Unlike many industries, the commercial video space is extremely “panoramic”when it comes to costings. Without the details of the project, the scope can be incredibly wide.
So, let’s get the obvious question out of the way first.
Anywhere from $2,000 to $500,000+.
Helpful, right? (Insert creative guy laughing emoji with a hint of sarcasm.)
The truth is that asking how much a video costs is like asking how long a piece of string is. We produce everything from simple single-camera shoots with same-day edits through to large integrated campaigns generating 80-plus individual assets across multiple formats, platforms and languages.
So yes, the scope can be very “panoramic”.
The more important question is: what does your business want to achieve?
After years of working in commercial video production, one of the first questions we ask isn't “What do you want us to film?” It's “What are you trying to achieve?”
Why are you creating a brand film, TV commercial, corporate video or suite of digital-first assets in the first place? Usually, somewhere at the heart of the answer is a need to connect your business with an audience. That leads us to the next question:
For many businesses, there isn't just one. You may need to communicate with customers, prospective customers, staff, investors, stakeholders or completely different market segments.
Suddenly, what began as “we need a video” might actually become a suite of strategically connected content — not just one video, but an entire campaign made up of a hero brand film supported by 30-second and 15-second versions, vertical social content, testimonials, product films, photography, cutdowns and multiple language versions.
Suddenly, instead of one touchpoint and a one-off view, you are sustaining attention spans over a three-month campaign.
These are two very different production briefs.
As video producers, we love working with brands that understand their objective, audience and message because it makes the next stage considerably easier.
The enormous panorama of possible production costs starts narrowing.
Instead of asking:
“How cheaply can we make a video?”
we can start asking:
“What level of investment makes sense for what we're trying to achieve?”
That's an important distinction. A production costing $5,000 that doesn't achieve its objective is expensive. A $50,000 campaign that delivers significant commercial value may represent an excellent investment.
Our job isn't simply to determine what we can put in front of a camera for aparticular amount of money. It's to determine where production investment creates the greatest value.
A professional production can involve considerably more than the shoot itself.
Depending on the project, a budget might include creative development, strategy, scripting, producing, casting, locations, crew, cinematography, lighting, art department, wardrobe, hair and makeup, drone filming, travel, editing, colour grading, animation, visual effects, sound design, music licensing and final delivery.
Then there is the number of assets being created. A single 60-second film is one proposition. A campaign delivering multiple assets is another. Both are “video production”, but they're completely different exercises.
At Fotomedia, we've worked with large government organisations and international companies through to smaller businesses, ecommerce brands and start-ups.
We cost and execute simple single-camera jobs as well as elaborate integrated campaigns.
Sometimes people see the calibre and scale of the work on our showreel and assume that every Fotomedia production comes with a large-production price tag.
It doesn't. There are plenty of smaller projects and success stories we’ve created. The right production isn't necessarily the biggest production.
The sensible budget depends on what you're trying to achieve, who you're trying to reach, what you need to communicate, where the content will appear and how much value the resulting assets can create for the business.
That's why we treat every project individually.
As producers, directors, cinematographers and editors, our job is ultimately to help businesses succeed. We start with what makes business sense and then determine the creative and production approach most likely to connect with the audience.
You don't need a 20-page brief to get the conversation started. In most cases, we can begin narrowing down the scope, and therefore the budget, by answering five key questions.
1. What are you trying to achieve?
This is the big one.
Are you launching a product, building brand awareness, generating leads, recruiting staff, explaining something complicated, changing behaviour or simply making your brand look better?
2. Who are you trying to reach?
Who is the audience, and what do we know about them?
You may have one clearly defined audience or several very different audience segments, each requiring a different message or approach. Knowing who we'respeaking to influences every aspect of production.
3. What do you need to say?
What's the key message, proposition or action you want the audience to takeaway?
Trying to communicate ten messages in one video usually isn't the answer. If there are multiple messages or audience segments, it may make more sense to create a suite of assets rather than asking one video to do everything.
4. Where will people see it?
A television commercial, website brand film, cinema spot, LinkedIn campaign, YouTube pre-roll and vertical Instagram Reel all behave differently.
Knowing where the content will live helps us determine durations, aspect ratios, production values and the number of versions required.
5. How long do you need the content to work for you?
Are we creating something for a two-week campaign, a product launch, a 12-month marketing program or an evergreen brand asset you expect to use for several years?
The longer and harder the content needs to work, the more important it becomes to think strategically about the production investment and the number of assets you create.
So, how much does a piece of string cost?
