Nowadays, video is fundamental in the promotional process for any kind of business. Over the last few decades, technologies developed faster than ever, and video production is an integral part of this revolution. The United Arab Emirates are not new to fast developments, and have kept up to speed for this change.
The first thing to do if you want to find the right video production house for your purpose, is to think carefully about the type of video you would like to shoot. This is, in fact, the most important step, because not every video agency may suit your needs. You might want to realize a corporate video or an event video, or maybe you could ask for something completely different in the entertainment, the fashion industry or the sport field. Different videos often require different budgets, so you should choose carefully to save time. When you have a clear idea of what you would like to achieve, then it’s time to start!
Read on to find out how to find the best video production company in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (or anywhere else in the Emirates) in four, simple, steps.
1. IDENTIFY THE CANDIDATES
It may sound a little obvious, but the very first thing to do is to google it! Identify a city or a geographic area (in our case, an Emirate) you would like your research to focus on, for example “Dubai” or “Abu Dhabi”, and simply type: “video production company Dubai”. What you will see is probably something like this:
Something immediately catches the eye, namely that some entries are ads whereas others are not. Bear in mind that, if a video company is advertising to appear before the organic results on Google, this is not necessarily an indication that it is the best for you. On the other hand, however, this may also be a good sign, showing that they are investing in communication. The best scenario is probably the one showed in our screenshot: if the name of a video production house shows up in both ads and organic results, that is a good indicator of quality.
If you go through about 20 results (usually a couple of Google pages), you should be able to collect a good number of candidates who could shoot your video. You may want to check Google Maps too, to see if they show up. This is useful to have a confirmation of the company’s geographic position. However, you should keep in mind that camera crews are often on the go, and they may be available wherever you want them to.
2. VERIFY QUALITY AND PROFESSIONALISM
Once a list of video production companies in Dubai (or anywhere else) is in your hands, than you are ready to proceed with the second step! You will notice that, together with the official website of each company, their names may come up also on other websites or platforms. We suggest to always look at the official websites first, to get directly in contact with the people in charge for the job.
Of course, some platforms can be very useful and we are using them as well. However, when looking for a video production company, we believe that the official website is the first thing to check. Later in your search you can surely take a look at some other platforms, especially to see if a company is well known on the web.
The video company’s website has to be always updated. This can be easily verified by looking at the footer on every page, which should be updated to the current year. Don’t forget to look for an example page on the website. If a team is proud of the work they did, for sure they will want you to watch it. In this way you can make an opinion and verify the quality of their productions.
3. MAKE CONTACT
Every professional website should include a “contacts” page. In the case of video production, a specific page like “prices” or “get a quote” could also be present. These are the pages you should look up to take contact with the team and ask for an estimate.
If an e-mail address is provided, we generally think this is the best way to start. If you are already expert in the video production field, you should provide all the useful details for the production. These include, for example, dates and location for the shooting, a deadline for the final edit, how many camera operators and crew members you need and your budget. On the other hand, if you are not an expert, you can provide a video example, even if done by a competitor. All details and ideas you can share, are going to be useful. Of course, there are also things that you are allowed to ask for. These could be a cost breakdown to compare different companies, or an all inclusive price to avoid surprises. The latter may include insurances, travel costs, extra hours and so on.
Very often, however, the “prices” page may have a pre-contructed form to fill in. This generally includes all the information necessary to provide a quote, so if you know nothing about video production, you can count on that as well. If you are trying to contact a video agency in Dubai, in Abu Dhabi or in any other Emirate from Europe or the US, please take the time zone differences into consideration while waiting for your answer!
4. COMPARE AND EVALUATE THE ANSWERS
It may take some time, but generally you should have a good number of answers within 24 hours.
First of all you should check if they are complete, consistent, and if anything is eluded or bypassed. The best thing would be to have a direct contact in your hands (an e-mail address showing a name, such as “paolo.mantero@armonicafilm.ae”). In this way you will be sure to always be communicating with the same person. If you previously asked for a cost breakdown, take a deep look at it and compare all of them carefully. Sometimes, even tough not always, lower prices may hide poor equipment. – long experience of the crew
After that, you should be able to come up with the winner company! First of all, you should write back. They will be happy to know that you think they are the best video production company in Dubai! If you still have doubts or questions, you can ask for a Skype call to define the last pre-production details. A human contact before working together is always preferable and definitely useful.
If you have come this far, we hope this post helped you understand how to find the best video production company for your needs! And if we made it into your final list, please take the time to send us an e-mail to info@armonicafilm.ae or fill our form. We can’t wait to work with you in Dubai!
