Hiring a Production Company?

You're on the lookout for content creation. Not the influencer kind but the budget hollywood kind. Content that sets you apart from your competitors and is a frequent memory with your audience. In today's age, having content like that is almost vital to most businesses to remain relevant. So to make sure you make the right pick(tures), here's what you should look for when hiring production companies.

A Portfolio With Personality

I'm sure you've had meetings with several production companies that have told you "yes, we can do Nolan level content for you", or "yes madam, for sure we can create a Gladiator themed reel for you", and all these claims that would make them Hollywood level production houses. For Tik Tok (If only, pfft).

First of all, you need to see if they can back up their claims. This doesn't mean a barrage of Youtube and poorly named G-drive links. A solid portfolio document or website (Plus points for that) that can not only show you that they can do what you want, but can show you that they can do what you need.

They Understand the Assignment

You don't need a team that just parrots what you've told them you imagine. You need a team that gets it. Builds on it. Throws in ideas and angles you hadn't even thought of. You deserve people who can tell you "Say Less" and execute the creative side of things, the way you've envisioned - maybe even better. All the while, you sit back and drink a cup of Sam's coffee(He makes really good coffee).

However, sometimes you might have a brief that you're strong on and truly believe that it needs to come out that way. We completely understand and your production house should too. Either which way, whether it be your brief or something melded with your PH's team, it should come to life within the reasonable budget. We'll touch on that soon ;)

One House. All Hands

From Pre to Post production, you need a team that can handle it all. If you have to bounce between five different vendors, just to get a few videos out, then they're not for you. You need a production house that can prep the story, shoot the story, put together the story, and hand it over to you to publish the story. You get the story?

Most times you don't even need videos. You might be product based and need photos to showcase your brand, emphasised by graphics and design to make it stand out. This too, falls into production. It makes all the more sense for your production house to do it, because it holds consistency between your video and photography. If your PH can do it, you've really gotten a good deal.

Your PH should be prepared for 14,000,605 possible alternatives. It doesn't have to make sense but prep is good

Platform Savvy

Creating something for Cinema, is not the same for your everyday content on Instagram or Youtube. Your production house should know the difference. If they tell you it's the same, run. While we all use Instagram, Tik Tok, Threads, Facebook, and Youtube- Each of these platforms perform differently and promote different content to their viewers. The one thing they all have in common is to keep you on the app. The right content will do that for those platforms, giving the production house and the platform one common goal: To make you, look good. Keeping this is in mind, your PH should know which type of content works for which brand. In a barrage of short form content, sometimes long form content might work for you. But it may not work on every platform. So planning ahead for short form cut downs and sizing is very important, or your content is going to look very amateurish and god-forbid, basic.

Shuddering Budget talks

Now this is usually where things bottleneck. You've been mostly convinced that this production house can execute what you want done. They can do it in a good time frame. They guarantee a good return on reach for you brand. Then comes the costing (Insert Law & Order DUN DUN).

A good production partner won't leave you guessing as to where they're siphoning your money. They'll be upfront with you. Why it usually bottlenecks is because even if the chemistry between you and the PH is good, and you really feel like they can pull this off, the price may be too high for what you originally had in mind.

In this moment, ask yourself, and the production house this: "What additional value does this price point bring me?". If they can justify that question within your means, then you're good to go. Sure, it may be outside of the original budget you had in mind, but I challenge you to see it in a new light. The return on good, honest & relevant content, will pay you back ten-fold.

However, keep in mind, that these costings can hinge on the brief. If you're really passionate about bringing your idea to life with no compromise on quality and story, you do need to be equally flexible and willing to budget for it. The goal in mind is to make your brand look fantastic. You don't want to not do that do you? But again, no presh, if you're truly not in a position to invest, especially if it's a new PH you're working with or your first time getting someone else to shoot your content, your PH should be able to pitch alternatives of your ideas that work within your budget.

The average production cost per episode of Breaking Bad was around $3 Million. Your PH should be able to do better than that.

In The End

It does really matter. A good production house will bring the clarity to your chaos. Ideas to your inbox. Sensations to screens. With this new knowledge, when you're ready to make it happen -

You know where you find us ;)