Hiring a Videographer in Las Vegas?
Hiring a videographer in Las Vegas can be stressful.
Before I offer you my 5 tips for hiring a videographer in Las Vegas, I to share with you a quick story.
Many years ago, I started my journey as a freelance videographer in Las Vegas. At that time, I had the opportunity to work with clients in a large spectrum of industries. It took me a while to break in, and once I did, many of my clients become like family. Most of them had past experiences with other video production companies and freelancers. One common complaint was that many videographers lacked professionalism. They either lacked basic business skills to manage expectations, or simply produced poor quality results. In some cases, I would need to do two or three jobs in order to change their opinion on our profession.
Years later, I established my own video production company in Las Vegas.As I started recruiting videographers for my team, I quickly discovered why freelance videographers had such a bad wrap. The biggest issue I ran into was punctuality. I experienced several situations where it took some videographers a week or more to respond to emails and phone calls. Even worse, many of these creatives had very bad people skills. They were either grumpy, or lacked good behavioral judgment around clients. This led me to create a few basic benchmarks for my company that has helped me build one of the best production families in the country.
Look for punctuality and good communication skills
A basic rule of thumb for hiring any contractor actor is if they communicate well. If they take days or weeks to respond to your emails, texts or voicemails, then it’s a red flag. Find a contractor that can get back to you fast. Tim is money in this business, and you cannot wait to make important moves. It is also important that your contractor knows how to be on time.
Check the videographer’s demo reel for specific samples
It’s a pretty common practice for video professionals to have slick-looking demo reels. The problem with demo reels is they are deceptive, and don’t always offer you a good perspective for hiring the right company. This is why I always send clients specific samples of work. These could be samples from entire videos or commercial spots. For example, if my client is requiring documentary-style interviews, I will send them those types of samples. This way they can get a good sense of how we set up framing, backdrops, lighting and if applicable, how how conduct interviews.
Make a shot list of your own
Depending on the type of video shoot you are needing, you may consider creating a basic shot list of the things you would like captured. If you have an event you want filmed, perhaps create a list of items you wish the videographer to cover. Ask them to also capture multiple angles and set ups of each element, to give your editing process more options. Also encourage your videographer to speak up and voice any issues they have at completing your request. A good dialog throughout the process is very important.
Ask about media rights, and be sure there are no hidden fees to delivering your raw media and finals
Although it is rare, there are a few predatory video production companies that will charge you an extra fee to attain the raw media. Even more troubling, some of these companies will claim ownership over the media and try to extort more fees for its intellectual property rights. Any time we are hired by a company, we service the client as a “work-made-for-hire” contractor. This means that whatever we capture, no matter how dynamic and stylistically savvy, that media belongs to the client upon deliver and payment of the project. There are no hidden fees, and we never charge additional costs to release the raw media. There are however some exceptions. If a client needs files transcoded or organized a certain way, we will charge an editing fee for that service. We also charge for hard drive costs if the client does not provide one. However, all of these fees are outlined on our initial agreement.
In conclusion, It is always a good idea to provide your videographer with as much information about your needs as possible. The more clarity they have, the better chances the outcome will be stronger. I would always suggest sending your prospective video professional a style guide or a sample of what you are looking to achieve. This way there can be no second guessing. At the end of the day, the better communication you have with your contractor, the better your experience will be.
If you’re interested in discovering more tips for filmmakers, be sure to check out my books on Amazon!
What Film Schools Don’t Tell You
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