A commercial videographer directs and delivers B2B video for a business, either shooting it alone or hiring a small crew to help. For small and medium sized businesses, that one person owns the job from creative input through the finished edit.
A commercial videographer is the person a business hires to direct and deliver a B2B video, either shooting it alone or hiring a small crew to support the job.
What the Term Means
The title usually points to one person or a very small crew. A production company is the term for a bigger operation, with larger crews and larger productions. Commercial video also has a specific meaning. It refers to work for businesses, like recruitment videos, product videos and corporate videos. Events such as weddings fall under a different kind of videography.
What You Are Hiring
When a business hires a commercial videographer, it is hiring something close to a director. That person either does the filming or is responsible for hiring the small support crew for the job.
For small and medium sized businesses, the videographer also owns the creative input and carries the job through production and post production. It does not matter whether they do that work themselves or hire it out. You have one person who answers for the finished video.
A Real Example: CF Industries
One of my clients, CF Industries, needed video to promote open job recruitment. We shot out of state with a crew of three, and the videos ran on LinkedIn. My job was to find the crew that supported the shoot and to complete the post production on the finished videos. The client had one person to deal with for the whole project.
Commercial Videographer or Production Company
Smaller projects usually fit an individual who hires their own support crew. This route costs a lot less than a larger production company, and quality does not have to suffer if you find the right person.
A production company with a bigger crew makes sense when the production itself is larger. If you want to see what the numbers look like, I broke down pricing in How Much Does a Corporate Video Cost Per Minute? and How much should I pay a freelance videographer?.
How to Hire a Commercial Videographer
Research the Roles First
If you have never hired a videographer or production company, learn what the roles are and what to expect before you contact anyone. It saves a lot of back and forth and makes your first conversations more efficient. It also gives you a better sense of what kind of person or company fits your project. My post on how to make a video for marketing is a good place to start.
Look at Samples and Reviews
When you watch someone's samples, check two things:
The quality of the filming
The quality of the post production
Then read their reviews. If you are still building your list of candidates, How to Find a Local Videographer for Your Business covers where to look.
How Pierson Studios Works
I own and run Pierson Studios myself, based in Chicago. I have about 30 years of production experience, including a lot of work with large crews, and I do not carry the overhead of a studio.
That lets me operate lean when a project calls for it. When a project needs more, I bring in a large production crew from the contacts I have built over the years. You get one person to talk to either way.
Key Takeaways
- A commercial videographer is one person or a very small crew, while a production company usually means a larger crew and bigger productions.
- Commercial video refers to B2B work such as recruitment, product and corporate videos, and it excludes events like weddings.
- You are hiring something close to a director who either shoots the video or hires the small support crew.
- For small and medium sized businesses, the videographer owns creative input, production and post production, whether they do the work or hire it out.
- For smaller projects, an individual who hires their own crew costs much less than a larger production company and can deliver the same quality.
- Research the roles first, judge samples on post production as well as filming, and read reviews before you hire.
