Many brands aren’t sure what to budget for a video production, and they don’t know where to start.
Even brands with a budget are hesitant to share it before they receive an estimate.
After facing this scenario enough times, we want to shine a light on:
- 10 key factors that affect the price of a video production
- 8 ways to accelerate the video budget discussion
Our goal is simple: Save time for our clients and ourselves while providing our clients with the ideal video solution at the right budget.
Top 10 Variables That Impact The Price of a Production
Below are the most common factors influencing the production cost.
Quick sidenote: Remote productions (like this testimonial video) do not require many of the elements listed below, so they tend to be the most cost-effective, although they present many creative limitations.
1. Scripting & Creative Development
The more time we spend pitching ideas, fleshing out concepts, writing scripts, producing storyboards and creative treatments, and aligning with our client on the creative vision for their video, the larger the budget.
That said, more time spent in this phase generally leads to lower costs and better outcomes by reducing editing time and eliminating the guess work in post-production.
2. Talent & Casting
Casting involves finding the right on-screen or voiceover talent, scheduling, and negotiating usage rights and agent fees (where applicable). The more talent, the larger the budget.
Additional costs can include wardrobe, makeup, and hair stylists so that on-screen talent appears camera-ready.
3. Locations
Filming in one location is more affordable than filming in multiple locations. And renting locations or studios is more costly than filming at your office. If we need to scout locations to gauge their viability, that adds to the budget. Permits, insurance, and location-specific logistics also affect pricing.
4. Production Days
The number of days on set multiplies costs for crew, equipment, locations, and rentals. The fewer production days, the lower the cost. This is why spending more on a larger production crew often is more cost-effective if it allows you to complete a production in fewer days.
5. Art Direction & Set Design
If your project requires a custom-built set, furniture, and props, you will need art direction to manage the fabrication, rental, or procurement of these items. The cost and complexity of set design and scene dressing can range significantly.
6. Crew Size
Productions that require specialized roles involve higher labor and logistical costs, such as transportation, meals, and accommodations (for out-of-town shoots). Adding crew is recommended for productions with tighter schedules or niche skills for safety reasons. Limiting the crew size for a production can save costs, but it usually comes with tradeoffs and increases the margin for error.
7. Specialization
For any out-of-the-ordinary requests like drone footage, underwater filming, stunts, green-screen effects, etc., expect added costs for equipment, expertise, permits, or certifications.
Sometimes special requests can save you money. For instance, if you’re out of town and want to avoid paying for a flight to be on set, we can remote you in.
8. Timing
The “Iron Triangle” model applies: Pick two of High Quality, Fast Turnaround, or Low Budget. High quality delivered quickly will never be low budget. A quick turnaround with a low budget will never be high quality.
9. Animation & Motion Graphics
Certain types of animations, motion graphics, and visual effects can increase the workload, especially in post-production. Complex animations require frame-by-frame work and longer lead times, especially for longer videos.
10. Amount and Length of Deliverables
It’s common for clients to want to maximize the footage from their production by repurposing the content for a variety of edits on different platforms. The more deliverables (as well as the length and complexity of the edits) adds to the budget.
8 Ways To Determine Your Production Budget
If you truly don’t know your budget for a production, here are some helpful ways we can work with you to narrow it down and gain more clarity.
1. References
Find examples that match what you’re envisioning for your video. Then share those with us and we can reverse-engineer what those would cost to produce.
2. Priorities
Determine your must-have items versus your wish-list items for the video(s).
3. Budget range
Even a budget range for the production is helpful in planning. Then we can share what’s possible at each end of the range.
4. Car brands
A simple metaphor can accelerate the budget discussion. “We’re thinking more along the lines of a Mercedes, not a Mazda.”
5. Timing
If you know the date that you need the video(s) in your hands to publish, then we can work backwards from there. This is a helpful constraint to know.
6. Deliverables
Outline the content you want (e.g. one 30-second edit, two 15-second edits in 9×16 aspect ratio, etc.).
7. Usage
Convey the purpose of your video. The budget for an internal training video should be quite different from a national CTV ad campaign. (For more on CTV, click here)
8. Benchmarks
If you paid $20,000 for a previous video, share the video so we have a frame of reference.
Can I Use AI To Save On Video Costs?
Brands are curious to use AI to save on video production costs. We always tell brands to begin with this question:
What problem are you trying to solve?
In most cases, we work with clients that want to use video to build trust with their prospects and customers. Per the latest research, using AI in videos can negatively impact trust.
That said, we use AI quite often in our production workflow, whether it’s for research, script development, transcriptions, building user personas, sound, etc. And this saves us time and money, which our clients benefit from.
Where we’ve seen brands stumble is when they want to use AI to replicate humans or create elaborate scenes that mimic reality, which often requires numerous revision rounds.
The time it takes to produce AI slop is trivial. The time it takes to make AI gold is considerable (at least for now).
We always like to set expectations, and we’re happy to collaborate with you if you have a specific question or need in mind.
Have any questions? Want to discuss your next video project? Email us at [email protected] or schedule a call below.
