How an Agency Gets Footage From a Client Without Chasing Them

An agency gets footage from a client by sending a short, plain shot list, asking the client to film on their own phone, and collecting the clips in one agreed place such as a WhatsApp thread. The client does not need editing skills or special equipment. What they need is a clear list of what to film, how long each clip should be, and a deadline.

Most small clients will not read a long brief. They will read five lines on their phone. So the whole job is to make filming feel small and finishable.

Start with a shot list the client can film in one afternoon

A shot list is not a script. It is a list of simple moments you want on camera. Keep it to six or eight items. Each item should say what to film, where to stand, and roughly how long the clip should be.

• The owner or a team member saying one sentence about what the business does - The front of the shop, office or workshop, filmed slowly from left to right - One person doing the main task of the business, hands and tools in frame - A close-up of the product, the finished job or the detail clients ask about - A short clip of a happy customer, only with their permission - One clip of the team at work, no posing needed - A photo of the logo, the sign or the price list - One extra shot of anything that feels typical for the day

Ask for clips of 10 to 35 seconds. That range matches what Relsko can work with. Longer clips are fine to send, but the client should not feel they must film a documentary.

Tell them to hold the phone sideways or upright, but keep it the same way for the whole list. Upright is usually easier for short vertical videos. Ask them to film in daylight near a window if they can, and to avoid filming with the light behind them.

Use WhatsApp the way the client already uses it

WhatsApp works because the client already has it open. Do not build a new process for a small job. Create one group or one chat for the footage and keep everything there.

Set three rules at the start. First, send clips as video files, not as forwarded messages from other apps, because forwarding can lower the quality. Second, send photos separately from videos. Third, add one short line with each clip, such as "front of shop" or "packing an order". That line saves you guessing later.

Ask the client to send everything in one or two sittings rather than one clip per day. A single batch is easier to check, easier to name and easier to upload. If the client sends clips over several days, keep a simple note of what has arrived and what is still missing.

One more rule helps a lot: ask them not to edit, crop or add filters. The raw clip is more useful. You can cut it later.

Check the footage before you promise anything

When the clips arrive, watch them once with the sound on and once with the sound off. You are checking four things: is it in focus, is the light usable, can you hear the speech, and is the phone steady enough.

If a clip fails, do not ask for everything again. Ask for one replacement shot and say exactly what was wrong. "The sound is too quiet, please film this one again in the back office" is easier to act on than "the footage is not good".

Also check that you have permission for anyone who appears on camera, especially customers and children. A short written message in the same WhatsApp thread is enough for most small jobs. Keep it.

If you handle this for several clients, the page at /for/agency/ shows a worked example of the same process from shot list to finished video.

Keep the client's clips organised

Name files as soon as you download them. A simple pattern such as client-date-shot works well. Store the original clips in one folder and keep them until the video is approved.

Do not delete the client's messages. If a clip is missing or a client asks what happened to a shot, the thread is your record. It also shows what you asked for, which protects you if the client later wants a different edit.

When you have enough footage, move to the editing step. This is where a tool like Relsko helps. You upload the client's own clips and photos, answer at most a couple of questions, and the assistant proposes three concepts. You pick one, and Relsko makes three cut variants of that concept. You download the one that fits.

Relsko does not add stock footage or generated scenes. Everything in the video comes from what the client actually filmed. Standard export is available to everyone, and animated captions are in beta. The interface, the assistant, speech transcription and in-video text work in 16 languages, and a finished video's text can be translated into any of the other 15.

What to do next

Write a shot list of six to eight items, open one WhatsApp thread with the client, and set a deadline. When the clips arrive, check them and upload the best ones to Relsko. Choose one of the three proposed concepts, download one of the three cut variants, and send it to the client for approval.