Should I Hire a Videographer or a Shooting PD?
The short answer: hire a videographer when you know exactly what you want filmed, and a Shooting PD when you need someone to work out what the story is and then tell it. Both shoot beautiful footage. The difference is how much thinking the job requires.
I work as both a videographer and a Shooting PD, so I'm not here to talk you into one over the other. I'm here to help you pick the right one for what you're making.
What a videographer does
A videographer is a skilled camera professional who captures high-quality footage, usually to a defined brief. You tell them what you need, and they execute it to a high standard.
This is the right hire when the plan is clear: an event to cover, a product to showcase, a set of interviews to record, a space to film well. The story or structure already exists, or doesn't need to. What you're buying is excellent technical execution of a known quantity.
What a Shooting PD does
A Shooting PD does all of that, then adds the producing and directing on top. If you don't fully know what your film is yet, this is who figures it out. I've explained the role in full in what is a Shooting PD.
They develop the idea, find the narrative, direct the people on screen, and shoot it with that story in mind. You're not handing them a shot list. You're handing them a subject and trusting them to come back with a film.
How to choose
Ask yourself one question: do I know exactly what I want filmed, or do I need someone to shape the story?
If you can write the shot list yourself, a videographer is perfect and often the more cost-effective choice. If your project is character-led, narrative, observational, or you simply can't yet see the finished film in your head, you want a Shooting PD. Hiring a videographer for a job that actually needs directing leaves you with lovely footage and no film. Hiring a Shooting PD to point a camera at a clear, simple brief is paying for skills you won't use.
A simple rule of thumb
Defined brief, clear deliverable, execution job: videographer. Story to be discovered, people to be directed, a film to be authored: Shooting PD.
Most corporate and event work sits comfortably in the first camp. Documentary, brand films built on a real story, and anything character-led sits firmly in the second. When a brand film needs the storytelling instincts of documentary, that's a Shooting PD job wearing a commercial hat, and it's a lot of what I do.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a videographer and a Shooting PD? A videographer captures high-quality footage to a defined brief. A Shooting PD also produces and directs, working out the story and directing contributors as well as shooting.
Which is cheaper, a videographer or a Shooting PD? A videographer is often more cost-effective for clear, defined briefs. A Shooting PD costs more because you're buying producing and directing skills on top of the camera work.
When should I hire a Shooting PD? When your project is character-led, narrative or observational, or when you don't yet know exactly what the finished film should be and need someone to shape it.
Not sure which your project needs? Tell me about it and I'll give you a straight answer. Get in touch.
Work with Lloyd Edgar
Lloyd Edgar is a Northern Ireland-based documentary director, shooting producer/director and editor. He shot, directed and edited Rhys McClenaghan: Chasing Gold — a half-hour BBC documentary that began on the True North strand and was selected for national broadcast on BBC One as part of Our Lives, establishing him as one of the youngest directors ever featured in the strand. His follow-up film, Principal Ballerina, following Royal Ballet Principal Melissa Hamilton, was broadcast for the same strands, and he directed a ten-part conservation series for Channel 5.
Alongside his work as a director, Lloyd works as an editor, camera operator, drone pilot and motion graphics designer for both television and commercial productions, with credits for production companies including Ronin Films, Fine Point, CleanSlate and Triplevision. He is, in short, a multi-skilled, broadcast-proven documentary director — a safe pair of hands.
Production companies and executive producers looking for a documentary director or shooting PD in Belfast and across Northern Ireland can get in touch.