Every Website Says "Creative" and "Professional"

Google "video production company NYC." Go ahead.

Every result says they're creative. Professional. Passionate about your story. Half of them have the same stock footage on their homepage and reels from 2022.

I run one of these companies. I've also cleaned up after a few that disappeared once the deposit cleared. Not a fun gig but an educational one.

So here's what I'd look for if I were hiring somebody.

The Reel Tells You More Than the Website

A nice website means someone's good at Squarespace. The reel tells you everything. But you have to watch it right.

Look for range. Can they shoot different environments? Different styles? If every piece has the same color grade, same slow-mo B-roll, same indie track... that's their one move. Might be a great move. But if your project needs something different, you're still getting that move.

Look for work that matches yours. You need event coverage with 400 unpredictable humans and their reel is all scripted corporate videos? Those are completely different skill sets. A controlled set with talent and a live gala with a packed room require different crews, different instincts, different gear.

And this one people miss. Put on headphones. Listen to the audio. Bad sound is how you spot a crew that cuts corners where they think nobody's paying attention.

Questions That Tell You Who You're Hiring

Who's showing up on set? Not titles. Names. Some shops pitch the A-team in the meeting and send the B-team to your shoot. I've seen it. Ask for the name of your DP. Ask if the person on the sales call will be there on shoot day. If they get weird about it, that tells you something.

Walk me through post. A vague answer means they're figuring it out as they go. A real answer sounds like "rough cut in 7 business days, 2 rounds of revisions, final delivery in ProRes and H.264." That kind of detail means they've done this before.

What's included and what isn't? Get it in writing. Music licensing. Travel. Extra revision rounds. Raw footage. The worst surprise in production is an invoice for stuff you assumed was covered.

Can I talk to a past client? If they hesitate, walk. If they hand you a name and number in 30 seconds, green flag.

The Red Flags I've Seen Firsthand

No contract. Walk away. Don't care how cool they seem.

They say yes to everything. "10 videos for $2K? Absolutely!" That's not flexibility. That's either someone who doesn't understand their own costs or a problem waiting to happen. A good crew pushes back. That's part of the job.

Can't give you a timeline. "When will I see a first draft?" If the answer isn't a date or at least a range, they don't have a process.

Way cheaper than everyone else. Four shops quote $8K-$12K. One quotes $2,500. Something is missing. Could be experience. Could be they're planning to edit on their laptop and call it a day. If you want real numbers to compare against, I wrote about what production costs in NYC and where the money goes.

They don't ask YOU questions. If they quoted you without asking about your goals, your audience, your timeline... they're selling a commodity. You'll get a generic product.

After You've Signed, Watch for This

The shoot is maybe 20% of the work. The rest is communication.

Good communication means responding within a business day. Sending a creative brief before production. Sharing a shot list ahead of the shoot. Telling you when something's running behind BEFORE the deadline, not after.

It also means telling you when your idea won't work. Not to be difficult. Because they've done this enough to know. We had a client who wanted 6 setups in 4 hours across 2 Manhattan locations with a 30-minute lunch break. We told them it wasn't possible. They found someone who said it was. Three months later they called us for the reshoot.

The Deposit Conversation

50% upfront, 50% on delivery. Industry standard. Some do thirds. Both normal.

100% upfront? Unusual. Not a dealbreaker but worth asking why.

Nothing upfront? Also unusual. And kind of a sign they might not value their own work, which is its own red flag.

Whatever the split... receipt, signed contract, clear next step. Not radio silence for two weeks.

Big Shop vs. Small Shop Doesn't Matter

Big shops have overhead. Sometimes that means a smoother process with a dedicated account manager. Sometimes it means you're paying for their Chelsea office and an account manager who adds nothing to the creative.

Small shops are lean. Sometimes that means the founder's on set giving you personal attention. Sometimes it means your project sits in the edit queue for 5 weeks because they took on too many jobs.

Pick based on process, portfolio, and how they treat you before you've signed anything. The way they handle the sales call is usually how they'll handle the project.

Spend 30 Extra Minutes Now

Watch the reel with headphones. Ask the questions. Read the contract. Call a reference.

It's cheaper than hiring the wrong crew and paying twice.