In the world of branding and marketing, stories are everything. This is why TV commercials are always a go-to means for promoting a new product or service. But with the advent of the Internet, long-format videos have become a new way to tell a story. What is good about these videos is that they can be flexible—they can be a short film, a brand documentary or even a simple audio-visual presentation. Producing these materials is an investment.
This is why you need to work hard with your advertising agency to find the right production house. This is not always easy, as there are many production firms out there that have good reels, and the choices may overwhelm you. Nevertheless, there are some ways to ensure that you will not lose sight of your goals and focus. If you are looking to find the perfect production company that understands your needs, this article is for you.
Have a Bidding
For many advertising agencies, bidding is somewhat a part of the pre-production phase. During this stage, you will work with a producer who will recommend some production houses. You will then brief these production houses about the story you are working on. From there, they will propose a cost estimate of the production of the story.
The proposal closest to the budget may be considered since there are other factors to look into, such as the timelines proposed by the production houses. Costs including the director’s fee, catering and permits are often factored into picture.
Find a Producer
You can have your own bidding, but it is always wise to hire a producer. The producer will basically work with you and the production house, serving as your middleman. This will take a bulk of work from you.
Producers are often technically adept, so they can easily address your technical issues on the material to the director. On top of producers, you may hire additional manpower, which may include production fixers and art directors.
Mind the Director
You are surely concerned with the quality and artistic dimension of the material. With this, you will need to talk to the directors, if you want to do the bidding yourself. You can watch their reels, and gauge which of them can actually turn your vision into your reality. This is a matter of taste, so if you doubt your choice, you can always talk to your advertising agency and ask for recommendations.
Do Not Forget the Post-Production Phase
Often, many brands overlook the post-production phase of the project. This is where you clean up the material, stitch the clips to create a story, and correct and improve the colours of the visuals. Remember that these also cost some money, so you need to look at the editing reel of the post-production candidates to make sure that you will work with the company that understands your requirements.
Finding a production house may be hard at first. But once you have established rapport with your production house, you may find it much easier and more comfortable to work with another production house (or the same one) in the future.
