Videographer vs Video Production Company: What’s the Difference?

How to choose between using a videographer or a video production company to create a video for your business.

So you’re looking to create a video for your business but aren’t sure if you should hire a videographer or video production company to create the video for you. What even is the difference anyway? Does it matter? Well, we’d say it does. You see both videographers and video production companies have their advantages and disadvantages, and who you choose will have a huge impact on both the video production experience and the finished video. Ultimately, the right choice will depend on your marketing goals and specific needs as a business. Today, we will explore the differences between a videographer and a video production company to help you make an informed decision on who’s the best partner for your business.

What is a videographer?

A videographer is one person who records images using a video camera. They are a creative filmmaker who generally works alone as a one man or one woman band. A jack of all trades, they work across all aspects of video production including project direction, pre-production, production and post-production.

What is a video production company?

A video production company is a team of video professionals who work together to create videos. They still work across all aspects of video production, but rather than one individual doing everything, video production companies have specialists in each area of the video production process. By hiring these specialists, video production companies offer a range and depth of knowledge and experience that is hard for any solo videographer to match.

What skills and experience does a Videographer have?

Videographers are typically freelance professionals. They’re generalists who capture all sorts of video content from business videos, to music videos, wedding videos, short films and personal projects. This variety of experience can help to bring a unique perspective to your project, but it also comes at the cost of generalisation: it’s less likely videographers will specialise and become an expert in one type of video production. This is especially important to consider when creating a marketing video for your business. While a videographer may understand the creative, if they don’t specialise in business videos, it’s less likely they’ll be able to execute your marketing plan with precision.

What skills and experience does a video production company have?

As individuals gain more and more experience in the video production industry, they often transition from a jack of all trades videographer, to a master of one specialist working in directing, producing, filming, sound recording, editing or promotion. A video production company, are a team of professionals who specialise in all of these different aspects of video production. Each team member will be an expert in one area of the process, meaning at each stage of the video journey you’ll have a dedicated specialist creating your video.

As a result of their experience, if you are unsure of how you might tackle certain challenges, a video production company will be able to effortlessly advise you on the available decisions and the impact they’ll have on your marketing video. Video production companies also often specialise in creating one type of content, making them experts in that area. This is critical when you’re creating videos as a part of your marketing plan: if your video production company understands your business and your marketing goals, they’re more likely to create a video that makes you look good as a marketer.

 What equipment and resources does a videographer have?

Videographers often have most of the equipment that is required for a basic video shoot. This includes a camera or two, tripods, microphones and a small lighting set up. As generalists, they need a wide range of material to be able to film all of the types of videos that they create. However, as videographers are solo operators, their budget for equipment is not as a large as a video production company, meaning they will be less well resourced. As they work solo, they also don’t have the abundance of human resources that a video production company does, meaning they may take longer to create your video.

What equipment and resources does a video production company have?

Video production companies often have an established video production kit including multiple camera, tripods, microphones for different situations, an array of lighting equipment including both lights and lighting control, drones and much more.  

A video production company will have access to a wider range of equipment and resources, which can be crucial in creating videos of high quality. If your reputation as a business is important to you, video production companies will have the expertise and resources necessary to create a video that bolsters your brand rather than one that detracts from it. On top of that, video production companies, as a multi-person organisation, will be able to create more premium content in less time due to their larger human resources. Many hands make light work.  

Both videographers and video production companies have access to camera rental houses where they can rent individual pieces of equipment for specific projects as required. Regardless, it is important to acknowledge that a solo videographer will have less equipment and human resources than a video production company as they are a one person operation.

Videographer vs video production company collaboration and support.

Creating a video for your business requires lots of collaboration. The video team needs to understand who your business is to create videos that fit with your brand, and you need to understand how the video production process works so you can advise the video team on what your desired video looks like.

As a videographer works on their own, they won’t be able to offer the same level of collaboration and support as a video production team will. Therefore, it’s important to think about the scale of your project to determine what level of support you’ll need. With smaller scale projects, the level of support needed will be minimal and a videographer will be able to expertly guide you through the process. Videographers can still tackle larger scale projects with success, but they are less experienced in this area and will offer less support as a result.

While not true in all cases, it’s important to note that videographers can be less professional than video production companies. Video production has a low barrier of entry: it’s quite simple to buy a camera, create a website and call yourself a videographer. This means that if you choose a videographer for your project you may end up with someone who only creates videos as a side hustle or hasn’t had much experience, which will detract from the level of support and expert advice they’ll be able to offer on how to make the video work best for your marketing plan.

Collaboration and support are one of the biggest benefits of choosing a video production company. With larger scale productions, having a team to guide you through each stage of the process can bring greater piece of mind to a project, making you’re your life as a marketer less stressful and the video project less consuming. Video production companies, given their experience, understand what needs to be completed at each stage of production and can offer expert insight on how to best execute that stage for your business. They’ll be a committed partner to your business and you’ll be able to trust them to execute your vision, no matter the scale or complexity. Further, video production companies offer more flexibility as there are more team members on hand to help on your project and overall, the relationship between the video production company and the client feels more seamless. It's one less thing for you to have to worry about as a marketer, you can simply sit back and be guided through the process, knowing you have a team of dedicated professionals working on your project.

What is the difference in quality between a videographer and video production company?

The quality of your business video will depend on many factors, including the skills and experience of the videographer or video production company, the equipment used, and the resources available. Without a doubt, videographers can produce high quality videos, that can match the brief and succeed with the goals that are set, but a lot of it comes down to the individual. You’re simply counting on one person to get the job done as opposed to counting on a team.

Video production companies, as a team of specialised professionals, often have higher standards for production. They have more experience and notice the one percent improvements that can be made to take your project to next level. If you’re a large corporate business these small additions can be very important to ensuring the video meets the professional standards of your brand.  

The best way to determine if the videographer or video production company you’re looking at will be able to create the video you need is to review their portfolio. By watching multiple videos from start to finish you’ll get a feel for the style and quality of production.

How much does a videographer cost?

Hiring a videographer will be more cost-effective than working with a video production company. This is definitely the biggest benefit of using a videographer as it’ll enable you to do more with your marketing budget. While prices vary wildly, videographers typically work on projects between $2000 - $500.

How much does a video production company cost?

Video production companies are a full team of professionals within the video creation field and as a result, they will be more expensive than a solo videographer. Video production companies typically work on videos between $10,000 - $2,500 but projects can range into the hundreds or thousands when creating a TV commercial or other high-end production. What are you paying for with that higher price? Experience, service and true quality. Let’s explain what that looks like with a few examples.

When considering what the right level of investment in video production is for your business, it’s best to consider both the scale of your business and how important the project is to your marketing goals. If you’re a micro business creating one video to put on social media, it’s not the end of the world if it isn’t perfect and the cost savings of choosing a videographer may be worth it to you. But, if you’re a medium sized corporate business creating an overview video for your website, the story is a little different. This is the first piece of content that potential customers will watch before deciding to contact your business, so if the key messages aren’t right, if the video doesn’t engage your audience or if it doesn’t make your business look professional you’ve just lost a potential sale. How much does that sale mean to you? How many more sales will you continue to lose because you didn’t invest in a video production team who took the time to understand your customers and what encourages them to buy? What does that loss in sales look like over a year or two? It makes the extra investment in a video production team seem quite small.

Should you hire a videographer or video production company?

The choice between hiring a videographer or working with a video production company will depend on your specific needs and goals. If you’re looking for a more cost-effective solution, a videographer may be the right choice. However, if you’re looking for a higher quality video that will effectively tell your story and achieve your marketing goals, a video production company will be the better option.

As a marketer, only you can decide where the balance between cost and expertise should land. As a general rule, if you’re creating a video for your micro or small business an experienced videographer with a solid portfolio will do the trick. But if you’re a medium to large sized business, investing more in video production will make the video more premium, the marketing impact of the video greater and the project much less stressful and time consuming.  

If you need help deciding if a videographer or video production company is better suited for your project, contact our video production team today and we’ll be happy to advise you on what we feel would be best for your business.