What Is A Videographer?

A videographer is a video production service professional who specializes in recording, editing and producing video footage and/or finished video deliverables. Their roles and responsibilities include filming/capturing video and audio media content, recording key messages and moments, and post-producing (editing) various types of video pieces. They may be a solo videographer that does work on a contract-basis directly with clients, or be employed by a production house, or a production team or studio for a news/TV station, digital media firm, short or full-length film or a video production company either full-time, part-time or on contract. 

Specialized Videographers

Typically, a videographer will operate within a specific video production industry or area, with the most common types including:

• Event Production Specialist – Videographers specializing in event production may cover events of any time. Typically, these are wedding videographers, corporate event production videographers, music and concert videographers, sporting event and broadcast camera crews, networking event production specialists, and a variety of stage speaking event productions. Event production services fall into a range of event categories to include; celebratory events like weddings and birthdays, corporate events and conferences, trade shows and product launches, networking events, non-profit and community events, conferences, live sports, music and stage events, and more.

  

  An event videographer is a semi-niched type of video production specialist whose aim is event recapping with video, capturing important event moments, highlighting stage-event musicians or speakers (and even sponsors) or live-streaming video production. An event videographer will film video footage of memorable or emotionally captivating moments during an event production, including speakers and audience members, performances and musicians or bands, ceremonial highlight moments, event-goer testimonials, and many others.

• Cinematographer – A cinematic videographer is a videographer that uses industry-standardized principles of lighting and color ranges and composition, footage framing, and cinematic cameras and camera movement/stabilization to create visually impressive and highly-appealing content pieces.

  

  Forms of cinematography technique can and should be provided in nearly all videographer service types, from social media video production to docu-style content production, advertisement video production or even video podcast production.

• Filmmaker – Videographers may produce long or short films, documentaries, docu-style video content, social media and YouTube video content, or feature-length movies and documentaries. They deploy elements and skill sets similar to aspects of cinematography, capturing scenes in a comprehensive, stylistic and visually intriguing way. Filmmakers often produce video for hosting platforms and streaming services alike such as Roku, Hulu, Apple TV+ YouTube, Vimeo video blogs (vlogs), tutorials, reviews, and more.
• Educational Content Videographer – Videographers may create how-tos, Q&As, instructional videos, training videos materials, and other educational video products for various industries. With content types including masterclasses, podcasts, virtual and remote learning, e-learning courses, corporate video production such as and employee training videos, or events for furthering education.

  

• Marketing Videographer – A marketing videographer will likely inherit the responsibility to deliver video marketing services including creating videos for businesses to promote using video production for products or services they offer. These videos can be used in commercials, for video SEO services, online video advertisements, social media video marketing, and other marketing asset materials.

  

  A branded video production specialist will use videography to reflect a brand, product features, small business services, corporate professionalism and culture and a range of educational video types when executing on corporate video production services or video marketing services.

• Journalistic Videographers – Videographers working in the news journalism field capture footage for news stories, documentary journalism, or investigative reports. They contribute to visual storytelling in the news industry.

Video Editing and Post-production

Post-production is one of the many key areas that set beginner or amateur videographers apart from experienced professionals. When in the video editing stage, a videographer will choose the best video clips from the video shoot and stitch them together in a way that tells a meaningful “story” – hence the videography service term “storyboarding”.

When a skilled video editor is doing post-production services, these clips are organized into a seamless timeline. By way of post-production hardware and software, music/scoring, video transitions, motion graphic design, explanatory or message-emphasizing typography, video color-grading and usage of b-roll and other relevant footage they’ve archived in past video productions. The result is a video production that’s valuable, accurate, branded or sentimental for the client.

Camera Gear and Techniques

Videographers may use techniques and equipment ranging from multiple camera angles, camera tripods, cinema cameras, high-quality yet lightweight cameras for run-and-gun style filming, drones equipped with video cameras. Their filming may include using gaffing, dollies, and operating a variety of video camera lenses. They may use techniques for steady footage by utilizing steady-camming, footage stabilizers, and other equipment necessary for capturing professional-quality footage.

Skilled videographers also work to ensure high-quality mic and audio equipment is used on production days. This eliminates static or white noise, echoing, background noise, and other undesirable sounds that low-quality audio equipment isn’t capable of. Adequate audio recording and editing produces clear and distraction-free audio with appropriate volume.

Videographers also need to have the ability to stage a scene, build a set, light a subject, and use appropriate camera settings and editing skills for visually and audibly impressive composition, lighting, audio, in their finished piece. 

Finalized Video Product

The goal of a videographer is ultimately to produce for their clients one or multiple fine-tuned, polished and valuable video deliverables that capture the essence of the business, cooperation, organization, person or event. Typical video production products will be a form of recap videography for highlights from an event, a full-length film or documentary, website, YouTube or social media video to be used for video marketing, video podcast pieces or customized packages based on purpose with varying video types. 

A videographer can be hired for an array of video production service needs, ranging from video memorabilia to social media video posts. Videographers are also used for product/service promotions, video advertisements, video marketing, educational content monetization and training teams using pre-recorded or live video. Call our Dallas videographer team today for a free consultation or more information on videographer services and video production needs!