Shani Alexander is the founder of Relocations Made Easy (www.relocations-made-easy.com) which produces an interactive website and CDROM tool that advises people on how to make a stress free relocation to a new city.

To create her interactive product, Shani needed camera vision of herself explaining to viewers how the product worked in front of a cityscape backdrop.

We interviewed her to find out her experience of using a video production company for the first time.

1. Why did you decide that you needed a video component in your website tool?

I am selling a virtual personal service product and the video component was needed to introduce a real person from which my virtual product could springboard.

The video component showed a real person, a company owner. It gave the personal touch and introduced what the customer was going to receive from their purchase.

2. What were you looking for in a video production company?

I really needed a company that could understand what I was trying to achieve. I really needed them to get inside my head and make real what I was imagining, what I was dreaming up.

It had to be cost effective with no cost blowouts. It also needed to be applied to the media I was using - the internet and CDROM. I needed clear picture quality that could be viewed across those mediums without any picture quality loss.

3. How difficult was it to compare proposals between the four providers?

Everyone told me how it is difficult to compare. All the production houses said they could do the same thing, but the prices were extremely different.

When I spoke to Digicast they went to great lengths to explain the type of camera that they used. Whilst I would have liked to think that everyone could produce the same job, I realised that the big differences in prices reflected the different types of camera quality being used.

Digicast also took me on board as if I was a client already. They gave me suggestions about how to do the shoot the best way and started treating me like a client before I even made the decision to go with them. From there, we were able to develop a relationship and work together on the project.

4. As someone new to being filmed, how did you find your shoot?

I found it really long, really tiring and boring! I was really surprised at how dependent you are on the weather to be right