“How much to create our company’s video?” It’s the most common question we hear from new clients.
The answer is nuanced, just like the projects. If you asked an architect and general contractor “How much for you to design and build me a house?” It depends on the house, right? So they’ll answer your questions with a series of questions: “How big is the house?”; “What style will the house be?”; “What is your landscaping budget?”; “Have you thought about fixtures?” And so on.
A highly-stylized documentary with 12 crew members will not cost the same as a 2-minute marketing video that’s mostly slick graphics or a 15-minute training video filmed by a 3-person crew. So we will have similar questions for you and it’s okay if you don’t know all of the answers from the jump. Final video length, intended audience, filming location(s), number of crew members needed, graphic inclusion will all go a long way toward determining the budget needs for the project. If a production company gives you a blanket quote without discussing critical details about your project, they’re not envisioning how the finished project will look. That is… not good. You want a production company that will collaborate with you. One that will stretch your budget as far as possible, while keeping the project mission in full view.
Video production can be expensive. It’s important that you’re honest with yourself (and with the production company, too) at the very beginning about what you’re comfortable spending. A good rule of thumb is to budget $1,000-$3,000 for every minute of finished video. Those numbers can and will vary depending on style, feel and other factors. Price average will likely go up if you’re looking to have a 30-second commercial spot produced and can drop for longer format productions, such as 30-minute TV shows – all depending on the resources used to complete the production.
Stepping into a new arena can be intimidating for everyone. Quality video production companies will handle all of the heavy lifting while keeping you informed of the important challenges and discussing any needed changes in direction. Video is the most effective way to convey ideas and feelings to a broad audience. Let its power work for you.
