How Much Does Video Production Cost?

Key Factors to Determine Video Production Budgets:

1. The Concept

Although we like to think outside of the box, the budget often dictates how far we can go with a concept.  Every idea we consider for your video drastically affects the feasibility to fit it into the budget. We believe that an awesome video always stems from the seed of a great idea. You could spend a large sum of money on the production, but the concept must be well thought out to properly convey your vision to your audience.

Most video production companies have an in-house creative services department. They have writers, directors, storyboard artists, and designers to make sure the video is on-brand. Often, the creatives will design and present treatments to your team to visualize the concept when “the rubber hits the road”. In these treatments, we discuss the story, characters, mood, tone, pacing, music, voice-over, and any other key elements that make the story stand out and captivate your audience. This creative development phase takes a lot of time and financial resources.

If you are on a tighter budget, we might recommend trying to do as much of this ideation as possible beforehand. If you can find similar concepts or videos that resonate with your team, we can save many steps by using their work as inspiration. If you give your video production company an idea of your vision and objectives, we can ensure we are heading in the right direction. Try filtering out some of your ideas before working with your video production team. Otherwise, it can turn into many ideas with no clear creative direction. These many revisions in the pre-production phase can be costly in time and money. If you have a clear vision, the production phase will be much more cost-effective.

2. The Script

Although most of us have written many emails and shorthand messages to our coworkers and friends, writing for the screen is drastically different than other styles of writing. Most of the time, your video production company will have a talented screenwriter on staff who can take our seed of an idea and put it to paper.

Maybe you’ve already got your idea ready and want to give it a shot. By all means, please do. When you are ready to polish and give it the finesse it needs, you’re much better off having a professional writer take it to the finish line. We’ve seen videos that were visually stunning but just lacked the professional touch that screenwriters bring to the table.

A good screenwriter not only takes the dialogue but thoughtfully integrates the visual concepts to make it really come to life!

You might expect to spend $1000+ for a pristine script by a talented writer.

3. Pre-Production

We find that this is the most overlooked stage of full video production. Most clients think we just show up to set and push the record button. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Many days before we are scheduled to shoot, we begin our pre-production. Just like you wouldn’t put flooring in a house that didn’t have a foundation poured, your creative team won’t begin the production phase before pre-production is finalized. Once the idea is locked down, your team will scout various locations that will fit the story best, evaluate the story,  create a shot list, draw up a storyboard, hire the crew, rent the right equipment, permit the locations, and provide insurance where needed. After that, your team will schedule the day and the complex logistics of each shoot-day down to the minute. Time is money, so let’s get everything ready beforehand!

This time spent on pre-production logistics actually ends up saving a lot of time and money down the road. If you show up to your location and it happens that there is construction happening because you didn’t permit it, what are you going to do with your 10+ crew? That day just got costly! This pre-production time does cost money(usually several thousand dollars) but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! This planning really does help avoid costly mistakes and delays on the set. When time is of the essence on a shoot day, it ensures that you capture every critical shot you need for the editing portion of your video production.

4. Locations

Locations are one of the most important pieces of your video. They can either make or break it. It’s also an area you can be resourceful to save some money! Perhaps you already have a beautiful office with exquisite texture and natural lighting. Maybe your colleague has a pool you can borrow for an afternoon. This is often an area where you can think outside of the box.

However, trying to make a location work that doesn’t quite fit can definitely ruin the production. Dark and dingy? Loud and distracting?Probably not the best idea. Do you have a client or colleague who will let you film in a beautiful space in return for a favor? Use these connections! Often times, you’ll need to factor in a few thousand dollars per location to include the location fees as well as any potential permits that are needed. Shooting in any big city also poses additional considerations for parking as well as bathrooms and lunch areas. You might need to bring in tables and chairs for your hair and makeup, cones to block off parking, and a security officer if the location isn’t the most secure.

Don’t overlook exotic locations as a pivotal part of your video production.

5. Equipment: Cameras, Lighting, Set Design, and Props

Let’s be real, as we’ve said before if the idea isn’t good, it doesn’t matter how good of equipment you’ve rented to use. Go back to the drawing board! Assuming your idea is the best it can be, let’s talk equipment. There is a huge difference between films shot on a mobile phone and a professional cinema camera with incredible lenses and top-notch lighting.

It’s these pieces of equipment that often give the “look” of the piece a professional polish. If you want these awesome shots, you also need to factor into the budget for specialty equipment like drones, dollies, cranes, and steadicams. Each of these requires a portion of the budget but can elevate the story and image quality. The better the equipment, the better the image, and thus a better end product. Each of these items has costs to rent, maintain, and insure. Also, don’t’ forget about image transmission costs. Whether you want to transmit the image to your boss sitting at basecamp a couple hundred feet from the action or a remote client halfway across the world, this transmission can add complexity and cost to the project. The cameras alone may cost $500+ to rent in addition to lenses and lighting. To rent a majority of these tools, factor between $1k to $10k depending on the specifics.

You might also consider the set design as well as the wardrobe and props. Do you need to discuss talent clothing sizes and have your stylist pick out clothes? Or are you simply working with what the talent can bring from their own closet? Each option can add a significant amount to the total budget. Adding props should also be considered as they will contribute to the look and overall quality of your film.

6. Crew, Talent, and other personnel

Although you might be shooting with the latest and greatest equipment, it’s the operators and staff who take the production up a notch. Hiring a talented director to get the perfect performance or a DP (Director of Photography) to make the talent look their best will set your video apart from the rest.

Although the director is often thought of as the keeper of the story and the lead player on set, the collaboration between the producer and the director is what makes the final product come to life. On a smaller budget shoot, the director and the DP, might be the same person!

A full crew will include a director, DP, Assistant Cameramen, camera operators, an audio engineer, a gaffer, grips, location managers, prop masters, wardrobe stylists, hair and makeup artists, production assistants, and more!

The talent can include members of your company or hired actors. The cost for hired actors ranges from a few hundred dollars per day for background actors to thousands of dollars per day for celebrity talent.

The producer is responsible for collaborating with the 1st Assistant Director to ensure the shoot is completed on schedule in order to avoid costly overtime fees at the end of the shoot day.

7. The Shoot Schedule

Scheduling shooting days is a critical part of the success of a project. From the beginning, your team will let you know how many days of production this idea should take. And it can vary widely. A small-scale promo video can most likely be shot in one day, while a larger-scale production can take weeks or more. The larger the crew, number of location moves and the more equipment can often take a productions quality to the next level, but it also takes more days of shooting! Budgeting from the ideation phase at the beginning is key!

The more footage you can capture in one day, the more bang for your buck! Although it might be easier to schedule four people across four days to accommodate their schedules, it’s often most cost-effective to shoot them all in one day. A single day requires less setup, breakdown, day rates, and rental costs than multiple days of shooting.

8. Miscellaneous Expenses: Transportation, Food, Hard Drives, Insurance, etc.

Often overlooked but equally as important are the small costs that can add up quickly. Be sure to include daily parking, snacks and meals, PPE, hard drives for raw footage, and other small out of pocket expenses. Most professional production companies will already have the standard insurance required by most locations but there are special circumstances, such as shutting down streets or dealing with explosives which might require special insurance. These can end up costing several thousands of dollars. And although we’ve mentioned it before, some locations might necessitate hiring security or other support staff, such as a covid compliance officer or on-site rapid testing to ensure the shoot goes on without a hitch!

9. Post Production: Editing, Graphics, and VFX

Budgeting for editing is a critical part of the success of a project. A talented editor will take the footage and put it together in a way that moves your audience. Just like on-set crew, budgets for editors are based on their skill level, number of editing days, number of revisions, and the length of the finished video.

Although graphics are often overlooked, they can help take the project up another notch! They can be simple, such as a simple title and bumper slide, to sophisticated motion tracking and screen replacement. A good graphics artist will make it come to life! Lastly, if VFX are involved, such as an exploded version of your product, you’ll want to factor in a few thousand for simple effects to 50k+ on the high end! Definitely plan for this upfront and know that revisions are often costly! So be sure to get that idea solidified on the front end.

10. Music and Sound Design

A good score will convey a mood that helps put the viewer in the screen. A great music score will bring the video to life, while a bad score will destroy the mood immediately. Whether it’s a sense of urgency or a comedic beat, music is often time the key to a moment’s success!

If the budget is there, we’ll work with an artist to create a custom score. If the budget/project doesn’t justify it, we’ll look through hundreds (or thousands) of songs in our music library to find the perfect track. Don’t overlook the importance of music in your final video.

Good sound design often goes unnoticed but it’s what really helps sell the effects in the videos. Whether it’s a whoosh with a graphic or an explosion that raises the viewer’s heart rate, good SFX (sound effects) make a big difference. For most projects, we work with a sound tech to help us create a perfect balance between the music, dialogue, and SFX to get the mix just right!

11. Video Distribution and Video Seeding

We believe that video distribution plays a pivotal role in a video’s success. After all, why spend all this money on a video, if nobody is going to see it?

Although no one can guarantee a video will go viral, you can usually get it in front of your ideal audience if you know your audience demographics as well as your targetted customer. Video SEO and video distribution will ensure that the right people get to see your video! Allow $1k to $20k for a solid campaign.