<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6877701b88030d58f11ac053/6a16dbdae4e7526601c52a17_elevate-your-video-prodution-banner-68ac85e11e52d851538547.webp" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Expression</span> <h1 class="gn-title"><em>Playback:</em> How to Get Your Video Production Game Up and Running</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>26 August 2025</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>1 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-body"> <h2>Building a Video Production Capability That Actually Delivers for Clients</h2> <p>Video has shifted from a nice-to-have to a core deliverable for most agencies. Clients expect it, briefs demand it, and competitors are already offering it. Yet many agencies still approach video production reactively: scrambling to fulfil requests without a repeatable process, clear pricing, or an internal team that knows how to execute consistently. The result is margin erosion, missed deadlines, and work that underperforms against the brief.</p> <p>In a session hosted by The GO Network as part of its Expression series, three senior practitioners shared how they have built and scaled video production capabilities inside their agencies. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambritton/">Adam Britton</a>, Chief Creative Officer at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://trunkbbi.com/">TrunkBBI</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fparker17/">Fiona Parker</a>, Head of Content Production at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wearehydrogen.com/">Hydrogen</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-jones-168b3396/">Adrian Jones</a>, Head of Production at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thinkorchard.com/">Orchard</a>, brought hard-won experience from agencies operating across creative, content, and integrated disciplines. The takeaways below are relevant to any agency leader who wants to turn video from a cost centre into a genuine growth driver.</p> <h2>Start With Process, Not Kit</h2> <p>One of the most common mistakes agencies make when building a video capability is investing in equipment before investing in workflow. Cameras, editing suites, and studio space are visible and exciting. Process is neither. But without a clear production workflow, even the best equipment produces inconsistent output, missed handoffs, and projects that run over budget.</p> <p>The practitioners in this session were clear: the foundation of a scalable video operation is a repeatable process that everyone on the team understands. That means defined stages from brief intake through to final delivery, agreed sign-off points, and clarity on who owns each phase. It also means being honest with clients about timelines. Agencies that under-promise and over-deliver on video build the kind of trust that generates repeat briefs. Agencies that say yes to everything and then scramble rarely hold onto video retainers.</p> <p>Before you hire, before you buy, map the workflow. Work backwards from the deliverable and identify every decision point where a project can stall or go wrong. Fix those points first.</p> <h2>Build for Scalability From the Start</h2> <p>Agencies that build video capability for the work they have today often find themselves rebuilding when volume increases. The smarter approach is to design the operation for where you want to be in 18 to 24 months, then phase into it.</p> <p>That means making deliberate choices about what to keep in-house and what to freelance out. For most mid-sized agencies, keeping strategy, creative direction, and client management internal while using trusted freelance networks for shooting and specialist post-production gives the best balance of control and flexibility. It keeps fixed costs manageable while allowing the agency to take on larger or more complex productions without turning down work.</p> <p>It also means building a supplier roster before you need it. Waiting until a brief lands to find a director, a sound engineer, or a colourist puts you in a weak negotiating position and increases the risk of quality inconsistency. A pre-qualified roster of freelancers and production partners, with agreed day rates and known working styles, is a competitive advantage that takes time to build but pays back repeatedly.</p> <h2>Price Video Work to Protect Your Margin</h2> <p>Video is frequently underpriced by agencies, particularly those that are newer to offering it as a service. The temptation is to price competitively to win the first few projects, with the intention of increasing rates once the capability is proven. In practice, this creates a pricing anchor that is very difficult to move. Clients who came in at a low rate resist increases, and the agency ends up locked into producing work at a margin that does not justify the effort or the investment.</p> <p>The agencies represented in this session approach video pricing with the same rigour they apply to other disciplines. That means fully costing the project including internal time, not just external production costs. It means building contingency into budgets rather than absorbing overruns. And it means being willing to walk away from briefs where the budget does not support the quality of work the agency wants its name on.</p> <p>A useful discipline is to review the actual margin on every video project at completion, not just the projected margin at the point of sale. Over time, this data tells you which types of video work are genuinely profitable and which are not, allowing you to refine your offer and focus business development on the work that builds the agency commercially.</p> <h2>Use Your Own Video Work as a New Business Tool</h2> <p>Agencies that produce video for clients are often slow to apply the same thinking to their own new business activity. A well-produced agency showreel, a series of short case study films, or even a consistent approach to video on social platforms does two things simultaneously: it demonstrates capability to prospective clients and it generates content that keeps the agency visible between pitches.</p> <p>Treat your agency's own video output as a live portfolio of what you can produce. Every internal video project is a case study in progress. Document what you make, how you made it, and what it achieved. This material becomes the evidence base for the next pitch where a client asks whether you have experience producing video at scale, for a specific format, or within a particular sector.</p> <h2>The Practical Next Step</h2> <p>If your agency is at the early stages of building a video capability, or trying to professionalise an existing one, start with an honest audit of the last five to ten video projects you have delivered. Look at where time was lost, where margin was eroded, and where client feedback was weakest. The patterns that emerge will tell you exactly where your process needs attention before you invest further in people or equipment.</p> <p>The Expression series from The GO Network is designed to give agency leaders access to exactly this kind of peer-level, practice-based insight. 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