends on feedback timing and revision rounds.
Typical turnaround to first cut: 5-7 business days from active production start.
Note: This turnaround applies to standard editing and post-production deliverables. Productions that require scripting, storyboarding, animation, or multiple sequential phases follow a custom timeline that your producer will outline in the scope confirmation. In those cases, the first deliverable in the sequence — a script draft, storyboard, or animatic, for example — may arrive within 5–7 business days, but the full production will span a longer window. You will always know the full timeline before work begins.
Timing may vary based on scope, number of deliverables, and current production volume. Your producer will always confirm timing after reviewing a request.
Time-Sensitive & Rush Requests
Some requests may require faster turnaround:
Time-sensitive: needed within approximately 3–5 business days
Rush: needed within 1–2 business days
Rush requests are not guaranteed. They are subject to availability, may require additional credits, and are handled at producer discretion. In some cases, rush requests may be accommodated as a courtesy, but this should not be assumed.
11. Your Producer & Account Management
Each VideoMax client has a dedicated producer who oversees requests, scheduling, scope, and overall account coordination.
VideoMax is designed to be managed for you — not by you. Your producer reaches out proactively, and if you ever need additional clarification, they are available as your point-of-contact.
Monthly Credit Summary
At the start of each month, your producer sends a VideoMax credit summary covering the preceding calendar month.
It includes:
Credits issued
Credits applied toward completed or active work
Balance remaining
Upcoming expiration dates
Producer observations and recommendations for the next cycle
Producer Check-Ins
During your first three months, a monthly check-in call is included — typically a brief 20–30 minute session scheduled shortly after your credit summary is sent. These calls keep the relationship calibrated and ensure production is tracking with your goals.
From month four onward, monthly check-ins transition to quarterly strategy sessions. Each session reviews what's been produced, what's performing, and plans the full upcoming quarter's production direction — so there's never a gap between where one quarter ends and the next begins.
12. Credit Rollover & Expiration
Your monthly credit summary will always show upcoming expiration dates, and your producer will flag credits at risk of expiring so you can put them to use before they're lost. Credits are issued monthly and roll forward for up to six months — your summary will always show you exactly where you stand.
A Note on Flexibility
These guidelines exist to keep VideoMax efficient and sustainable — not to be rigid. Producers may make reasonable exceptions when circumstances warrant. Flexibility is applied with intention and does not establish precedent.
Questions about scope, credits, or timing are always addressed before work proceeds.
These guidelines reflect current operating practices and will be updated as the system evolves.