This is a tough topic. Generally, you want to get a deposit up front. Most times, you’ll have to put your stipulations into the ‘Work for Hire Agreement’ or ‘Production Contract’. When you start dealing with large companies that either are or attached to corporate entities; unless your company isin a much heavier ‘weight-class’ they are not going to pay deposits. You cut a deal with MTV and see if they’ll pay you a deposit! What you can do in that situation is put into the contract (if you write the contractor ask for it in an addendum)is a ‘Pay as you go clause’. That means, upon completion of each stage of the project you get paid. Now the stipulation is the client must give signed approval of stage completion. Once that is given, you send them an invoice and move onto the next stage. All this is doing is getting everything into the record so that if either the client or you default on the project, the laywers will know which way to point the red pens. The caution of this method for the producer is; stick to your deadlines and get any extentions of deadlines approved in a timely manner.
Most clients prefer the pay-as-you-go method as it is easier to contend with smaller payments than one big ‘wet bite out their budget’s backside!’
Concerning clients; follow your instincts, not your excitement. Unless you are born clueless (bless your heart if your are), when you listen to your prospective client they will tell you everything you need to know during your first official discussion of the potential project. If for any reason you ‘get a bad feeling’ or incur doubts about said client, don’t take the job. Yeah, they might have been legit but something would have popped up that would have caused you problems. There will be other clients.
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