8 Tips to Choosing the Best Video Production Company For You
Choosing the best video production agency.
How do you get started making your corporate, branding, or promotional video? A quick internet search for “video productions” can quickly overwhelm you. So how do you pick one?
The realisation of your dream video rises and falls in the hands of your selected video production company. Therefore, choosing the right production house for your next video determines whether your dream video will be achieved. Nonetheless, choosing the best video production house in the pool of video houses in the market may be overwhelming. With every one of these houses promising heavens on earth, it may not be easy to settle on one that will meet your desired needs. However, we’ve got you covered. We have done our homework to present you with a checklist before choosing your next video production company.
How do you get started making your corporate, branding, or promotional video? A quick internet search for “video productions” can quickly overwhelm you. So how do you pick one?
1. What kind of quality is the production?
Review the past and current work of the production house
This will best enable you to understand the quality of the production house. Review the agency’s past and current videos and compare them to what you need as the quality of your desired video. By comparing these two factors, you will ascertain if the video production house meets your standards.
Always check video production quality. Customers must attain a minimum production level for all their candidates. What does this mean if you’re new to the field? The following tips can assist you in getting the best video services:
- Consider the look and feel of the corporate videos in the company’s portfolio with what you might see on TV or the movies. Do you think it’s a low-budget commercial you might see on TV late at night? Does it look like something you would expect to see at the high-end cinema? Does this resonate with what you have in mind in terms of quality for your video?
- Does the b-roll (a technical term for a video shown in support of someone talking but you don’t see the actual person talking) match what they’re saying? What do you see if the speaker mentions a forklift? Is it a forklift or shots of a city skyline? The “say it, see it” rule is used by more experienced video producers and editors, meaning that the video should match what is said.
- When there are interviews, do they sound professional, or do they sound like the microphone is 10 feet away? Newbie video producers utilise the video camera mic at times, resulting in an audio quality similar to how someone uses a speakerphone compared to the sound quality when using a lapel mic or a boom mic. Another issue to look out for is the noise level. Every time the person speaks, do you notice a difference in the background noise. This irregularity happens when background noise is not eliminated professionally during post-production.
- How is the lighting? Are there too many dark or too many bright spots in the video? When the lighting falls on someone’s face, does it look flattering?
2. Can they fit into your team?
Fitting with your team is an essential part of the puzzle. Are the corporate video agencies willing to bend to meet the project’s needs, or do they prefer to do things their way?
While there is no magical way to determine how they will work with you, the words they use on their website can provide clues. Do they come across as arrogant? Are they the kind of people you would put in front of the CEO without hesitation?
A quick, friendly chat over the phone or a face to face discussion with a representative of the company would be an effective way to determine a good fit. The intangible “do they get it” test will have a great deal of impact.
3. What types of video do they most often produce?
While many video production companies use similar tools, the types of videos can vary widely. It doesn’t necessarily follow that someone’s skills transfer to another style just because they are good at one. Wedding videography, TV commercial production, and corporate video production, for instance, are very different.
Although you will need some help defining your project, check out the company’s portfolio page. Are their work more inclined towards what your vision is? Are your project’s goals similar to what you’re seeing? Do they have the capacity for this? Or will it be too much of a stretch for them? You have to keep in mind that these are business people, so they might accept any assignment, even if they’re inexperienced in it.
4. How big is their crew on average?
This question will tell you how they operate and their pricing structure, which is valuable information as crew size doesn’t always translate to production value.
You’ll likely have to work with a pretty large crew if you plan to make a TV ad for a national audience. Depending on the factors to be covered for your video, you might need as few as 2-3 people. Anything more than that, and the company is only trying to impress you with redundancy in staffing. Remember that you are paying for the crew. Compared to how it was 20 years ago when it was only possible to achieve high-quality footage with huge cameras and lights, we live in an era where all the professional video equipment have somehow shrunk in size.
5. Do they provide corporate video scriptwriting services?
While we at capital M asia work more with a project guideline than a verbatim script, asking if they help with pre-production messaging is essential. Business models used by some corporate video production companies focus on receiving creative direction from an agency and executing the visuals at a high level. Our model is to work with the end client to create the video flow, messaging and logistical issues – and then work on the shoot and post-production.
This type of work can be challenging for video production vendors who do not provide a turnkey service. Some might resort to engaging services from freelance writers who are not equipped with the right skills and mindset to work on your script.
6. Are their clients similar in size to yours?
Even if the answer to this question isn’t necessary, at the very least, it’s worth discussing. For example, a one-man production company that makes 30 second Instagram or Facebook videos might not be able to scale up if you work at a Fortune 500 company. Possibly, but it’s more likely that they’re not ready.
On the other hand, if you’re a small business, you might not be able to afford a company that primarily serves the larger corporations but instead turn to a company that offers B2C or B2B video production services. If they’re used to large productions, they might have some creative tension if scaled back, which can only mean bad news for you.
7. Do you see video projects in their portfolio done for the same client?
Let’s be honest. We all like to change from time to time. Even when selecting a video production company to work on your media requirements, but when you see that a few of their projects are for the same customers over many years, you know something is unique about the agency.
8. How much do they charge?
Video Production Cost
As with most questions in business, a lot of your answer is likely to come down to the cost of corporate videos. Depending on your requirements and expectations, you could get it done for a few thousand dollars. If your needs are more complex, you may need significantly more than that. Many video production companies base their video production price list on time spent on a project. Billing is typically by the hour for most production agencies. For the actual shoot, there is a day rate and an hourly rate.
While some people may be stunned by video production costs, we believe you must factor in what you’re getting. Is a video presentation about a company or a video promoting your brand generating 100 more leads, which might result in thousands or millions in profit? If so, then a $10,000 video would provide you with a healthy return on investment. It will not make sense to create such a video if your goal is to sell 100 oil changes this month.
Your video needs may be different from that of another company. Still, this list gives you a good idea of what to consider when hiring an experienced video production company.
Your video needs may be different from that of another company. Still, this list gives you a good idea of what to consider when hiring the best video production company for your next video project.
If you need any help producing your corporate video, contact us, and we’ll provide you with the highest-quality video production services.
For video production services in Malaysia, contact capital M asia for Malaysia and the rest of ASIA or capital M productions for Singapore.
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VIDEO PRODUCTION
CORPORATE VIDEOS
PRODUCT VIDEOS
EXPLAINER VIDEOS
2D and 3D ANIMATIONS
TELEVISION COMMERCIALS
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
