You’ve been producing videos for your organization for a while, but the workload is growing and you’re ready to bring someone on board who can take ownership of the work and help you accomplish more.
But who should you hire?
After more than 30 years working in film and video production, including building and leading an in-house filmmaking team, I’ve learned that technical ability is only part of what makes someone valuable.
Hiring your first filmmaker isn’t just about finding someone who can shoot and edit video. It’s about understanding what your organization needs and finding the right person to help you accomplish it.
Here are some real-life examples from organizations I’ve worked with that show the different solutions you might need
| NEED | OUTCOME |
|---|---|
| Has a communication strategy but needs to capture stories | A producer-filmmaker with strong interviewing and production skills |
| Already captures footage but struggles to finish videos | A video editor |
| Needs someone to develop strategy, manage projects, and guide production | An experienced producer or video team lead |
| Only needs occasional videos | Freelance production rather than a full-time hire |
| Can’t clearly explain what it needs video to accomplish | WARNING! Pause and Clarify communication strategy before making a hire |
These examples illustrate why defining the need should come before defining the position. Sometimes the right answer is a producer, sometimes it’s an editor, and sometimes hiring a full-time filmmaker isn’t the right answer at all.
Start With the Team You Already Have
Even if you are looking to offload videos to a filmmaker, it would be helpful to take an honest look at your organization’s existing capabilities and capacity before writing a job description. You may already have people who are doing elements of the filmmaking process now that you will want to leverage, even if they don’t consider themselves filmmakers.
You may need someone who can handle everything from script-to-screen, but understanding which responsibilities are already covered and how much margin exists helps determine how much experience and which skill sets your filmmaker actually needs.
For example, if your communications team already develops strategy, writes scripts, and identifies stories, you may primarily need someone who will be leading the production and postproduction work. But if those responsibilities aren’t currently being handled, your first filmmaker may need to do much more. They might need to identify stories, help develop communication strategy, write scripts, conduct interviews, manage productions, shoot footage, and edit the finished work.
Those are very different hiring scenarios.
Hire for the Skills That Are Hardest to Outsource
Having a versatile filmmaker can be extremely valuable but if you can only afford one filmmaker, should you prioritize production or editing? Which responsibilities would be most valuable to bring in-house?
For some organizations, a full-time editor makes sense. If you’re producing a large volume of repeatable content and already have people capturing or generating footage, editing may be your biggest bottleneck.
But for organizations focused on telling stories about people, I often lean toward hiring someone with strong production, interviewing, and storytelling skills.
I find that in many cases, it’s relatively straightforward to find talented freelance editors who can transform your footage into the story you have captured but it can be more difficult to find someone who understands your organization, recognizes meaningful storytelling opportunities, connects with people, and knows what questions to ask during an interview.
That person may need to navigate sensitive conversations, recognize when a story takes an unexpected direction, or make creative decisions while working with limited time and resources.
If you already have a Creative Director or someone on staff who naturally fulfills the function mentioned above and have a high volume of work, then you might benefit most from a dedicated editor or post-production specialist.
AI and other technologies are changing what’s possible in postproduction but editing itself remains a storytelling discipline. A skilled editor brings judgment and creativity to the work, and can take a story from “meh” to amazing. Remember, technology is not a substitute for storytelling judgment.
My advice is to identify the skills that are most valuable to have inside your organization, then build your hire around those capabilities.
Hire for Ownership, Not Just Execution
When hiring your first filmmaker, it’s also important to consider whether you need someone who can simply execute assignments or someone who can take ownership of the work. Those aren’t necessarily the same thing.
If your organization already has strong creative leadership and well-established production processes, you may need a production artist who can focus on and reliably carry out that direction. But if you’re building a video function from the ground up, you’ll probably need someone with broader initiative. You want someone who can encounter a problem, evaluate their options, make a reasonable decision, and communicate up what happened or propose a course of action. They shouldn’t stop working every time they encounter an unexpected obstacle. They should be comfortable asking questions, making recommendations, and helping the organization solve problems.
That doesn’t mean they need to be ready to manage a team, just manage their work. Leading the work and managing people are different responsibilities. Someone may be an excellent individual contributor who takes ownership of projects without ever wanting to supervise other filmmakers.
However, if you expect this position to grow into a team leadership role, you should consider that during the hiring process.
Is this someone who wants to develop other people? Can they explain their decisions? Do they think beyond their immediate assignments?
Those questions matter when you’re making an investment that may shape your organization’s video strategy for years.
Hire a Craftsman Who Thinks Like an Artist
A good craftsman understands the tools and techniques of filmmaking. They know how to light a scene, compose an image, record sound, edit footage, and bring the pieces together into a finished production. Those skills matter but there’s another quality I look for.
Can this person “see” what something could become before it exists?
Can they hear a rough idea, begin visualizing the finished piece, and figure out how to make it happen?
Can they recognize an opportunity that wasn’t part of the original plan?
Not every filmmaker has that ability.
When you find someone who combines strong craftsmanship with artistic vision and initiative, they can take a significant burden off an organization’s leadership. Instead of simply carrying out assignments, they can help develop ideas and turn them into finished work.
That being said, there’s an important distinction between artistic vision and personal artistic ambition.
An in-house filmmaker is using their creative abilities to serve the organization that employs them. That doesn’t mean setting their artistry aside, it means applying it toward a shared purpose. I want filmmakers who take pride in their work but understand that the work isn’t ultimately about them. It’s about the organization’s mission, the people it serves, and what the project needs to accomplish.
Ask the applicant to talk about a time when they received some particularly strong feedback and how they responded. Ask about their relationship to feedback.
A filmmaker should be able to explain their creative decisions, listen when someone challenges their approach, and adjust when there’s a better way to accomplish the goal. That doesn’t mean agreeing with every suggestion. Sometimes the filmmaker needs to advocate for a creative decision because they understand how it will serve the story. The distinction is whether they’re defending a decision because it’s best for the project or simply because it’s their personal preference.
The ideal first hire isn’t just someone who knows how to make a video. It’s someone who can envision what the video should become, take responsibility for making it happen, and use their creativity in service of the organization’s goals.
How to evaluate candidates
A resume and demo reel can be a useful introduction to someone’s work, but it rarely tells you everything you need to know. I’d rather see a body of work that demonstrates the kinds of projects someone has actually completed; that might be a portfolio website, a YouTube channel, an Instagram feed, or a collection of individual projects. What’s important is understanding what they contributed.
Did they develop the concept? Conduct the interviews? Shoot the footage? Edit the project? Were they responsible for the entire production or just one portion?
I’d also want to hear them explain their process. What was the project’s purpose? What challenges did they encounter? What decisions did they make, and why?
For younger filmmakers, their body of work may be relatively small, but that’s not a reason to eliminate them from consideration. What matters is whether they’ve demonstrated the skills, judgment, initiative, and desire to do the work.
One filmmaker I hired had very limited professional work experience, but I saw that he had completed a self-directed “30 films in 30 days” challenge where he made a film a day in addition to his current responsibilities. This showed me that he could pitch an idea, write a story, and both shoot and edit on a tight timeline. Not all the films were polished or masterpieces, but they demonstrated the grit, competence, and consistency I was looking for.
I also pay attention to whether candidates have taken the time to understand our organization. Have they watched some of our videos? Do they understand the stories we tell? Someone who comes prepared with thoughtful questions and observations demonstrates initiative and genuine interest in the work.
When you’ve narrowed your search to a few strong finalists, consider giving them a small, clearly defined test project. Assign them a fictional creative brief, an existing brand guide, and footage they can use. This provides an opportunity to see whether they follow instructions, demonstrate storytelling ability, and make thoughtful creative decisions.
Keep the assignment reasonably short and if the work requires several hours, consider compensating candidates for their time. Along these lines, possibly one of the best options is to give them a modest freelance project. This gives you a real world test that allows you to evaluate every step of their work within the context of your organization.
Will they thrive on your team?
When it comes to culture fit, I think a good way to approach it is to ask, would this person enjoy working here with us?
This isn’t about whether they look, sound, or think exactly like our current team. It’s about whether they would enjoy showing up each day and creating alongside our team. Can we communicate well together? Do they share the values that matter to our organization’s mission? Are our expectations around collaboration and work ethic compatible?
This goes both ways. You want someone who will contribute to your organization, but you also want your organization to be a place where they can thrive.
If you sense that someone has reservations about the environment or expectations, talk about them. Sometimes a candid conversation can clear up a misunderstanding. Other times, it may reveal that the position isn’t a good fit for either of you.
Even a talented filmmaker can struggle in an environment where expectations and working relationships don’t align. Taking the time to understand those things during the hiring process can save everyone considerable frustration later.
Set your filmmaker up for success
Even the right person can struggle if the organization doesn’t provide the support they need. Your new filmmaker needs clear direction, appropriate resources, and realistic expectations.
I think the first 90 days can provide a useful indication of whether someone is a good fit. You can begin evaluating their initiative, communication, judgment, and ability to perform the work. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be fully integrated into the organization after three months.
Depending on the complexity of the organization, it may take closer to a year for someone to develop the relationships, institutional knowledge, and understanding necessary to become fully effective.
During that time, give them room to ask questions and don’t lose the opportunity to pick their brain about your organization as well. Someone joining your organization brings a fresh perspective. They may notice inefficient processes, communication problems, or opportunities that existing team members have become accustomed to overlooking.
You don’t have to implement every suggestion but if you’ve hired someone because you value their judgment, you should be willing to hear what they think. Otherwise, you’re paying for someone’s experience and initiative while limiting their ability to contribute either one.
Thinking About Hiring Your First Filmmaker?
Hiring your first in-house filmmaker is a significant investment and getting the role right requires understanding your organization’s goals, existing capabilities, and long-term production needs.
Filmmaking involves several disciplines working together: writing, visual design, audio production, cinematography, directing, editing, and sometimes animation or motion graphics. It also requires project management, communication, and coordination with people throughout the organization.
If you would like help in finding the right filmmaker for your organization I can help define the role, identify the skills they need, and evaluate candidates through Find My Filmmaker. You don’t have to go alone. I love getting to connect talented filmmakers at all stages in their careers to organizations that would benefit from their talent, experience, and love of story.
Schedule a Free 15-Minute Call to discuss your organization’s hiring needs.
Happy Hunting!