Finding Best Video Production Company: 7 Important Questions

Can the video production company tell a compelling story?

Video production companies that know how to engage you in storytelling are more likely to captivate your clients and customers. Those that only operate with the standard videographer mentality, presenting facts and figures in unimaginative ways, will bore your audience. Can the company make average things seem emotionally satisfying and entertaining? Great stories reach our hearts and change the way we think about a topic or issues. These type of stories have the capacity to drive measurable action on a brand’s behalf. When you find that you become emotionally involved in the story or the character in the commercial film, you have a good contender for your corporate video production company.

 Is their portfolio impressive?

The first thing you want to check is the portfolio page of a video production company’s website. Is their work visually stimulating, emotionally engaging and colorful? Does the storyline intrigue you and make sense? Are the people in the films well lit? Are the videos creative and compelling? Do they create a mood that properly reflects the story being told? Have they produced work in a variety of areas: corporate, non-profit, education, health care, product promotion? Have they produced videos in a variety of styles such as testimonials, narrative driven films, commercials, mini-documentaries and humor? Does the director know how to get good results from professional actors as well as non-actors?

Most importantly, do you enjoy watching their work. Are the goals and objective of the video clear? Do they seem to have the ability to produce films that could represent your company and your brand? If the answer is yes, contact them and set up an initial meeting, either on the phone, via zoom or in person.

Does the production house have a mission in the world that makes a positive difference that resonates with your brand?

Look for a film production company that is driven by mission and values. Such organizations are motivated by more than the almighty dollar and are likely to bring more passion and professionalism to your project. A mission to use the cinematic arts to make real people’s lives better in meaningful ways reflects an inner commitment to something larger than themselves. This will likely result in a significant investment in the outcome of your projects. Additionally, if their mission aligns in some way to your own, you have a perfect match.

Does the video producer respond quickly to your inquiry and do they educate you regarding the different ways to tell a story, including the price range associated with each stage of video production?

Those that are experts in their craft have a lot of knowledge and information to share. Video producers that are willing to take the time to educate you in the processes of video storytelling are already demonstrating generosity and attentiveness. Producers often reflect the culture of the company they work for. If they are responsive to you before you sign a contract, you can feel confident that they will exemplify a similar commitment to you as a client and the success of your video campaign after you sign a contract.

There is a certain transparency to a company that is willing to break down the associated cost of each stage of video production. This gives you, the client, a certain amount of power in controlling costs and scaling the project to your budget.  At the same time, don’t expect video production companies to share line item costs. Video production is a very competitive business and companies can’t afford to reveal profit margins to their competitors.

Did you enjoy your initial conversations with the producer of the video production company?

This discipline is filled with artists that have enormous egos and are greatly lacking in people skills. Life is too short to deal with such. Storytelling takes time. You will be spending a fair amount of that time talking with, emailing and meeting with the producer. You should at least choose someone you enjoy working with. Did they have a pleasant personality mixed with some humility? Were they knowledgable and professional? Did they take the time to answer all your questions? If you felt rushed or talked down to during the initial stages, that is likely to continue throughout the video production process.

Clearly you must choose one of the best cinematic storytellers in your area, however if all things are equal, select someone who will partner with you to create videos that will accomplish your goals and objectives and make it fun along the way.

Does the production company have excellent reviews on google?

Reputable video production companies will have been around for some time.  In the age of Google, it is easy to separate the best from the worst through google reviews. Take the time to read through several reviews and consider even reaching out to a few of the video production company’s  past clients.

Did the producer ask you a lot of questions about your company, your objectives and goals and the type of video that you are envisioning?

Storytellers want to know all about you, your company and the stories behind your organization. They think in story form and are inquisitive to discovery what makes your company tick. They want to know your back story, what you want and the challenges that have prevented you from getting that along the way. It’s not just about your successes, but also about the difficulties of the journey. Struggles makes a story interesting.  Uncovering the depths of who you are, what you do, how you do it and how you make an impact in people’s lives, the community and the world is quintessential to creating a great story.

Additionally, great producers want to learn what is important to you in a brand story and how you will measure success. Great video storytellers will spend half of their time with you finding out your secret sauce so they can begin to envision ways to produce a video that will accomplish your goals.

I hope these questions prove to be helpful in your search for the right video storyteller. If I can ever help you along the way, please feel free to schedule an appointment on our contact page. Good luck and find a way to tell your story!

Dr. David K Bray
President/Producer, Barking Squirrel Media, LLC