If you are about to hire a production company in Lebanon, the most useful thing you can do is ask the same twelve questions of every company on your shortlist and compare the answers side by side. This is that list. Each question comes with what a good answer sounds like and the red flag that should make you keep looking.
We are Fine Line Production, a production house in Hamra, Beirut, working since 2017, so we are one of the companies you might be questioning. Put these to us as well. This article is the quick-reference version. For the longer reasoning, including how to read a portfolio and a quote, see our guide on how to choose a video production company in Lebanon.
Questions about the work: what has this company actually made?
1. Can I watch two or three complete films close to my brief?
A good answer sounds like: "Yes, here are three full films, with the client and the year." A showreel is a company's best 90 seconds. Complete films show pacing, sound and structure. Red flag: only a reel, or films that are "private" without any explanation.
2. What exactly was your role on each film?
A good answer sounds like: a plain statement of who did what. Directed and produced, shot only, and edited only are three different credits. Our own film pages name the client, the year and the production credit, and when an agency led the strategy the page says so. On the ROCK Mutual Insurance launch, the brand strategy and identity came from Spearhead, and Fine Line executed all the video and photography. Red flag: every project is "in collaboration" and nobody will say which part was theirs.
3. Have you worked in conditions like mine?
A good answer sounds like: a specific example in your sector, location or language. If your film will be shot in the field, a portfolio of studio commercials tells you little. Our demining documentary for Humanity & Inclusion was filmed on site in Aley, Mount Lebanon, while teams were clearing contaminated land. If your sector has its own rules, such as consent when filming children or donor visibility guidelines, a company with experience will raise them before you do. Red flag: confident promises with nothing comparable to show.
Questions about the team: who will do the work?
4. Who will direct, shoot and edit my film, and are they on your team?
A good answer sounds like: names and roles, and an honest split between permanent staff and freelancers hired per project. Both models can work. What matters is that you know which one you are buying. At Fine Line the core team is five people, backed by more than thirty trusted freelancers. Drone footage is provided through the drone operators we work with, not through an in-house department, and we say so. If you are unsure whether you need a crew or one person, read which videographer in Beirut you actually need. Red flag: everything is claimed as in-house, and nobody can tell you who will be on set.
5. Who is my single point of contact?
A good answer sounds like: one named person who answers your calls and carries your feedback to the team. Every handover between suppliers is a place where a brief can leak. We work with one point of contact from the first conversation to the final file. Red flag: you will be "passed between departments", or the person selling the job disappears after you sign.
6. What is your process, and where do I approve things?
A good answer sounds like: a description you can follow in a minute: pre-production (research, concept, script, storyboard), production (the shoot), and post-production (edit, sound, color, delivery), with approval points you can see in advance. Our article on how a video gets made in Lebanon walks through each stage. Red flag: no written process, and approvals that happen only at the end.
7. Can you handle the languages and accessibility I need?
A good answer sounds like: a team that scripts and produces in the languages you need rather than translating afterwards, and that plans subtitles and interpretation from the script stage. We produce in Arabic and English, and every film we make can ship with professional sign language interpretation in Lebanese, Jordanian and Palestinian sign languages. See sign language video production in Lebanon for how that works in practice. Red flag: accessibility is described as something that can be "added at the end".
Questions about the quote and the contract: what exactly am I paying for?
8. What does the quote include, line by line?
A good answer sounds like: separate lines for crew, equipment, shoot days, post-production, music licensing, deliverables and revision rounds, so two quotes can be compared like for like. Our corporate video cost guide explains what each line usually means. Red flag: one number on one line, and irritation when you ask for the breakdown.
9. Why is your price higher or lower than other quotes?
A good answer sounds like: an explanation in terms of the film: fewer shoot days, a smaller crew, one revision round, no social versions. A fair company can tell you what you would lose to get a lower number. Price alone is also a weak guide for large buyers. The UN Secretariat's procurement manual (revised 30 June 2024) states that the best value solution "may not necessarily offer the lowest cost". Red flag: a price far below the others with no change to the scope, or pressure to sign before you have seen the breakdown.
10. Who owns the footage, and which files will I receive?
A good answer sounds like: a written statement of ownership and usage, and a list of deliverables: the master film, the social versions, subtitle files, and the raw material if you need it. Settle this before the shoot, not after the edit. Red flag: the answer is "we will sort it out later".
Questions about the relationship: what happens when plans change?
11. How many revision rounds are included, and what if the shoot date moves?
A good answer sounds like: a number of rounds per stage, a clear rule for what counts as a new request, and a calm plan for rescheduling. A company that has thought about this will have an answer ready. It will also ask you to give feedback in one voice, because a film reviewed by five people over five emails is a common way to add weeks. Red flag: unlimited revisions promised up front with nothing in writing, or no policy at all.
12. Can I speak to past clients, and can I see where you work?
A good answer sounds like: two past clients you can call, and a team you can meet. Ask a past client how the company handled a problem, not only whether they were happy. You can read what some of our clients say on the testimonials page, and see our studio in Hamra, which is set up for photography and video. Red flag: no references, no address, and no one you can meet.
How to use the checklist with any production company in Lebanon
Send questions 1, 4, 8 and 10 in writing before the first call, because written answers are the easiest to compare. Then use the rest on the call. Score each company simply: clear answer, vague answer, or no answer. A company that tells you plainly what it does not do is usually easier to work with than one that says yes to everything.
If you are commissioning for an organization, check the same list against your own procurement rules. The questions work for corporate video, for NGO and impact films and for documentaries alike. To understand the labels people use, our explainer on what a production house does sets out how it differs from an agency or a freelancer.
Talk to us
If Fine Line is on your shortlist, put all twelve questions to us. Email info@finelineprod.com, call +961 1 741 744, or use the contact page. Our full films, with clients and years, are on the work page, and the services page lists what we do.