Stop me if this sounds familiar. At first, they came in talking a big game about all of the amazing things they were going to do for you. Maybe they even delivered on their promises. Perhaps that felt euphoric, like you’d found your video production soulmate and were ready to ride off into the marketing sunset.

But then something happened. The ‘spark’ of creative camaraderie was gone—that certain ‘Je ne sais quoi’ is now ‘Je ne sais blah.’ Their attention to detail is off and instead of finishing each other’s sentences, it seems like you’re always having to finish theirs.

Companies can grow apart, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it’s exactly what you need to happen in order to find a fresh new vision and partner to bring your product, company, organization, or idea to the next level.

At any rate, here’s how you know it might be a good time to make a switch:

1. Not responsive

How many times have you sent off an email and had it go unanswered? A little delay is fine and should be expected from time to time, but when you feel like all your emails are being lost to the ether, it may be time to reexamine if your partnership and find a company that is more responsive and equipped to support your specific needs.

If you want to have a little fun before you switch, you can turn it into a game. Start with a Jenga tower, and for each day that your emails go unanswered, pull a brick out. If/when the tower collapses, it’s time to find another video partner.

2. Recycling ideas

Still getting the same ideas from your video production partner? After a while, recycled ideas can feel cheap and leave you wanting—like your video production partner is just ‘phoning it in.’ If you’re hearing the same old solutions to new problems, it might be that your video production partner’s heart is just not in your projects anymore. In that case, it’s probably time to make a switcheroo.

3. Quality dropping

Another sign that it may be time to find a new video production partner is if you experience some serious quality discrepancies in the final project. Perhaps there’s a proliferation of typos in the lower-thirds? Or maybe a bunch of editing glitches? Again, an occasional minor error is to be expected—c’est la vie—but if it’s persistent, it may cost you quite a bit more time to monitor and correct problems down the road.

In our experience, you’re better off saving yourself the headache and pulling the plug sooner rather than later. Especially if they can’t spel, er… uh… spell.

4. Fun

This might be the most important point of all. Are you having fun working with your video production partner?

In our opinion, laughter is a huge indicator of a successful partnership because laughter means that you’re both comfortable around each other, free to try out any idea in the context of creative collaboration. It also happens to energize creative collaboration and often leads to other ideas.

Maybe your video would be more effective if it was a superhero parody? Or perhaps you could shoot your training video series in black and white like a film noire? Or what if you shot your contact lens commercial out of focus?

Perhaps none of the ideas will make the final cut, but you never know where a new idea might lead. And honestly, work doesn’t have to be a soul-sucking thing. It can really be a lot of fun. Especially in our line of work, where we get to tell stories and create really cool experiences for our clients.

So if you’re in a partnership where you don’t feel free to throw out a zany idea, then it may be time to make a change. Luckily we know a pretty fun production company. *cough* Handshake Studios *cough*

Conclusion

We hope this was helpful and that you felt a bit invigorated to be your creative self. Perhaps you feel more strongly than ever that your production partner is perfect for you, and if so, awesome! But if you’re looking to make a change with all of your video production projects, reach out—we’d love to lend a hand. Just drop us a line here!

If this was helpful, please let us know and share it with anyone you know who might appreciate it. We’d love to help more folks figure out how best to market their organization, product, or service with video!