The Ultimate Guide to Budgeting Video Production Projects

The question of the need for video is no longer relevant. No, not in the sense in which you might think. This question is not relevant because all advanced business owners have already come to the need to create promotional video clips for their business. In turn, this need has raised a number of additional questions. What type of video to create? How to write a script? How much does it cost and where to get money for developing a video? In this article, we will try to guide you regarding factors that have a direct impact on the cost of your video.

Type of Your Video

The first factor that will directly affect the price of your video clip is its type. A simple explanatory video in the style of whiteboard will cost quite cheaply since in this case, you do not need expensive equipment, actors and shooting locations. All you need is a good scenario in which you explain your idea, and the video studio can help with the graphic component. But if you plan to make television commercials, then everything will be much more complicated. These are huge budgets and mountains of bureaucratic red tape. Movies with actors are much more expensive in production than commercials in which there is no need for actors to participate. A higher price is formed due to the fees of actors, make-up artists, and hairstylists, as well as the number of shooting shifts. With the participation of actors in the video, an additional human factor appears that delays the shooting process. This item will not in any way affect the budget for creating the script, but will significantly increase the budget for the filming process.

Therefore, the first thing you need to do is decide on the type of video, and also answer the question – will my target audience watch this? Is a specific channel suitable for targeted communication with my potential customers?

Where Viewers Will Be Able to See Your Commercial

The fees of actors participating in the filming of an advertising video for television are significantly higher than those of actors participating in the filming of commercials for WEB, promotional videos, and presentations. As a rule, the production of an advertising video for TV is 7% -10% of the total advertising media company budget.

At the moment, video ads on the Internet are the most promising both in terms of investments and in terms of return. The leader is Youtube. Showing your video on this site will be much cheaper than on TV (and on your channel your video will be available to your subscribers for free). And in addition, by launching ads on YouTube, you get the opportunity to target the audience. Darlene Florrie, the Adsy co-founder says that this way you can make a much better product by allocating up to 30% of the cost of rotation for video production while receiving a viral video and an additional audience for free!

What Shooting Equipment Will Be Involved

This item is directly affected by the movie script. Here we can tell and describe many stabilization systems for a dozen cameras, which can be used to shoot high-quality promotional videos. An important point is the lighting needed for filming and location.

If you need additional equipment, then you can either rent it, but be prepared for the fact that it will not be cheap. Or, if you contacted the video production studio, then all the equipment will be included in the estimate for the development of the video.

The Number of Shooting Days

If there are a large number of locations according to your scenario (well, at least more than 1), shooting shifts are divided by location and the complexity of shooting on location. It is possible to shoot scenes up to 3 locations in one shift or vice versa up to 3 shifts in one location. And this can only be determined by studying the scenario of the future video. It’s clear that the cost of filming a movie (production) is practically multiplied by the number of filming shifts.

However, if you want to create a video that does not require live actors, for example, draw a 2D or 3D video with fictional characters, then the cost of the work will be determined by the number of scenes that need to be drawn. And if you contact the studio, they will be able to make the most accurate assessment even before they begin your project.

Location of the Video Studio You Are Contacting

In addition to all of the above factors, the cost of your video is also determined by the salary level of specialists who will create it for you. For example, if you go to a web studio in America, then the same video will cost much more than if you go to a studio in Eastern Europe. It’s all about the difference in living standards. Take this fact into account when choosing a video production company. 

The Most Budget Option Is to Create a Video Yourself

To be honest, without special skills, you can create only the simplest type of video. It is obvious that it is impossible to shoot full-fledged advertising without the participation of a large number of people and specialized technical equipment.

However, if at the moment your business goal does not require investments of this magnitude, then you can easily cope with the help of special programs, the price of which will be just ridiculous compared to ordering video in a production studio. And it is possible that your movie will work, but of course, provided that you come up with a very cool idea, and the same cool way to implement it, even despite the template tools that you get when working with a program like do it yourself.

Conclusion

Speaking about the budget for creating a video clip, it’s hard to give definite advice. Moreover, it’s impossible to draw up a universal budget that is suitable for all business purposes. We recommend that you ask several video production companies for advice, as a rule, it’s free. The opinion of several experts will help you create a complete picture, assess your capabilities soundly and understand what you can really count on for your money.