One of the most common concerns with seeking corporate video production services in NYC is that it’s hard to understand what video production services cost, and how to get the most for your investment dollar.

Even if you have done a corporate video production before, sometimes changing a single important detail, or changing your production service provider, can throw off your grasp of the project budget.

Productions are like great big puzzles with individual pieces that can shift and change in size and shape. The pieces of a production can shift as well as the project information and direction evolves, or even due to random challenges such as inclement weather!

While all of these variables make it difficult to put an exact price on your next corporate video production, I will review the most common “puzzle-pieces” that affect the cost of a corporate video production service in NYC:

Production Time

Your corporate video production could be a number of things ranging from filming an event or presentation, creating a funny or inspirational video to play at an event or presentation, producing videos for training or compliance, or even filming monthly or quarterly newsletters for internal or external communications.

Basically, there are a lot of specifics to be covered for each of these types of videos, and those specifics dictate how much time will be needed to prepare, setup, film, edit, review and finalize your video or videos.

Team or Crew Members

Individual members of a crew each have their own expertise and focus, and you’ll need them all working together to get the job done right. A larger crew will obviously cost more than a small crew, but having adequate crew-members is essential.

If a production isn’t done right the first time, it could end up costing you more in the long run to patch up areas where your crew lacked coverage or were stretched too thin. What’s worse: you could plain and simply end up with a video that is nowhere near as awesome as it could be!

Depending on the scope of your corporate video, you may need any of the following team or crew-members:

• Producers to manage, coordinate, write a script or interview questions, and provide direction.
• Creative Director to oversee scene or style elements or uphold particular styling or brand standards.
• Production Crew including any of the following: director, camera operators, assistants and more.
• Post-Production Crew including editors or special effects and graphics designers.
• Project Managers or Account Executives to handle a variety of details and keep you on-budget!

An experienced corporate video production agency can help you balance your production goals with your budget, and recommend the best crew-members for the job!

Other Production Costs

Beyond the basic time and crew it may take to perform corporate video production services there are many additional services or above-the-line costs that should also be budgeted for.  Some of these can be easy to overlook when budgeting your corporate video, but are actually critical toward bringing your video to a more professional level stylistically.

Hair & Makeup Artist

If key corporate employees (Um, your CEO?) are to be on-camera, it’s wise to book a hair and makeup artist. The artist will help ensure your representative looks their best. Things look different on camera and these specialists will ensure your corporate image is top notch!

Wardrobe Stylist

For a corporate video production, it’s paramount that on-camera wardrobe be spotless, pressed, and on-brand!  A wardrobe stylist can either provide wardrobe selections to be worn on camera, or they can advise on what items someone should bring, and tend to the look of those items on set as well.

Talent

For certain roles in corporate video production, it can be more reliable and effective to use actors or extras instead of company employees.  If your production requires actors, extras, a host or spokesperson, or a voice-over artist, many can be found using online casting sites. While professionals add a bit more to the cost than amateurs, the experience and talent they bring to the project is worth the investment.

Casting

Actors or voice-over talent can be found through online casting sites, or by holding live casting sessions. Using a site is a lower-cost option, but keep in mind it still takes someone’s time to post a casting call and all related information, sort through and evaluate applicants, and reach out to selected talent to coordinate production details.

If a live casting session is held, costs come into play when renting a casting studio, and for your production team to manage the waiting room, facilitate the auditions and run film on those reading for a part.

Catering or Craft Services

If your production involves many people for a long span of time, it may be wise to include catering or craft services. Throughout a long day of focus and poise under the bright lights, everyone can re-charge and re-hydrate! The costs of catering will of course range depending on the number of people you are serving.

Post-Production Services

Once filming has been completed, and footage is passed along to the post-production department to be edited, costs may come into play when sourcing additional assets necessary for completing your corporate video:

• Stock images or footage: Stock photos, images or video can be purchased for anywhere between $10 and a few hundred dollars each, depending on source and license.
• Royalty-free Music:  Most videos benefit greatly from a music track as well as sound effects. A music track can be licensed for anywhere between $50 to hundreds of dollars. Well-known or popular music can also be licensed, obviously for a greater cost.
• Special Effects or Animation:  While this falls into the category of time, depending on what is desired, partnering with an industry specialist may be the best way to get technical animations created for your video.

There are many corporate video production services that should be considered before ‘locking down’ your final video concept and strategy, and hopefully this article will help you get started in listing out your next video goals!  Discussing all of your goals and project details with a corporate video production services provider can help them advise on the rest, and provide you with the most accurate cost estimate possible for your next production.