10 questions to ask before hiring a video production company

Choosing a video production company can directly impact your brand image, budget, and your team's workload. An impressive portfolio is a good starting point, but it isn't enough to assess a provider's ability to handle your specific mandate.

1. How will you determine the best approach for our project?

This question reveals whether the provider is trying to understand your goal or simply applying the same formula to every client. A good answer should address your audience, message, platforms, constraints, and desired outcomes.

2. Have you previously completed projects with similar constraints?

Relevant experience doesn't necessarily mean having worked in the exact same industry. You might specifically need a team capable of managing multiple stakeholders, an industrial environment, a live event, busy executives, bilingual production, or a tight turnaround.

3. Who will be responsible for our project?

Clarify who will lead the project, who will be your point of contact, who will handle the filming, who will oversee the editing, and who will make decisions if something unexpected happens. You need to know who your brand image is actually being entrusted to.

4. What is included in the quote?

The proposal should specify pre-production, scriptwriting or interviews, crew, equipment, shoot duration, editing, animations, music, subtitles, formats, revisions, and travel.

A vague quote makes comparisons difficult and increases the risk of extra charges.

5. What is not included?

Some costs may be excluded: location rentals, actors, makeup, voice-overs, translation, travel, accommodation, props, specific licenses, or additional requests. A transparent provider should clearly identify these items.

6. How do you prepare participants who will be on camera?

Most employees, clients, and executives are not actors. Ask how the team prepares for interviews, explains the process, helps participants formulate their answers, and avoids a rehearsed or artificial result.

Human direction often matters more than the camera being used.

7. How do you handle changes and the unexpected?

A professional team should be able to explain their contingency measures: backup equipment, alternative solutions, schedule buffers, file backups, prompt communication, and change approval processes.

8. How does the revision process work?

Ask how many versions and cycles are included, how feedback should be submitted, which changes might incur extra fees, and who confirms final approval.

If multiple people need to review the video, let the provider know from the start. A poorly defined process can turn two rounds of revisions into six fragmented exchanges.

9. What files and rights will we receive?

Clarify whether you will receive the main video, short versions, horizontal and vertical formats, files with and without subtitles, language versions, source files, and raw footage.

Do not assume that source files or raw footage are automatically included. Also, verify that the music and other elements are licensed for your intended distribution.

10. How will you measure the project's success?

A recruitment video can be evaluated based on the quality of applications. A commercial video can support meetings, proposals, and conversions. An event video can be judged by its reach, delivery speed, or value to partners.

The provider does not necessarily control all the results, but they should understand what the video is intended to achieve.

The bonus question: what could cause our project to fail?

This question often reveals more than all the others. An experienced partner should be able to honestly identify the main risks: tight deadlines, poorly defined objectives, too many messages, unavailable participants, or a complex approval process.

Make your decision based on risk, not just price

The best company isn't necessarily the one that promises the most deliverables or submits the lowest price. Look for a team that understands your organization, communicates clearly, asks the tough questions, and has a credible process.

At ArsenMEDIA, we have completed over 300 projects for organizations with a wide variety of needs and constraints. Our role is as much about securing the process as it is about producing high-quality visuals.