In-house Video Production or Outsource to a Video Production Company?
Is it best to work directly with a video production company? Or to produce the work in-house? Each option has pluses and minuses. And depends on the situation you find yourself in. In this post, we’ll break down the pros and cons of each approach.
What do you mean by In-House and Outsourced Video Production
In-house video production means that your company has the capacity, equipment, systems, and training to make videos using your own resources. As opposed to hiring the services of a video production company.
Outsourced video production involves working with an external trusted specialist to make videos for you.
Types of Video Commonly Produced In-house
- Some Social Media videos – filming that is simple, easy and immediate- can be done using basic equipment such as an iPhone. Depending on the type of video, viewers don’t always expect professional production quality for social media videos.
- Light Internal Communications – Content that needs to be produced quickly and doesn’t require professional video production quality.
Advantages of In-house Video Production
- Perceived Authenticity – In some cases, non-professional video content is perceived by viewers as more authentic and less contrived. This may give your content more ‘believability’ and less of a sense of being ‘sold to’.
- Immediacy – In many cases, you can create content faster when producing it in-house. Having the staff and equipment on-site means you can make videos faster than if you need to brief and contract an outside company.
Risks of Making Videos Yourself
- Perceived as unprofessional – If the videos that you produce lack professionalism, or don’t have the same sophistication and technical polish as your other branding assets, they may erode the perception of your brand in the mind of your viewer.
- Dilution of the message – If your in-house video producer lacks the skills and training to produce clear, coherent and professional video communication, then your videos will not successfully communicate what you need and drive the right action.
- Questionable use of internal resources – Often, companies lack the resources to hire a dedicated video producer. So the task falls to someone who already has a range of other commitments. Rather than focusing on their job, they divert time and energy to an activity that is not their area of expertise.
- More Expensive – This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s often more expensive to produce videos in-house than to use external contractors. When you actually calculate the true cost of the labour, equipment, training, maintenance, security, and contingency planning, it is usually more cost-effective to work with a video production company.
When to Use a Video Production Company
- When you don’t have the resources in-house, setting up a successful internal video production department and a well-documented video production process can be complicated, expensive, and time-consuming.
- When production values are important, It’s very rare for internal video production to match the quality achieved by video production companies.
- When your project is deadline-based, Video production companies have the capacity, skills, systems and planning to deliver on time and on budget. Internal producers often have many other commitments, which leads to missed deadlines.
Types of Video Produced by an External Production Company
- Recruitment videos – When you need to attract the best talent using video, it makes sense to invest in high quality video production
- Website homepage video. For most external video production, compromising on quality will erode your brand.
Advantages of Working with a Production Company
- perceived as more professional – Your video production work will be more polished and professional.
- Reduced errors – Your videos will be of a higher technical quality and contain fewer mistakes.
- Clear messaging – By choosing a specialist, the quality of the messaging will be higher.
- Efficient use of resources – Your staff can focus on what they’re best at.
- More cost-effective – Once you calculate the true cost of producing video yourself, you will find that it’s more cost-effective to work with a production company.
Ryan Spanger is the founder and managing director of Dream Engine, a Melbourne-based video production company established in 2002. With more than two decades of experience, Ryan has helped leading Australian businesses, government departments, and non-profits communicate their message with clarity and impact through video. He’s known for his strategic approach, reliable process, and commitment to producing videos that deliver measurable results.
