Insights
5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Video Production Agency
Video marketing is expensive, and hiring the wrong studio can be even more costly, regardless of the price. In fact, choosing an agency, or videographer, on price alone is likely to reward you with a generic corporate video which doesn’t do your brand justice.
The best way to ensure you wind up with the right brand film agency is to ask the right questions in the discovery process. And we’re not talking about “Do you use 4K cameras?” or “How many lenses do you have in your bag?”
There are questions which true marketing leaders use to determine if an agency is a transactional, point-and-click content producer, or a real, editorial creative partner. The right creative studio will help you to build a legacy for your brand. You can’t put a price on that.
So here are 5 questions to ask before you hire a video production agency. Fire them off on your next discovery call and see what comes back.
“What kind of videos do you specialise in?”
It’s ok for an agency to show variety in their work. It’s preferable, in fact. But you’re not looking for a “gun-for-hire” here. You’re looking for a specialist, who understands your audience and your industry.
Avoid the brand film agency that says “we do a bit of everything”. A studio which does commercials, training videos and tik-toks would appear to be more focussed on bagging your cash than understanding your needs. They’re less likely to challenge your brief, and your beliefs, and more likely to take your fee and roll out something generic.
At Eklectics, we specialise in documentary video production. Documentary is a powerful marketing tool for brands with complex or up-market products and propositions. Think complex tech and engineering firms, non-profits and healthcare organisations, or even premium retail brands. If you’re not simply competing on price, and your ICP takes their time to make a decision, you need to hit them with engaging, memorable storytelling. They might not buy today. You want them to remember you tomorrow.
“What is your creative process, from start to finish?”
When you're shopping for a video production studio, you don’t only want to know what you’ll get (e.g. a video), you want to know how much work YOU (and your marketing team) will have to do along the way.
The price of the video is one thing, but what about the cost of your own time and effort on the project? And that isn’t to say that you don’t want to be involved to some degree. But you definitely don’t want a chaotic shoot, which is figured out on the fly and turns into a major time suck.
You’re looking to avoid “well, that depends on the brief”, or “we’ll figure it out on the day”.
The formula for producing a forgettable corporate video is well established: have the client produce a script-by-committee, find somewhere quiet and brightly-lit on location at the brand, and then feed the script to a non-actor from the company who sees the camera like a gun to their head.
If this is what you get, then you hired a videographer, not a full-service creative partner.
The Eklectics process doesn’t start with a script, it starts with questions: we interrogate your brand, your product, your audience and your objectives, we help you to establish whether documentary storytelling is the right marketing solution for your brand, and then we help you to plan an authentic documentary shoot. It could be an inspirational founder story, or a story about a customer overcoming their challenges, with the help of your product and finding success. It could be a behind the scenes glimpse at the painstaking process of delivering your product or service.
Whatever format it takes, it will above all else be real. In the age of AI flyers and disposable social media content. Authenticity matters above all else.
We don’t arrive on site and “wing it”, we stick to the plan that we helped you to devise and this allows us to be efficient with your time and effort on the day of the shoot. Get in, get out and get on with the editing process.
“Who will actually be working on our project?”
This is a big one, and it’s not a trick question. Are the filmmakers “in the room”? And, perhaps more importantly, where are they otherwise?
Sometimes, an agency will outsource work to cheap freelancers, and you want to understand, as best you can, who will produce your video marketing and what their credentials are.
A common misconception, however, is that the filmmaker needs to be in the room during discovery. If you’re not talking to the director initially, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A good director is probably out in the world, directing a good brand film.
But the representative on the discovery call should be able to name the team responsible for your project and relay their credentials. This should help you to figure out whether you’re speaking to the A-team but buying the B-team.
Eklectics is founded and operated by award-winning documentary filmmakers Jon Clarke and Robin Andrews. When you work with Eklectics, you aren’t getting a videographer, who’ll point and shoot, and deliver your video brief to the letter. You’re getting a team of experienced cinematographers and editors who use proper documentary filmmaking techniques to engage an audience and inspire a reaction.
“How do you handle revisions and client feedback?”
Before you sign on the dotted line, you need to know the rules of engagement with your new creative partner, and you want to know how much control you have over the first draft and the finished product.
A transactional agency will deliver your brief to the letter, without pushing back or improving upon it, then they’ll charge you extra for excessive adjustments in post production.
The sad truth is that many do not care about the end product, nor the impact that the video makes. The video was made. They did their part. It isn’t up to them whether anybody viewed it or not.
Real editing begins in pre-production, and not post. It starts with a full interrogation of the product, the campaign and the brief. A true creative partner will challenge the brief and curate the video narrative to ensure the maximum real world impact of the brand film.
They won’t necessarily offer you unlimited edits and variations, but they will allow for a set number of passes, and what’s more, the foundational work provided in the planning phase should ensure that the first edit is closer to your needs to begin with.
“What’s actually included in the quote?”
“What will it cost” is a perfectly good question, but it doesn’t really matter unless you’re clear on what you’re getting for the price. Your aim here is to avoid hidden costs, or follow up charges for things like licensing, re-formatting and even travel/logistics.
Since no two brand film shoots are exactly the same, it’s not always possible for an agency to give you a final pricing on the discovery call, but they can outline what will be included in their breakdown, and you should never agree to anything without a fully itemised price sheet.
At Eklectics, we offer more than shooting and editing, we offer planning support, plus content distribution to help your brand film reach the right audience and generate ROI. We can also include additional assets like social media cut downs and blog content to supplement your film.
Sure, brand films can be costly, but the right creative partner won’t drop a video file in your inbox. They’ll deliver a hero asset and supporting content which yields months of impactful marketing.
And there you have it: five questions to ask before you hire a video production agency.
Pro tip: discovery calls are a two-way street. What questions does the agency fire back at you? And how does that make you feel about them? Do they challenge your thinking? Do they seek an understanding of your marketing objectives, and not just the specs of your product?
You aren’t looking for somebody to hold a camera. At least, you shouldn’t be. You’re looking for somebody to help you tell your brand story to the right people, via the right medium. You’re looking for a full-service creative partner.
Are you ready to tell your brand story? Book your FREE story consultation today to find out whether our documentary filmmaking package could help you reach your marketing goals.
People forget content, but they remember a good story. We could help you tell it.