Silverfish – Film & TV Production London
In today’s competitive market, a professional film, video or documentary can have a major impact on publicising your organisation, increasing sales, improving training or delivering your message to a wider audience. To do this effectively you’ll need to employ a professional film and TV production company such as Silverfish who can provide a complete service from concept, to shooting, to editing and finally through to distribution formats.
When seeking out a video production company, what information do you need to know when approaching them and what questions should you ask? This article will provide some basic pointers to ensure you hire the right company for your film.
Who is your audience?
It’s easy to jump in with ideas about content and style of your film but both these important factors will be influenced by the audience you are trying to reach. Identifying the age, sex and social groups that you intend to target will help to give you some clearer ideas about the film you need to produce. You should also be asking yourself the question of whether the people you are trying to reach need the information you provide or do you have to gain their interest first.
What’s the objective of your film?
While you’re not tied to just one objective when making a film, if you try to place too many in your video you’ll have to make compromises and your message can become muddled or diluted. A film or video is a good way of giving people a broad picture so consider how much detail you really need to convey to your audience and try to keep it simple.
How will your film be viewed?
We live in a world where information is readily available across various formats so your film can be viewed in many different ways. You’ll need to consider how your film or video will be seen i.e. does it need to be seen in isolation such as over the internet, by DVD or through a company network? Does it need to be seen in a group environment such as a seminar? If it’s for a conference or exhibition, does the film require audio (remember, a video that is on repeat in a busy environment is fine, but if the audio is repeated it can be irritating).
Choosing the right format for your film
You’re not limited to any one format but having a clear idea of how you want to distribute your film can help in the early part of the process. Be aware that different criteria can apply for putting a film onto say DVD over the internet. If the film is intended to be for a television audience you should make this clear from the start due to aspect ratios and broadcast systems. Incorporating these factors at the beginning can save a lot of time and money later down the line.
Choosing the right production company
This is the biggest decision of them all as it will ultimately affect the cost of your film and its effectiveness. An established production company will often rely on word-of-mouth recommendations or repeat work for the majority of its business but when seeking one out for the first time, an obvious place to start looking is the internet. A reputable company will have an established website which you can find via the search engines. Using specific terms and locations when searching such as ‘film production company London’ or ‘UK video production company’ should provide you with a list of websites to visit.
When checking out a company’s website, take a look at their existing clients and the type of work they do. Find out how experienced they are and what their track record is. Who have they produced work for and is it possible to view the material (often shown as a ’showreel’ on the site itself)?
You’ll need to establish a good working relationship with your production company so make sure you speak with the people who are going to be doing the work and not just the salesperson. Film and TV production companies can be big or small. The smaller ones may outsource some of the work to freelancers which means you could be passed from person to person. A larger company will have all the people and facilities in-house which can ensure better continuity during the process.
Hopefully these key issues will help you choose the right production company for your project. Remember to build a good working relationship with the company you commission to ensure the film is delivered on budget and on time.