25 Reasons Why You Should Hire A Professional Video Production Company For Your Brand Videos
You’ve decided to do a marketing video for your company. However, now you’re faced with the decision on whether you should create this video inhouse or outsource it to a video production company.
There may be some good reasons to do it on your own, but there are a lot of reasons to consider having a professional production company pick up the work. In fact, we collected the insights from 14 video production companies and why they felt outsourcing is a better option.
There might be some bias here :). However, the logic provided can’t be dismissed. Having a trusted video partner can do a lot for your brand.
So, take a look at the 25 reasons why you should consider having your video creation done professionally.
Or you can just jump to one of the sections by clicking a link below.
1. YOU’RE INEXPERIENCED
I recently decided to make pizza for a bunch of friends – from scratch.
Although I don’t have the expertise or equipment, I figured how hard could it be?
How hot is 110 degree water to make the yeast do whatever yeast does? No idea – tap should do.
Is the yeast “foamy” enough? Is my dough “springy” yet? Um, sure.
Is aluminum foil in my oven the same as an 800 degree wood fired pizza oven?
It’s pizza! It’ll turn out just fine.
And it did – it turned out just fine – maybe a couple notches better than a slice of Wonder bread and a splash of Ragu – and not quite as good as a frozen one.
Did I save a few bucks? Yes.
Did it take longer than I thought? Yes.
Were my guests impressed? Yes and also I heard talk of a Taco Bell run on the way home…
Will they come back? Probably not.
So, if you can pull it off, great.
If not, designing a new campaign and writing and shooting your own video ads can at best do nothing for your video marketing efforts – and at worst, hurt them.
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2. YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT
When you take the step to outsourcing the production of a video you essentially free up a lot of your time. Professional companies went into the business of making videos because they enjoy it, and so long as you’ve found a reputable company, they’re probably good at their job.
There is a lot of work that goes into making videos that you’ve probably not even considered. Before anyone goes to hit record there is a lot of prep work involved. Not only does a script need to be written but also every shot, or image, needs to be figured out ahead of time to ensure that the footage is going to accomplish the task at hand.
If you decided to take on the work yourself imagine how much time you would spend getting ready for the video shoot. (Not to mention the editing process which is time-consuming all on its own.) Unless making videos is a hobby of yours you may become frustrated during the process when you begin to see how much time you’re taking away from your business and brand.
Hiring a company to do the video work for you frees you up to continue to run your business the way you want to so that the commercial will only enhance your business and won’t distract from the important aspects that you could be working on instead. Save yourself the time and hire professionals.
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3. YOU’LL SAVE MONEY
If you just scoffed or laughed at the above title, I don’t blame you. It may seem impossible that outsourcing your video needs to someone else could save you money. But this falls under the same category of how a production company can save you time.
You know all that expensive equipment and software needed to make a video? A production company already has all those things (and knows how to use them). Sure, you may think if you buy all the video equipment you need, you’ll save money in the long run.
In actuality, just like a smartphone, computer, or car, production equipment breaks or becomes outdated, so you’ll likely still find yourself paying for new equipment or software every few years.
Production companies also can finish your video sooner, meaning you can implement it into your business or marketing strategy, and start (hopefully) seeing a positive return on investment earlier.
If you’re operating on a budget (which aren’t we all?), you can still find a production company that’s the right fit for you.
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4. YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR BRAND IMAGE
Your brand image is a direct influence on your audience and the way it is delivered can make or break the success of your business. A powerful brand image, backed by professionally created video content, can lead to success.
Professional TV ad production companies can help you showcase a level of professionalism and expertise for your brand, creating a strong image which results in greater social trust and engagement in the public’s eye.
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Any online video with your name on it acts as a shop window for your business. More often than not, your video will be the first impression a potential customer gets of your business; and as we know, first impressions matter! If your video is clunky, uninspiring, completely off brand, or off message, then that will directly translate to the viewer as the sate of your business.
It is also very difficult to know exactly what image is being conveyed without an unbiased outside eye. A professional can tell you exactly what image you are projecting; you may find that the video you are proposing/producing does not give off the ethos of your company at all. A professional producers experience is worth its weight in gold!
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5. YOU NEED HELP DECIDING LENGTHS & FORMATS
Before you write and shoot – you need to know how long your video ads will be and in which formats you’ll present them.
The scripts will depend on the lengths.
The formats could determine how the ads are shot
A video production company can work with your teams to decide the best video ad lengths for your objectives, depending on how they’ll be presented across social media and OTT channels.
The most common lengths are :15, :30, :60 or 2:00 or longer.
The most common formats are Horizontal – 16:9, Square – 1:1 and Vertical – 9:16.
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6. YOU’LL RECEIVE HELP ON THE SCRIPT
If it’s not on the page, it’s not on the stage. This saying is a Hollywood truism. Chances are nobody on your team has experience writing a video script or knows how to take the final script and convert it into a shooting script. How about storyboards? Cold reads? Revisions? Script continuity? This is just the script.
Video production companies employ writers with the creative vision to take a brand’s message and make it into a tangible blueprint that will be the foundation of the project’s success.
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7. YOU WANT STUDIO QUALITY CAMERAS & EQUIPMENT
Another bonus to working with a professional video production company is that in most cases they own high-grade equipment.
Not to discredit freelancers or DSLRs but, countless productions are shooting projects on DSLR cameras.
A professional video production company will provide studio quality cameras, lights, and sound gear which will make your product look and sound professional.
Generally, the videos that you look at and think are professional are the ones where we use expensive equipment tailored for the job we are doing. Every camea, light, microphone, is unique and has its purpose. It’s our job to understand these tools in order to boost the production value of our projects.
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Not only do video production teams have greater know-how with the best equipment and practices, but they have access to them as well. Access to these resources is a huge benefit of hiring a video production company. This includes access to premium equipment and connections to a network of artists and experts who can take a simple video concept and turn it into total movie magic. With insurance and other logistical measures already set in place, professional video production companies are able to get their hands on the most expensive equipment on the market and can design wildly creative scenes. If it’s in your budget, they can bring your vision to life. Here is a quick list of resources you can expect a video production company to have available to its clientele:
Top-notch cameras, dolly systems, drones, lenses, lighting, sound, and more.
Professional studios, location scouting, and set design
Creative storyboarding
Hiring various talent
Animation and effects services
Music archives
Professional editing software
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8. YOU WANT THE RIGHT CAMERA ANGLES
Along with great camera equipment, a professional video production company brings the knowledge and skill on how to work it. This just doesn’t mean how to push the right buttons on a high-end camera, but also how to best utilize it to get a shot that tells conveys the best message.
From framing the Cowboy Shot to setting up a Fixed Shot to creating the disorientating Dutch Angle, the angles you shoot in a video can enhance the story you’re trying to tell. A video production company brings a history of trying every angle imaginable and knowing what does and doesn’t work.
At Team Super Tramp, you’ll often hear Devin say, “It's all about the shot!”
9. YOU WANT THE BEST AUDIO
Have you ever watched a movie or clip without any sound? Sound elements add a more complex emotional quality to video imagery and being able to capture the best quality sound is important to reducing background noise and getting your message across.
You may have experience listening to music through a speaker that sounds “tinny” compared to a speaker that has a higher quality sound. The better the speaker the more pure sound will come through. The same will hold true with recording the sound in the first place, the better the equipment, the better the sound. (And the easier editing will be as well.)
Professional video companies understand how to get the best sound and have everything they need to do so at their disposal. Making a video production agency the best solution for your brand’s video. They can also help you add great background music to your video if you so choose.
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10. YOU ACQUIRE PROFESSIONAL LIGHTING KNOWLEDGE
Lighting is the key to a professional shoot. You need it to get the best shots from people, objects, and places. It can frame, and draw the eye to certain sections of the shot.
The camera and the eye react very differently to light. For this reason, when doing a shoot, extra lighting should be added. Knowing what and how to add requires skill and extra equipment.
If you have a product to sell, knowing how to light it properly is the key to making it look professional. A video marketing and production company will not only know how to light it but what mood to achieve when doing it. For example, high-end glitz and glamour lighting will be very different from a product that needs to look mysterious, mean, and moody.
Getting the equipment to do this can also be expensive. It requires specific camera and lenses, expensive lights, stands, special bulbs, and filters, along with devices to reflect and disperse light. Unless you want this expenditure added to your production costs, it may be best to go with a company that already has it.
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11. YOU WANT THE MAGIC OF EDITING, ANIMATION, AND SOUND DESIGN
Taking dozens and dozens of clips after a shoot and choosing the right ones that make your story great is a bit like a Rubik’s cube. A professional editor is incredibly important to any commercial, video project, or film; they can literally make or break a project. They often have to make magic happen when it was not there to begin with (not an easy task).
As you may have noticed animation has become a big part of almost all video projects we have seen in the past few years. Professional animation includes anything from moving graphics or text or an animated logo to full-on visual effects. It can really punch up a watching experience.
Sound design is the use of music, sound effects, dialogue, and how it is all mixed together. Audio in general can be so powerful to our visual experience that I can’t tell you how many times we have given the client back almost the same edit that they did not like but now, with new music and sound design, they love it. Sound can be very powerful!
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to match the quality of professional editing, animation, and sound design, especially if you’re on a limited budget. Hiring a professional video production company ensures that your final product comes out looking crisp and clean.
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Even if you do manage to film and record your own video, you still have to contend with post-production. This is a whole new skill set altogether, that requires expert knowledge and the ability to use a multitude of software programs.
This process also takes a long time, and many underestimate how much work goes into it. It could take hours of work to edit the footage and add any post-production effects. Audio has to be matched up with the video, and all of the footage has to be looked through to take out any undesirable elements.
If you get this wrong, you can also risk making the video look cheap and amateurish. No matter how good the quality of the shoot was, dated transitions and editing in the wrong places can make your video look less than professional. A corporate video production company speeds up the whole process by knowing what needs doing and having the experience to make it happen fast.
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12. YOU’LL STAY UP WITH THE LATEST TRENDS
Some people like to stay away from trends because they don’t want to be like “everyone else,” however, there are plenty of reasons it’s important to stay up with trends, especially in the marketing world
Trends are deeply tied to storytelling. It’s important to be informed of social change, cultural movements, and stereotypes when coming up with the creative idea for a marketing video. Make sure your messaging aligns with your target audience in their current political, socioeconomic, and cultural spaces.
The other benefit of keeping up with trends is knowing when a trend has been overused. If everyone has a commercial featuring real-life “superheroes,” it makes sense that you’d want something different. Keeping up with trends can inspire you to be a trend-setter by expanding one idea into your own.
There are also trends when it comes to the way production companies film and edit things. You might not always notice it as a viewer (which is kind of the point), but how stories are captured helps set the tone and mood of your video.
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13. YOU WANT ORIGINAL CONTENT
A professional video production company has a team that will write, produce, plan and shoot a custom video created for your company product or service.
Hiring video production professionals will guarantee that your video is thought provoking, and aimed at the market or demographic that you are after.
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14. YOU WANT CREATIVE INPUT
A big part of coming up with a creative concept is knowing what’s out there already and what’s possible with the equipment you’re working with. Video production companies spend their lives immersed in this work, so they can come up with ideas you never could have imagined. Not to mention having an outside perspective on your project or company can kickstart some new ideas for how to approach the message you want to send.
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Professional television advertising is all about creativity. Hiring a professional to work with you through the early stages of creating your script and other essential elements for the commercial or television advertisement is important. These professionals can literally tell a story through visuals and with narration and music. Not just anyone can achieve this.
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15. YOU WANT PEOPLE WHO ARE STORYTELLERS
Besides just the technical skills that production agencies bring to the table, they also bring their storytelling expertise, which may be easily overlooked in the planning process.
Concept ideation is much harder than it seems. Writing a video script isn’t necessarily something anyone can do (or is confident enough to do).
Part of video is the art of storytelling. Having the eye to convey a message with a simple motion of the camera, or the note a director gives to an actor that takes their emotional monologue to the next level can help boost the production level of your video.
As Bryan Johnston, Creative Director at VMG Studios, says about scriptwriting, “There has never been a good movie that has a bad script. All the star power and special effects in the world can’t make up for non-compelling dialogue and poor storytelling.”
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16. YOU NEED HELP GETTING PEOPLE TO CARE
There is so much visual content coming at us from many different outlets which makes us decide very quickly what we will spend the time to watch and actually care about.
Most full-service video production companies have years of experience in finding that honest and genuine “hook” that compels us to keep on watching, even if it is only for 30 seconds or a minute. Often professional directors or copywriters spend extra hours just speaking to clients to get them to open up. Seeing what is under the hood will often lead to the reasons why they are so passionate about what they do and the origins of their mission. That passion often translates to an emotional connection that viewers will want to hold onto.
That is where the experience of people who craft stories everyday comes into play and can make your video content engaging, memorable, and effective.
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17. YOU WANT THE BEST CAST
A video production company will often have working relationships with casting directors and talent agencies, which will provide the quality of performance needed for professional looking video content.
A lot of times the production company will also have favorites in town from previous castings and will have insight into where to go to find the right talent.
Make sure to take your time finding the right video production company to suit your production needs.
When you find the right fit for your viral video or commercial, try and have them work on all of your video content. This assures a consistency of quality with your future video advertisements, promotions and content. Remember, content is king.
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Another roadblock you’re likely to run into trying to make your own video is getting people there to act in it. Friends are great, but they might show up late or cancel at the last minute. Video production companies work with professionals who will show up for the shoot, get the work done well and quickly, and make sure you meet your deadline.
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18. YOU’RE ABLE TO TAP INTO A LARGER NETWORK
A video production team does more than provide the creative and technical expertise to guide your project through the video production process. The group brings industry knowledge and networks with them. They know the best sound stages, permit operations, and where to get that camera crane you’re dying to use for half the price – to name a few out of hundreds of essential details that are an integral part of high-quality video production. They bring several marathons worth of legwork that you and your busy team will not have to do.
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19. YOU WANT HELP TO GET PEOPLE TO OPEN UP ON CAMERA
Directing non-professional talent like employees, healthcare patients, or a CEO is not easy. Often times people are uncomfortable on camera or come over-prepared which makes them sound too rehearsed or stiff.
Recently we were working with the Masonry Union on a project out at a construction site. Bricklayers and masons, as you can imagine, are mostly salt of the earth people and not comfortable on-camera. This was a first for both the production company director and the masons. We quickly realized that by treating each person with respect, injecting some humor to ease tension, and a calming tone, eventually, little by little, we were able to get most people to speak from the heart. What came out of that shoot was great content that was genuine and honest.
On the other side of the spectrum when directing executives like CEOs it is a different ball of wax. They can be amazing or incredibly stiff or rehearsed sounding. Either way by using a professional director it is a lot easier to coach them rather than having a junior executive who could rustle the boss’s feathers.
Video production companies often have been in so many different situations with a wide variety of people they can quickly read the talent and adapt accordingly to get what they want.
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20. YOU’LL NEED PROJECT MANAGEMENT & COORDINATION
One of the most essential parts of video production, is planning and coordination. Also known as, video production management.
Given that a professional video team is more experienced, they will anticipate any potential pit falls, and bumps in the road. An experienced video production company will also be able to trouble shoot any on set technical issues as they have dealt with most if not all prior to working with you.
The goal is to get every detail written down and figured out, that way you have no surprises and all your plans actually take shape.
It’s also important to be decisive and not waste time, so it’s best to find a team that is already in tune with each other. These teams know how to work together efficiently and effectively.
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When you hire a video production company your project will follow a tight schedule to ensure it is completed with efficiency. Organization and planning are top priorities for video production companies because there are so many moving pieces that need to come together. Renting equipment, reserving locations, hiring talent and crew for the same dates and times require coordination. Especially when companies need a specific type of video within a certain timeframe, it’s not only easier to accomplish when handled by professionals but you can expect a quicker project turnaround time as well.
Your contract will often specify scheduling details and include the window of time in which you should receive your first cut of the project after the shoot date(s). In the end, many companies hire video production companies for this very reason. It’s an organized operation and takes the stress of production off your hands so you can get back to your own professional responsibilities.
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21. YOU STRAIGHT UP WANT THE BEST QUALITY POSSIBLE
We cannot stress enough the importance of hiring a TV ad production company so that you can achieve quality & success with your advert. You’re likely investing a lot for a time slot on television, you need to trust that the quality will be what is expected for television viewing purposes. That’s why you hire a professional!
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If you try to produce your own video, you’re going to spend a lot of time and resources trying to make a video that will turn out less than perfect. Video production companies can save you a lot of time and money. They’re got their process down to an art, so they’ll be able to work efficiently to get you the best video possible.
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22. YOU WANT TO BE A STEP AHEAD & ABOVE THE COMPETITION
There is a lot of video out there, and a lot of it is very good indeed. To be a cut above the rest, you are going to need all the help you can get. You’ll want access to the latest information, the latest technology and the expertise and experience of the professionals.
If your competition is serious, they will have done the same. If you are entering the race, you had better make sure your content is premium and thoroughbred!
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Many times, businesses struggle to hire a video production company because of cost. If you can think of what you can get in return by working with a video production company, you can actually gain a lot. Great production companies fulfill their responsibilities with dedication. They will help you get more brand awareness so you stand out from your competitors.
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23. YOU’LL GAIN MARKETING EXPERTISE
If you’re producing a marketing video, it can seem a lot like you’re running off guesswork. Yes, video marketing is a powerful tool, but you have to know how to use it right. Video production companies have experience doing video marketing and can make sure you get the biggest return on your investment.
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Having great videos are key to successful marketing communication in the 21st century, especially given shifts in consumer behavior and the prevalence of visual culture. But without a solid plan to share your videos through social media and offline channels, your video won’t reach its full potential.
Professional video production companies have in-depth knowledge of developing effective marketing campaigns and producing creative video content.
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24. YOU WANT TO SCALE QUICKLY & INTELLIGENTLY
Some of the most successful companies out there have turned themselves into full scale media companies. Building the type of infrastructure to support that is an incredibly difficult task, and it may not be necessary (or even possible) for every company out there.
"There are companies out there like Lego that put out multiple videos per day because they have the infrastructure to do that, but not every company needs that."
Putting together the infrastructure to support an in-house video production team can be expensive for most companies (purchasing equipment, training and systems required etc). Nate Watkin, CEO of Assemble in Los Angeles suggests evaluating the video marketing needs of your unique company. Your content needs will be different than other companies, and likely there is no need for you to become a full scale media production facility. And while those big companies can afford it and it definitely helps them scale and grow quickly, it may not be the best option for you.
But that doesn't mean that you cannot scale quickly just like the big players. You just have to be smart about where you invest your money. Sometimes hiring someone that already has the infrastructure and talent network is a better investment than building it into your company. This will also allow you to adapt and react based on your specific needs and budget without carrying any in-house overhead or time commitments.
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25. YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF A ROI
A high-quality crafted video increases the odds of a better ROI and improves your brand’s reputation which allows you to stand out in your industry. Remember, your video is a reflection of your brand. Therefore hiring a professional video production company will pay off in the end.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
There are some great reasons here for outsourcing your video needs, but ultimately you’ll need to weigh your options and look at your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Giving up control is never easy, but it may also open up opportunities for you to put your company’s resources towards areas that only you can do.
If you’ve never worked with a video production agency before and have some questions, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you out!