What Outdoor Brands Should Know Before Hiring a Video Production Company
If you’re hiring a video production company for an outdoor project, start with the films. Watch a whole one. See whether you care what happens to the person on screen. Then get to know the people who made it. You’ll be spending a fair amount of time together, and a good conversation can tell you plenty.
Of course, a lovely reel only gets us so far. Filming outside brings weather, changing light, athletes and terrain into the mix. Here’s how I’d work through the rest: find someone whose films draw you in, then ask how they’ll turn your idea into a day that actually works.
What are we making, and who is it for?
Start simple. Tell the filmmaker who you hope will watch and what you’d like them to take away. An athlete portrait, a product launch and a seasonal campaign can each lead us somewhere different. An early idea is plenty to start that conversation.
List the places the work will appear. A campaign landing page, a retailer presentation and paid social may call for different edits. That information helps the production partner shape the treatment, schedule and deliverables before anyone picks up a camera.
Watch a complete story alongside the reel
Look for a beginning that earns attention, a person or idea worth following and an ending that feels earned. Ask what the filmmaker directed, produced, shot and edited on the projects you’re reviewing.
Take my film with Hans Troyer. There’s running and training, sure, but there’s also time at home. Those ordinary pieces give you a way into his world. You get to meet Hans as a person, alongside watching what he can do as a runner.
Watch the Hans Troyer film and production story.
For your own film, talk through who we could spend time with and what their days look like. A specific routine or a place that matters to someone can give us more to work with than another polished line delivered to camera.
Look for relevant work and a clear point of view
Outdoor fluency matters when the work depends on a sport, terrain or community. So does the ability to tell a clear story, direct people and solve production problems. Useful experience can come from several industries.
Ask the filmmaker to walk you through a project. How did the idea become a film? What did they actually do on it? You’ll get a much better feel for how they think than you will from a row of client logos.
Ask how the team will prepare
A thoughtful proposal should connect the idea to locations, access, participants, crew and schedule. Ask which decisions need scouting, which permissions are required and who is responsible for arranging them.
The team should understand the activity being filmed and bring in appropriate local or specialist support where the production requires it. Athletes, guides and crew each need a clear understanding of the day and their responsibilities.
This is the less glamorous part of making a film, but it gives the good stuff room to happen. If an interview matters, give it time. If we’re moving locations, allow for the move. A schedule should help people do their best work, rather than turn the whole day into a race.
Build the crew around the work
Ask who will direct, produce, operate camera, record sound and manage lighting or other specialist needs. A focused documentary team can suit one project; a larger commercial production may need a different structure.
I build the crew around the story, locations and deliverables. Some films suit a small documentary team. Others need a bigger crew and more moving pieces. Either way, I want the people in front of the camera to feel looked after, and the people behind it to have what they need.
Think through the full campaign
WishGarden’s Meet the Moment is a handy example of thinking beyond a single film. We made ten videos alongside campaign photography, with vertical and horizontal edits. That was the shape of this particular project; yours might look completely different.
Explore the WishGarden Meet the Moment portfolio.
An outdoor brand can use the same planning discipline. Decide which film, supporting edits and still photographs your team will actually use. Then make sure the shoot plan accounts for framing, product detail, dialogue and photography coverage.
Every production is custom-scoped. Creative, shoot days, crew, locations, deliverables, licensing and post-production all shape the estimate.
Compare scope, usage and responsibilities
Two estimates can look pretty different on paper. Before getting stuck on the totals, ask someone to walk you through them. Creative development, producing, travel, locations, crew and finishing might sit in different places. You deserve an explanation that makes sense without a production dictionary.
Clarify the intended channels, territories and duration of use. Discuss paid media, music, talent, photography and any third-party material with the production partner. Ask separately how raw footage, project files, storage and future reuse are handled.
We plan the film and supporting edits around your agreed channels, formats and usage. A written deliverables list gives both teams a clear target.
Make weather and access part of the conversation
Outdoor production needs a realistic response to changing conditions. Ask how the team assesses locations, plans alternatives and makes the call to adjust a shoot.
Weather holds, rescheduling terms and location changes should be discussed before production. So should access, permits and the support appropriate to the activity. The goal is a plan the client, crew and participants all understand.
For Colorado work, local production knowledge belongs in that conversation early. Travel between locations, access and the time needed to move a crew can influence which ideas are practical within the schedule.
Understand how the director works with people
An athlete, founder or customer may be completely at home doing their work, then feel a little strange with a lens pointed at them. That’s understandable. Ask how the director makes space for a real conversation and helps people settle into the day.
Specific experiences usually give a film more texture than broad statements. A good interview conversation can find those details, while scenes show the person doing the work or living the experience they describe.
Agree on the post-production process
Find out who edits the film, how the director stays involved and when your team reviews the work. Set milestones for the story, picture and finishing, with a clear route for consolidated feedback.
Discuss the formats and supporting versions before production. A short paid edit may need a different opening or emphasis from the main film. Captions, graphics, sound and color each deserve time in the plan.
Have a real conversation before deciding
Ask the team to walk through one relevant project: the brief, their role, the production approach and the finished work. Then discuss how they would approach your audience, access, schedule and deliverables.
Pay attention to how that conversation feels, too. Can you ask a basic question? Do they listen? Can they explain an idea in plain language? Making a film is collaborative, and you should feel comfortable being part of it.
A little introduction, if we haven’t met
I’m Roo, a filmmaker based in Boulder and a 3x Emmy-nominated commercial and documentary director. Outdoor stories are a big part of my work. So are films in technology, wellness, finance and other worlds. There are interesting people in all of them.
I lead productions from story and creative development through filming, editing and final delivery. The crew and scope come from the needs of the project.
Explore my Colorado video production approach and selected work, then send the campaign you have in mind. We can work through the creative and practical questions together.
Got an idea? I’d love to hear it.
A person you’d love to film, a place you keep coming back to, or the very beginnings of an idea—send it my way. A few sentences are plenty. We can figure out the film-shaped part together.
Say hello below. I’m looking forward to meeting you.