Freelancer or production company?

Choosing between a freelancer or production company: finding the right fit for your next video project.

If you’ve made the decision to invest in video services, the first question you’ll have to ask yourself is whether you want to go with a production company or a freelancer. Of course, there are benefits to both – as well as alternative possibilities like creating your own content – but it’s important to know the differences before choosing. Let’s go over your options!

Benefits of a production company

Full-service expertise

Production companies can offer expertise in every stage of the process – all the way from development to delivery. There are dedicated team members who know their stage of the production process inside and out. Where freelancers may only have one person on a shoot, larger companies have in-house crews, built-in backup, and often a pool of team members that can be called out based on a project’s needs. Production companies will offer guarantees against the equipment they bring and will often have multiples should anything fail.

Capacity

Production companies have the ability to tackle larger-scale briefs, as well as for more projects to be running at once. Where a freelancer might get caught up by deadlines, turnarounds can stay consistent with a larger team. 

Value for money

You’re not just hiring video, you’re hiring a team who can bounce ideas off of each other and guide your project to be the best version of itself. Plus, good production companies will always have access to large amounts of insured kit – suitable for any type of filming. 

Consistency across projects

If you have ongoing video needs, a production company can ensure a consistent look and feel across projects. Hiring multiple freelancers could result in different visions. 

Working with a freelancer

While production companies are often the go-to when your video is an important investment or a larger-scale/specialised project, freelancers also offer benefits – especially for one-off pieces of content. There isn’t a universal answer for which is better; rather, it’s all about finding the right fit for you.

Lower costs

If your needs are minimal or short-term – or if you’re working on a restricted budget – freelancers are often an attractive option to avoid overhead costs. You’re only paying for one person to come in and create content rather than a whole team. 

Working one-to-one

Working with just one person can add a personal touch to any project. Communication is streamlined and feedback is applied without going through multiple team members. 

Narrow focus

Freelancers are great for a straightforward brief, especially one that is in their wheelhouse of expertise. One person’s mind will know your project inside and out, applying their specialised skill directly to your objective.

Where Urbancroft Films fits

As a small team of experts, Urbancroft Films gives you the benefits of a production company’s consistency and capacity – with the one-to-one attention people often associate with freelancers! No matter the project, our team and Creative Director, Martyn, is there to support you across the production process. We always ensure that our production services are smooth and jargon-free, making video something you will enjoy being a part of. Here’s a recent client testimonial:

“Urbancroft is a fantastic company to work with – no job too big or small. An enthusiastic, flexible, hard working team who listen diligently to clients and deliver outstanding results within often extremely tight deadlines.”

“Our projects have varied from one-day filming events to embedded work within hard-to-reach communities and our experience has always been excellent across the range of projects and scales. We’re always going back to Urbancroft, whether that is just with ideas which take shape as a result of discussion or with a fully formed and funded project.”

Urbancroft Films has invested in and owns an extensive range of production equipment, which allows us to have multiple productions running simultaneously. We also have a professional base at Film City Glasgow with production and post-production spaces. You’ll get these resources along with the team behind them: a team who will work across your project and guarantee delivery – with people stepping in if there are any last-minute emergencies or sickness. Collectively, we have over 85 years of experience in the industry, and can take on larger-scale projects with ease. 

We also hold a wide range of working policies which allow us to partner with government and local government partners. Plus, our team is skilled in taking on projects in a range of industries and locations. From land to sea to up in the air, we can successfully navigate any location challenge that comes our way. 

With a collective of experts behind your project, ideas will be stronger and always have extra sets of eyes reviewing things before delivery. If you want a dedicated team who can handle any brief you throw at us – Urbancroft Films is the perfect option!

Alternative options for video creation

Sometimes, hiring video isn’t a feasible option for every company, especially when working on a restricted budget or on ongoing social content. This is why we offer filmmaking training workshops to help you learn to film and edit. This course enables you to produce inhouse content for social media and feel confident in what you’re creating. If you need something more complex or for a more comprehensive film, that’s when our production services can help. 

To learn more about our Shoot & Cut courses, head to our services page.