"How long does it take?" is the most common question and the easiest one to answer wrongly.
Most timelines are guesses. The problem with a guess is that it only looks at production: "video production takes two days" — but within the whole job, production is usually the shortest step.
Four steps
Every job goes through the same four steps:
Brief. What is wanted, for whom, in what tone. This step depends entirely on the other side and is usually where the most time goes.
Direction. Deciding what to make and how. If the direction is not set before production starts, production is wasted.
Production. The actual making. The most visible step, and usually the shortest.
Delivery and revision. Showing the result and adjusting to feedback. If the number of rounds is not agreed up front, this step can go on indefinitely.
Why the split matters
When a deadline only counts production, every delay looks like the client's fault. When each of the four steps is measured, where the delay sits stops being a matter of debate.
I keep these four steps separate on every job. Time spent waiting for a brief is not counted as production time — but it does not become invisible either.
How many revision rounds
This has to be agreed at the start. Unlimited revisions serve no one: the job never ends, the cost cannot be predicted, and the result is rarely better than after the first three rounds.