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Declan Gale Videography
Guide

How to choose a videographer

Price is the easiest thing to compare and usually the least useful one. These five matter more.

Who does the edit

Some quotes cover filming only, with the footage sent to an editor who was not on set. That is a normal way to work, but it means someone is making creative decisions about a moment they did not see happen. Worth asking outright. For what it's worth, on my jobs the person who filmed it is the person who cuts it.

What is included, and at what lengths

'A highlights video' is not a spec. 'A two-minute recap plus three thirty-second vertical cuts' is. If a quote does not say lengths and formats, ask before comparing it to one that does.

What happens past the quoted hours

Overtime should be a stated rate, agreed before a shoot runs long.

Who owns the footage afterwards

Counterintuitive in New Zealand: by default it is you, but almost every contract changes that in writing. Full explanation here. Worth knowing before you sign.

Insurance

Most venues and corporate sites require a public liability certificate before anyone is allowed on the floor. A supplier who can produce one the same day you ask is a small but real signal about how they run their business.

The question underneath all of them

Do I know exactly what I am getting, and does the person quoting seem to know what they are doing? Price tells you neither.

More on the different types of video production business, and which one your job needs.

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