San Francisco Video Production Companies; 3 Tips for Vetting the Right Choice

San Francisco Video Production Companies: 3 Tips for Vetting

San Francisco Video Production Companies: 3 Tips for Vetting

The Bay Area is a hotbed of creativity and innovation so it stands to reason that there are many qualified, talented and experienced San Francisco video production companies to serve a wide variety of clientele.  How do you find a highly-rated video production company and then, make sure they’re a good fit for your project?  Here are three good rules of thumb.

#1: Look beyond the hype.

A video production company may claim to be “award-winning” or named as a “top 10 production company” but what exactly does that mean?  Recently, I stumbled upon a marketing outfit that is actually selling the “Top 10 Best” video production companies “distinction” at a cost of $500 per month!  And all awards are not created equally.  Believe me, we get flyers daily about this, that or the other “awards program” for video production companies. It’s great if a company has won multiple Emmy or Telly awards, but look beyond that claim to get to the meat of the matter — the way they do business.

#2: Apples to apples

What kind of video do you need and what style of video production will serve it best? There are production companies that excel with large, commercial video productions with big budgets and others that have perfected the documentary style of video production. Look at their portfolio and ask for samples of the type of production approach the video producers would suggest for your project.  It’s easy to get “wowed” by big client names and fancy video production techniques but,if in the end it’s not what you need (or can afford) you’ll be headed down the wrong video production highway.

#3: Ask for Referrals and References.

Ideally, as a starting point, you’ll have some referrals from friends or colleagues who have had a successful experience with several San Francisco video production companies.  Ask them about the video production process, the timeline, the budgets, the creative services, etc. Were there any hiccups during the production process?  Was their video project delivered on time and on budget? If there were overages in the budget, were they approved in writing, in advance? Sometimes in the desire to land the client, a video production company may over promise what can be accomplished — and at what price point.  This can only lead to the inevitable — under delivery.  You want a realistic idea of the needs in terms of timing and cost and be wary of a production company who is willing to significantly undercut the time realistically needed for pre-production, production and post.  And you want to know who will be producing your project.  Will it be passed off to a junior staffer or overseen by a company principal?  Sometimes the executive producer you fall in love with during the sales process will not be hands on during the project.

With so many great San Francisco video production companies, it can be difficult to know which one is the best fit for your needs.  Hopefully, these tips can be a good start as you begin your vetting process.

Bayside Entertainment combines storytelling savvy with technical expertise to create video which authentically reflects your brand and connects with your audience.  Over the last 20 years, they’ve created content for major brands (Sony, Lucasfilm, EA), startups (Wonder Workshop, Fingerprint Play) and non-profits (Boy Scouts of America) For a free, customized quote, click here.

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