21 CHECKLIST ITEMS BEFORE YOU HIRE A VIDEO PRODUCTION COMPANY (UPDATED FOR 2019)

If you're a small business owner, a non-profit founder, a church leader, a band, a couple, you will inevitably produce a video. Unless of course, your youngest members are graying and say "Snap-what?!" or you still tally last week's and this week's attendance on an open-face letter board or you're getting hitched in Blue Diamond, NV.

For the sake of this article, I'm going to refer to you, the leader/founder/check-signer, as an owner. Even if you run an NPO or a church or you're simply a parent, I'm lumping all you guys and gals into the same category. It's easier this way. Effectively, running a nonprofit is the same as running a business. You solicit donations instead of sales, and if you're a minister, you're selling someone's brand of hope, and you too are in sales -- as the late (but great) Zig Ziglar would say.

When it comes time to hire a video production company to bring your vision to life, here are an absurd number of checklist items for YOU, items they should be covering. They should be voluntarily disclosing, asking, and informing you of these details, and if they don't, FLEE! Run for the hills because you're working with some C- or B-players. You know what I'm talking about too. Most of your employees and probably even your friends are C- and B-players who show up on time or late, leave the moment it's 4 minutes 'til closing time, check Facebook every hour, and they point the finger at everyone and anything when they make a mistake.

Traffic was bad, nobody told me this was due yesterday, the printer was jammed, ...

They're not accessible when you need them, and their attitude stinks. Do you really want a video from a group like that? Of course not, especially when your video's shelf life is longer than a year. You want an A+ video and an A++ commitment to customer service, right? Then make sure the crew you're sourcing is up to par:

1. Type - if they don't ask whether this video is celebratory (e.g. a company milestone, a wedding, your kid's Wilderness Explorer, Tribe 54, Sweat Lodge 12 graduation, etc.), informational, or emotive (think this video), then they're failing to understand your larger goal. You might naturally divulge this information, and that's okay. Every conversation about video production should start here, whether you initiate it or they do.
2. Format - is it live or animated? Is it 2D-animation or 3D? Is your vision a hybrid of live and animated elements? Is it 360?!? One should never assume, and if you don't divulge this right away, they should be quick to ask.
3. Call-To-Action - they should be jonesing for the big takeaway. Is it simply to get a jingle stuck in the viewer's head (branding) or do you want a viewer to "Call 702-BIL-MAYS now" for a consult? You have a measurable goal you'd like to achieve; a professional will fish for this before you have to spell it out.
4. Time - they should always ask up front how long you want your video to be. They can't give you a quote, let alone an itemized invoice of their services if they don't know how long the finished video should be. Even if you aren't settled on an exact runtime (e.g. 2 minutes), you probably have a ball park figure because you know where it's playing. If they don't ask, they're new and inconsiderate of your needs.
5. Audience - as mentioned above, they should be asking where this video lives. Playing a 3-minute clip in an auditorium with 2,000 bodies is a much different experience than playing a 3-minute video on a conference room projector with 12 decision makers and influencers. A 6-second, unskippable bumper ad on YouTube has a different tonality than a 30-second TV spot. If your video production co. doesn't ask, they're woefully unprepared to serve you.
6. Turnaround - you know when you need this project locked and ready to show. If they don't ask, they truly don't care and will likely take their sweet time. Let's face it; you may be on the offense. You're probably scouting well ahead of when you need your finished video, but at the end of the day, you have a deadline, and they MUST communicate when they'll turn around a first draft for your review.
7. Drafts - aka REVISIONS or CUTS. Your guy (or gal) should be offering at LEAST one revision. And they better spell it out, "You'll get your first draft within two weeks after we wrap production." Because their turnaround times for a second or third draft depend on you getting your butt in gear, I don't expect them to spell it out, and neither should you. You play a role here too - give timely feedback. Don't wait 'til the 11th hour and then wonder why they were late.
8. Talents - who is in front of the camera? Your people, you, or actors/extras? If the latter, do you expect the production co. to find these onscreen talents? They should ask this up front, but more often than not, you - the producer - already let them know early in the convo.
9. Voiceover - this could fall under the previous category, but the truth of the matter is it's truly a separate beast, especially if your project is animated. Do you want the silky smooth voice of Morgan Freeman or will Louie Anderson do? Just as a wedding video is different from a corporate talking head video, there are people who devote their entire careers to voiceover work. They train differently than actors/actresses, and the best are ready to rock and roll at the drop of a hat. Even if there are live elements, you may want a voiceover in lieu of using lay actors and actresses.
10. Locations - where do you want your outsourced crew to shoot this video? Your place? Three places where you are breaking ground? I always ask this in the first minute, and if they don't bother to bring it up, you've got some film school/Craigslist amateurs.
11. Script - are you preparing the script? Do you want them to do it? If the latter, they need to immediately ask WHEN you'd like to review their first draft. After all, production can't start until you sign off on the script. If they don't propose a sitdown to go through their script for your story, line by line, they're not the droids you're looking for. Move along. Note: video producers - when the client asks you to create the script, kindly push back and offer to create the story/dialogue/narration/talking points with them. The truth of the matter is, they know what they want said, even if it isn't movie-polished, and your job is to help get that information out. If there are two or more decision-makers on the script, it's not enough to get the rundown from Randy Savage and assume Hulk Hogan is onboard. Go to both of them, find out what they're really after.
12. Visual Effects (vfx) - you may be thinking "the what, the what, and the what?" That's okay. Don't hold it against your video crew if they don't ask about visual fx - skip this item and go to #12. But say you want some spiffy text titles. Or you might need to remove a boom pole from old footage, and this new company you're hiring is there for editing and damage control. Shoot, you might want to create 30 clones of yourself. Did the production co. at least ask?
13. Music - if you're hiring a team for a nifty wedding video, then this question is relevant (ditto for music videos). It's simple: "What music would you like in your video?" If you're a newlywed couple, you'll likely have a couple of tunes you already love, and while most of them aren't free (anything but "free"), your production co. can lead you to a site like Music Bed. Most corporate videos leave it to the production co. they're hiring to find music. If that's you, if you're searching for corporate video production, this isn't a rigid requirement; trust they'll take care of this. Music is the biggest area where you could face some legal brouhaha, and I always tell my clients their music is forever licensed because I stick to a site that gives me this peace of mind. I can't keep up with every music library under the sun, so I pay for the peace of mind the Art List guys provide. Even if the next Facebook comes along, the Art List music rights are so binding, my clients can play their videos there - or any medium, even those that haven't been invented yet (and even if I die or my company goes belly up). Which leads to...
14. Copyright - Does your production co. mention your rights? Is the video your intellectual property? Do they promise you'll have zero copyright issues with your video, now and forever? I always guarantee all of the above because my clients pay for peace of mind. I know you do too. If they don't broach this subject, you might as well find a film student at your local University and offer $10 an hour. Heck, maybe that's what you need for your kid's bar mitzvah.
15. Resolution - HD is still the default standard these days (sorry 4k, you're a slow train coming, but at least you're coming, even it's slow as Christmas). If you need 4k or larger, that's something you'll likely bring up, but if they don't ask, you don't want to assume. After all, they could give you a 720p file when all is said and done.
16. Ratio - widescreen is the default format (16:9 aspect ratio). They should state this in their proposal (no assumptions), and if they don't, then it's on you to bring it up or can them. There are other ratios, especially in this day and age of cell phone videos. And we mustn't forget the classic 4:3 aspect ratio. If your project would benefit from a vintage look, it's not entirely unreasonable to go with the ole square-ish look.
17. Physical deliverables - did they bother to ask if you want the final video on a disc (Redbox, the tireless champion of DVDs everywhere), a Blu-Ray, or a thumb-drive? If it's a big project, they could ask if you'd like the final video and its unedited videos on a solid-state drive. Which leads you to...
18. Storage - did they address how your media will be stored? What backups are in place in case the first location your files are stored go down? The last thing either party wants is a fire to destroy hours and hours of work. Is the production company going to host your final video in the cloud, so you can access a copy anywhere? If they look at you like a deer in the headlights over this one, you'd be better off with a guy you found at 7/11.
19. Price - this is a personal preference, but I like to tell folks a floor pricing up front. "Hi, I'm Jake the film guy, and my video production services start at $2,000. What information can I give you today?" You may not care about the floor price up front, but you certainly want to know how much the bloomin' thing costs. You don't want to wait to get a quote. You want an exact figure in the first chat. If they can't offer one, imagine how speedy the rest of their services will be? To the penny (and barring a few special circumstances like airfares), a professional will give you a number.
20. Payment - are you financing the video? How will financing be handled? When will you be billed? Is there a deposit up front for production to begin? Most producers are conscious of this, but money makes people funny, so they better be crystal clear on payment for their services.
21. Misc - these aren't deal breakers because you might be in Kauai, while Uncle Bob's Auto is in Atlanta. You might need underwater videos, while Uncle Bob needs to send a Go Pro through an intake manifold. Perhaps you need a socket puppet teaching kiddos about their colors, shapes, and numbers and Michael's ran out of eyes. Maybe you want a drone shot of your CFO standing on your building's roof, sipping a mimosa (hey, there are some wild startups these days). There are always going to be extras unique to your vision. If they don't ask "Is there anything else you'd like to add to your video?" and if they made it this far, throw them a bone and let them know what else is on your mind.
22. Proposal - as Grant Cardone says, 100% of your deals have a proposal. If your video production co. doesn't send you a proposal (and let you know about it) right after your first chat, they're probably checking Instagram. Do you really want their service? I'm always leery of businesses that quote thousands for a service or project and then I have to ask them to see paperwork. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Yes, "video" isn't going anywhere. If anything, it's supplanting your buyer's, your donor's, your family's, or your parishioner's need (or even desire) to read. The average American bear watches 750+ videos a year, yet only reads a book a year. So when your buyer can't read, or doesn't read, why don't you do more video? There's no better video production service this side of the Mississippi in terms of quality, customer care, and attitude. My team and I will take better care of you than the other joes - let's make this year the one you reach your crowd. Contact me and get an exact quote and proposal in your first conversation. No waiting hours or worse, days, for an overpriced, underwhelming video production company to get back to you.

Jake the film guy: I want to encourage others and bring honor to the Almighty in everything that I do with film and video. My goal is to take the first 11 minutes of my tv pilot and seek out decision-makers who can further the conversation about developing it into a show. If my team and I can do that, then we can teach 100,000 other microbudget filmmakers how to do the same thing so that we might tell stories of hope to millions. In the meantime, I'm a son of the King, a family man, a lifelong student of film, and the author of a handful of microbudget filmmaking books.