How a Full Service Video Agency Determines Cost of Video Production
Determining a breakdown of the total costs of video production can be mind-boggling and downright confusing to someone that’s never managed a video project before.
However, this is a big factor when hiring a full service video agency to help you accomplish your video marketing goals. You’ve got to stay in budget, but you’ve also equally got to accomplish the appropriate tasks.
Check out this breakdown of how a full service video agency determines the cost of video production and your expenses so that you can better be prepared for the SOW that lands in your inbox.
Initiating the Budget Conversation
Nobody really wants to go there, but we all have to talk about the budget. We’ve all been there.
We’re talking about all of the great features we want to add and the tasks we want to accomplish, whether for a video project or something entirely different, and the magic question comes from the other end, “Just How much are you willing to spend?” What are you willing to spend on your video production project?
This is important to have figured out before you begin to move forward with chatting with a full service video agency about the next steps in the production project. Things you’ll need to consider include equipment rentals, quality, effects, and the timeline for completion — all of this will play into the budget.
Pre-Production Costs
Most full service video agency members will do whatever they can to keep pre-production costs limited so that they can work that budget into the production and post-production expenses.
Essentially, if you’re running a low-budget or minimal budget film, pre-production is where we want to cut corners if we absolutely have to cut corners. A full service video agency is going to do what they can to minimize pre-production costs by finding a set location and maybe having you do some of the scheduling or research work beforehand. Ideally, pre-production costs will be 20% of the budget or less.
Production Costs
This will tie up the majority of your budget. Whatever it is you have to spend, expect about 50% of it to be spent in production.
This includes hiring the camera crew, paying the talent for their work, and making payments for location rentals, meals, and things like lighting, makeup, costume, and sound.
If you’re working on a really low budget, there’s a chance that your full service video agency will recommend things like shooting in a remote, budget-friendly location and/or using their talent versus a talent call for the film. You don’t want to skimp too much on production costs because what you put into the film is going to dictate much of what you get out of it. You’re hard-pressed to find people to work for free, so prepare to invest a chunk of your budget here.
Post-Production Costs
What’s left of your production budget will go here. Ideally, at least 25% of the budget will be allocated to post-production expenses for your video.
A full service video agency realizes the importance of hiring a great editor and ensuring that there is ample time for the appropriate processes to take place.
While adding editing time may add to the budget, there are ways that your video production project can and WILL remain on schedule and within budget.
Just be prepared to discuss each of the impending costs with your full service video agency upfront so that you’re on the same page with them.
Conclusion
If all of this seems kind of overwhelming and scary, don’t worry! Creating video content is a huge undertaking, but you can stay within budget if you plan appropriately!
Call Beverly Boy Productions to learn more about how to create content within your budget. Whatever it is, the Beverly Boy Team is here to help you get started & succeed with your video production tasks.