How much does a video cost? How much should it cost? Not a lot these days. Video has made a major shift in terms of price point. A few years back you’d pay the price of a small car for a corporate video, now you can get professional video for a fraction of that.
Quality has also shifted tremendously. Where we used to shoot interviews with one or two DV cameras, we now work with three cinema grade cameras so you get a pretty slick outcome. https://vimeo.com/42529714
Is asking ‘How much is a video?’ the right question though? The lower cost of video has made it more attainable for SMEs and educators, but are we getting better value?
Video is a means to an end. We want brand awareness, business growth, learning outcomes. So how do we figure out what we need to spend to get those?
Instead of looking at cost, let’s look at our outcomes, for example: I want to improve my sales by 15% – how much would video content that helps me achieve that goal cost? I want my students to retain my OH&S program for 95% – how do I make that happen?
If we base our budget on outcomes, everyone gets better results. You get the outcome you need, while setting a realistic budget so you don’t set each other up to fail.
If you define success well, you can aim for a specific outcome. If you then ask for quotes based on those, you can get figures that you can actually compare. Personally, I’d go for apples because of their superior nutritional benefits but apparently the jury is still out on that one. 
If we quote someone for a video without understanding the budget and business outcomes, we’re basically stabbing in the dark. As we’ve learned from The Walking Dead, you want to do your stabbing in daylight. 
If we don’t define our outcomes, we incentivise lowballing instead of thinking along the same line as each other. Quoting like this creates an adversarial relationship instead of a partnership. There are no winners there.
Our aim is for our clients to be advocates for our brand because they love what we achieved for them. We’re interesting in long term success. That only works if happy with the outcomes: please help us make that happen for you by offering clarity.
If you want to make a useful comparison between video production companies, set a benchmark.
A good way to go about costing is to offer an example. For instance, how much would it cost to create a two minute version of this video if we shoot it in Sydney CBD? https://vimeo.com/121755357 When you benchmark the length of the video, the production value and the location you get quotes based on a comparable value.
If the quotes are in the ballpark, another important differentiator is whether you share values: https://vimeo.com/124278716 Shared values will tell you whether the people you’re considering as a production partner are the kind of people you want to work with. Being aligned in terms of values is the single most important factor in making any project work. No amount of tech skills and facilities will make content that connects; it takes collaboration between like minded people.
Hope this has been useful. And once you’ve got your video produced, here are some ideas on getting results from video on social media: https://www.huntingwithpixels.com/blog/tips-tricks/getting-results-social-video-video-embedding-video-seeding-video-placement/
When you’re planning on enhancing your brand with online video, it seems logical to ask how much a video costs. The problem with video is that video has a huge amount of variables. Take this example; we can shoot a simple interview style clip for say $ 800 if we use a medium level operator and a basic lighting kit. That will create a nice enough looking clip, and if the content is interesting it’s more than adequate. We can do the exact same thing and spend ten times the amount by developing a concept, using a high end director of photography and getting lighting assistant and a high end editor on the job. Which is the better option?
Or is it? Think about this; the adequate clip will get you some positive responses and will help build toward a set of content that support your brand. Not a bad outcome. A superbly scripted, funny, engaging clip that’s more expensive could go viral and land you a job that’s ten times the value of the clip.
Let’s check with that dutch fella has to say about it. http://vimeo.com/59872776
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