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What to consider when choosing a video production company to create your marketing videos.

Author: John Webb
by John Webb
Posted: Feb 21, 2019

When entering into the world of video content creation for your business, one of the most daunting aspects can be selecting the right video production company to produce your projects. Especially if you're new to the process, the amount of details, nuances and minutiae you are required to navigate may make the selection process seem like it boils down to a hat toss; after all, how could you possibly immerse yourself in all of the details of a field that takes decades to master in the short time you have to find a new vendor? Luckily there are a few elements that you can look for from the outset, some of which might not be readily apparent when browsing various production companies' wares for the first time. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a video production company for your next branding video, marketing video or TV commercial production.

There's more to a company's work than cost

Many vendors your business will work with provide technical or commoditized services or products that are easy to make A/B comparisons with while you make a vendor selection. These things are fairly straightforward: generally the range of costs for services that fit into this category normalize within a range that generally applies to everyone.

When it comes to video and TV commercial production companies, things are a bit more complicated. Asking how much a video costs is like asking how much a house costs--it depends on what you're looking for and what makes sense financially for your needs. Everything in a video production is modular, from the talent to the director to the size of the crew to the number of shooting days to the nature of the location and the amount of equipment you bring. Finding the right balance of investment, quality and return are the main focus for any business looking to produce a video. So while asking for blind quotes from production companies might give you some sense of the budgets they're used to or what they've worked with in the past, you'll want to look at more than just that. The right production company will treat budget as a conversation, not a hard quote, because they are using their years of expertise to custom craft the right project for you from the ground up. So what is a better way to approach the cost angle?

A more useful way to look at cost is to ask the production company for a range of budgets that they've worked with, as well as example work to coincide with those amounts. Then, when you're looking through the work samples, ask yourself, "Does the quality level remain consistent between projects of similar budgets?". Meaning, within the confines of what's achievable inside of certain budget restraints, does the video production company hit a regular level of quality every time? A lot of production companies can produce one or two good videos. Only a few can do it every time. Look for consistency within the budget range you're looking to invest.

Find out SPECIFICALLY who the team was who created their past work

Many production companies have a revolving door of freelance talent that comes in for a project or two, then leaves never to be heard from again. Many of these production companies try to maintain a semblance of stability with the veneer of their branding, but in reality you have no idea who actually created the videos you're watching from them unless you really dig in and ask. The most important people are: the director, cinematographer, editor, colorist and composer. Also important are the animators, designers and VFX artists.

What good is a sample of a production company's work if these roles are filled with different people for your project? If there is a particular aspect to the sample videos that you really like and want to make sure matches your own video production, don't expect that just because the producer is the same that a completely different team will make something exactly the same way. Insist on seeing work that is by the same people who will be working on your project.

Ask for revisions to a quote if you want them

Many businesses, since they're used to vendors giving hard quotes, will ask for a proposal, review different ones, and then make a selection. But when you're dealing with a video production company that is creating a piecemeal creative video project for you, you want the process to be a conversation rather than a hard sell. This may add a bit of time to the process, but in the end it will make your investment produce a greater return and result in a higher quality video in the end.

If the work and the people are of the caliber you want for your project, then that is the most important element. Give your production company guidelines for budget, and ask for more than one approach that outlines what would need to be sacrificed in order to get the budget where you want it. Some businesses think hiding their budgets will result in saving money in the end, but when it comes to video production, and especially TV commercial production, that isn't the case; there's nearly unlimited money you could spend on a single production. You're much better off being transparent with your budgetary guidelines from the beginning so that the video production company you're working with will be able to provide concepts and production solutions that best meet your needs.

About the Author

Flow Production and Post is one of the premier video production companies in New York City. We create high-end videos and TV commercial content for a wide range of clients across many industries worldwide.

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Author: John Webb

John Webb

Member since: Dec 04, 2018
Published articles: 2

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