Video Production Budget

If we had to compare video production pricing to something else, it would have to be general contracting and homebuilding. When someone wants to build or renovate a home, there’s a pretty inherent unwritten understanding that the job would need to be talked about and understood in a detailed way.

This includes details like carpets, windows, electrical, heating, irrigation, cabinets, and so on. Anything else but a clear understanding would not represent a true overview of the budget, and the many facets to a project.

In Video Production, depending on the project, you’re looking at a very similar situation. Elements like Audio, Casting, Scripting, Animations, Effects, Filming Style, Storyboarding, Editing, Location, and much more, may be in play.

How to know the scope of your own project

For a more comprehensive understanding of video budgeting, check out our page on budget brackets, which breaks down different budgets and what is in play when approaching them. But to see it all very simply, it’s key to express the level of significance of which you hold on your own project. This is not something a company you’re hiring will understand without you first explaining it.

We advise you check out our onboarding form, which is what we use to learn how a new client may be approaching a project. This helps make everything much more clear from the start.

What sorts of projects are worth a bigger scope?

If your video is intended to live on your homepage, or represent your brand in paid advertisements, this would be something very worth considering project scope on. On the contrary, you may just want something simple for social media, or something you can send to your clients to help them understand a topic in your own voice. This may not need to be as rigorous of a production setup.

Essentially, if you’re going to do something once, we suggest doing it at a healthy budget. But if you’re only toying with new ideas, it may be too ambitious to consider a higher budget, at least when you’re just starting. It all depends on where you’re at in your business, and what your goals are.

What elements increase production cost?

Pre-Production Hours - Pre-Production time is all the time dedicated to making a clear and well informed layout of a project. Not all projects have much in the form or pre-production, as some videos can be shot just after an hour or so of discussing it. But other projects may have many more elements, such as keyword research, competitor research, casting, scriptwriting, storyboarding, location scouting, and so on.

Shooting Days - It’s pretty straightforward, but more shooting day/hours will yield a more rigorous production budget. One of the best tactics to keep this simple is to only use one location to film. Even if your shoot would require multiple different visuals. Establishing a location with enough flexibility to move equipment around helps you get the most you can out of a 1-day or so budget.

Equipment Expenses - This mostly comes down to your budget bracket selection, as a higher produced visual will usually require more expensive equipment to work with. Additionally, your project may require unique pieces of equipment to pull off certain task. An example could be a drone shot of your company building, which would incur additional expenses for the equipment and licensed operator.

Hire Expenses - If you up the game in the equipment department, there is a necessity for more professionals to manage everything. Additionally, your project may have needs that require entirely different categories of professionals, such as sound operators who manage audio when the video calls for multiple sound sources speaking.

Is it possible to get a quote quickly?

We understand many are only shopping around and have busy lives. Our company strives to simplify the quote gathering process. Again, we highly recommend checking out our budget brackets page, which shows you the budgets in play, and the process you can expect for it. You can additionally fill out our quote form, which highlights the key features necessary to understand your budget.