By Greg Ball, President of Ball Media Innovations
4 Important Things to Look for When Picking The Best Miami Video Production Company For Your Project
The Good, The Bad, and The Awesome - How to Pick The Awesome!
There are a ton of production companies in South Florida. Picking a company for your video project can be tricky. Every company out there (honestly including us) is going to try to sell you on their services. Chances are you'll be investing a significant amount of money in your video, hoping for great results. And if this is a work-related project, you'll need to make wise choices so that it reflects well on you, your company, and your bosses. You need your project to be a success, and you need to get the most for your budget. So how do you know which is the best Miami video production company to choose?
You'll need to evaluate and choose the best company for you. Here are some of the most important factors to look for. In future articles, we'll expand on some of these items, but here goes:
1. Does the Miami Video Production Company Offer Fast, Honest, Clear, and Friendly Communication?
You may wonder why this is number one on the list. I can't tell you how many times I speak to clients who have come to me after having seriously frustrating experiences in the past. You can have a well qualified Miami video production company working on your project, but without great communication, it can be a long and stressful process.
We hear of Miami film production companies with long, long wait times for return calls and/or emails, and some companies won't consistently return calls or emails. This can be very frustrating to clients who have deadlines and goals.
We recently had a very bad experience with a web company we had hired (and subsequently fired). During the sales process, they were exceptionally nice and seemed very professional. Their communication was impeccable, polite, quick, and friendly. They did an amazing sales job, but once the process began, their real selves came out. They were consistently rude and unprofessional and didn't deliver on a single promise. I found myself dreading any email from them or any conversation with them.
Looking back I realize I could have saved myself a ton of grief if I had looked into them more thoroughly. If you check out the Client Testimonial page on our site, you'll see that we have over 30 testimonials of clients who are super happy with us. This only represents a fraction of what we could post. On the web company's site, there were only a few testimonials. That should have told me something. They talked a good game, but in the end, they couldn't deliver. Next time I'll look more aggressively into a company's reputation before hiring for something so important.
Personally I believe that excellent communication with clients is one of the main ways to create happy clients and to grow your business. I don't understand why most companies don't focus on delivering this every time. It's so logical, and after all, we're in the communication business! We should know how to communicate well. I also believe in over-delivering on my promises, and we do this consistently. This also makes our clients very happy.
So when interviewing Miami video production companies, it's essential to ask about response times during the production process and to ask for testimonials from happy clients. I'd also recommend looking heavily into their reputation. Don't take a lack of information out there to mean that they only have happy clients. It can also mean that they may be legally intimidating so unhappy clients refrain from coming forward.
2. Will Only Totally Experienced Crew Members Work On Your Project?
In an article called Why Use Professional Miami Video Production Services?, I discuss the idea of "bait and switch" that's frequently used by TV production companies so they can increase their profit margins. Some companies will tell you about their world-class crew members, artists, and technicians, but they'll actually place lower-level employees on your project. This can really bring down the level of quality and effectiveness of your videos.
You'll want to know what the level of experience is of the people who will ACTUALLY work on your project. For my company, Ball Media Innovations, I've always been committed to using only extremely experienced and proven crew members. I refuse to compromise on quality even though it could make me more money. My vision for Ball Media Innovations is to bring great quality, great value, and great experiences to my clients.
So when interviewing Miami video production companies, it's reasonable to ask them about the experience levels of the people who will REALLY be working on your project.
3. Do the People Working On Your Video Have Knowledge & Experience With That Type of Project?
This is not so much about the exact subject of your video as it's about the type of video.
So for example, if it's an adult training video you're having produced, do they understand principles on how adults learn? Do they know how to apply that to your video to increase its effectiveness? They should!
Here's another example. If you're having a marketing video produced, do they understand marketing principles? Do they follow trends, read current research, and know how to apply that to your video to increase its effectiveness? They should. The same is true for web videos, tv commercials, television shows, etc.
If it's a live production such as videotaping a speaker in a conference, do they know how to get clear crisp sound, great angles, good lighting, and all without interrupting the proceedings? Our camera crews know how to blend in as much as possible. And do they know how to integrate things like PowerPoint and other visual aids to increase the video's effectiveness? This all takes pre-production and post-production planning for the Miami video production company. They must be willing to do the work, and they must have the knowledge and experience needed to do a great job.
If you're a part of a corporation, does the production company have the right experience and knowledge? Will they have corporate manners, and know how to work with your corporate execs? Will they be as comfortable and appropriate working within a corporate headquarters as in a manufacturing plant? If you're in our area, you'll need a Miami Corporate video production company that understands the corporate climate, and knows how to help increase the effectiveness of your corporate videos.
Yes, I used the phrase "to increase the video's effectiveness" several times. When you're picking a Miami video production company you're going to want the company that gives you the most value for your money and gives you the best results with your video.
There are a lot of Miami video production companies out there that are really wedding and Bar Mitzvah video companies who are trying to break into the corporate market. They have to get started somewhere, and for some of you, it might be okay to use a company like this. They may be very inexpensive as they're trying to learn and break in.
There are also plenty of Miami video production companies that do corporate video regularly, but they're basically technicians and button pushers. They don't really understand what you're trying to accomplish, and they can't help you make it more effective.
So when you're interviewing a Miami video production company, you'll want to ask them about their level of knowledge and experience in the areas of your video project.
4. Are their Crews Experienced With Your Type of Environment? Will They Be Skilled and Appropriate?
Having been in the Miami video production business for over 20 years, I'm aware of a LOT of inappropriate behavior that happens with some TV crews. Before starting Ball Media Innovations, I was the Manager of Worldwide Video Communications for Burger King, and I hired crews on a regular basis. I've seen and heard some really nasty stuff.
Rather than tell you stories of the inappropriate crew behavior and appearance that tends to be common in some Miami video production companies (oh boy - could I tell you many stories), I'll just tell you what we do.
First, our crews have great manners. Each person has impeccable professional communication skills, they're polite, and they behave and dress appropriately for the situation. If we're videotaping a CEO of a company, or if we're working in a manufacturing plant, we dress and act appropriately to put our clients at ease.
Second, we offer specialty crews. For example, we offer TV crews that have extensive corporate video production experience, and crews that have extensive medical video production experience. We have crew members that are very comfortable and experienced in the manufacturing environment. So we basically hand-pick the right TV crew members for your particular project's environment. This translates into better experiences and better videos for our clients.
So when you're interviewing a Miami video production company, you'll want to see if you can get an impression about what to expect with their crew members' manners and dress.
Conclusion
The above items really matter. Pick a Miami video production company without the above outlined good qualities and you'll probably end up disappointed and stressed. Whether you're looking to hire for a TV commercial, training video, web video, marketing video, or any other type of video, you'll want to carefully interview potential film companies to find the one that can give you a great video, but also a positive experience. That should be the very best Miami video production company for your project.
Want to learn more about our Miami Video Production Company?
If you're looking for Miami video production for business, training, live events, or medical videography, Ball Media Innovations is your best choice. Look around our site, or just contact us now. We'd be happy to talk with you about your project, give you some ideas, and a free no-obligation quote. See below for a contact form and phone numbers.
About the Author & His Company: Greg Ball, is President of Ball Media Innovations, Inc. Prior to starting the company, he ran the Burger King World Headquarters video operation.
Ball Media Innovations specializes in producing videos for businesses as well as the medical community. This includes web videos, marketing and training videos, social media videos, convention, conference, and trade show videos.
Here's how you can contact us:
(954) 432-1274 (Miami - Fort Lauderdale)
(407) 205-0423 (Orlando)
(866) 570-8612 (Toll Free)
Or Use the Contact Form Below (we'll keep your info private)
Call our video production company today. We'll help you decide if we're the best Miami video production company for you.
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