7 Mistakes Companies Make When Hiring Event Videographers
Most bad experiences with event videography don't come from bad camera work — they come from gaps in the planning process that nobody catches until it's too late to fix. Here are the mistakes we see most often, and how to avoid them.
1. Booking Based on Price Alone
The cheapest quote is often cheap for a reason: a smaller crew, no backup equipment, or a much smaller post-production budget baked into the price. A flat, unbroken-down rate that's noticeably lower than everyone else's is worth a direct question — what exactly is included, and what isn't.
2. Not Sharing the Run-of-Show in Advance
A videographer who doesn't know your event's schedule can't plan crew placement, can't anticipate the moments that matter, and will end up reacting instead of capturing. Share your run-of-show, even a rough one, during the planning call, not the morning of the event.
3. Assuming One Shooter Can Cover Everything
If your event has a stage program running at the same time as a networking area, or a keynote plus a red carpet, one shooter can only be in one place. This is one of the most common reasons companies are disappointed with their final footage — not because the shooter did a bad job, but because they were physically unable to cover everything happening at once.
4. Not Confirming Deliverables in Writing
"A highlight video" means different things to different production companies — 90 seconds versus 5 minutes, one revision round versus three, raw footage included or not. Get the exact deliverables, format, and revision policy in writing before the event.
5. Underestimating Turnaround Time
Editing takes real time, often 20 to 40 hours for a single polished highlight reel. If you need content for a specific date, communicate that during booking, not after the event. Rush turnaround is usually possible, but it needs to be planned for, not assumed.
6. Forgetting About Audio
Great visuals with poor audio make a video unwatchable. Confirm how your videographer plans to capture sound — lapel mics on speakers, a soundboard feed from the venue's AV system, or a boom mic — especially for any event where speeches or interviews are the main content.
7. No Single Point of Contact on Event Day
When something changes last minute — a speaker running late, a room switch, a schedule shift — someone on your team needs to be the one communicating directly with the production lead. Without a clear point of contact on both sides, small changes turn into missed shots.
The Common Thread
Almost every one of these mistakes comes down to the same root cause: not enough conversation before the event. A short planning call — covering the schedule, the deliverables, the crew size, and a single point of contact, solves nearly all of them. It's the cheapest insurance available for footage you only get one chance to capture.
Planning your next event?
Parish Mandhan Productions starts every project with a detailed planning call to lock down crew size, deliverables, and timeline before a single camera rolls. Get in touch to start planning your coverage.
