Top 17 Questions On How To Choose a Video Production Company

It doesn’t matter whether you are only launching your project or already have a successfully running business because one day you will need a promotional video and it will become one of the most difficult challenges you may face.

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The main problem is that managers and CEOs postpone video production and focus on tasks that are more important. This leads to huge problems, as your video should not only be recorded but also edited, polished and launched before the project starts its work.

You are probably familiar with a situation when you create a great plan of your company’s development, which includes training programs, launching a new marketing project or inventing a new good. It seems that everything goes well and you still have a couple month left before all the goals will be achieved. Then suddenly you are reminded that you need a promotional video and that it won’t take you a day to create it! Are you going to panic or decide to leave everything as it is?

Luckily, you have an easy way out, as you can always hire a video production company, which will complete the task faster and you will be able to concentrate on your regular tasks. However, a professional production company is quite difficult to find, so we offer you a list of 17 questions, which may help to choose the one that will make an outstanding video for you:

  1. When was the company established? How much experience it has?
  2. How many production videos have they created?
  3. Who will be involved in the project? What is the company’s structure?
  4. Is the company’s culture similar to yours?

These questions will give you an overall information about the company, its policy, and missions. However, you need to keep in mind that your budget will greatly influence the selection of companies you are going to interview. If you have a limited budget, try to focus on younger and smaller companies or freelancers. A great option will be to interview foreign companies, as they usually have lower rates for services of the same quality.

  1. What are the criteria of video’s success?
  2. What is the video they are proud of the most?
  3. What are the key features of a prospering cooperation between the customer and their company?
  4. What were their biggest mistakes during work and how did they fix them?

Creating a video is quite a difficult and time-consuming task, so it is important to get as much information on the company, as possible. If you feel like you agree with them on the main issues, it is probably ‘your’ company and you can start cooperation at once. However, take your time to learn as much about them as you can.

  1. When will they start the project?

It is wrong to assume that every production company is ready to start immediately, so you need to choose the dates well in advance if you don’t want to postpone the launch of your project. Make sure you have all the agreements on paper. It will guarantee that every detail is agreed and will be completed properly.

  1. What are the deadlines?

A regular animated promotional video takes about two months to produce and if you want it to be delivered earlier, you need to indicate it before the contract is signed. Make sure you control the process and get regular updates on the progress of your video’s production.

  1. What potential problems may arise?

If the company is not able to answer such questions, they are most likely trying to trick you, avoiding uncomfortable answers.  That is why you should choose a production company, which is able to make a prognosis and form a list of potential hold-ups, like location restrictions, delayed feedbacks and so on.

  1. How will they manage edit requests and feedbacks?

It is important to always stay in touch and you need to make sure that the production company you hire is able to provide you will all the necessary data on the development progress. The best solution is to deal with a company, which has a project management instrument. It is software, which allows you to get information remotely and to add any editing requests in no time. As a bonus, you will be able to check workers and effectiveness of their work.

  1. Can they write properly?

The quality of your video won’t mean anything if it has a weak script. Make sure they have a professional writer, who is able to catch the idea and create an interesting and informative script.

  1. Do they understand your business?

It is impossible to convey the main idea of your project or service if the production company is not able to understand it. Make sure you stand on the same ground and they are able to explain your enterprise to the audience. Production company should understand key points of your product and add them to the video.

  1. Ask samples of previous scripts.

There is nothing wrong in asking for examples of their previous works. In such a way, you will be able to see how the project evolved: from creating the first draft to launching a ready video. Such samples will help you understand all the stages of the project and decide whether you have the same ideas on how a perfect video should look like.

  1. Ask to see examples of various works.

Not every animator is able to create videos of various styles and design, so you should get familiar with different projects before choosing the one you will work with.

  1. Will their animator use samples of designs and characters, while working on your video?

If you are ordering an animated, not a live-action, video, you need to ask the company whether they create all the characters and designs from scratch. If your budget or time is limited, you will most likely have to tolerate the fact that designers will use the characters they have already created or purchased. In such a case, find out how often they have used them before. The success of the video is in your hands, so you need to pay careful attention to the process of hiring a proper video production company. Lack of attention to the details may result in missing the deadlines and wasting money, so follow our tips and you will definitely find a company you can trust.

 

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