How much does video production cost?
This is one of the most important and legitimate question to ask when you decide you want to incorporate video content as part of your marketing strategy. How much will video production cost?
Although there’s no magical answer to that question, the shortest and most honest answer is simply: it depends. Yes, it may be a frustrating answer, but the cost really depends on so many factors.
First of all, you need to think about the reasons why you need original video content and whether it’s worth spending money on. Truth is, video production is expensive and it involves a lot of planning, preparation, and scripting. It also involves a good amount of logistics in every phase of the project; from pre-production, production to post-production and delivery.
The following factors will give you an idea about what influences the cost of your video productions, and help you ask yourself the right questions so you can determine how much you should budget for your next video project.
Location
Shooting on multiple locations will add depth and production value to your videos, however it’s more costly than shooting at a single location. Another factor to consider is permit. If you wish to shoot in certain public laces, a fee may be added to the budget. If you want to shoot at home or in your organisation, it’s a more affordable option.
Crew and equipment
Video quality also influences your cost and it highly depends on the quality of the equipment as well as how experienced the production crew is.
Shooting with multiple cameras, using drones and areal shot will also impact your budget.
Shooting days
The number of shooting days will influence your production budget. Obviously, the more shooting days your production requires, the more it adds to the final budget because you need to take into account the crew as well as all the logistics related to each production day.
Treatment in post-production
Do you need fancy graphics? 3D animations, dubbing, transcribing, translating, subtitling? Do you need original music composition and a professional voice talent for your narrations?
All these factors will be taken into account when you budget for your video project.
What does NOT influence the cost
This may come as a surprise, but the length of the video is not a factor that directly influences the cost of the production. For instance, a 30-second promotional video that is shot in 6 different locations using drones and helicopters will cost much more than a 10-minute video that consists of a straight sit-down interview.
How much do we charge?
At Symage Media, we had the pleasure to work on diverse projects whose budgets varying from pro-bono ($0) to a couple of thousands of dollars. We basically have two approaches to pricing:
Top down: Tell us your ideal scenario, and we will estimate how much it costs.
Down top: Tell us what your budget is, and we’ll propose a couple of scenarios that fit your needs.
Contact us to request a proposal for your next project.
