Basically, It all depends. And what I mean by it all depends is, You could probably find someone starting out on Facebook marketplace or craigslist and find some affordable video production ranging from $300 or so.
Or
You can go to an ad agency, A-List employee talent, and create a Super Bowl Ad for $20,000,000.
It all depends
I see the demand for video from consumers growing,
But from the consumers’ perspective, they may not always know what they are buying when they buy video.
The duration of the video has almost nothing to do with its price.
There are so many variables when it comes to creating a custom video and video production.
Here are some things to consider:
- Filming (do you need to film or will you use stock video)?
- Time and Location of filming (how far do you need to travel to film and what time of day?)
- Do you need to provide drone / ariel shots?
- How many clips will you include in your 30 second video? (is it fast paced or slow?)
- Is there a script involved? (will you be interviewing someone? Or do you need to provide voice over narration?)
- Do you need to create the voice script and come up with content?
- Will there be music involved?
Those are just a few variables when it comes to making a video. Wether it is 30 seconds or 3 mins.
You see, Wether you came across this article as a potential client trying to see what the price would be for a 30 second video or you are a video creator wondering if your charging enough.
It all comes down to this.
The consumer wants a deal and the creator wants the job.
Here are some factors video consumers should consider:
- What do you plan to do with your video (advertise via social media or use it as a video intro?)
- Do you have a deadline? If so, can your video creator meet them in a timely fashion
- Ask to see samples
Here are some factors video creators should consider:
- Do you have to film or will you use stock footage
- Does your client want drone shots
- How far do you need to travel to shoot the video
- Is the filming location private or public
- Will you have creative control over the video production
- Are you going to charge for changes to an already rendered video
Those are just some questions you’ll need to ask yourself whether you are the consumer or creator of the video.
As you can see, there are so many variables when it comes to video production.
Putting a price on a custom video is exactly that, custom.
How to price your work for video
Sometimes, you’ll need to price around, look at your local competitors and see what they are charging, find a medium and go from there.
Keep in mind, local competitors with a reputation will charge more, if you are just starting out, you’ll need to be competitive with your pricing, even if you feel your work out performs your competitor.
A good going rate for starters would be to just charge hourly, and set your price according to how much you feel you should be charging hourly.
Until you build a reputation and know exactly how much work will be involved in a project. Then you can charge per project base.
By then, you’ll already know how fast you can accomplish certain task and sometimes, a per project video will net you more profit than an hourly rate.
How to know you’re getting a good deal as consumer
Same applies for the video creator, do your due diligence and get quotes from local competitors.
Analyze there work and compare.
Some things to look at as a consumer is, the detail.
Ask about branding, ask about colorgrading, ask about copyright free music and stock videos.
Ask about quality and speed. These things will get your more of an idea wether or not the video is worth the cost.
Another thing to factor in, is equipment. If you hire a video creator to create a video for you and he is taking care of the filming, ask them if they will be using a gimbal or stablizer to stablize the shots to make the video more appealing to look at.
Or will they be filming off their smart phone.
Also, ask what resolution will your video be.
Bottom Line
Affordable video will range from $300 and up more or less.
This article will be beneficial for business beginners looking to get an easy video done or experienced video creators looking to make a job out of video creation.
Most high value production companies are charging $1,000 to $250,000+
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, someone on facebook marketplace may charge $300 for a 30 second video where as the company ford, hired a full production company to do their 30 second video and paid $20,000.
I can’t tell you how many times I’m asked that question either randomly with friends or more frequently from clients.
