$6,500 Later, I Was Left Re-Editing the Work Myself
This is a review of Ko Massiah - Branded Editing & Filmmaking.
I hired Ko for one month at a cost of $6,500 to help launch my nonprofit, Calls From Gaza. His role expanded beyond video editing to include creative direction, social media strategy, and campaign development. I recognize that it was a complicated project with a lot of moving parts, and Ko did contribute some ideas that I appreciated.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend his services based on my experience.
My biggest problem wasn't simply that I disliked some of the creative work. It was how Ko responded when I told him that his editing wasn't up to the standard I expected or that certain creative choices weren't working for me. Instead of taking the feedback professionally and making the requested revisions, he became increasingly defensive and repeatedly insulted me.
As a paying client, I should be able to say, “This edit isn't working for me,” without being personally attacked for it. Creative professionals and clients are inevitably going to disagree sometimes. Being able to receive criticism, discuss it respectfully, and revise the work accordingly is a fundamental part of providing a professional creative service.
There were also concrete problems with the deliverables. I specifically asked for the “ums” and “ahs” to be removed from my introductory video, yet they remained in the shortened edit. I repeatedly requested approximately three-minute segments from a 22-minute interview for Instagram, which was consistent with what we had discussed from the beginning, but I did not receive the edits I needed. I eventually started editing the material myself in iMovie and found that changing the pacing immediately produced something much closer to what I had been asking for.
I also had concerns about some of the creative direction. When I questioned his choice of Western music for a humanitarian campaign centered on Palestinian families and told him I wanted musical suggestions from the Palestinian members of my team, he responded, “Too many cooks in the kitchen.” I found that dismissive. I hired Ko for his expertise, but ultimately this was my organization, and the Palestinian members of my team deserved a voice in how their stories and culture were represented.
I also felt pressured to launch the campaign before we had enough content prepared to sustain the launch, despite repeatedly expressing concerns about this strategy.
I want to be fair about my own role. I was juggling an enormous amount while trying to launch the organization, and I'm sure some of my requests could have been communicated more efficiently. Ko was also doing considerably more than editing, and I recognize that the scope of the project was demanding.
But none of that excuses repeatedly insulting a client because she is unhappy with the work.
What ultimately turned this into a one-star experience was the way the relationship ended. When I became more direct about the editing problems and the revisions I wanted, our communication became increasingly hostile. Rather than professionally resolving those disagreements and ensuring that the work I had paid for was in usable condition, Ko abruptly ended our working relationship at the conclusion of the month, leaving me with a significant amount of material that still needed to be re-edited.
For a fledgling nonprofit, $6,500 is an enormous investment. I expected to finish the month with a substantial body of polished, publication-ready content. Instead, I found myself learning video editing so I could redo work I believed I had already paid a professional to produce.
There is nothing wrong with a creative professional disagreeing with a client. There is nothing wrong with recommending a different strategy. And there is certainly nothing wrong with establishing reasonable boundaries around one's time and scope of work. But repeatedly insulting a client because she questions your work or asks for changes crosses a line for me.
Ko may be better suited to clients who want to hand over substantial creative control and are comfortable deferring to his judgment. But based on my experience with the quality of the finished work, resistance to feedback, failure to deliver several requested edits, and especially the way I was spoken to when I expressed dissatisfaction, I cannot recommend his services.