I wish it was a guaranteed that any company we hire will provide the best video production on the planet, especially within the budget we want to work with…
Occasionally, even we have to hire a video production company. Why? Well, we film primarily in the West Palm Beach and Stuart areas. We do travel, and we do sometimes travel out of state. For some of our clients, they don’t mind paying the extra travel cost, because they know what they are getting, and it’s worth it to them. Other clients simply don’t have the extra budget for their corporate video production. So we have to locate another production company in the local market of where they need to film.
I can help you hire a top-notch video production company using the same method I use (to qualify an outside video company for my clients).
1. Find the right company that specializes in the type of video you need.
I tell my clients to use their favorite search engine and locate several companies in the city that they need the video to be filmed. Next, none of us like to read but take a look around and read a little about them and what they offer. This is important, because although there’s a “Video Production” Industry, there are different types of video companies that may specialize is one area or another. For example, here at Digital Motion Studios, we specialize in business-to-business. That would mean any type of video a business would need is what we specialize in. We won’t be a good fit if you need a dance recital film for your daughter or a wedding.
The same holds true if you need a corporate video, TV commercial, training video or other type of business video. I don’t think you want to hire a company that specializes in weddings to come film your TV commercial or corporate video. You would want to hire a video company like Digital Motion Studios that has done hundreds of commercials and corporate videos that specializes in marketing and business type videos.
2. Look through their portfolio for samples of their work.
Looking through a company’s video portfolio is crucial. This is a great way to see if what they are doing, in regards to quality and style, will be the same light you want to see your product or company in. A video is a direct representation of you. If your video is bad, you look bad. Also, listen to the audio in the sample videos. Is it clear? Does the music fit the mood of the production? I’ve seen many videos with bad audio or music that just doesn’t fit what I’m watching. Picking the right soundtrack can take hours of digging through resources and finding the music track that fits. You know it when you hear it. If the videos are pleasing to watch, you’re on the right path.
3. How does their website look?
Just like your video represents you, your website also does. If their website looks old or just plain unattractive, that is not a good sign. How much do they care about appearance? If they don’t care how they look, why would they care how you look? A nice, decent website shows they care what they are putting out there for the world to see.
4. Are they easy to work with?
This is a biggie. Wouldn’t you like to know how they work with their clients? Do they have a personality of a wet mop, or are they a pleasure to be around? How do they dress? Do they look like they are reliving Woodstock? When your working in high-end business environments, you want to at least blend in and be professional. Yes, we all have clients that are kicked back sometimes and what your wearing doesn’t even matter, but you want someone with a good personality and who is easy to work with. Feel free to try to call or reach out to some of the client’s featured in their videos. We all can give someone our best references, but how about you pick whom to call?
5. How much will they charge?
Once you found someone that meets your criteria to this point, now its time to look at cost. Is the most expensive always the best? Is the cheapest always the worst? The answer, of course, is no. Reach out to them and provide enough information that they can give you an accurate cost or least a budget range. Until everything is known, sometimes it’s hard to have an exact cost. If the cost of the video production seems high, maybe ask them why they are 50% higher then the other two people. There are very valid reasons for this. Maybe one video company films on high-quality DSLR and has good, but basic, equipment, and the other films on very high-end Cinema cameras, will be using camera cranes and dollies. Often, equipment being used will affect the overall cost. A perfect example is the cost of having an x-ray, MRI and a CAT scan. which method provides a better image?
Cost is not everything but don’t always choose the lower cost video production company. I’d rather pay a little more and have a video I can use then pay less and have a video I’m less than proud of. On the other hand, if the cheaper video company has a proven record and the work is amazing and to your satisfaction, that company may be your best option. They may simply have fewer mouths to feed and lower overhead.
Conclusion
Follow these steps and do your homework. It doesn’t matter if it’s here in West Palm Beach or a little town in North Dakota, the same principles apply, and these tips will give you the best chance of finding that local video production company that will work best for you.
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