You have finally decided to be your own boss and the business of your choice is Video Production. Now arises the major question how to turn that dream into a reality. Today we are going to guide you through the various stages of setting up a video and film production house. 

So, what should be the first step that you should take while setting up a film production house? The first one is funding! And sadly, you won’t receive anything from the government as a start-up because there are dozens of film production houses doing almost the same job. So, where will your funding come from? It comes from people you know, banks and obviously, sometimes there are connections who trust you and are ready to invest in your skills. 

These funds are required to cover the various facets of the business. Here we will list out the various phases and the most essential components that will lead your video business to sure shot success.

1. Building a proficient team

You must have heard the phrase how the right team matters, time and again. We wouldn’t want to preach but it’s extremely crucial. A skilled team that trusts and believes in you completely can do wonders for your business. And no, this is not just about the degrees that one holds, it’s about the eagerness one has to keep improving and upskilling themselves. Both experience and skills can be built over time but team members who genuinely want to keep learning are hard to come by especially in the film production industry where the trends keep changing at a rapid pace. 

There was a time when people used small digital camera with rolls while today, we work with heavier and much more complicated cameras like the Arri and Black Magic, camerapersons have had to adjust themselves to the cameras and learn how to operate them. Someone who is rigid and not eager enough to learn won’t be able to do that. Writers that can create content, according to client demands are also extremely crucial for video production houses. One doesn’t just make a video, a lot of brainstorming goes into creating the perfect script for it and for that you need writers who can bring novel ideas alive on paper. Writers spend hours reading and researching in order to polish their skills and make their content stand out. It’s not a field for those who like to sloth about. Skilled editors are another essential aspect of video production, without them you can never provide your clients with finished products. Editors are a group whose skills keep upgrading and polishing with every project, they have to be patient and sharp in order to incorporate all changes required by clients and to provide a smooth free-flowing narrative to the video. It’s not a job for the impatient and definitely not for the inflexible.  

Also, trust flows both ways, if you can trust your team with your eyes closed and know that they will produce the optimal results each and every time, you can trust your business to succeed without a doubt.

We remember we started off as a team of individuals, fresh out of college each one wanting to upskill their individual skills and all set and ready to upgrade themselves. We kept learning and unlearning with each project and every mistake. And this conviction and the willingness to learn is exactly what makes a great team. 

2. Buying the right equipment

The right equipment at a production house matters as much as a team. It can either make or break the business. A skilled team cannot upgrade or upskill itself or yield prominent results if they have the wrong equipment in hand. This is why buying the right equipment is extremely important. You cannot provide a high definition 4k photograph or video from your mobile phones, it requires good cameras, amazing lighting and proper systems on which they can edit. And once your team is adept at using the equipment, believe me there is no looking back.

And it’s not just cameras, the right equipment depends upon services that you want to provide to your clients. You cannot get aerial views without using drones and at the same time, you cannot capture a bokeh image with a simple point and shoot. The team definitely matters but giving them optimum tools to work with where they can use their creativity to the finest also matters. Imagine an editor sitting in front of a small screen trying to edit a one-hour long video! Not only will it be difficult to focus on the timelines but it will also strain their eyes. I am quite sure you wouldn’t want that happening to someone from your team.

3. Creating Digital Media Presence

So, now you have an excellent team who is skilled and well versed with the usage of the finest equipment. What next? You can’t just sit around in the office and wait for work to arrive. That is definitely not happening, not in the present era. There is an immense amount of competition in the market. Everyone wants to portray themselves and their services as the best. 

In order to carve a space for yourself you will have to mark your presence on digital media. Start with small videos, design posts, work every day towards building that much needed presence. It might sound stupid and some might advise you against it but work for the bare minimal till you have created a clientele for yourself, focus on building long term relationships with your clients because they are the ones who will recommend you to others. When your portfolio grows so does the amount of paid work.

 

Keep showcasing all your skills on various platforms, from LinkedIn to YouTube, from Instagram to Facebook etc., there shouldn’t be a platform where your company is not visible. And always remember, Consistency is the key on digital media platforms. One gains a following on social media platforms only through consistency. But, wait! There’s another aspect to creating the digital presence and that is relevant content. Just think about a video production house talking about crypto currency! Sounds weird right? You should never post things that are not relevant to your business. Share success stories, share the work that you have done in the past but don’t post about anything that is not related to your business. Usage of the right hashtags is also crucial as it will allow your content to reach the right audience. And that’s what every company wants, don’t they? 

Before becoming a full advertising agency, Viral Bug Films functioned as a video production house and establishing ourselves was a steep uphill road. We steered through a lot of struggles during that journey. But these struggles helped us a lot, thanks to them we are well versed with not just video production but also the nuances of setting up a business within the industry.  The fact that we did everything on our own is a matter of immense pride for our entire team. This blogpost is a small effort on our end to help others who have taken the same path that we did a few years ago.