What is the Process for Getting a Professional Video?

Video production crew in silhouette

June 17, 2022

You’ve decided to give video marketing a shot and now you’re ready to produce your first professional video. The content deadline is on the calendar, so it’s time to plan for your shoot.

When it comes to professional video production, you’ll need more than a pen, notepad, and a creative idea to make it happen.

With all of the elements that go into video production, understanding the process — and having an organized approach — will make all the difference in a successful video project.

In addition to using a team of professional video producers, you’ll want to follow a few key steps to make sure you create a video that drives results for your business.

Figure Out the Purpose of Your Video

Step number one: figure out the “why” of your video. You may want to ask yourself some helpful questions to determine your video’s purpose:

  • What is the goal outcome of this video? 
  • Who is my target audience? 
  • What do I want people to feel when they watch this video? 

Depending on the type of professional video, the purpose of your video will vary. Some videos may be looking to promote a particular product, while other videos might be after promoting a bigger idea or aiming to emote a specific feeling from the audience.

One thing we know for sure is that audience engagement is always better with video content. So regardless of the type of video, having a clear purpose provides direction for the production of your video.

Find a Video Production Company to Work With

Once you’ve determined the purpose of your video, you’ll want to find a qualified professional video production company to help you bring your vision to life. As you look to hire a video production company, consider the following:

  • Look online–the best place to start is with a simple Google search for your local area. “Best video production companies” can yield local companies which will provide you with a list of viable options to filter through.
  • Ask colleagues or friends–sometimes the best recommendations come from people we know and trust. Don’t sleep on this option for finding a great company to work with. Ask colleagues for recommendations that work in the same industry as you.
  • Determine your budget–make sure your dream company fits your budget. You will save a lot of time in the process of finding a video production company by knowing your budget going in. Even if a company is a perfect brand fit, if they don’t fit your budget, you can move on quickly without wasting your time or the company’s time.
  • Vet the companies–just because a company comes recommended, doesn’t mean it’s not important to do your own due diligence. Ask for examples of recent work, client portfolios, and ask for references if available.
  • Look at their work/portfolio–part of the vetting process is to look at examples of their work, both past and recent. Make sure you see at least some work that was created within the last year. Understand that companies and teams change, so recent work examples are extra important.
  • Look at reviews–once you have a list of potential companies, be sure to read reviews before making your decision. While reviews on a company’s actual website are one place to start, be sure to also read reviews on third party platforms such as Google or Yelp for a full picture of the company’s reputation.

What Kind of Video Production Company Should You Hire?

As you search for a video production company that is the perfect fit for your brand, you need to choose one of two key options: agency or specialist. Let’s dig into the differences and benefits of each.

Agencies

With an agency, you avoid a one man show making a poor attempt at wearing many hats. There is a marked benefit to working with a full team agency. With an agency, you can expect experts for creative, planning, directing, lighting, editing, color grading and distributing. If your audience expects a very curated video, a fully qualified team through an agency may be the best route for you.

Still, with all the pizazz of working with an agency, you risk falling victim to the cross-sell and upsell. All of those experts cost money (big money), so you can expect that some agencies may try to upsell you services you may not need. The key is in knowing what you need and avoiding what you don’t.

Specialists

If you have a specific, one time need for a video, hiring a video specialist may be the better  answer for you. Think corporate videos, one-off event videos, and single promotion videos. If you have ongoing marketing campaigns requiring video, consider an agency (more on that above).

However, with a specialist, you may not experience the curated process and defined timelines. Many single specialists won’t follow the full three phases of video production. Instead, they’ll focus mostly on 2D and 3D graphics, or special FX and animation, which centers mainly on post-production.

Local Versus National Video Production Company

After you decide on an agency or video specialist, you will next need to determine whether you hire a local or national video production company. As with any decision, it’s important to consider all of your options, and that may include getting quotes from both local and national video production companies.

With a local company comes the opportunity to support a local business, and a lower price tag for video production. With that lower price tag, you do get less service (as with most things that cost less). In general, local video production companies have a limited amount of equipment, a limited number of staff members, and may not be adequately qualified (remember low cost equals low skill). Local companies often do not produce content that competes at a national level.

With a national video production company you gain access to a wider range of talent, multiple teams, best-in-class audio, camera focus, framing and more. At JB Media Productions, we only hire freelancers with ten or more years of experience. That means that whatever crew we send, they will be highly qualified to produce your video.

Plan Out the Video Shoot

In any good video shoot process, you will want to consider the three stages of planning for your video: pre-production, production, and post-production.

All of the planning should take place in the pre-production phase. This is when your creative directors will decide on a timeline, create a storyboard, define the budget, acquire actors, and create a shot list. The goal is to work out as many of the potential issues as possible before production starts, so it’s smooth sailing once production begins.

Create and Implement a Timeline

A key part of pre-production is creating and implementing a timeline. A proper video production timeline will guide the video production process from start to finish with as few hiccups as possible. An effective timeline will include the start date of the project, what the project tasks are, who is working on each task, when tasks begin and end, the duration of each task, how tasks group together, and the completion date of the project.

Find a National Video Production Company: JB Media Pros

When it comes to marketing and your overall budget, it’s important to understand the full process before committing to a certain spend amount.The process for creating a professional video can be straightforward with the right team of video professionals working with you.

At JB Media Productions, we pride ourselves on providing video services that drive results for businesses. If you’re interested in working with us, reach out to our team.

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