Once you've decided to get involved in a media project, you'll need to do some front-end planning before talking with a producer. This is true whether you use an in-house production group or call an outside production service.

Define your objectives - You won't know if you've arrived unless you know where you're going! So, as clearly as possible, identify what it is you hope to achieve and what you want your audience to feel or know after they've seen the presentation. If your task is to train, identify specific measurable objectives (example: "the learner will be able to identify the four major assemblies... the learner will know the sequence of steps in account reconciliation...")

Define your audience - Develop an audience profile identifying their interest, attitude and present level of expertise or knowledge of the subject. It's also useful to know the general makeup of the audience (age, sex, ethnic mix, etc.) in order to create the right pace and "tone" for the presentation.

Identify the approval chain - Keep in mind there are at least two audiences for your project: the target audience it is designed for and the one who's paying for it. The objectives of these two groups may not coincide. Get everyone who must give final approval involved early in the process - it can head off problems later on.

Determine your budget - Many communicators are reluctant to disclose their budget to a producer. It's to your advantage to share that information; however, there are many variables to consider and your producer will stand a better chance of writing a proposal that's on target if he or she knows roughly how much you're committing to the project.

Develop a schedule - It's important to establish a realistic schedule. Eight to ten weeks is a practical time frame for most videotapes; film takes a little longer. CD-ROM projects can take considerably longer, depending on their level of complexity.