Live-room production or event recording: what must the booking deliver?
Separate the live audience experience from the recording you need afterwards. Define the required outcomes, source handoffs and acceptance before booking.
Read the guideLIVE IMAGES / INSIGHTS & GUIDES
Buying guides — page 2
Practical questions, planning tools and source-informed guides for commissioning and using video.
100 articles
Live programme recording or separate camera recordings: what should you commission?
Decide whether event recording needs separate camera and presentation sources for later editing, with clear capture and delivery responsibilities.
Read the guideShould you join the voiceover recording or let the narrator work from your brief?
Choose live direction or a self-directed voiceover recording by identifying performance decisions, approval authority and the passages needing another take.
Read the guideLive captions, captions for the recording, or both?
Separate captions for a live video audience from captions for the approved recording. Define service commitments, handover and responsibility before booking.
Read the guideA linear learning video or a filmed branching scenario?
Decide whether viewers need one explanation or filmed consequences that change with their choices. Scope the branches, expert review and route acceptance.
Read the guideWho should pay for a jointly commissioned project film?
Before partners share a video budget, separate the common story from individual requests and agree who can approve each part of the production spend.
Read the guideInterview project contributors together or separately?
Decide whether your project film needs a shared conversation or separate firsthand accounts. Compare interaction, participant needs and the intended edit.
Read the guideInviting a client into a project film: check participation before booking
Prepare a clear, voluntary invitation for a client case-study contributor. Check the actual commitment, authority and readiness before booking production around them.
Read the guideShould you book hair and make-up support for an interview?
Decide whether to scope hair and make-up support for a corporate interview. Compare participant preferences, preparation, standby and practical requirements.
Read the guideInteractive virtual tour or guided project video: which experience should you commission?
Compare viewer-controlled exploration with an authored video explanation. Decide what interaction, evidence and delivery ownership your project requires.
Read the guideIntegrated visual description or a separate described version: which should you commission?
Compare building essential visual meaning into a new film's main audio with commissioning a separate described version, before the script and edit are fixed.
Read the guideIn-house or outsourced video: check your team's capacity
Use a capacity worksheet to decide which video work to keep in-house, outsource or split, without relying on invented salaries or break-even claims.
Read the guideShould your project film be gated or freely available?
Decide whether asking for contact details before a project film serves the buyer journey. Compare access friction, viewer value and follow-up responsibilities.
Read the guideFixed fee or day rate: compare how a video production is priced
Compare fixed-fee and time-based video proposals by scope, chargeable work and decision control, without assuming a lower day rate means a lower project cost.
Read the guideFirst Nations cultural material in a project film: what must the commission allow for?
Plan a film involving First Nations cultural material with room for community-led decisions, appropriate expertise and an agreed collaboration scope.
Read the guideDoes your film need exclusive access to the location?
Decide whether filming needs a defined exclusive-use window or can work around shared access. Clarify the area, time, users and actual scope before booking.
Read the guideEvergreen company film or campaign film: choose the useful life before production
Choose between an enduring company film and a time-bound campaign video by testing the message, intended action and what will stop being useful after launch.
Read the guideEvent highlights or full session recordings: what are you buying?
Choose event highlights, complete session recordings or a defined combination. Map coverage conflicts, presentation context and acceptance before booking.
Read the guideHow to assess a video supplier’s leads and ROI claims
Check what a video supplier’s commercial results actually demonstrate. Use a claim-evidence record before relying on leads, revenue or ROI in your buying decision.
Read the guideEditing subscription or project edit: what does the queue actually promise?
Compare editing queue access with a defined project commission. Trace how first cuts, approvals and revisions affect other requests before committing.
Read the guideDo you need 4K for a corporate video? Decide from the intended use
Separate capture, delivery and playback resolution before commissioning a corporate film. Decide what 4K would add to the actual viewing and reuse requirements.
Read the guideDIY business video or professional production: a risk-based decision
Decide whether to film a business video yourself or commission production by testing reshoot risk, sound, staff time and the consequences of getting it wrong.
Read the guideShould you scope discovery before committing to video production?
Decide whether a video brief needs a separate discovery stage. Identify the uncertainty, useful outputs and decision gate before committing to full production.
Read the guideDirect approach or production RFP: choose how to buy the film
Choose a proportionate way to approach video suppliers. Compare direct discussions and competitive proposals using brief readiness, policy and evaluation capacity.
Read the guideDoes your project-film shoot need a dedicated sound recordist?
Assess whether sound needs a dedicated role on your shoot. Map essential speech, simultaneous crew tasks and repeatability before agreeing the scope.
Read the guideWhen a customer asks for a fee to appear in your video
Assess a proposed customer appearance fee or expense payment before making an offer. Record the purpose, conditions, approvals and disclosure questions.
Read the guideCorporate video costs: build a budget before you ask for a quote
Build a corporate video budget around scope, internal time and unresolved costs. Use a practical input model before requesting a production quote.
Read the guideHow long should a corporate video be? Choose the runtime before buying extra minutes
Choose a corporate video runtime around the viewer’s decision, evidence and viewing context. Use a runtime worksheet before agreeing production scope.
Read the guideDo you need copyright ownership or a licence that covers your film's uses?
Identify the control your business needs before discussing copyright assignment or a video licence, keeping source files and third-party material separate.
Read the guideLaunch together or publish in stages? Plan the rollout of your project film
Choose a coordinated launch or staged release for an agreed film and short edits, using audience needs, dependencies and the publishing work each route creates.
Read the guideConstruction case study or property sales video: what should you commission?
Compare a construction case study with a property sales video. Choose the audience, evidence and brief before booking production.
Read the guideDo you need a confidentiality agreement before briefing a video supplier?
Decide what a production supplier needs to know before appointment, what can wait and when your authorised adviser should review confidentiality arrangements.
Read the guideComparison story or project case study: what can your evidence support?
Decide whether a film should compare alternatives or explain one project. Test the comparison basis, evidence and limits before commissioning a superiority story.
Read the guideHow to compare creative video proposals without choosing on polish alone
Compare video concepts against the viewer's question, available evidence and production assumptions, using a practical creative evaluation card.
Read the guideWho will find the real contributors for your project film?
Scope a search for genuine adult project contributors when suitable people are not already known. Separate experience, interest and filming permissions.
Read the guideShould you commission an Auslan version of your business film?
Assess an Auslan video version around a defined audience and purpose, then scope language expertise, production, review and publishing as a complete engagement.
Read the guideShould you commission archive-footage research for your project film?
Decide whether a project film needs a separately scoped archive search. Distinguish finding relevant material from verifying, clearing and acquiring it.
Read the guideNatural colour or a stronger creative look: how should you brief the finish of your film?
Explain the colour finish you want before approving a corporate film. Separate consistent natural presentation from a creative look and protect important visual facts.
Read the guideShould children appear in your project film? A commissioning decision before booking
Assess why children would appear in a project film, compare alternatives and establish specialist-led safeguarding arrangements before committing to production.
Read the guideWho safeguards the footage between filming and editing? Agree the responsibility before booking
Ask who manages, checks and hands over recorded media before a hard-to-repeat shoot, without prescribing equipment or assuming a supplier's backup policy.
Read the guideCamera operator or end-to-end production: what do you need?
Decide whether you need footage or finished films. Map the work between capture and delivery so interviews, editing and approvals have clear owners.
Read the guideBuying an independent accessibility evaluation for your video
Scope an independent accessibility evaluation for the exact video, player and audience journey, with clear evidence, exclusions and retesting.
Read the guideBrand film or company profile video: choose the job before the look
Decide whether you need a brand film, company profile or project story. Use a practical message worksheet before commissioning a business video.
Read the guideBook project photography and video together or separately?
Need both photography and video? Compare a combined commission with separate suppliers using access priorities, output owners and coordination needs.
Read the guideBespoke motion graphics or an adapted template?
Compare an adapted graphics template with commissioned design. Test the real content, editable limits, future changes and deliverables before choosing.
Read the guideAudio-only expert interview or project film: which should you commission?
Compare an audio-only expert interview with a project film by testing visual evidence, the listening occasion and the work needed to publish a useful resource.
Read the guideBook an attended edit session or review in your own time?
Decide whether a booked working session with the editor would resolve a specific choice, or whether your team needs time to review and consolidate feedback.
Read the guideAnonymous or named-client case study: is there enough evidence to commission a film?
Decide whether an unnamed-client case study has enough permitted, credible evidence to justify filming, rather than assuming a missing logo ends the story.
Read the guide