Understanding the cost of video

 

The short answer is that every video production is different, therefore every budget is different.

One of the first questions we ask when creating your video is what is your budget? This helps us produce your commercial from a technical and creative standpoint and informs us what limitations, if any, should be put in place. Let’s take a look at common prices for commercials that air on TV and the web and variables that influence the price of video.

 
 
Featured
Low Budget
Low Budget

$1,250 - $10,000

The low end of $1,250 is most common for one day of filming, gathering footage for a background video on your website, or hiring a “skeleton crew” or single camera operator for filming services without the need to edit. On the $10,000 end, think of a fully-fledged commercial with a crew, multiple days of filming, a sound mixer onset, and high-quality post-production with special effects.

Medium Budget
Medium Budget

$10,000-$100,000

This is the budget often utilized for medium-sized businesses and corporations. This always involves larger crews and gives room for more creativity and production value. Generally, these budgets involve more filming days, time in post-production, and special effects. Name talent can be brought in for acting services.

High Budget
High Budget

$100,000 - Up

High budget entails largers crews, topline special effects, sound stages, and limited creative or time restrictions. These are often national campaigns bringing in name talent, or feature-length projects over 60 minutes in length.

Variables that influence pricing

 
 

Amount of filming days

The more days we film, the longer we need our crews out in the field, and the more time, effort and resources we need to produce your commercial. This is one of the biggest factors of budgeting your video.

Size and experience of crew

The larger the crew the more staff on set we need to pay. The experience of each crew member will also play a role in budgeting. If you’re looking to keep the budget lower, hiring a junior staff or an experienced one man crew may be the correct route. If you’re looking for optimal quality and have a larger budget, hiring a full crew with years of experience may be proper. The right choice will be made by discussing your budget and desired end-product.

Equipment

Most video production companies will charge for renting high-end equipment for filming commercials. We own our equipment allowing us to produce commercials without the charge of expensive rental fees.

Amount of post-production

The length of post-production has a great outcome on the cost of your video. Things such as 3D animated effects look beautiful and are eye catching but they can take time depending on the complexity of the animation. We consider post-production at the beginning of our projects to ensure your budget is appropriate for the desired end result.

Overall desired quality of the video

We can spend weeks and sometimes months creating a perfect video for you. We could also spend just a couple days creating that same video for you. The desired end result ultimately comes from technical expertise, creativity and time. Maybe you don’t feel like you need a perfect commercial from a technical standpoint, what’s most important to you is getting your message across with a budget friendly commercial. Maybe you need a perfect sound mix, color correction, and the most amazing commercial ever seen. We service both ends of the spectrum and strive to meet your goals with the budget at hand.

Amount of videos

Long term contracts offer a lower cost per video. As a rule of thumb, the more videos you purchase, the lower the cost will be.

Questions about the cost of creating your video?