How to choose a corporate video company in Melbourne

Choosing a corporate video company in Melbourne comes down to three things: whether your business is ready to be filmed, whether the company is the right fit for you, and how well you brief them. We shoot corporate video for Melbourne businesses, so this is how we would look at it from both sides of the table.

Is your business ready for a video shoot?

Before you pick a company, check that your business is in a position to get content done. When we arrive on site, it is important that the business is organised and that everything can run without us doing anything special for the cameras.

We love to shoot things happening in the most natural environment possible, which means things happening normally. So the business needs to be prepared for that. Your employees and everyone involved should be comfortable with it and ready to go.

How do you choose the right corporate video company?

One of the biggest things is to make sure your two businesses are aligned. You may want to go for someone who has been in the game a bit longer and might understand you better. It all depends on you and your exact business.

Why should you judge a video company by its previous work?

This is the thing to check most of all. Do not go off only the things that are easy to see. Look through all of their previous work. Generally, the work you see is the biggest indicator of how good or bad a company is.

Numbers can lie, and numbers can be misconstrued. At the end of the day, the work and the proof is exactly what you want to look at.

You can see our own work on our corporate video page.

For the wider range of what we make for businesses, see our commercial video production work.

Numbers can lie, and numbers can be misconstrued.

Do the reviews match the work?

Once you have looked at the work, look at the reviews and see if they actually match it. You might even call one of their clients, or one of the businesses in their case studies. That way you can hear from their side what was good about working with the company and what was not.

What red flags should you look out for?

Red flags can be all sorts of things, so it is hard to name specific ones. The important part is that you are both on the same page about helping each other grow. A video company should not be trying to get you on board just for the money. They should want to help you grow and be a part of your journey. It is a bit of the two of you moving together.

Also check that the company is legit. This comes back to red flags, but it matters, especially if you start getting into web design. There is a lot of bad stuff going around in that space. No matter what you are looking for, check that it is a legitimate company and that there are no red flags.

A video company should not be trying to get you on board just for the money.

How do you brief a video company?

A lot of people get the basics wrong by not knowing what they want. It is perfectly fine to say you are happy to leave it up to us. If you do, we still need you to give us as much information and general direction as you can.

The other stage is the end, when we start going through the work. If you leave it up to us, we will produce what we think is best. Then we get to revision rounds, and this is where we want you to give us as much genuine detail as you can, not just "make it better".

Detail matters. It is just like talking to AI: it is always best to be specific. If something is hard to explain, jump on a quick phone call. Do whatever you need to, as long as you give us specifics.

That way we know exactly what to do, we can deliver faster and at a higher quality, and you are a hundred percent happy with it. It also means we avoid further revision rounds, which could delay getting the content produced and finalised.

For more on this, read our guide to briefing a video company.

Should you use AI to write your brief?

One big issue now is that people are using too much AI. Remember that we are professionals for a reason. We know what we are talking about.

We use a lot of AI in our own workflows to get things done more efficiently, but we use it within a certain scope. We know when AI is saying something wrong, and we know when we can deliver something better than what it suggests.

You, as the client, will most likely end up believing the AI, because you are always going to be a bit sceptical of someone you have just met or just started working with. That is why it is important to trust the instincts and advice of the professional. We are usually happy to give a bit of advice on what we think.

Using AI to help come up with ideas does help us too. Our brains are only so big, and we can only come up with so many ideas ourselves. But do not rely on it completely.

It is best to write out all your thoughts clearly and simply, even if it is in really broken English. If we can read exactly what you want, without any fluffed up stuff from AI, we get a better gauge of what you want, not just what an AI wants. It helps us deliver exactly what you are looking for the first time around.

What does a good first call look like?

A good first call is a decent length. Not just a quick one, and not too long either.

We want to go through all the basics, so we ask a number of questions:

• What your business is and what you do.
• What makes you different.
• Who your ideal customer is.

From there we know exactly who we are dealing with and what is going to work for you.

We usually have a pretty good idea of what needs to happen and what works in most industries, but our knowledge is never going to be perfect. So we always end the call by saying we are going to go and do some research. That is how we really understand where you are at, where you are trying to get to, and how we make that happen.

It is best to write out all your thoughts clearly and simply, even if it is in really broken English.

How should you prepare for the first call, and what about price?

On the call, be very talkative and give us as much information as possible. The more information we get, the better we can deliver.

For a first call, we generally do not like to talk about prices just yet. It is important that we know what we are dealing with before we go into the deep end on price.

When we do get to price, do not be scared of it. Video production and content can be more expensive than people expect, and it is important that you understand that going in and are prepared for it. Some people hear a price and think it is ridiculous. As a standalone number, we can fully understand that it seems like a lot. On our side, we know the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make it possible, so it all makes sense.

Our guide to what video production costs in Melbourne explains how it is priced.

We always want to be happy and positive on the call, have a bit of a laugh and be as human as we can. So bring your best self, and be willing to talk. We will tell you everything we see and what we can do.

Ready to have that first call? Send us a message and tell us about your business.