You know buyers crave videos. You want to be making more videos. But you’re blocked. Should you invest in in-house video production or pay for outside professionals?
It’s an ancient debate, but you’re not alone.
Learn more about where each option shines—in-house video production vs. outsourcing—and when to use them, straight from the Vidyard experts on the Video Island Podcast. Hosts Mathew King and Blake Smith tackle the topic, using their combined 20 years of video production experience to provide you with practical advice.
Learn from the video experts—subscribe to the Video Island Podcast!
TLDR: Use both, and trade off depending on the situation.
In-House Video Production vs. Outsourced Videos
Let’s define our two options here. Doing things in-house is the DIY option: You buy video equipment and either hire or assign your marketing team members to be the video production team. There are fewer people involved, but they’re your people.
If you choose to outsource, you do the opposite: You hire freelancers or, more commonly, a video production agency, to manage video projects for you.
The video production process typically involves:
Writing a video briefStoryboarding and script writingLocation scoutingAcquiring and maintaining equipment (cameras, lights, mics, and props)Pre-production setupProduction (the actual filming)Post-production (editing)Animation, motion graphics, or special effects
Read the guide: How to produce dazzling videos in-house on a budget.
Both in-house and outsourced production have their own unique advantages. Building your own video team, you have the opportunity to accrue talent in-house, draw from a deep knowledge of your brand, and keep and reuse the equipment you buy. In the long run, in-house is almost always cheaper on a per-video basis.
“Filming in-house is about being quick and scrappy,” says Mathew King, Video Production Manager at Vidyard. “Maybe all you’ve got is a smartphone and a handheld mic, but you get the subject facing a window with natural sunlight and you hit record and that’s all that it takes. Getting the video done same-day is often better than overthinking or overproducing it.”
But outsourcing has big benefits too. You get a partner with a neutral, outside perspective, lots of experience, and a ready-made team. “External video agencies have the benefit of a larger, often more well-rounded team that’s produced a lot of videos,” says Mathew. “They know what they’re doing and it means they’re often better at estimating timelines and budgets.”
Agencies can also often bring in specialist equipment and a full suite of hardware and software that it doesn’t make sense for you to own—for instance, a $50,000 RED Digital Cinema camera rig which costs more than double Vidyard’s entire in-house equipment budget. “And even if they only have the same video editing software you use in-house, they may know how to use it better, and may have post-production specialists on staff, like 3D animators,” says Blake Smith, Creative Director at Vidyard.
Pros of Producing Video In-HouseDeep understanding of your brandKnowledge of past brand videosFull creative controlOwn the equipmentEasy to schedule reshootsSet own timelinesOutput is directly tied to team sizeImperfections can create a sense of authenticityCons of Producing Video In-HouseDifficult to be unbiasedInitial investment in equipment can be expensive (but not always)Salaried team members make downtime costlyScheduling team members as actors can be disruptiveTeam size limits production capabilitiesYour team members have to wear many hatsPros of Outsourcing Video ProductionUnbiased, outside perspectiveExpert storytellers and writersProfessional actors who look natural on cameraVideos designed for conversions and optimized for searchNo need to source and buy equipmentExperience working with a variety of clientsNo need to hire a full-time headcountNo need to distract employees from their workExperience with special effects and animationCons of Outsourcing Video ProductionTime spent interviewing freelancers or agenciesLess refined understanding of your brandLimited creative controlProject timeline out of your handsMore expensive on a per-video basisIf using freelancers, managing them can take extra time
Both strategies have downsides as well. If you go with your own team, you’re taking a bit of a gamble that you can assemble the right people with the right skills to get things done on schedule. “The last thing you want is a missed timeline plus added expenses for unforeseen revisions because the team hadn’t done it before,” says Mathew.
In-house teams are also liable to get stuck speaking in their own company jargon, says Mathew. “It really helps to have somebody outside to bounce ideas off of.”
If you choose to outsource, you’re gambling that someone else can handle the production process better, and that they can faithfully bring your ideas to reality. Sometimes, agencies are busy and you’re competing with other clients for their time.
Plus, it can be harder to control reshoots and edits. “Say you do a two-minute product video, then the product changes,” says Blake. “It’s harder to get that agency back for a quick reshoot.”
And of course there’s cost. Agencies’ specialized equipment and people come at a price that’s higher on a per-video basis, and you don’t get to keep anything except the video (and sometimes, the raw footage) when they’re done.
Should You Produce Video In-House or Outsource? When to Use Each Option
Which method is better? Consider a few scenarios where each is a great fit.
In-House Production: When to Use It
For many businesses, in-house means less polish, which can be exactly the feeling you want for some productions.
DIY video is usually scrappier, but it can have a lot of heart.
Having your internal video team take on a project makes the most sense when you need someone who knows your brand, knows your product, and knows your people inside and out. It’s also great if you need to get videos out there fast so that you can see how your audience responds.
Video Types Where In-House Production Shines:
Company culture videosSocial media videosProduct explainer videosNurture videosInformal customer testimonialsEducational videos for customersFAQ explainer videosInternal communications
Here’s an example of an in-house video:
Outsourcing Production: When To Do It
Bringing in the outside experts is the way to go when you’re looking to produce a set number of videos and want high-quality production for all—for example, when you have a biannual video campaign and need those videos to map back to a strategy that drives leads. Also, outsourcing is great when you’re on a tight timeline and your team’s already swamped with other projects or you need a lot of videos all at once.
Video Types Where Outsourced Production Works Best:
Brand filmsHomepage videosAdvertisement videosHigh-profile product explainer videosCustomer testimonials for the websiteAnimated, whiteboard, or stop-motion videos
Here’s an example of an outsourced video:
The Best Strategy? Do Both
With pros and cons to each approach, the best video production strategy is to do a bit of both: Build a team in-house, but have external agencies do the things your team can’t.
The majority of companies (73%) either go all-in with in-house production or use a mix of internal and external resources, according to the 2019 Video in Business Benchmark Report. Only 27% use exclusive external resources.
At Vidyard, our team mixes in-house and outsourced production constantly. Once you get good at managing the trade off, it can lead to serious cost savings.
“Sometimes we hire an agency to shoot the film, then take the edits back in-house,” says Mathew. “Our agencies have all the people and equipment needed to produce real, real high quality footage. Then they give it to us and we save thousands by editing it ourselves.”
Having your in-house team work with your agency also makes both groups better over time. Your agency gets a better feel for your company and your in-house team learns high-end production tricks.
“Working with our agency was a real eye-opener for one of our in-house writers,” said Mathew. “She’s used to writing blog posts. When she saw actors reading her dialog live on set, she realized it felt disjointed. She tweaked the dialog and it’s made her a stronger writer.”
In-house and outsourced both have a time and place. It all depends on what you need to do.
For each campaign or video, ask yourself:
How much content do I need to create?What quality level do we need?What video formats do we need?What’s our deadline?
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