Customline Wordware

Video is becoming more and more popular as a marketing tool that can turn viral—and bring in a substantial return on investment. But before you hire a professional to create your video for you, there are a number of factors you need to think about.

And here are ten of them!

1. Choose a professional. YouTube and inexpensive handheld movie cameras have made us all into movie directors, but resist the urge to do it yourself—or to hire your Uncle Ernie to do it. If you want your video to look professional, you need a professional to do it. This will ultimately save you both time and money, as these people really know what they’re doing; and the more experience a video company has, the less time you’ll need to spend explaining your needs to them.
2. Write a production brief. This is simply a one-page summary of the project, what you need it to do, how long you plan for it to be, a list of guidelines for the video team to follow. (It will be necessary for you to have a production brief in hand before any company will be able to give you a quote.)
3. Speaking of the quote, get a clear one. It should be part of the proposal that your video company gives to you, and it should be absolutely detailed and clear—and contain everything that needs to be done.
4. Ask questions. Ask a lot of questions. Any professional company that has a decent track record will be able—and happy—to answer your questions. Ask them before signing anything. Nothing is too simple.
5. Ask the company about its areas of specialization. Many production companies have one, and the closer you are to the company’s areas of expertise, the better off you’ll be.
6. Make sure that you retain the copyright to your video. The finished product needs to belong to you, not to your video production company.
7. Approve rewrites. Rewriting the script and editing the video is standard practice until it’s exactly what you want it to be … but make sure that your approval is part of the contract!
8. Agree on a deadline. It should be in the contract, as well, with penalties involved if the production team—through no fault of yours—goes over the agreed-upon deadline. But also be realistic, and give your team enough time to complete the video professionally.
9. Open your mind to other ways of looking at your subject matter. Sometimes a video scriptwriter will be able to bring a slightly different perspective to how you’ll be telling your story, and this fresh look at it may be just what you need.
10. Don’t be scared of the technology. The company you hire knows what it’s doing and will take care of all the details. Your focus should be on getting your story told!

If you’re looking for the best in video production, specializing in nonprofits, academic settings, and green companies, Customline Wordware can help. Ask us how by emailing us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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