Questions to Ask Your Media Team/Videographer for a Successful Partnership

Your upcoming blast, email, or print marketing campaign will heavily rely on your media team—and rightfully so. You’re investing thousands, if not tens of thousands, in their expertise to produce high-quality content.

With over a decade of video production experience in the Las Vegas convention and marketing space, we’ve gathered some crucial questions to ask your media team or videographer before your next convention, conference, or event.

RAW Footage: Is This Included or an Additional Cost?

RAW footage is a crucial part of the final deliverables for several reasons:

  • Backup & Security: It ensures a safeguard in case of accidental data loss, such as hard drive crashes or deletions while traveling.

  • Future Flexibility: It allows your company to repurpose images and video for future marketing needs.

  • Ownership: You’re paying for content and data—ultimately, it should belong to you.

While you might not have the expertise to edit these large files, that’s okay! This is where your media team can assist (this is where we shine—and charge for our skill, software, and experience).

Follow-up Questions:

  • Can you help edit additional RAW footage if we find something we like?

  • If we provide a hard drive, can you transfer the RAW footage at the end of the event?

What Does Your Media Team Need On-Site?

If your event spans an entire convention hall or includes additional breakout rooms, here are some essential but basic needs to provide your media team:

  • Breakout Room for Gear & Editing (preferably with private access)

  • Power Cables, Chairs, Water, & Snacks

  • Itinerary/Breakdown for Shoot Days

How Many Crew Members Will Be On-Site?

Video production involves a lot of moving parts and heavy gear. When booking your media team, keep in mind:

  • Many videographers arrive at least an hour before the shoot to organize equipment, load it into their vehicle, park, and transport it to the shooting location.

  • For convention filming, we require at least two crew members on shoot days, as carrying and setting up gear while shooting can be extremely cumbersome.

Turnaround Time:

Turnaround time is a key discussion point with any video production team. We recommend establishing two deadlines—one soft deadline and one hard deadline.

Preparation is key to execution. To ensure the fastest and highest-quality delivery, both your company and the media team must be aligned. Have you provided all necessary assets, names, titles, and brand guidelines? If not, this is a great place to start.

Our standard workflow:

  • First Rough Draft: Delivered within 4-6 days.

  • Final Delivery: Completed by the 10th day.

Can We Do a Walkthrough of the Event Space Beforehand?

This is something we personally ask our clients. If your event takes place in a large or extra-large hall, a walkthrough helps us:

  • Plan and execute our shooting strategy effectively.

  • Assign shooting areas to our team.

  • Identify office and setup locations to avoid scrambling on event day.

On-Site Editor: What’s Their Role, Cost, and Is It Worth It?

If your event has a closing ceremony and requires an end-of-event edit, we recommend planning for this before the event, not on-site. Creating a polished edit requires:

  • Managing large amounts of footage.

  • Finding the right music.

  • Gathering assets.

This process takes time and could pull your videographers away from capturing the event itself.

That said, an on-site editor is a valuable luxury. We've successfully executed many same-day edits (e.g., Forescout Global Leadership) and highly recommend adding an on-site editor for speed and efficiency.

(See below: Kenny is fully focused despite the chaos in the background.)

Do You Have a Collaborative Review Platform Like Frame.io or Vimeo?

If you dislike writing notes while watching a first revision, this is an important question to ask. Platforms like Frame.io or Vimeo significantly streamline the review process, allowing you to:

  • Add time-stamped comments directly to the video.

  • Avoid lengthy email chains.

  • Save tens of hours during revisions.

How Many Revisions Should We Expect?

Revisions are an essential topic to clarify before signing a contract. Ensure your media team includes at least three rounds of revisions in their proposal.

To make the first revision process as smooth as possible, here are some key discussion points before the project begins:

  • Music: Do you prefer a high-energy edit with fast cuts or a slower-paced storytelling approach?

  • Assets: If your company has in-house assets (logos, intro bumpers, custom graphics, brand guidelines), providing them upfront will be incredibly helpful.

As video production specialists, we go through multiple internal drafts before submitting a first cut. While we aim to get as close as possible to your vision, initial drafts may require fine-tuning.

Additional Considerations

  • Filming Interviews in a Hotel Room/Suite? Some major hotels require a key card for elevator access—plan accordingly.

  • Parking Fees: Hotels and convention centers often charge for parking. Ensure your media team accounts for this in their budget.