How Much Does Video Production Cost?
A Guide to Budgeting.
Video has become the most effective content marketing tool for businesses to connect with their target audience.
However, many businesses are hesitant to spend on video production because they think it's too expensive or don't know how to evaluate the quotes they get. Before you ask your nephew to bust out his sweet new iPhone, you can use this guide to figure out how much professional video production costs.
Video production crew watching video playback on set.
Before we dive in! A few quick notes...
You probably know what type of video you want to make and how long it's going to be. So I'm not going to speak too much on that. If you are not sure what type of video you need, I'd do a quick Google search to make sure you're using the right term when you reach out to a videographer or production company. This is because a lot of people use some terms incorrectly. To avoid confusion and to get yourself the most accurate quote, double check the term you're using.
Here's a quick list of types of videos if you need it:
Commercials
Corporate Videos
Branded Videos
Social Media Videos
Explainer Videos
Animated Videos
Tutorial Videos
Promotional Videos
Product Videos
Testimonial Videos
Event Videos
Fundraising Videos
Most videos will fit under these categories.
Also, a lot of people will say that the longer the video, the more expensive it will be. But I can think of a ton of examples where that's just not true. I've produced 20-minute videos that took an hour to shoot and edit, as well as 60-second videos that took months. So my approach to thinking about cost will be a little bit different than what you'll read in most other places.
1. Start with this question: Are you going to hire one or more people to create your video?
One of the most simple ways to figure out how much your project is going to cost is to think about it in terms of how many people are going to work on it. For example, most videographers nowadays can shoot AND edit. In other words, they can create your whole video for you on their own. So if you hire one videographer, your costs are going to be lower than if you hired 2-3 people. We'll get into the reasons for hiring more people later. But this is a really good starting point.
So let's say you just need one videographer to create your video. One videographer is all the vast majority of people will ever need for their projects. Now check this out: Videographers have day rates. If your local videographer has a day rate of $1,000/day for an 8-hour day and the project requires one shooting day and one editing day, then you have your answer: $2,000.
A quick interlude for anyone who’s like, “Wait. What?! $2,000 for two days of work? Are you kidding me?” If that’s not you, then move on to the next paragraph. But if that is you, here’s why a videographer might charge you $1,000/day: Video production equipment is expensive. And it is not easy to use that equipment properly. Professional videographers will use equipment packages that range from $5,000 to $25,000 and upwards. And the fact that they can operate the camera, record audio, and light the shot makes them a triple-threat that is actually saving you money.
Sometimes videographers will offer half-day rates or even hourly. But keep in the mind, not all will do this. Because even if you only need them for 4 hours, they are still going to be blocking off their entire day for your shoot. This involves preparing equipment, traveling, setting up their equipment, shooting the video, breaking down and packing up the equipment, and going home. And they are likely going to be blocking off that day in advance from booking other jobs. Which means that if someone who will pay them full price tries to book with them after you did, they won't be able to take on that client.
Also, sometimes videographers will have an equipment fee. This is typically just for the shooting day equipment. Which is the camera, lenses, lighting, audio, tripods, stabilizers, and other accessories.
Prices for videographers' rates vary. But here are some estimates to give you a better idea of what to expect based on experience, skill level, and equipment they might use:
Beginner Videographer: $200/day
Intermediate Videographer: $600/day
Expert Videographer: $1500/day
Top-Notch Videographer (usually called a Cinematographer or Director of Photography): $10,000/day+
Equipment rates also vary. But here's a link to a popular rental website called Borrowlenses:
You can check what a specific piece of equipment might cost to rent. Videographers will typically offer a lower equipment rental rate (than online or local rental services) in exchange for hiring them for their videography services. Important! Remember this: Videographers often include the equipment fee within their day rate for one flat fee.
Ultimately, they are charging you for their time, skill/experience, and equipment. Which brings me to my next step...
Champion Video Production Crew in action.
2. Decide what equipment you need.
No idea? Here's a basic package as a starting point:
You will need a camera, one or more lenses, a tripod, a stabilization device, three or more lights, a drone, and one or more mics. The good news? Videographers and production companies will have this basic equipment package. So the next question to figure out is: "What do I need in addition to this, if anything?"
Do you need more than two mics? Do you need more than three lights? Do you need a dolly instead of a gimbal? Do you need four cameras? These will all be additional expenses to consider.
Below are some estimates of gear rates for a 3-day rental. That’s a day for the shipment to arrive if you rented online, a day for shooting, and a day to ship it back. Or a day for pickup from the rental house, shoot day, and drop-off day once you’re done:
Cameras - $120
Lenses - $100
Tripods - $60
Gimbal - $120
Steadicam - $700 (often an operator will include their day rate in the rental price because this is a specialty item/takes a lot of skill to operate.
Dana Dolly - $100
Boom Mic - $40
Two Lavalier Mics - $80
Lights - $200 (on the cheaper end)
Grip - $20 per stand/sandbag. $30 Matthews Roadflags.
Like I mentioned earlier, you can check out borrowlenses.com or lensrentals.com to compare rental prices. And here are some Sacramento rental houses for comparing costs as well:
https://www.camerakitchenrentals.com/
I like to support local rental businesses and they are often more reliable. As much as I appreciate services like Borrowlenses, there have been a few times where my rental didn’t arrive on-time (which hasn’t helped the slight balding happening on the back of my head).
OK! So now you have an idea of how many people you need to work on your project and what equipment might cost.
3. Location! Location! Location!
No, I'm not a realtor and I'm not trying to sell you a house. But location figures into the overall cost of production. If you can shoot your video in locations you don't have to pay for (your store, office, etc) more power to ya! But if you can't, then here's what you need to know.
To rent a location you will pay an hourly, daily, weekly, or weekend fee. Here are some examples of location rental websites that include pricing:
https://www.sacmediacenter.com/ -- (Local to Sacramento)
https://www.peerspace.com/ -- (National Service)
https://giggster.com/ -- (National Service)
PERMITS!
If you are shooting on public property, you will need a permit. Permit application processing can be short (a few days) or take a longer time (2 weeks) depending on the city you are applying in. Permits are relatively inexpensive compared to other production costs. In Sacramento, you can apply for a permit for $100 at:
https://filmsac.com/permitting/
4. Decide if you need actors.
If you know you don’t need actors or VoiceOver artists, then move onto the next section. If you do, here’s what you need to know:
Similar to videographers, most actors have day rates. You can either hire an actor that is a member of the SAG-AFTRA union or a non-SAG actor.
SAG-AFTRA actors have minimum day rates depending on the budget of the project. For example, for ultra low budget productions ($300,000 budget or less) the minimum for SAG actors is $240/day. For short projects (budgets less than $50,000) rates are negotiable. For more information you can check out this article on Wrapbook.com:
Here is the clickable Link.
Non-SAG actors can be more flexible with what they charge. But don’t skimp on paying your actors! It is in your interest to hire capable actors and pay a good rate because your actor’s performance can be the single biggest make-or-break factor in your video.
Pricing for voiceover artists functions a little differently. VO artists will often charge per word or per minute of recorded VoiceOver.
For example, backstage.com says: “for zero to two finished minutes with a word count of under 400, you can usually charge $100–$500; and for 45–60 finished minutes with a word count of over 5,500, you can usually charge $1,300–$2,500.”
Link to backstage.com article.
5. Production Design, Props, and Wardrobe
Answer these “yes or no” questions:
Do you need special clothing, shoes, or accessories for your actors or on-screen talent?
Do you need to use props?
Do you need paint the walls or bring in furniture or generally change the appearance of the shooting location?
If you answered no to all these questions then you can skip this section. If you answered yes to any, read on my friend…
A production company can provide all of these things. The cost for all these things will vary and I can’t anticipate what specifically you might need here in this guide. But this is just to get you thinking about how this will affect your overall budget. Start planning now for your wardrobe and props.
An important note on question #3 — a production designer will typically handle changing the appearance of a shooting location. And along with every other crew position, they work for day rates. Each person sets their own rate and you can typically expect them to charge between $500 to $2,000/day.
On higher budget shoots, this is one of the most important roles and they can literally be game-changers in terms of your videos becoming that much better than the rest of your competitions’.
6. Scriptwriting: Are you the next Shakespeare?
Unless you can write a script like Shakespeare, you may want to consider passing this duty off to a production company. A skilled scriptwriter will know how to structure an engaging story and craft copy that compels your customers to buy.
That being said, you should definitely consult with your production company about everything you want to communicate. You know your business better than anyone. Then leave it up to them to razzle and dazzle your clientele.
Most video production company owners started their businesses because they love storytelling. Think of this as an opportunity to utilize a passionate and effective expert.
If your script needs are so basic that you can write it yourself, by all means, do that. I would not advocate to spend money if it’s not necessary.
Pricing for writers is a little hard to pin down because there are different ways different writers of different skill levels handle their pricing. For example, some writers charge by the word, some by the hour, some by the type of content. But here are some general figures from Copyblogger.com to give you an idea of what it might cost you:
“The average freelance writer makes about $29/hour, and the average freelance writing rate per word ranges from $0.05-$0.10 for beginner writers, $0.30-$0.50 for intermediate writers, and $1-$1.50 for experience writers.”
Link to Copyblogger.com article.
If a writer is writing shorter content, for example, like a 30-second commercial they might not use a per word rate. I am a scriptwriter myself and usually I will charge based on the time I anticipate I will need to spend doing research, writing, rewriting after revision requests, and rewriting during the video editing process (if needed).
7. Remember the catering.
Remember that you have to feed people during a video production shoot. Luckily, lunch and snacks will not be your biggest expense. And it’s the surest way to keep everyone you’re working with happy. Estimate $30/per person who will be working on the shoot day. That includes lunch and drinks and snacks for the duration of the day.
8. Hire a production company if you’re bad at planning and scheduling.
If you have a one-day shoot with 1-2 videographers, I personally do not recommend hiring someone to plan it out. You can absolutely do it yourself.
If you have a three consecutive day shoot or more, with more than three crew and actors, then I would enlist a producer or production company.
Here’s the good news: Producers are professional planners. They will create a schedule that works well for everyone (you, your business, themselves, and the crew). They won’t forget the catering.
The reality check: This is a value add and because it will cost the producer and production company more time, it will cost you more money.
This is not possible to calculate in advance. But if you take all the pricing information I am providing you with here, add it all up, and split the difference with what you were quoted, then you can decide for yourself if it’s a fair value.
9. Plan for Editing A.K.A. Post-Production
The layman calls it editing. The expert calls it post-production. Either way you slice it, here are the stages involved in this process (in no particular order):
Video editing. Yes, I know that’s confusing. But think of it this way — video editing is the cutting up and rearranging of the actual video clips that you recorded.
Color correction. Cameras don’t adjust for lighting changes the way the human eye does. All high quality videos need to be color corrected to fix this issue. Or they will look weird… and your mom won’t be proud of you.
Color grading. This is a highly specialized skill in which someone creates the best looking possible image. It takes someone with a lot of experience, natural skill, and a properly calibrated computer display to accurately perceive the different aspects of an image (contrast ratio, saturation, color fidelity) and manipulate them into something that just looks straight up awesome.
Sound design. This can include all or some of the following — improving the sound files that were recorded during the shoot, adding in sound effects and music, adding voiceover, and mixing it all together so that it sounds good/not weird. There’s more to it than that, but that’s a simple explanation.
Motion graphics. Adding moving text and other visual elements to the video.
Subtitles. Most professional editing softwares offer an auto-transcribe feature which can save editors A LOT of time and you A LOT of money. The caveat is that they are about 95% accurate, in my experience. And if you care about your subtitles reading 100% smackurately — Oops! I mean “accurately” — then this will still take a good amount of time from your editor depending on the length of your video.
Animation. You know what this is already, right?
Special Effects. This too right?
Editing timeline in Adobe Premiere Pro
OK. So the reason I broke all that down for you is because these could all theoretically be done by one person OR a group of specialists. Theoretically you could hire one or more people for each job. The general rule being — the more you specialize, the higher quality product you are going to get.
Let’s go back to our original method for determining the cost of video production… the day rate. If all you need is some basic editing of a two-minute product video showcasing footage of your product with basic text motion graphics added and a music soundtrack, then you could hire one editor who might be able to put that together for you in a day or two.
A quick disclaimer: You might not be able to find an editor that also knows how to do animation or special effects. Those are typically more specialized roles.
Rates for editors range from $300/day to $1,200/day depending on skill, experience, and complexity of the project.
You could use that range for colorists, sound designers, and motion graphics editors. The vast majority of projects will not need these specialists, but when you start moving into higher budget projects, they are a must. For example, colorists and sound designers can improve a project so much that people who know very little about video production will intuitively be able to recognize a significant increase in quality over other lower budget projects. Hiring a professional colorist can often be the difference between whether your project looks like everybody else’s or stands above the rest. The same holds true with sound designers, motion graphics editors, special effects effects, and animators.
If your needs are basic, keep it simple and go with one editor with a day rate. If you have a bigger budget start to specialize more with post-production roles.
Don’t forget the music!
There are very few instances where videos perform better without music. Seriously. If you are questioning whether or not to add music, the right answer is usually yes.
And there are inexpensive options for adding music to your videos:
artlist.io — $9.99/mo (annual subscription) or $14.99/mo (monthly)
epidemicsound.com — $9.99/mo (personal annual plan) or $24.99/mo (commercial annual plan)
pond5.com — $25/mo or $150/year
audiojungle.net — pay per download. Prices vary from about $2 to $25 per song.
premiumbeat.com - Standard license subscription at $64.95/mo or $685/year
soundstripe.com - $9.99/mo for a Creator plan and $19.99/mo for a Pro plan.
You can also hire a composer. That is usually the more expensive option but your video will be better because of it (assuming you hire a competent professional composer). Here is a good blog article about how composers charge:
In the article, they say that rates usually run from $50 to $1,000 per recorded minute of finished music. That’s a big range and that’s because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to every project and composers have all different skill and experience levels.
If you’re looking for a consistently inexpensive solution, go with one of the music subscription services above. If you have more of a budget and want a premium product (video), consider hiring a composer.
Decide where your video will be seen/shown before shooting.
Videos perform better on different platforms in certain aspect ratios. Here is a Meta article “straight from the horse’s mouth” about which aspect ratios are recommended for its platforms (e.g. Facebook and Instagram):
Here are some best-performing aspect ratios along with the corresponding platform:
YouTube - 16x9
TikTok - 9x16
TV and OTT - 16x9
The reason vertical videos perform better on most social media platforms is simple: Most people view videos on social media platforms on their phones and vertical videos take up more space on the vertical screen, making them easier to view than the smaller horizontal video.
Pro Tip: Videos with text/subtitles perform better because most people view with the sound off.
Another Pro Tip: Ask your videographer to record in 4K resolution or higher. That way you can resize your video for different aspect ratios in post-production. If you record in 1080p, you will not be able to resize to 9x16 without a heavy loss of image quality. You might even have to reshoot part or all of your project.
11. You can’t put a price on creativity.
Your videographer’s or production company’s creativity can make the difference between whether your videos are seen AND remembered or quickly scrolled past and forgotten FOREVER (Cue that scene from Sandlot in your mind real quickly).
This is the X factor that you cannot put a price tag on because people’s creative approaches and aptitudes are so vastly different. It comes down to a gut decision most of the time of — “Am I seeing the quality in their work that I am being quoted for, knowing everything that I now know about the cost of video production?”
I recommend to trust your gut here. It is usually right.
If you simply don’t need a great video and good is just fine, then don’t pay a premium for creativity. Lots of the times you don’t need an exceptionally creative approach to a training video or simple announcement video.
But if you are aiming to set yourself apart from your competition and you know why you are uniquely valuable to the market, then you should consider hiring someone who can express that value in a really creative and engaging way.
Real-World Examples of Video Production Cost
Check out these real-world examples of production cost below:
Web Banner
Web banners are a fantastic way to grab the attention of your website viewers as soon as they arrive and show them in an engaging way, instead of telling them, about what you do. This video was produced for $1,500:
Product Video
A product demo video showcases the features and benefits of a product or service. These videos can range from simple screen recordings to high-end productions with live actors. The cost of a product demo video can range from $2,000 to $20,000, depending on the complexity and resources needed. This particular example had a budget of $12,000:
Commercial
A commercial is a high-end video production that is used for advertising purposes. These videos often feature live actors, special effects, and high-quality production. The cost of a commercial can range from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the complexity and resources needed. These examples each cost $25,000:
Corporate Video
Corporate video production is used for internal and external corporate messaging. The first example here was used for internal messaging within the ProSource organization and had a budget of $30,000. The biggest reason for that was the travel involved for the crew which had to go to several different business locations throughout Arizona and Florida over the course of a couple weeks.
12. That’s it!
I hope this article was majorly helpful to you because I tried to make it so. If there’s anything you would like me to go into more detail on, or improve in general, please let me know.
Feel free to reach out to me at hi@championproduction.co if you have any questions or would like to start a conversation about your next project. Good luck!
-Eric
Eric MacKinnon Johnson at Lake Tahoe shoot.