Looking for good (or exceptional) video production companies to produce your videos? Or want to learn more about video production companies?
In this article, we’ll do a deep dive into video production companies. We’ll tell you what they do, why you should hire one, and what to look for when choosing one.
We’ll also tell you how to start your own video production company, should you wish to do so.
And finally, we’ll recommend the top video production companies on the market.
Let's get started.
What is a video production company?
A video production company produces video content for other businesses.
They provide services like storytelling and concept creation, shooting, animation, and video editing.
As opposed to film production companies, which mostly produce TV shows and movies, this type of company mainly creates videos like:
Video ads
Documentaries
Explainer videos
Product launch videos
Product demo videos
Video testimonials
Video case studies
What does a video production company do?
Different video production companies cater to different types of clients and have their own areas of expertise. Most of them, however, perform the following duties:
Develop content
Content creation is the primary purpose of a video production company. The production crew starts with a concept, and once that’s finalized, they bring it to life through video.
Scriptwriting
Compelling videos need a compelling script. And whatever the video's goal is, whether that be marketing or educational, the script should accomplish it.
Casting & Hiring
Some companies have in-house crew members like a cinematographer, designers, screenwriters, or editors. Others may source their talent from elsewhere.
Most companies hire talents like actors, voice actors, and extras from outside. The video production company often has connections to talent agencies for this purpose.
Planning and Logistics
The agency project manager handles planning and logistics and works alongside the director and creative team.
Their responsibilities include finding a location, identifying required equipment or props, and scheduling the shoot.
What are the different types of video production?
There are five main types of video production. These are:
Educational Videos
Educational videos educate people about a concept, topic, or product. They combine dynamic visuals with meaningful storytelling to create memorable and impactful learning experiences.
Compared to written or audio communication, video are effective at helping people grasp complex topics and retain them.
Here’s an example of an educational video from the popular YouTube channel, CrashCourse
Promotional Videos
A promotional video promotes a company’s product or service. An ideal promotional video should be able to weave a story that educates people on a product, as well as inspire them to take action.
Here’s a highly inspirational promo video from Nike.
Documentary Videos
Documentary videos tell a factual story about a person, event, or place. They use actual footage with real-life people or use actors to simulate past events.
Entertainment Videos
Entertainment videos include music videos, funny videos, skits, reality shows, short films, and more.
People love entertainment, and businesses know it. That’s why they often make their promotional videos entertaining.
Here’s a really short (but funny) example of an entertaining video:
Event Highlight videos
Like wedding videos, these show highlights of the event for those who haven't attended it.
Event highlight videos encapsulate the essence and vision of the event and highlight the most important portions of it. An event can be a music event, town hall meeting, convention, or a conference.
Here’s an event highlight video from Coachella.
Testimonial Videos
A testimonial video is a short video where a person talks about their (usually positive) experience with a business.
Videos like these intend to make prospective customers feel safe in making a purchase with the business.
Why should you hire a video production company?
Creating impactful videos isn't easy. A lot of work goes into a video, including writing a strong script, planning every shot, hiring the right actors, and more.
And all this requires a capable video production team.
Here are additional reasons why hiring a video production company might be a good idea:
High-quality and polished content
An experienced video production company will have worked with many clients. This gives them a diverse range of experience and expertise.
They are experts at making your brand stand out
Good video production companies create videos that build your brand image and make it stand out from your competitors.
Storytelling
Video production companies have expert writers who can create a concept and make a compelling story out of it.
Good storytelling is vital to create the myth and legend of your business. It’s also a great way to express your brand’s core values to your audience. On top of that, it evokes emotions in people and inspires them to be loyal to your company.
Saves you time
Making a video can be time-consuming – especially if you attempt to do it in-house.
In contrast, video production agencies have streamlined their process so that videos can be produced quickly.
What should I look for in a video production company?
Here’s what to look for in a good video production company:
A strong portfolio (that resonates with your goals)
Look for a company that has a portfolio with similar videos to those you want.
Also, check if these videos match the vibe and tone you’re looking for in your own videos.
Budget
Videos can cost anywhere from $1000-$10,000 per video (or even more – especially in cases of big commercials).
So you’ll need to find a company that’ll be gentle on your budget. You’ll also need to consider if the video will give you a good ROI in the future.
Look for Testimonials
Testimonials provide a lot of insight into a company's quality of work. In addition, they give you an idea of what working with them will be like.
Creativity
The last thing you want is a bland video that gets lost among all the other boring videos out there.
So look into a video production company’s portfolio and make sure the brand is creative with their work – so you can get videos that are memorable.
Customer service
Find a company with a crew that’s easy to work with and one that’s proactive and open to feedback.
Production quality
Production quality matters a lot. Videos below a certain standard can hurt your brand pretty badly.
So check a company’s portfolio to see if the production quality is up to the mark.
Casual Films have their base in London. They have around 200 employees. Their past clients include the likes of Facebook, Google, GoDaddy, and Adobe, among other high-profile names.
The DVI group has been in the video production business for almost 21 years and is one of the top video production services. They’ve handled clients like Holiday Inn, Delta Airlines, Mercedes-Benz, and other companies. Listed below are some of the types of videos they handle.
Lemonlight is headquartered in California with offices all over the USA. They have made over 16,000+ videos for the world's top brands, including Amazon, Google, Tesla, GE, and Airbnb.
VeracityColab specializes in making story-driven videos for brands and marketers. They have a strong team of creative storytellers that create videos that inspire and educate, as well as videos that drive sales.
Sparkhouse is based in Orange County, California, and is known for its marketing and advertising-focused videos. They’ve great reviews from their clients, who in the past have included the likes of Forever 21, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Nissan.
Founded in 2004, 5:00 Films works with charitable nonprofits and mission-driven organizations to create videos that inspire audiences to action. They are based in Columbia, Maryland.
Video focus
Animation
Event & Seminar Coverage
Webcasts
Storytelling
Gardner Productions
Cost: Contact Gardner Productions for more details.
Gardner Productions is based in Toronto and is one of Canada’s premier boutique video production houses. They focus on building brands of blue-chip companies through video and commercial content. Past clients include Lincoln, Four Seasons, Fairmont, Swarovski, and Pepsico.
Colormatics is a hybrid of an advertising and video production company that specializes in targeted videos. Clients include known names like Fiverr, Budweiser, American Express, and Macy’s. They are located in multiple places, including New York, Miami, Seattle, and Santa Monica.
This small company is located in Pittsburgh and Berlin. It specializes in niches related to finance, education, and healthcare. Brands worked with include GoDaddy, Rosetta Stone, WebMD, and Yelp.
Bottle Rocket Media is an award-winning company that has won more than 25 awards. It had also been ranked in Inc5000 2020 Annual List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies. It’s worked with names like Google, Mcdonald's, Starbucks, United Airlines, Walgreens, and plenty of other high-profile names.
Snowy Peak focus on making videos that drive the marketing campaign of companies. They are based in Denver, Colorado, and have worked with Mountain Dew, Oracle, Lyft, Symantec, and more.
The founders of Shoot You are former BBC staff with an experience of over 20 years. This award-winning agency produces animation and video for B2B and B2C businesses. The company has worked with BBC, J.P. Morgan, Honeywell, Allianz, and King.
Based in San Francisco, Levitate Media provides video production and broadcast video to clients ranging from small startups to large corporations. Clients they have worked with include Vogue, Vizio, Proofpoint, Sweetrush, and Nautilus Health.
Studio Pigeon has offices both in Krakow and Warsaw, Poland with a team of 20+ people. They are especially astute in creating creative animations for mid-sized companies.
Video focus
Animation
Corporate video
Explainer
Commercial
Video Marketing
Training
Do you need a video production company?
Getting the help of video production companies can save you a lot of stress and uncertainty – these companies have professionals that have made hundreds of successful videos before.
That being said, hiring a video production company is incredibly expensive. If you’ve looked at how much the above companies we’ve listed charge, you’ll notice it’s no small amount.
The good news is that It’s quite possible to make videos by yourself if you have the right equipment and setup. You’d still need to add your creativity and plan the video as well as write the script. With the right software, you can even record your videos remotely. Riverside is one such app. It records high-quality crisp and clear 4K videos, similar to those made by video production companies. On top of that, it has easy-to-use and intuitive editing tools that simplify editing and post-production – even if you’re new to editing.
Riverside is also great at recording remotely, which makes it ideal for filming an interview, a case study, or a testimonial video.
Here are the main steps you’d need to follow to start your own video production company
1. Choose a niche
Video production companies tend to get more clients (and earn more money) when they choose a niche and specialize in it.
For example, you can choose to specialize in animated videos (like Studio Pigeon). This way, clients who are looking for animated videos will pick your company over others who aren’t experienced in this field.
2. Choose a name and register your company
Next, you’ll need to choose a name. Don’t stress out on this; as you can see few of the names in the list above are ‘creative’ in any sense.
Once that’s done, you’ll need to register your company. The process for this changes from country to country. However, if you’re in the US you’ll need to set up an LLC. An LLC offers liability protection and pass-through taxation.
To do so, you’ll have to register and incorporate your business with your local and state government.
3. Create a website
Create a website that showcases your portfolio, highlights case studies, and explains your product and service.
Setting up a website doesn’t cost much. It’s also easy to do so with the help of companies like Wix or Squarespace.
4. Get equipment
As a video production company, you’ll need to have the gear that comes with the job.
Some companies rent their gear, whereas others – with capital – buy them all as an initial investment.
5. Put together a team
A multi-talented videographer can perform the task of creating a concept, shooting the video, and editing it. If you have a tight budget, hiring such a person may be your best bet.
However, in the long term, you may want to hire a bigger team, especially if you’ve made a profit with the first few clients.
6. Upload your portfolio
Once your website is up and running, you’ll need to showcase your portfolio. Businesses need proof that you can get the job done.
7. Put your business out there
Now, you’ll need to find clients. Here are the different ways to do so:
Facebook/Instagram: You can use Facebook/Instagram’s paid ads to reach your ideal business/customer.
Website: A website will good SEO will boost it to Google’s front page, making it easier for potential clients to stumble across your website when Googling for a video production service.
Start a blog: In tandem with the previous step, starting a blog with helpful SEO-optimized articles can help people find your business.
Google and Yelp: Listing your business on Yelp or Google My Business can help you find local clients.
Email: In this method, you would reach out to potential businesses and pitch your service to them. Just focus on making the emails personal and try not to appear salesy.
And that’s it! Once you get your first few clients and keep fleshing out your portfolio, things get easier, and you’ll notice profits.
FAQs on Video Production Companies
How much should you pay for video production services?
Video production services wildly vary in their costs. Some companies may charge $500 for a video, whereas others may charge above $10,000.
The price depends on multiple factors like:
Number of crew members and actors involved
Experience level of the video production agency
Equipment used
Type of video
Duration of the video
Who are the customers of a video production agency?
The different customers that video production agencies cater to include:
Event Organizers
Live streamers
Businesses
Marketers
The In-house production team of any organization
NGOs
Brand specialists
What is the difference between videography and video production?
A videographer is usually a camera operator who, depending on the project, may also take on roles of director, editor, lighting expert, and other responsibilities.
On the other hand, a video production company includes many different people, each of who have their own separate role. The various positions in a video production company include Directors, Producers, Writers, Editors, Makeup Artists, and more.
Learn how to produce a video through the three stages of the video production process. Our guide dives into pre-production, production & post-production.
Riverside.fm is an audio-video tool that collapses the pod/broadcast studio experience into your browser. The service captures lossless audio and up to 4K video locally, syncs it, and uploads as you go.
Riverside.fm is an audio-video tool that collapses the pod/broadcast studio experience into your browser. The service captures lossless audio and up to 4K video locally, syncs it, and uploads as you go.
Riverside.fm is an audio-video tool that collapses the pod/broadcast studio experience into your browser. The service captures lossless audio and up to 4K video locally, syncs it, and uploads as you go.
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