VIDEO PRODUCTION BUDGETS

OK, so there's two ways to discuss a video production budget.   One is the "ballpark" method, based on how long the video is expected to be.  Nobody ever really proposes a budget that way, but since it puts things in perspective, we have a little writeup and a chart that makes it easy to quantify the variables.    We can also show you actual budget spreadsheets from previous projects (you can click here now, or click later at the end of this page). 

Full Project Costs

(per finished minute scenarios)

How much does a video cost?  Well, it's similar to asking how much a house or a car costs. The two-word answer is: "it depends."  Location, size, quality and specific needs all come into play.

In Corporate / Industrial video, it has become popular to give a "ballpark" figure based on the cost per-finished-minute.  While producers and production companies generally do not present final budgets based solely on how long the finished product is, this method does provide a good perspective.  This formula applies to projects of 5 to 30 minutes in length.

A Training Video will usually require fewer scenes per minute than a Marketing Video (which may have 20+ clips and numerous effects per minute).   The number of shooting locations has a significant effect on the bottom line, as does the need for actors, specialized shooting equipment, and editing time.

Obviously, it is not practicable to apply the finished-minute formula to the production of a 30-second TV spot (commercial), but several examples of these are included for perspective.

Next is a table of variables with a per-finished-minute cost, all based on actual productions.  All scenarios are for TV network-quality shooting and editing.

Video Production:  per-finished-minute cost chart

Now, if you'd like, you can click here to further explore some detailed budgets.

Or, click here to go back to our home page:  www.texasproductionteam.com