Technology has come pretty far since the time the light bulb was invented. We see technology reach newer heights everyday, gadgets get better and better, and man can complete his tasks much faster. From switching on your tv with your mobile phone to self-driving cars, tech is ever-advancing and we are making the most of it, thankfully. In the tech community, one of the most important things is videos, the most important way of propagating a message to the mass audience.
Gone are the days when all a company could do to reach out to their audience is use flyers and posters, and website ads as well. In this day and age, the best way to reach out to your audience is through video production. Making videos and spreading them on social media platforms is the best way to propagate ideas and opinions, and also hear what the public has to say. This is why YouTube has become one of the most popular social media platforms of today. Web video creators use this platform to share their views, opinions, and content, all over the world. Mass communication has become very easy, all thanks to YouTube.
Cost of Video Production
Video production is not as easy as it looks. Looking at YouTube and web videos, we might think that it may not have taken too much time to make them. But, a lot goes on behind the curtains to create and put forth even a 5 minutes video. Many also assume that web videos are a lot cheaper to make, than television or ad videos. But, that is not true. Since a lot of time and effort goes into video production, a lot of money is required as well. Therefore, in this blog, I will break down and tell you about the financial stature that is required for a professional video production. Let’s go.
You might be thinking, it is just a web video, how costly can it be? Well, you aren’t totally wrong. Web videos did look cheaper previously, since they were mainly poorly edited grainy things made by “smart” teenagers and various early adopters, who produced such videos in their basements. But, all that isn’t true anymore. Thanks to professional equipment and other tech stuff, web videos are of high quality that easily matches the quality of TV videos and commercials today, and web videos have to do so to keep up with the rigorous competition.
Now, saying that video production is cheap is like saying that you can save calories by eating in your drawing room instead of the dining room. With video production, it does not matter where you make the videos, what matters is how much content you are putting in the video and what kind of content you’re putting in it. and, it is a given that online videos content runs the gamut in today’s world.
How Much does a Video Production Cost?
To understand how much video production costs, you first need to understand what it is. Video production consists of four distinct phases, in which variables determine the final cost of the production. These four phases are as follows: –
Pre-Production:
Script writing
Creative concept
Meetings and research
Location scouting
Location permits
Production:
Video equipment
Professional crew
Specialty items
Studio rental, props, set design
Actors, on-camera talent, voice overs
Post-Production:
Transcription of interviews
Testimonials
Logging of footage
Graphics and animations
Stock footage and production music
Offline edit
Final online edit
Distribution:
Duplication
DVD authoring
Compression for internet usage
An industry rule of thumb states that approximately $1,000 is required for per finished minute of video production, for a high-quality presentation. But many believe that the cost comes to around $800 per minute for a typical 5-8 minutes video that involves a voice talent, script, and illustrating footage. But the final costing depends on what exactly you want your audience to see in the video for those minutes. The equipment you use, the type of tech you use to carry out all the phases of video production, and the changes you make as you go on, determine the final cost of your video production. The how-to-do videos where the major part of the video consists of the narrator speaking costs way too less, because scripts, voice-overs, and all that jazz are not required. The total cost of the video can come down as low as $1,500!
Key Factors Determining the Cost of Video Production
Listed below are the key factors that ultimately determine how much dough you have to dish out for making your video: –
1) Length of the Video
The very first factor that determines how much money you need to make your video, is the total length of your video. It is obvious that a 5 minutes video will cost pretty cheaper than a 10 minutes video. The irony is that a lot of time, effort, patience, and costing is required to make a short video than to make a lengthier one.
More often than not, a video’s length gets dictated by the context and platform where the video will be viewed by the audience. In other words, the video’s length is determined during the strategy phase and not during the creative development one. Since shorter videos are often neglected and not seen by viewers, they require a tight script, professional actors, and all the fancy shots to capture the attention of the viewer in a matter of seconds. A longer video does not require all this because the viewer will keep watching it anyway.
2) Filming In-Studio vs On-Location
A lot of people and content-creators tend to do most of their filming for the audience in their in-house green screen production studios. That is because they provide a controlled atmosphere, eliminating any kind of distraction and background noises. You have most of the control in your hand, but sometimes, filming on-location is a better idea.
The location you choose may often turn out to be somewhat of a character for the video story itself. When requiring to demonstrating one’s team’s hard work or the capacity of one’s operations, on-location filming is the best option. But, while shooting on-location, you have to keep in mind that the costs of permits are also to be kept in account, as well as the need for supplemental insurance.
3) Using Interviews vs On-Screen Talents
When you are shooting for a live-action video, the very first question that one may ask is, “who will appear on the video?”. Well, for the videos where the main aim is to establish a member of the team as the expert, the answer is very easy.
Other times, scripts might require you to hire professional actors and spoke persons. This ultimately means additional costs for the process of casting as well as fees for the on-screen talents too.
4) Animation and Motion Graphics
What you show on-screen in the video is just as important as what you want to say through the video. From basic text elements on the screen to complex 3D animations, everything is required to make the video appealing and meaningful.
Animation and motion graphics can very often be cheaper options than filming a similar scene with locations, actors, and props. A whole world can be created and the laws of physics can also be changed or not even applied, with graphics. Try to keep the script of your video simple and focus on the topic you’re talking about, and the cost will be kept under control.