How much does professional video production cost? (FREE rate card included)
Is video production too expensive for your brand?
Whether you’re looking to find out how much video editing costs, how much animated videos cost, how much highlight videos or how to videos or any other kind of video production costs; in the spirit of operating transparently and honestly, we’re going to let you in on everything you need to know.
We’re often asked how much it costs for professional video production
It seems there’s a lot of mystery out there over how much video production or animation costs; with many brands or charities assuming high quality video production is simply too expensive.
This article aims to help you make realistic predictions for how much your video production or animation project should cost. So that when you’re ready to engage with a professional video production agency or animation studio, you feel confident that your cost expectations and therefore budgets are set realistically from the start.
We’ve also included a copy of our Majestical video production rate card, that you can use as a reliable baseline for comparison.
What is included in a video production cost estimate?
First of all it’s important to understand how video production costs are determined; what skills and services you should expect to be included in your video production or animation cost and why you need them.
Each stage of your project will require a combination of many different skills and specialisms depending on the type of video production or animation you require.
1. Pre-Production
This is where all the creative development and project plans take place, including:
Concept development - where good ideas are formed
Scripting - narrative and/or interview questions
Storyboarding - visualising the finished video
Production planning - planning for success throughout the rest of production
Casting - finding the right talent
Location scoping - finding the perfect location
Download a copy of our rate card to see our pre-production day rates
2. Production
This is where all works associated with creating or capturing the video or animation assets takes place, including:
Design - creating your custom-branded design assets
Illustration - creating your custom-branded illustration assets
Photography - including required professional photography crew & kit
Filming - including required professional film crew & kit
Location/studio hire - where your filming will take place
Talent - actors, extras, make up
Collating stock assets - sourcing and selecting stock video, images etc
Creating/sourcing audio assets - music tracks, sound effects etc
Download a copy of our rate card to see our production day rates
3. Post-Production
This is where all works associated with turning the production assets into the required video or animation file(s) happens, including:
Editing - specialist technology, applications and professional(s)
Animating - specialist technology, applications and professional(s)
Voice recording - recording studio, artist and usage licensing costs
Colour grading - specialist skills to make your video picture perfect
Adding music & sound effects - applying and audio mixing
Audio licensing - permission to broadcast protected audio tracks
Final render - quality control and delivery of your video file(s)
Download a copy of our rate card to see our post-production day rates
In your cost estimate you should typically expect your video production or animation costs to be grouped under each stage of the production process as above. You might even find that the individual skills outlined above are detailed as individual line items.
Variables or extras such as mileage, accommodation or talent may be included as approximate costs in your estimate. Your PM (project manager) will likely confirm and approve these costs with you as required later on in the production.
If you want to see how these costs might add up then click the button to download your copy of our Majestical video production rate card
How much does a 2 minute video cost?
Whilst the answer ‘it depends’ is probably not what you’re looking for, it’s impossible to give you a prescriptive figure without any defined project parameters.
For example, in the UK a 2 minute promotional video could cost you anything between £4,400 to £25,000+ because of five important variables that effect the cost.
What effects the cost of video production?
1. Number of filming days
Video production in the UK is typically priced per day (very occasionally you might find a per hour or half day rate). Which means that the more filming days you require the more expensive your production costs will be. Download a copy of our rate card to see our day rates for filming
Typically a filming day is considered ten hours door to door, so make sure you include adequate travel time in your filming day schedules in order to avoid overtime charges.
2. Motion graphics or animation
Adding motion graphics or animation to your video - or commissioning a purely animated video - requires specialist skills and applications. Not only that, but if the necessary visual or graphic assets also need creating from scratch then there’ll be design and illustration work required here as well. Download a copy of our rate card to see our day rates for design, illustration and animation
Even if your video is largely live-action, it will likely benefit from the addition of custom-branded motion graphics or animation. Whilst these specialist finishing touches add to your overall project cost, they make a huge difference to the value proposition of your finished video content.
3. Filming locations and travel
Unless we’re filming in a building or some land that belongs to you, there may be costs associated firstly with location scouting and secondly with potential location or studio hire as well. We’ve secured competitive local studio rates, download a copy of our rate card to see our day rates for studio hire
Also remember to factor in the time and cost implication of travel, if you’re planning to film in more than one location. Whether you and your crew are taking public transport or driving, mileage and tickets will all be included in your project cost.
4. Video talent and licensing
Do you need to hire actors, presenter or voice artists for your video or animation? They will all charge a fee for their involvement in the production, You should also expect to be charged talent licensing fee’s, often these come with duration and usage restrictions.
For example a voice artist cost might include the time and kit required to make the recording as well as a license to use their voice for twelve months in a series of YouTube ads.
We’ve nurtured a trusted relationship with an incredible UK voice agency, which means we charge flat rates for all of their international voice artists based on word count alone - with unrestricted licensing! Download a copy of our rate card to see our voice artist rate
5. Length of your video
Similar to shooting days, it makes sense that the longer your video or animation is the more work and time it’ll require in post-production. We often suggest a minimum ratio of at least 1:2 (filming days:editing days) to gauge the minimum time your project will require in post-production.
Click the button below to download a copy of our Majestical video production rate card, and see (as a BCorp certified company) our standard day rates for all our video production and animation services. Also, learn how as a small business you too could become BCorp
How to commission a video production company with confidence
Commissioning a video production or animation project can be a big decision for any brand, agency or charity - especially where large budgets are invovled. It’s crucial therefore that you have confidence in the skills, reliability and trustworthiness of the production company you’re engaging with.
How do I know I’m getting good value from this video production company?
There are three factors that in our opinion should be non-negotiable in your early enquiries with a video production company;
Transparent pricing: Is there consistency and logic to the pricing structure you’ve been supplied with? If you’ve just been given a cost estimate, ask for a copy of the companies rate card. Without a rate card how can you be sure this production company isn’t just ‘sticking their finger in the air’ every time they provide a cost (unfortunately this happens far more than it should).
Experience: Look at previous examples of this companies work and ask yourself: who have they worked with, what kinds of videos or animations have they created, do they have one specific style or have they a wide ranging portfolio of work, when was it last updated?
Testimonials: Is this company collecting and sharing their reviews through a review collecting service like Trustpilot or Google reviews? A reputable video production company or animation studio will be proud to share their five star reviews and would happily arrange a customer reference at your request.
Do you want to work with a high value video production team?
Click on the button below and tell our trusted video production team about your project.
Download a copy of our video production rate card
Simply add your details into the form below* and we’ll email you a free copy of our video production rate card straight away!
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Other noteable blogs in this series are “How to write a video brief” and “Three types of charity videos”.
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