Pricing and the Video Production Company Quote in Vancouver

Ever hired a service provider to do home services, and found that their bill was higher than the rate they quoted over the phone? Here’s some tips on how to avoid hiring a video production company in Vancouver that will give you surprise invoices, and how to make sure the quotes you’re getting are accurate and thorough:

1. Upfront Details Help: If you ask video production companies “How much to produce a video for my company?”, you’ll get a myriad of responses that will all be completely inaccurate. Your up front information was generic and vague, and so the quotes will be just as loose. Instead, give the company specifics: Finished script ready to look at? Finished duration? Number of locations? Actors needed? Makeup needed? Delivery formats (DVD, Blu-Ray, web, TV)? Maybe a similar video in existence that you’d like to emulate the look of? The more details you provide will make it easier for the video production company to give you an accurate quote.
2. Detailed Quotes = A Company with Attention to Detail: If you give detailed information about the project (see above), and all you get back is a numerical figure (e.g. $5,200), run – don’t walk – away. A solid video production company should break down your production into line items with pricing for each, and should break it down into pre-production, production, and post-production. Better still, it should detail recording format and delivery items: what will be handed over to the client when the project is finished? A good production company will also indicate the payment terms and dates for receivables as well.
3. A Thorough Quote = The Basis for A Contract: A detailed quote provides the basis for a contract. The production company and you are detailing what will be provided, and what’s included and expected (from both you and them). Your contract can then refer to the quote that’s been given.
4. Overages do Happen from Time to Time – When The Project Work Changes: Overages happen 99% of the time because the nature of the project has changed and thus the amount of labour required has significantly changed as well. A reliable production company will usually absorb unexpected labour overages as long as the overages are not due to the client adding additional work or items to be completed that are above and beyond the initial quote or contract. 
5. Protect Yourself with a Clause: Contracts can stipulate that the final amount paid shall not exceed the quoted amount by more than 10%. This is a good clause to have in cases when the nature of the project hasn’t changed, but the amount of labour needed to complete the project is impossible to completely nail down in advance. You don’t want to have an open-ended labour bill, but you also want to allocate an amount that lets the production company finish the project within a reasonable target.
6. Check References & the BBB: References and testimonials are a good way to ascertain how well the production company completes its project on time and on budget. Similarly, online rating services and consumer protection agencies like the Better Business Bureau will give you an idea as to how trustworthy a company is, and if their quote is worth the paper its printed on.
7. Don’t Compare Apples to Oranges: If you ask a car salesman “How much will it cost to buy a car?”, they would probably laugh then explain that different cars have different features and quality levels, and that pricing follows accordingly. In other words, two cars can be night and day different in terms of their quality, and yet their still both “cars.” Your $15,000 won’t buy the same caliber of vehicle as $40,000. Video is exactly the same. Choosing one video production company’s quote to another simply by price alone is doing a huge disservice to yourself, because they may not be quoting for the same caliber of product. If you’ve given upfront details about the project, have a look too at the company’s portfolio of past work, and see if the company is dedicated to high production value rather than rock-bottom pricing. Oftentimes there are headaches that come with working an inexperienced company that won’t be able to deliver what you’re looking for, no matter how attractive their pricing may seem.

Please feel free to check out our online portfolio, client list and testimonials – and give us a shout. We’d be happy to provide great video production service to you on your next project!