How many of you guys that work in agencies give .fla files to clients after the campaign/project is finished? And, if you do, is it under certain conditions? What do you client guys think about that?

Hi Denis,

I think it depends on who the client is and what they are going to do with it. Most clients would still need to ask an agency to make any further updates and its often preferable to go back to the agency that created the software assuming they dont then hold the client to ransom.

We have had one or two occasions in the past when we have given out the .fla and have eventually found the code, including our comments (and images), appearing on a number of reskinned projects from one of our startup "competitors". Once you give out the code it is easy for it to be passed on and reused especially if it is modular in nature and not always by your client.

Microsoft , etc does not hand out their code for this very reason, they would be out of work very soon if everybody copied their code and saved themselves the months of work and many '000 of $ that went into the development.

That said I have clients who do request the code upfront but they do look after it and only require it as insurance should they need it in the future to make amends. Invariably they do come back to us for these amends, which are often small and therefore are not charged for.

In summary I think it depends on how intricate the code is, can it be reused by you, is it really usefull to your client and what would your client be doing with that code. Its a judgement call for each client, most clients dont need the source and as a habit I prefer to keep it safe inhouse, ready for the client to reuse whenever.

All the best

Rowan

Naked Penguin Boy:::Engaging Digitial Communications

Evening
 

I think simply the client paid you to do the work and really they should own the end product which includes all the source.  Really what value is the fla for you except if you want to hold the client to ransome for future work.  Not best practice!!

The only thing is if you used some advanced controls within the movie which the client did not pay for but are of your own library.  However this should have been confirmed with client before hand.

Thanks

Shane

www.punkyduck.com

On 19:54:16 22 September 2008 lazar wrote:

How many of you guys that work in agencies give .fla files to clients after the campaign/project is finished? And, if you do, is it under certain conditions? What do you client guys think about that?

I agree with the general consensus, we outsource flash work and always ask for the fla file.  Not so that we can copy the code, but so that we can be sure that changes can be made in the future.

This is especially important when using freelancers, as there is no guarantee  that they will be available in the future to make changes.

www.gpmd.co.uk