Want to get the most out of your next video production budget? The answer may be counterintuitive. Tell your company how much you have to work with.

That’s right, lay your cards on the table and let the pros tell you the best way to play your hand.  Talk to a couple production companies and then the one who actually has a great plan about maximizing your budget, work with them.

Get the most out of your budget with your production company

Getting the most out of a production budget

We’re not saying open your checking account and let your vendor see your bank balance. Have a reasonable idea about how much you’d like to stay under on the project and work toward that budget. Be up front and let the production company know your concerns.

It’s no fun for the vendor to guess how much you want to spend and then allocate resources around a number that was pulled out of thin air. Because of this, they may come back with an unreasonable recommendation for you simply because they thought you had a lot more to spend than you do. Also, some companies are set up to handle really large jobs or really inexpensive jobs. So it’s likely best that you at least give a vendor a ballpark before you have them crunch the numbers.