We needed some new videos for use on our website. They’re not on the public part of the site. We’re using them as part of an educational course we provide to our clients and prospective clients.

Our objective was to film and post five videos, each running about three minutes. Each video is designed to answer a specific family law question. We wanted it done quickly, and we wanted it to look nice and professional. We’ve done a bunch of video ourselves using a camcorder. The goal here was to create something a little slicker.

We called around to some video production companies in our area and requested quotes. Each quote was higher than the last. We heard numbers ranging from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. We wanted something professional, but we didn’t want it THAT professional.

Crowdsourcing Helped Us Find the Right Videographer for Our Project

That’s when we came across SmartShoot. I’d heard about the company on a podcast I follow and took a look at the site.

SmartShoot encourages users to post projects when they need videos shot or photos taken. There is no charge for getting a quote. I posted our project and explained what we needed. I quickly received several questions from video production people asking for clarification. They each asked me for more details, and I responded immediately.

Before the end of the next day, I had two quotes from video producers. One offered to do the project for $1,200, and the other bid $750. I was surprised not to get any additional bids, but I reviewed the portfolios and reviews of the two bidders and both did good work. I selected the $750 guy.

Our Process and Results

SmartShoot takes care of the payment, so I submitted my credit card and immediately got an e-mail from the bidder. We arranged a time and shot the videos. The video guy did a great job of making me comfortable, and the process was smooth. He had obviously done this many times before.

After the shoot, the videographer edited the videos, added lower thirds and bullet points, and did some tweaking to give us an excellent finished product. He added some background music and coordinated with our website people to be sure we had exactly what we needed for our site.

Working with SmartShoot was a quick and easy way to find someone who does good work at a reasonable price. If you’re looking for video production, now you’ve got another place to turn.