VIDEO PRODUCTION: If you’re looking to create a video in Toronto, whether it’s promotional business material, event marketing, or an e-learning course, it’s important to pick a reliable agency with high standards. After all, the end product will be a direct reflection of your business! Therefore, it’s essential to choose a production company that you can trust to create a video that accurately represents you and your business with high-quality production value that you can be proud of.
If you’ve never worked with a production company or created a video before, you may not know where to start when it comes to choosing the right one for your business. To make the whole process easier for you, we’ve outlined ten valuable questions to ask a potential video production company.
During your initial consultation, ask these questions to help you understand if this company is the right fit for you, and capable of producing a video that you’ll be excited to share with your audience.
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Who is the producer that I’ll be working with?
The producer is the person in charge of beginning the project and seeing it through to final delivery. They will be your closest contact throughout the duration of the process, so it’s good to become familiar with them early and know that they understand and can execute your creative vision and objectives.
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What are my budget limitations?
A video can be made on just about any budget – the only difference is quality and scope. A producer that you want to work with is someone who can take your budget number and tell you that you’re limited to exactly this number of shoot locations, hours, types of gear, video length, crew size and number of talent. Beware the producer that promises everything regardless of what your budget is – everything comes at a cost, and you’re better off knowing what that is sooner rather than after the invoice is mailed.
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Do you have any samples or reels to show us?
Any video production company or freelance videographer worth their salt has a reel for you to see. This is a highlight video of their best work – or perhaps work that’s relevant to your project. When watching a reel, you’re taking into account not only the quality of the shots but the range of styles being shown to get a sense of how adaptable the video production company is to different branding guidelines and objectives. At Arc and Crown, we actually have multiple different reels to show clients, based on if they want marketing, eLearning, or an event video.
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Will people onscreen be given photo release forms to sign?
This one is important. If someone shows up in front of the camera and you intend to use that video commercially, you need written consent to use their likeness in your video. Usually, the video production company will come prepared with their own photo release forms, but you can feel free to bring a release form with your own terms. If you’re using your employees in the video, you want to take into account the case where they are no longer a part of your company.
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What do I need to provide you with?
No one knows your company better than you, but it’s the video production company’s job to get as close as they can get to convey your message. To know your brand or company better, your producer should be requesting for past presentations, your branding guidelines document, any relevant white papers you’ve published, and your logo and other graphic assets. You may not have all of these on hand, but anything to allow your producer to understand your needs and pain points better will contribute to the effectiveness of the video.
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Who writes the first script, and how many revisions will we get?
Either the client or the video production company will take the first crack at the script, but regardless of who builds the first draft, there should always be some back and forth between both parties to ensure proper collaboration towards a polished script. The script is the backbone of the entire production and should rarely be rushed with a “we’ll fix it on set” mentality. Your producer should be working with you to ensure the script plays well on screen and conforms to the originally proposed video length.
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How will the video be delivered?
Usually, the video production team will offer a download link to access your video, but other physical forms exist such as DVD and hard drive. Your video production company should be capable of delivering the file to you in any format you request.
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Do you have samples of videos produced for a specific social media platform?
When creating videos for social media, the specific requirements of each platform needs to be taken into account. For example, right now Instagram sees better use out of square video than rectangular video because it gets more screen space on mobile. Conversely, Twitter allows a smaller pixel resolution than Facebook or LinkedIn. Each website is different and will interact differently with your videos, or video links. It’s good to ensure that your video production company is aware of the requirements for your exact needs.
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Who is the videographer and what equipment do they bring?
If you’re keenly interested in the exact look of your video, you may want to inquire a little bit about the videographer(s) in charge of your filming. Each videographer comes with their own list of equipment, including the camera, lighting, microphones, etc.
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Are all the stock footage and music royalty-free?
Your video might use some stock footage to give it a more impressive look for your budget, for example from Shutterstock. You’ll at least have some music laid underneath the video to give it some pace or rhythm. However, someone shot that footage or created that score, so if you’re planning to use your video commercially, your producer should know the legal rights associated. Most stock footage and music sites are completely royalty-free, so once you’ve purchased them, you can use it indefinitely. However, if you’re looking to use content that is not royalty free but under the Creative Commons license, then your producer will need to determine whether that content is permissible in commercial content.
Want to get started with a video production company in Toronto committed to creating valuable, high-quality video? Then say hi to us at Arc and Crown Media .
Backed by a passionate and driven team , we’re dedicated to making every company, every person, every story, interesting and enticing. We provide video production services for those in healthcare , professional services , associations and colleges , franchises and agencies. We fit your budget and reflect your business.
Reach out to Arc and Crown today to get started on your video project or take a look at some of our work here .
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