How to choose a video production company: the enterprise guide

Evidence they have solved your kind of problem before, verified reviews from large organisations, a method for strategy before filming, results for named clients, their own people in your key markets, ready answers for procurement and security, a clear approval process, and an itemised quote with clear usage rights.

Few firms publish prices. Those that do quote anything from a few thousand dollars for a simple animation to US$150,000 or more for an ambitious multi-location film. Shoot days, locations, countries, people on camera, animation style, versions and rights drive most of the difference. At Casual, films start from US$15,000. Our cost calculator gives you a range in two minutes.

Published timelines from the studios we reviewed run from 2 to 12 weeks from brief to final files for a single film, and animated explainers typically take 4 to 9 weeks. The biggest variable is usually how quickly your stakeholders sign off the script and the first edit.

Who the audience is, what they should think or do after watching, how you will measure it, where the film will run, how many films and versions you need, who signs it off, must-haves and no-go areas, your budget range, key dates and how you will choose a partner. A brief template is in the free checklist.

Start with: which project of yours is most like ours, what would you challenge in our brief, who exactly will work on it, how will we know the film worked, and who owns the footage and music afterwards. All fifteen questions are in the free checklist.

Use a studio when the film has to change what an audience thinks or does, or must look the same across several countries. A creator platform suits high volumes of simple, quick-turn content. A subscription suits a steady flow of edits and design on a fixed monthly fee. AI avatar tools suit training updates in many languages, not films with real people and places.

Two or three rounds at each stage is common. More important is agreeing what counts as one round, what you sign off before filming, such as a treatment or a script, and what a change after the shoot costs. Get all three in writing.

It depends on the contract. Ask who owns the final film and the raw footage, and how long you can use the music and the people in it. Rights that lapse can take a film offline a year after launch, so agree the term and territories before you sign.

Casual Films, a video production company with eight offices in seven countries. We have kept the guide useful whoever you hire, and set out our own answers to the eight criteria on this page. Spotted something out of date? Email info@casualfilms.com.