Three Questions You need to Ask Your Video Production House

If you are in the market for a video production house to create your communication masterpiece, it can be confusing to sift through the great variations in prices and offerings from production companies.

To reduce the confusion and to ensure that you get a video made that suits your requirements, you need to ask production houses the following three questions:

1. How will my video be designed?

   Nearly all production houses will tell you about their process. In other words, how they will get a brief from you, write a script that meets your approval and then film and edit according to a schedule.

   Go for a production house that focuses on meeting your objectives, rather than telling you how they are going to make your video.

   At Digicast, we ask lots of questions in order to make sure your video is strategic and effective. Rather than just tell you how our process works, we establish what your goals are and then plan your video. We work out the best way to market your products, services and company for maximum impact.

   Also be wary of production houses that are happy to do whatever you tell them to do. A good production house will recommend a range of ideas that will better meet your needs.

2. What equipment will be used to film the video?

   This is quite a complex area and the one in which affects the price quoted.

   On the lower end of the price scale are videos that are made with home video cameras. These produce a grainy look and more often than not are shot by an amateur cameraman. Together, these produce an unprofessional video that can turn your audience away.

   In the middle price range, are videos that are made with the Betacam SP format. This was a great format when it came out in the 1980's. It is an analogue format that has now been replaced by a number of digital formats. In fact, Betacam SP is no longer manufactured.

   The biggest problem with this old analogue technology is drop outs. This is where there is a black spot or spots in your picture due to a fault in the tape.

   Another thing to be wary of is that Betacam SP equipment have fallen dramatically in price. Yet, production houses are still charging rates that are used for cameras worth 10-20 times as much.

   In the middle range, you can also expect DVCAM format and DVCPro. These are good formats.

   In the higher price bracket, there is Digital Betacam and then High Definition. These are superior formats that are used when your pictures, and therefore your image, really matter.

   Always request a digital format as they can be easily converted into a range of media (ie: DVD, mobile phone and web).

   To work out which level of quality you want in your pictures, you need to think about where people will see your video.

   If it is to be output to DVD or on the web, the camera quality needs to be very high as the compression process used to make DVD's throws out 95% of the picture information. This makes it more important to capture clear, crisp pictures.

3. What do you do that other production houses don't?

   As most production houses offer standard services that are much of a muchness, you need to find out if they can offer you additional services that will help make the production process much easier.

   At Digicast, we provide our clients with advice and direction to make the most of film shoots. We advise on dress, locations and provide direction to people on how to best talk to camera. This information really can make or break your production. Awkward looking people talking to camera can be a real turn off. Whereas calm and confident people on screen can be very appealing and effective.

   Likewise, we ensure that we correctly light and frame people and objects for maximum impact.