20 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Video Production Company
Hiring a video production company requires more than a quick check of Google for the top production crews in the area. You need to talk to each production company in depth and make sure they are not only capable of providing the video production services that you need but also that they will mesh well with you and your team as you’ll spend quite a bit of time working together for the duration of the project. So, before you just hire a video production company because it was the first on your Google list, make sure you’re asking these questions first to ensure you choose the best production company for you and your project. 20 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Video Production Company.
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Questions to Ask About the Video Production Company
First, you’ll want to make sure you’re gaining valuable insight into the company itself. Beyond the name and phone number, you’ll need information that will help you to define whether the company is capable of producing the type of video content that you need. To do so, ask the following questions about the video production company before you decide who to hire:
- How long have you been in business?
- How many videos have you produced?
- Will you personally be involved in my project or will other team members be involved?
The next set of questions to ask before hiring a video production company will help you to define whether you can trust that the company will respect your project and define goals that align with yours to ensure the success of your video. Ask these questions to help you determine whether the production company’s view of a successful project aligns with your own views of success, because you certainly don’t want to hire a company that has completely different viewpoints on the success of a project compared to your own!
- What metrics do you use to define the success of a project you complete?
- Can you show me a video that you are most proud of in your portfolio and tell me why you think it was a success?
- What would you say is the most important aspect of the relationship you build with a client like me?
- What was the biggest mistake you ever dealt with when working on a project and how did you overcome it?
The questions above are going to help you establish what it will be like to work with the video production company and whether or not they are capable of overcoming any obstacles that may arise during the production process. You want to be in agreement with the answers that the video production company has to these questions, otherwise you may find yourself disappointed in how the project progresses later on if you decide to hire this particular group.
Questions to Ask About the Project
The next set of questions are more heavily focused on your individual project and needs. Make sure that you ask these questions before hiring a video production company but also that you get these answers in writing when you do hire the company for the project. You don’t want to go just on word-of-mouth agreements!
Remember, the video production crew may not be able to get started on your project right away. In fact, most in-demand production crews will have at least some form of a wait time before actively working on your project. Just get the important details, such as project start date, completion timeline and pricing in writing to ensure there are no surprises later on.
Ask the following questions about the project itself:
- When can you start on my project?
- How long do you anticipate the project to take?
- What about potential hold-ups that could extend the timeline?
If the company says there are no hold-ups, this should be a red flag as there is always the potential for unforeseen circumstances to present a hold-up on the project. Location permits, weather, talent issues and various other problems may arise that could delay production. These things shouldn’t put a halt to production, and should be properly discussed upfront, but they certainly should not be brushed under the rug as if they are not possible.
Questions to Ask About the Scriptwriting
If you’re hiring a video production company to write your script for you, a few questions should be asked to ensure this phase of the project is undertaken in a manner that aligns with your goals and needs. To help you get a better idea as to whether this is the company you will get the best product out of, ask the following questions about the scriptwriting process:
- How frequently do you write video scripts of this type?
- Can you show me some examples of the scripts you have written in the past?
- What do you know about my business?
You want to make sure they know basic facts and have an understanding of your business before you let them write a script. A creative team that does not understand how your business operates, who your core clients are, and what it is that makes your company successful will not be able to effectively produce a script that aligns with your business needs. This is very important when hiring a video production company that will also provide the script for your project.
Questions to Ask About Design
You’ll naturally need to ask the video production company about their past work and the designs that they can share with you to help you get an idea of the kind of videos they produce. But you’ll also want to get some information about design specifics relative to your video project. Ask the following questions to help you get a better idea of the design process for your project:
- Will custom designs be used for my project?
- Will I have a choice in the voiceover or narration?
- Will music include licensing for use online/television/etc?
Questions to Ask About Video Ownership & Rights
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Finally, you’ll need to ask some questions to help you decide if the video production company is going to relinquish rights to the content over to you or if there will be added fees or steps in order to receive ownership of the video once it is created. Ask the following questions to help you understand how their process works and what to expect when the project is finalized:
- What is the proposed pay schedule?
- When the project is complete, who owns the final video assets?
- What if I need to have edits made, are those included?
- When will I receive the finished project?
Again, make sure that you ask these questions before hiring a video production company and that you get the answers in writing if you decide to hire a particular crew for the job. Ready to get started on your next big video project? Give Beverly Boy Productions a call!