OH Films writes:
Those costs come in three phases:
- Pre-production
- Production
- Post-production.
Three variables:
- People (crew)
- Equipment
- Time to produce film from start to finish
We like to compare video production to building a house. Where do you want to construct the house? Central Cambridge or Norfolk? How big do you want the house to be? What kind of floors, kitchen counters are you after? Do you have time to design the house yourself or do you want to hire an Art Designer?
So how exactly is video production compared to building a house? Where do you want to shoot the video? On the Westminister Bridge or in countryside? How many cameras and contributors? Do you have a story and script in mind or do you want us to create them for you? The list goes on.
Pre-Production Costs
Time
Time is money! The more time it takes to create your vision, the more it will end up costing you (usually). A complicated story and script take longer to produce than a simple voiceover and some b-roll. There are many ways to save costs during pre-production, and most of those costs relate to time. The more prep work you, the client, have done – the less time we need to spend on creating a vision and the less you’ll end up paying. But you’re busy. You have a business to run after all! All you have is a fundamental idea of what you want and that's OK. We promise you’re going to make a great video either way.
The pre-production phase can take up to a week or more in some cases depending on the complexity of the project. First, OH! Films director will meet your team to generate ideas for a creative concept – a treatment. Once you’ve approved the creative concept, we begin to prepare production documents.
People
Pre-production, in our opinion, is the most important step in the process. It’s where we work with you to get on the same page about the idea you want to bring to life. The production process can be complicated (expensive) or relatively simple (cheaper) depending on the vision, but regardless of the complexity, you’ll always need people. We’ve listed in detail the people involved in pre-production. Aside from the producer, what you will pay for the people involved in pre-production tends to vary the most.
Production
Time
A longer and more complex video shoot usually (99.9% of the time) costs more to make. A 1 minute video, with all other variables the same, will be cheaper than a 2 minute video. But a 1 minute video that spans the globe, and requires shooting at night and during the day will cost a whole lot more than 2 minute video that’s shot in your office with three lights and a chair.
Camera Operator, Assistant Camera, Audio Operator, Grip, Gaffer
There’s no action without working lights and camera. First thing’s first, you need a camera. Not all cameras are the same. Without getting too technical, there are cameras that cost £1,000 to buy, and there are cameras that cost £100,000 to buy. Don’t worry, at OH! Films we already have 4K broadcast approved cameras which we don't need to hire and that produce cinematic image for your company, therefore saving you money.
Post Production
That's a wrap! Video shooting has finished, and it’s time to edit the footage into something your audience will watch over and over again. Your only cost here is time – your time. It’s up to us to get the edits right and meet the project deadline.
The answer you’ve been waiting for...
For a professionally produced video, and by professionally we mean created by OH! Films filmmakers who do this for a living full time – not film school students or waiters with a dream. Every company has a different budget for different marketing strategy and sometimes hundreds if not thousands of variables go into video production.
Therefore we always recommend to let video production know what your allocated budget is - don't worry; we work to most budgets - but this will help us have an idea of the scale of production you're looking to have make. You likely don’t have the time to oversee them all, and that’s why companies like us exist, to help you achieve a film that will influence, inspire and engage audiences.
We should have mentioned this earlier: No matter how much you spend on video production, it’ll never be money well spent if you don’t choose the right partner for you. If you’re still interested in creating an incredible video please contact us. We want to know your vision, goals and it’s possible we’re the right video production partner for you.