Lights, Camera, Worth it? The True Value of Professional Video Agencies 🎥

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Before we dive in, today’s newsletter is brought to you by The Odyssey Workshop. My in-person, practical video training event taking place in London on the 17th of August 2023, which will leave you with the knowledge and confidence to be able to make agency-quality videos by yourself.

There are only seven places left, so be sure to secure your space today, and use the code ‘GLITCHED10’ for 10% off.

With new technology coming out more frequently and being much more user-friendly and cost-effective, there’s almost too much choice! This is why it’s the best time to embark on your video journey!

But there’s almost too much choice…

Do you get this camera or this camera? This light, or this light? Do you do it yourself, or hire a professional to do it for you and save yourself the headache and hassle?

If you’re a business owner, or you’re part of the marketing team within a business, this question is a persistent thought in the back of your mind, and chances are you’re yet to make a decision.

Today, I’m going to break it down and give you all of the information you need to come to a conclusion and get things rolling 💁🏼‍♀️

If you think about it, you’re living in an amazing time. You have astounding technology right at your fingertips, especially when it comes to cameras on your phone, yet you’re not using it to its full potential.

Filming videos on your phone, and following a do-it-yourself approach is becoming an increasingly popular, low-cost option for many businesses with a limited budget. This comes with added benefits, such as:

• Affordability: If you’re just starting out, filming videos on your phone is an affordable way to tell your story in a creative way, without breaking the bank.

• Flexibility: Do you need a video planned, filmed, and edited in the next hour? Filming on your phone and doing it yourself gives you lightning-fast reactions that you can’t get when waiting for schedules to ‘align’.

• Authenticity: Do-it-yourself videos have an undeniable charm that often highlights your vibe and personality, whereby you embrace your imperfections, and that’s super relatable!

• Ease Of Use: When you want to film a quick video, you can’t beat the easiness of filming a video on your phone. After all, it’s one button, and the camera does it all for you.

However, not everything is perfect.

Filming videos by yourself does have its limitations, and these could instantly put you off from embarking on your solo journey:

• Time & Resources: Creating videos by yourself requires a lot of time, and often you’ll be wearing multiple hats. From the ideator to the planner, the videographer to the editor. You’re doing everything.

• Technical Expertise: Making your iPhone footage look unique requires a lot of technical knowledge and experience. From lighting your videos professionally, and mastering your audio, to setting up and positioning your cameras, there’s a lot to know, and you’re completely responsible.

• Equipment Limitations: Filming videos on basic equipment will give you basic results. That’s just a fact of video creation. Say goodbye to the professional blurry backgrounds, and say hello to generic footage.

• Stylistic Approach: My personal pet peeve with do-it-yourself videos, especially on a phone, is that they all blend into one. I can name hundreds of brands filming UGC content in an almost identical style, yet very few of them stand out online as a brand paving their own way.

There are two sides to every decision, and the same goes for hiring a professional agency to create your videos for you.

If you’re considering a professional agency, here’s what you’re in for (and I say this as a video production agency owner):

• Premium Quality: An agency well-equipped with top-notch, state-of-the-art equipment is naturally going to increase the quality of your videos tenfold, turning your vision into a masterpiece.

• Time Efficiency: Delegating the less ‘sexy’ part of the process allows you to focus on the more important tasks of your role. Leave the ideas, script writing, filming, and editing down to the experts!

• Expertise & Creativity: Agencies often have years of combined technical skill, expertise, and creative knowledge. Often having multiple creative brains on a project, rather than just your own, can bring your ideas to life.

• Specificity: There are thousands of agencies to choose from, especially in the video production industry. Each with its own style and approach, and as they specialise in a particular style of work, you can choose an agency that has years of experience in creating the style you’re after.

But again, and I hate to say this, agencies do have a number of flaws, and they’re not always the best option.

Here are a few that might sway your decision back to the solo-creator route:

• Budget: High-production videos require a significant investment, which may be cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses, with a common starting price of around £4,000 for a basic video.

• Schedule Constraints: Agencies have a lot of moving parts, and a lot of schedules to align. This may be more restrictive compared to a do-it-yourself approach where you only have your own diary to think about.

• Less Control: Agencies take the brunt of the work, which may leave you relinquishing a lot of the tasks in the production process. It will be your role to ensure everybody is aligned with a shared vision and heading in the same direction.

• Time & Attention: There’s no doubt that agencies, at least the good ones, work with a lot of clients at any given time. This may mean that your ‘urgent’ request isn’t attended to for a day or two until they have the capacity to reply, which can lead to projects moving slightly slower than a do-it-yourself approach.

Without being biased, there are always positives and negatives.

Ultimately, it depends on what you’re trying to achieve, how important the video you’re making is in representing you and your business, and whether it aligns with a do-it-yourself approach or a much more finessed, premium look that can be achieved through an agency.

But the question you’re dying to ask is “What is the right and wrong choice for different scenarios?” - So, here are my thoughts:

• Podcast: DIY - Much more relaxed, authentic, and natural.

• Meet The Team Video: Agency - You’ll want to highlight your team’s personality and skills through a well-crafted video.

• Brand Video: Agency - This represents your core values and brand identity, and needs to feel high-end.

• Product Explainer: DIY & Agency - This can depend on the complexity of your product. If it requires heavy technical demonstration, agency. If it’s simple to understand and user-friendly, DIY.

• Internal Culture Video: DIY - Highlight the vibe of the office with natural people in their element, and that can only be achieved through having fun and not taking yourself too seriously.

• Testimonials: Agency - Building trust and reputation comes with looking the part, and this will help to emphasise the positive experience that you provide to your customers.

• Vlogs: DIY - Being hands-on all day to capture a vlog isn’t the best use of an agency’s time, and would be much more authentic captured by yourself.

• Social Media Adverts: DIY & Agency - This will depend on your approach, and whether you want an authentic, relatable advert, or something that positions your business as premium, high-end, and professional.

As with every newsletter, this just scratches the surface of the ever-growing variety of videos that you can create.

However, it’s essential to understand the added value and difference between approaching your videos from either a DIY or agency route, as both approaches should be used in your video journey!

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you 💁🏼‍♀️

#1: Book a session with me today using my Calandly link. Each session is one hour, and I’ll share how you can create strategic, high-performing videos that increase your online presence and make you stand out online.

#2: Get my agency to create top-notch, engaging videos for you every week by reaching out to us via our website.

Until then, I’ll see you in next week’s newsletter!