Jeff HiltySo you know you want video – and now you want to know how much it costs. Well you’re in luck, we’ve put together a video production pricing guide breakdown to better understand how to invest in this medium.
Facts About Video Production Pricing in 2024
Ballparking your video production costs ultimately comes down to two questions:
- Which agency do you want to work with? Every agency has different pricing, fees, and hourly rates.
- What type of production will your project entail? Every project has different demands and requires different expertise.
While video production is often more expensive than, say, writing a blog post or creating an infographic for social media, it also provides the best ROI compared to other marketing avenues—which means the more you pay, the more you should expect to make in your campaign.
Related reading: The Real Value Of Investing In Video Marketing
But let’s take a closer look:
Agency Rates
Average Video Production Agency Hourly Rate: $100-$175/hour
Agency hourly rates vary from company to company, but most US-based video agencies charge between $100 and $175 an hour, with some variation for project timeline, team demands, technical requirements, travel, and other critical factors.
Project Costs
Average Video Production Project Costs: <$10,000
The variables within your project can vary wildly—and so can your agency’s quote. Although most one-off video projects can be completed for less than $11,500, that’s not always the case.
Factors such as filming location, video type (2D, 3D, live-action, animation, etc.), scriptwriting, actors, equipment, and other variables can increase your final quote.
Of course, there’s plenty more to consider, so keep reading our video production pricing guide to learn everything you need to know!
Learn More About Video Pricing
Jump to the other sections in this blog to learn more about video production pricing:
- The Origin of Value: Video Is The Most Efficient Format For Communication
- Why Does Video Production Pricing Differ So Much Between Agencies?
- Video Production Pricing And Budgeting
- The Business Case For Video Production: Getting Management Onboard
- The Key To Getting More Bang For Your Buck
- Partner With An Award-Winning Video Production Agency
The Origin of Value: Video Is The Most Efficient Format for Communication
In simplest terms, video production has higher prices than other marketing tactics for two reasons:
- Creating a well-produced video is a team effort involving multiple professionals and the latest technologies.
- It works. Time and time again, videos have proven their impact in advertising and marketing. And, as we said before, video regularly generates the highest ROI over other options.
That’s especially true today. We live in an age of information overload, where people are bombarded by hundreds of marketing messages, whichever way they turn. Social media, TV, billboards, and newspapers – marketing is everywhere, and filtering out and ignoring all the noise has become a survival skill.
But video helps brands stand out.
Related reading: How to Get People to Pay Attention to Your Corporate Video
And that’s important because attention spans are growing shorter, leaving us with a mere 2.7 seconds to capture the audience’s attention.
This is one of the reasons an increasing number of companies are investing in quality video production: No format does a better job at keeping and retaining people’s attention than video. The benefits of using video in your corporate communication are numerous.
- Video increases conversion rates
- Video can help you boost customer retention
- Video is excellent for SEO and helps you drive traffic to your website
- Video makes it easy to explain complex products in an accessible way
- Video is the media that drives the most social shares and virality
- Video can help you build trust and credibility
- Video enhances your overall marketing communication campaigns
More than 2 billion people are active monthly users on YouTube, and 85% of people who view product videos state that the videos influence their decision-making process.
In this light, one may wonder why every company hasn’t already committed to ambitious video campaigns. Well, one reason for that is cost. As we said earlier, video production will always cost more than writing a blog post or creating a still image, which makes some companies hesitant about diving in. This is a shame because the opportunity cost of not diving in is, well, huge.
Related reading: Corporate Video Production Essentials
Why Does Video Production Pricing Differ So Much Between Agencies?
As we mentioned earlier, video agencies often charge $100-$175/hour, but that pricing isn’t standard. Some charge less than $100/hour and others charge more than $200/hour. It all depends.
Corporate video production often involves collecting bids from different production companies and comparing different options to find the best fit. And many times, you’ll find that the pricing differs quite drastically between different video production companies. It’s actually quite common to find yourself with estimates for the exact same project at entirely different price points.
So, why is this, and what should you do about it? Well, the first thing is not to get carried away and just opt for the cheapest one. Tempting as it may be, there’s a risk that will lead you down a road of additional costs down the line.
While you may have sent the same brief to all the bidding agencies, there’s no guarantee that they interpret it the same way and calculate based on the same scope of work.
A wide range of factors affects the price point. And sometimes, a cheaper proposal may indicate that the production company is less experienced, not very busy, or hasn’t really understood everything your project will entail.
And following this logic, a more expensive quote may indicate a higher level of experience and level of ambition. This is not to say that expensive is always better; it’s just a word of warning not to just opt for the initial lowest quote.
To be able to choose the right provider, it’s essential that you know exactly what’s included in the price. Some of the things to consider are:
- Production Fees
- Insurance
- Talent casting, and fees
- Hair, makeup, and styling
- Catering for the crew and staff
- All technical equipment
- Art and props
- Post Production
Whether things like these are included or not will have a significant impact on the price of your video production. And even if an initial low bid can be tempting, most would agree that it’s better to know the total cost beforehand than to be surprised by additional charges along the way.
Questions to Ask Video Agencies
While you’re collecting bids from potential video partners, ask these questions:
- What does your pricing model look like? Some agencies charge per hour, some charge a day rate, and some will give you a flat rate for an entire video project.
- Have you created content for my target audience before? There is a difference between videos for TikTok advertising FMCG-type products and B2B videos where every sale is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.
- Do you have all competencies in-house? The more skillsets a company has, the less you will need to pay for extra people. Do they have motion graphics artists? Experienced camera operators? Can they create the types of videos you need? Will they manage the whole production and post-production, from video shoot to video editing?
Related reading: Why Bids From Video Production Companies Vary So Much
Video Production Pricing and Budgeting
The general conception is that video production is inherently expensive, but that’s not necessarily the case. Many people envision Hollywood’s huge productions and movie sets when thinking of video, but that setup is far from how most corporate videos are created. In fact, there’s often a case to be made for more agile crews, filming in a much more flexible and cost-efficient way.
But before you start pondering the budget and the scope of your production, you need to know the exact purpose of your video. You also need to get ultra clear on what message you want to convey, what actions you want to inspire, and in what channels your video will be seen.
All these things are factors that affect what production style will be the best choice. For ambitious and highly creative projects, you may need a large-scale production budget that affords the resources and crew necessary to accomplish capturing the vision. Other times, you want to create videos with a more intimate vibe or a docu-style approach, where a smaller team can be both less costly and a better choice.
Some factors that will affect your final cost:
- How long will your shoot last? A full shoot day is 10 hours (or more), and a half-day is typically 4-7 hours. You should note that half days don’t equate to half of the cost. Contractors can bill through a ¾ day to full day rate to factor in opting out of a full day of work with another job. Planning is done for each shoot day, including planning gear for video recording, lighting, and sound recording.
- How big a crew will you need? The size of the crew will depend on your project. While some projects require a 20+ person crew, other times a smaller team of 3-5 people can get the job done. The number of people in the crew affects the total cost.
- Will there be a need for transportation and accommodation? Some video productions may require the director and crew to travel to the shoot location. If you hire a video production company that is not local, they may subcontract parts of the shoot to a local crew to keep the cost lower.
Related reading: Budgeting for Video Production – How To Decide On The Size Of Your Production
The Business Case For Video Production: Getting Management Onboard
Most marketers today are well aware that video is the way to go. A good video will set your brand apart from the competition and is engaging and memorable in a manner most other formats never come close to.
As a marketer, you probably know this in your gut and understand the power video holds in communication. And yet, it can sometimes be a challenge to get management buy-in. If you work in a traditional and conservative company, your ambition to introduce video may have been met with skepticism.
The key to getting management buy-in is to focus on the business case and present some hard facts and figures. Sure, producing a blog post is cheaper than shooting a video, but that’s an overly simplified way of looking at marketing spend. You need to illustrate that the additional value video brings in corporate communication far surpasses the additional cost.
Video is the marketing medium that delivers the highest ROI, and with that in consideration, it’s really not expensive. The important thing to remember is that cost on its own doesn’t tell you the whole story—you need to consider every cost in relation to the value it brings.
Related reading: Convince Your Boss To Be Bold With Corporate Video
The Key To Getting More Bang For Your Buck
The truth is, it’s not your budget that will decide the level of success your video will have. It’s perfectly possible to spend tons and tons of money and time to create something extraordinarily polished and well-produced that ultimately flops because the idea behind the video simply isn’t strong enough.
So instead of despairing because your budget may be limited, consider your budget as a frame. And, as all artists know, the frame – or the limitations, if you will – is a prerequisite for creativity. And that’s important. Because at the end of the day, it’s not money but rather the creative concept and execution of your video production that will determine how well it performs.
This is why teaming up with an innovative video production agency and letting them get creative and make something that stands out is the best way to get some serious bang for your buck. In fact, one truly great idea and a creative execution can completely transform your business.
Related reading: Invest In Creative To Optimize Your Video Production Budget
Partner With An Award-Winning Video Production Agency
Covalent is a Pittsburgh-based creative video production company catering to B2B, B2C, and D2C companies of all sizes and in a wide range of industries.
At Covalent, we’re known for creating the best corporate videos on the market by combining experience and creativity with a strong marketing mindset. We can help you film and produce everything from brand videos and TV commercials to explainer videos and documentary-style shoots.
We produce videos at different price points, always with a focus on creating the content you need to reach your business goals. Combining years of experience with cutting-edge creativity, our productions have received numerous awards and accolades over the years.
Get in touch to explore how we can help you get started with corporate video production and more exciting and engaging corporate communication!