W h y m ost companies a r e afraid t o make a video...

Corporate Video production  ca n  cost  a s   m uch   o r   a s  little   o r   a s   yo u r  budget allows. 
 
  Y ou   c an  borrow  a n  iphone , shoot  so m e  video   a nd  upload  i t   t o  YouTube –  a l l   fo r  free.  O r   yo u   co u ld  hire a  to p  notch production company   t o  write, produce  a n d  direct   y our  video  wher e  you’d  b e  looking  a t  a budget just shy   o f  half a billion dollars  wh e n   y o u  include marketing costs  a n d  Hollywood accounting. 
 
 Th e  good news  fo r  businesses looking  t o  engage a corporate video production company   i s   tha t   ma n y   o f   t he  factors  th a t  affect   t he  price  o f  a video   h ave   b e en  going  do w n   o ver   t he   la s t   fe w  years.  S o me  dramatically. Assuming  y o u   f i nd  a company   t hat  does great work (this  i s  a critical  fi r st  step   b y   t h e   w ay  –  i f   t h e  company doesn’t  d o  great work it’s  no t  worth paying  anythin g  for)  th e   fir s t  question   t o   b e  answered   i s   ‘how  mu c h  does a video cost?’  Ther e   i s   n o  simple answer  t o   t hat  question  b u t   h ere   ar e   t h e  main influencers   i n   th e  cost   o f  producing  you r  video.   I f   a t   t h e  end   o f   th e  day   y ou   a r e   no t  sure  wh a t   t o   d o ,  contact http://www.videorankingteam.com 
 

1. Corporate Video Production Expertise. Doctors, mechanics, lawyers, videographers…  what e ver  profession  y o u  care   t o  mention, experience  a n d  expertise matters   m ore   t han   a n y   othe r  factor  a n d,   al l  things  be i ng  equal,  yo u   d o  tend   t o   g et   w h at   yo u  pay  for .   Ther e   a re   m a ny,   m any  moving parts  i n   t h e  creation  o f  a video  bu t   a t   t h e  end   o f   t he  day  yo u   a re  paying  f o r   t he  expertise  a n d  experience   o f   t h e  key people responsible   f or   y o ur  video. 
2. Costs:  Yo u   c a n  pay $25/hour  fo r  a recent film school graduate  o r  $250/hour  o r   mo r e   f or  a  t o p  flight video veteran.   O n  average  m o st  production companies  wil l  charge   b etween  $75/hour  an d  $150/hour  f o r   t he  people involved   i n  key activities  s u ch   a s  shooting, editing  a n d  directing a corporate video. (TV commercials  a r e   a n  exception  whe r e  A-list professionals  ca n   b e   a n  order  o f  magnitude  m o re  expensive depending   o n   t he  budget.) 
3. Concept / Script / Storyboard –  Doing video  fo r   t he  sake  o f  video  i s  a waste  o f  money (although it’s great  f o r   t h e  video production industry!)  Wh a t  measurable business objective  ar e   y ou  trying   t o  achieve?   Ho w   i s   t his  video specifically going   t o  achieve  th a t  objective?  An d   o f  greatest importance,   d o   t h e  people creating   y our  video   h ave   t h e  experience   o r  guidance  t o  create a video  t h at   wi l l  help  mo v e   y our  business forward? Lighting, sound, framing  an d  editing  ar e   al l  important  bu t   th e y  don’t matter  i n   t h e   lea s t   i f   w h at   y ou   a re  creating  h a s   n o  value  t o   y o ur  intended audience. Like companies  tha t  spend $10,000   o n  website development   a nd  little   o r   n o  money  o n  content  f o r   t he  site,  ma n y  companies waste a lot   o f  money   o n  beautifully shot  bu t   ot h erwise  meaningless video. 
4. Costs: Expect   t o  spend  betwee n  $60/hour  an d  $150/hour   f or   a n  experienced marketer (does  i t  make sense   t o   h ave   a n  entertainment script writer  o r  video production assistant develop  yo u r  marketing script?)  t o  develop a concept, script   a nd  storyboard  th a t  serves  a s   t h e  blueprint  f o r   yo u  video. 
5. Editing/Graphics.   T he  editing process  i s  highly nuanced. Editing   i s   wh e re   yo u  create  th e  style  an d  substance  o f   t h e  video –  yo u  sequence  a l l   o f   t h e  available assets  in t o  a cohesive story  t h at  communicates  y o ur  key messages  i n  a clear  a n d  engaging manner. Editors arguably  sh o uld   b e   t h e   m o st  highly paid (and skilled)  i n   th e  entire process – quite  of t en   t hey   a r e   no t .  I  h a ve  included graphics   a nd  animation  in t o   th e  editing process  bec a use   i t   i s   o f ten  difficult   t o  separate  th e   us e   o r  importance  o f  graphics  a n d  animation  fro m   th e  editing process.   Som e  videos require simple graphic elements  a n d   som e  videos   a re  completely animated –  t h e  entire video   i s  animation. High-end 3D animation  c a n  run   i n   t o   man y  hundreds  o f  dollars  p e r  hour depending  o n   t h e  complexity  a n d  skill required   i n   t h e  project. 
6. Costs: Typical editing costs run  betw e en  $60/hour   a nd  $175/hour. (Complex 3D graphics  o r  key frame animation   c an  cost  betwe e n  $100/hr   a nd  $300/hr). 
7. Actors/Presenters.   D o   y o u  need   t o  hire professional presenters, actors  o r  models  t o  improve  th e  quality  o f   you r  presentation?   N ot   everyo n e   i s  good  o n  camera.  Yo u   m ay  need  t o  make difficult decisions  ab o ut   w ho   sh o uld  represent  y o ur  company.   I n  a broadcast commercial quite  o f ten   i t   i s   n o t   s omeone   i n   yo u r  company.  Ev e n   i n  a corporate video  yo u   m ay  decide  th a t  hiring outside talent  i s   t he  best decision. 
8. Costs: Presenters, models  a n d  actors  c a n  range  a n ywhere   f rom  $50/hour   t o  $500/hour   o r  (lot’s)  mor e  depending  o n  experience, demand   a nd  union costs. Special Note:  Thi s  factor   c ould  easily  b e  listed   a s   ei t her   th e   m o st  important AND/OR  t h e   m o st  expensive  i f   yo u   ar e  hiring specialized talent   s uch   a s  celebrities  o r   w ell  know experts. 
9. Camera.  Th e  quality  an d  flexibility  o f   t h e  camera  yo u  shoot  w i th   c a n  make a considerable difference  i n   th e  finished quality   a nd  editing options   f or   yo u r  video.  A r e   y ou  shooting   o n  a $ 500 DV camera, a $2,500 DSLR, a $10,000  Fu l l  feature HD camera, a $25,000  RE D ,  a $60,000 ARRI   o r   a re   y o u  shooting  o n  Film?  Th e  pace  o f  technological advancement   i n  film  an d  video  i s  breathtaking  a n d   t h e  features  a n d  capabilities   o f  cameras  a r e  changing weekly.   Bot t om  Line:  Y o u   shoul d   b e  able  t o   s e e   t he  difference  i n   t h e  final output quality   i n   m o re  expensive cameras.   I f   yo u  can’t,   t hen  it’s  no t  worth paying  fo r .   Yo u r  final delivery channel  w i ll   al s o  determine  th e  need  fo r  specific cameras. Streamed video  o n   th e  internet (where  th e  vast majority   o f  corporate videos  a r e  seen) doesn’t require high-end camera’s   t o  capture  you r  content  bec a use  a lot  o f   tha t  quality  wi l l   b e  lost   i n  optimization   f or   t h e  web. 
10. Costs:  Y o u   wi l l  spend  be t ween  $25/hour  an d  $400/hour   o r   m o re  depending  o n   w h ich  digital camera package  i s  used. Film cameras, lenses  an d  stock  wi l l   t a ke   yo u   wel l   ove r  $1,000 /hour. 
11. Equipment.  Th e   m o re  experienced video production companies tend   t o   h ave  a wide variety  o f  tools   a nd  equipment  o n   han d   f or   eac h  shoot.  D o   y o u  need a track dolly   o r  a jib-arm   t o  create a shot  wi t h  movement?   D o   y o u   h a ve  a high quality field monitor   t o  know exactly   w hat   y ou   a r e  getting (or   n ot  getting)  a s   y ou  shoot?  D o   y o u   h ave   a l l   t h e  necessary audio equipment (lav’s, direction mics, booms etc)   t o  capture   t he  audio  yo u  need?  Lighting  a n d  framing  ar e   e v erything   i n  video.  D o   y o u   ha v e  lights – lots  o f  different lights   t o  accommodate a wide variety   o f  shooting scenarios?  D o   y o u   ha v e  a variety   o f  lenses   t o  create  t h e  specific feel  y o u   a r e   aft e r  – wide angle, fixed focal length  o r  Cine lenses  f o r  narrow depth   o f  field, etc? 
12. Costs. Equipment cost   c an  run  a n ywhere   f r om  $25/hour   t o  $100’s/hour   o r   m o re  depending  o n   wha t  specific equipment  i s  required. 
13. Crew.   I f  you’ve  ev e r  watched a movie  o r  television  s h ow   b eing  filmed  yo u   mi g ht  wonder   w hy   y ou  need  s o   man y  people standing  ar o und  idle  o n  a set.   M ost  business web video productions don’t require  mo r e   th a n   tw o  people (and  sometim e s   on e   i s  enough)   b ut  depending  o n   th e  complexity   o f   t he  shoot  yo u   ma y  require a crew   o f   t hree   o r   m ore.   I f   y ou   a re  conducting  m a n   o n   t h e  street interviews  a s   a n  example,   y ou  need a cameraman, a sound   m an   a n d  a directer  o r  interviewer. Concept videos like commercials   w ill   of t en  require  mo r e  people   t o  help  wi t h   t he  logistics   o f   t h e  shoot. A field production engineer  wh o   ha s   h i s   o w n  equipment (i.e. field recorder, mics, boom pole etc.) typically costs  betwee n  $50  a n d  $75  p e r  hour. A lighting technician  ma y  cost  betwee n  $ 30  an d  $50  pe r  hour. 
14. Costs: Expect   t o  pay  bet w een  $ 25  a n d  $75/hour/person  f o r  experienced crew. 
15. B-Roll / Cut-away shots.   M ost  videos benefit  f r om   th e  addition   o f  footage  th a t  supplements  wh a t   i s   b eing  said   o n  screen.  I f   yo u   a r e  interviewing a business owner  wh o   i s  talking  abo u t   t heir  new equipment  y o u   shou l d  cut away  t o  shots  o f   th e  equipment   a s   the y  speak. Showing  th e  viewer  wha t   i s   b eing  described  i n   t h e  video  i s   mor e  informative (show  me ,  don’t tell me)  an d   al s o  helps   t o   ke e p   th e  attention   o f   t h e  impatient viewer. 
16. Costs:   T he  length  o f   t i me   a n d  equipment used  t o  capture   t he  b-roll  wil l  increase production costs.  Yo u   ca n  add  an y where   fr o m  10%  t o  50%   o f   t he  total shooting costs  i f   yo u  need  t o  supplement interview footage  w i th  b-roll footage. 
17. Locations  an d  production  tim e .   W h ere   ar e   y o u  shooting?  Ho w   l ong   wil l   eac h  scene/interview/shot take?Are  y o u  shooting   i n   o n e  location  o r  many?  Wh a t   a r e   t h e  specific requirements  a n d  constraints  o f   e ach  location?  A r e   yo u  indoor   o r  outside?   I f   y o u   ar e  shooting outside  i s  weather a factor?  I f   s o   w hat  happens   i f   i t  rains?  H o w   muc h  set-up   t ime   i s  required?  A r e   th e  locations close together?   T he   mo s t  important factor  i s   th e  total  amo u nt   o f   tim e  required  fo r  production.  Ther e   a r e   fe w  economies  o f  scale  fo r   ti m e  –  b u t   wi t h  good planning  yo u   c an   d o  a lot  wit h in  a specific period  o f   time .  
18. Costs:  Th i s  cost   i s  arithmetic.  T w o  days   o f  shooting   i s  twice   a s  expensive   a s   on e  day. If shooting extends  fo r   m a ny  days  o r   i s  regularly scheduled  t h en   mos t  companies offer a discount 
19. Studio shooting.   D o   y o u  require  t h e   us e   o f  a sound stage   o r  studio?   D o   yo u  need a controlled environment   t o  shoot in?   A re   y ou  shooting green screen   a nd  keying  ou t   th e  background  i n  edit?  Th e   us e   o f  a studio   h as   t o   b e  factored  int o   t he  overall cost  o f   t h e  production   o ne   w a y   o r   another .  Larger companies  ma y  include studio  tim e   i n   t h eir  shooting costs   a nd   ot h er  companies include  i t   a s  a line item