5 Key Video Production Questions
to be prepared to answer before contacting a video professional.

1: What type of video are you creating?
Sales, Marketing, Information, Instructional, Training, Story Telling, Documentary, Music Video.

2: Who is your target audience?
‘Everyone’ is the wrong answer. If you want to reach everyone you need multiple methods of contact and not all of them may be video. A correct answer may be ‘mothers of preschool children, "pilots being trained on a new navigation system" or "science fiction lovers."

3: How will your production be distributed or displayed?
Here the distribution possibilities are expanding and include DVDs, Internet, portable devices, television, theatrical, point of purchase, PowerPoint presentation...

4: What results to you expect to get?
For advertisements increased sales or product inquiries might be the answer. Reduced training costs or more consistent training is another possibility. To entertain and deliver a ‘don’t smoke’ message, make a profit selling the video through an Internet distributor might be an answer.

5: And the biggie: How much does a video production cost?
How much to spend on a video production is sometimes easily quantified and sometimes not. An important consideration is return on investment. What is better? A low cost production that delivers poor results or a high cost one that doubles your profit? Think carefully how you frame the answer to the cost question.

Conclusion
Based upon these and other questions an experienced video professional should be able to speak with you for a few minutes and determine if they can offer you the kind of video production you need. It may not be what you want, but listen, this advice is free. Remember that video production companies have different areas of specialization. It is best to pick one, who has a demonstrated track record of producing videos similar to what you need. Check out their web site or other credentials… trust, but verify. A nice salesman, who promises what you want to hear, does not a good video producer make. In the end, when you find a video production resource you like, build a relationship with them. I’ve been in the video business over 25 years and I always go the extra mile for our loyal clients. With an honest relationship with a video production company you get what you pay for. I sometimes remind my clients of a significant truth in business: “Good, Fast, Cheap… pick any two.”