The stage is set. You’ve decided that it’s time for your company to move forward with modern media and create new corporate videos to showcase your brand, your products, and your message. Now, it’s time to figure out the budget and the pricing. The issue is, however, that corporate video pricing can seem like a bit of a blind bet at times. There’s a lot of factors to consider, and the answer you’ll most often hear is “well, the final cost depends on…” Regardless of the fact that corporate video pricing is complicated, you can make some sense of it with this outline.

How Corporate Video Pricing (Typically) Works

When you’re paying for your company’s newest video to be created, there’s a number of specific factors that you are paying for. When you add up these small details, you’ll end up with your final price.

  • The MarketerConcept, Storyboard, Script, etc.
    While this job can be done in-house if you have the right team, you may want to hire a marketer with corporate video experience to help you nail down your message, concept, and script.
    Depending on their experience level, this could cost between $60 and $200 per hour. In the end, you should have a great blueprint for the rest of your project.
  • The Production CrewFilming, directing, sound, lighting
    Once you have a concept, you’ll need a crew to film any bits you plan to do in a studio or on location from your video. Depending on how complex your video is, you may need just two people, or you may need up to ten crew members.

    On average, crew members that have gear charge between $75 and $100 per hour. If you need any actors, expect to pay them anywhere from $50 to $1,000 an hour depending on their level of expertise.
  • The EditorGraphics, animation, stylization
    Every video will need some editing; some will need a lot more than others. Depending on your concept, you will want to ensure you have a great editor to work on the project.

    Editors are one of the highest paid people in the production process, and you may wind up paying up to $300 an hour for complex 3D work.
  • Equipment & Locations
    Renting equipment and paying fees for using any specific locations are two of the most expensive parts of making a corporate video.

    Cameras, sound equipment, lighting, and film can cost you over $1,000 an hour – and that’s on the low end of things.
  • And so much more…
    Those are the main base factors that you will need for every video, but there are dozens of other factors such as:

    • Sound bytes
    • B-roll footage
    • Narration
    • Sound editing
    • Translation & captioning
    • Hair & makeup
    • Catering
    • Video hosting & distribution costs

All-in-all, creating a corporate video is going to cost a minimum of $3,000, and this is if you have some in-house talent that you can use to work on the product. In most cases, a professionally produced three-minute video is going to cost at least $9,000 to produce.

Ready For Production? Consider Your Options

As you can see, there is a lot to keep track of when planning out a corporate video. From sound technicians to top-of-the-line editors, you want to ensure that you are getting the best quality you can for your budget.

When choosing crew members to work on your video, consider their:

  • Expected cost
  • Expertise
  • Typical style
  • Schedule

These four factors will immensely affect your overall project, so you need to be aware of these considerations before making any final crew member selections.

Another option to explore when working on your corporate video is to work with a video production studio that can give you a bundle deal to work with their team. They would provide everything from the equipment to the final editing team; you would pay a bundle price for all of their work. There are pros and cons to selecting your team versus working with a team that regularly makes videos together. Depending on your budget and the video production assets available in your area, choose the option that will give you the most quality for every dollar spent.

Always Plan In Advance

No matter which path you choose to follow when it comes to optimizing the corporate video costs you will be facing as a company, the key point is that you need to do a lot of pre-planning. Your script, message, and goal are the guiding factors of creating a video, so keep those in mind while you determine how much you can spend on different aspects of video production. There’s no sense in hiring expensive actors if you don’t have a good script. Planning is the most important aspect of corporate video production, and any oversights could be incredibly costly if your team is not careful.