Budgeting for a Brand Video:
What does a professional corporate video include?
Brand videos are a great way to tell your unique story, increase brand awareness, connect with new audiences, and make a memorable impact on your clientele. When you're ready to create a brand video, the first step is knowing what goes into a professional corporate video's budget. By understanding the various creative and strategic factors involved in conceptualizing, producing, and editing a video, you can develop a way forward that maximizes your budget. In this article, we'll unpack what goes into creating a professional brand video so that you can understand how your funds will be allocated throughout the project.
Creating a commercial or corporate video entails three phases. These include the pre-production phase, where the concept for the brand video is created, the production phase where the brand video is filmed, and the post-production phase where the brand video is edited. A project management team will be assembled to ensure that every aspect of all three phases run smoothly and that your brand video is delivered on time and within your budget.
Professional Planning in Pre-Production
The pre-production phase is where the creative team brainstorms ideas and creates a killer concept for your brand video. This initial process can be extensive and often includes a strategy session with all stakeholders so the video production company you're working with can ensure that the concept is perfectly aligned with your vision.
At Skylight Productions, we typically start with a phone call with our clients to outline the basics of the video you’re looking to create. Our discussion includes a rough idea of what elements will be involved in production including how many hours of live action filming we’ll need, and the complexity of animations, motion design, or 360 video, if necessary. We use this information to work out the budget for your project.
Creating a treatment is usually the next step. At Skylight Productions, we refer to this as our Creative Outline. The Creative Outline details the key messaging, content, tone and visual style for each video. This comprehensive guide will help the team stay on track throughout production.
Skylight Productions emphasizes consistent communication throughout the process, ensuring that our clients stay in the loop on all aspects of production. We take time to become a trusted and reliable partner to our clients, focusing on understanding your brand, your unique message, and your marketing strategies. This is why, unlike some video production companies who only allow their clients to see the final product when editing is complete, we offer opportunities for our clients to review the concept during pre-production so we always remain on the same page.
The production schedule will be created by professional video producers who are trained to establish the number of shoot days required, manage timelines, and ensure that deadlines are met, paperwork is completed, and everything is ready for the team of production experts to complete their jobs to the best of their ability.
Producers are also responsible for risk management, ensuring that safety requirements such as insurance on all equipment are in place. Your budget may also include an 'overheads' or insurance line item to make sure you have enough money put aside in case of accidental damages or theft. In this case, insurance companies often only require the excess to be covered, which is why it's crucial that you work with an experienced video production company that will see to it that all of these important details are taken care of before filming begins. At Skylight, we carry hefty production insurance for liability, and accidental damage to locations and equipment, ensuring that our clients and crew always have peace of mind.
An Extra-ordinary Video is all in the Detail
During this time, funds are allocated for essential creative services such as conceptualization, storyboarding, scriptwriting, talent recruitment, and location scouting.
Scriptwriting is a critical component of brand videos because the story you want to tell must be clear, concise, and engaging. A powerful script will capture your brand's voice and appeal directly to your target audience. This is arguably the most important part of pre-production, as it will determine your corporate video's overall messaging and what visuals will be needed to support it.
Once the script is revised and confirmed, your team will develop a storyboard, which is a series of images that illustrate each scene in the brand video. This will help the director and crew understand how the video should be shot and what angles to use.
The next step is casting and location scouting (i.e., finding the best possible locations in which to film your brand video). Your production team may need to hire professional actors depending on your concept. Your video production company will have a vast network of talent scouts and agencies that they work with to find the perfect talent for your brand video.
Location scouting is essential to determine which locations will be used in the brand video and whether or not permits are required. The last thing you want is to get shut down by the police in the middle of filming! This can entail permit costs or a location fee. If you're shooting on location, you'll need to factor in travel costs, and if you're shooting at a remote or out-of-town location, your budget will include hospitality, and potentially accommodation costs too. Each of these elements includes a host of considerations, such as a car or van that will accommodate your crew.
Meals on set are also mandatory, so your budget will also need to include water, snacks, and a meal for the crew. The producer will be responsible for planning all of these logistics right down to the very last detail, including confirming the crew's dietary requirements to ensure that meals accommodate their preferences.
Once all the logistics are squared away, it's time to start filming!
Bringing your Brand to Life in the Production Phase
Once pre-production is complete, it's time for the production phase - where all the magic happens! Funds are allocated to equipment rental, crew wages, talent fees, set design and construction, and props if needed. Depending on the number of shoot days you need to complete your brand video, your budget will have to accommodate the above-mentioned line items for each day of filming.
The production phase is when a corporate video is actually filmed. Skylight Productions has an in-house video director who is responsible for working with the talent to ensure they understand their motivations and deliver a performance that best tells your brand's story. Our director is involved from the pre-production phase and will have met with you to discuss the creative vision at length. A video director has mastered both the creative and technical aspects of video production. They have a general understanding of all production areas and can lead a production crew with confidence on set. A portion of your budget will go towards securing an experienced director who is able to analyze the script and perform the necessary work to realize your vision.
A director will work with a highly skilled camera operator or cinematographer to capture footage that brings the storyboard to life. Some videos only need one camera, while larger productions might need anywhere from two to six cameras to capture different angles and action. Your camera person will have seen the brief beforehand and informed the producer which cameras and equipment will be needed to achieve the best possible outcome. Camera equipment is not just about the camera itself but also includes lenses, tripods, dollies, filters, and related accessories. The location, time of day your shoot takes place, and any advanced shots or movements will determine any specialized camera equipment your budget will need to cover.
Lighting is also critical for a high-quality brand video - it can essentially make or break the quality of footage you receive. Good lighting will help to create a polished and professional look. Professional lighting equipment is a non-negotiable expense that will need to be included in your budget. A professional lighting team will ensure that each scene is illuminated perfectly, which will minimize unnecessary correction work in the post-production/editing phase. Depending on your brand video's requirements, lighting can entail building custom rigs or installing and operating lights in difficult-to-reach places, so it's vital that you have enough budget to hire professionals who know how to achieve this safely and efficiently.
A sound technician will record high-quality audio that complements the visuals and tells the story effectively. Sound is often overlooked, but it's one of the most important elements of a brand video - after all, you can't have a great video without great sound! The on-set sound captured is different from the music and sound effects added during the post-production phase. Professional sound equipment such as microphones, mixers, and wireless lavs are essential for capturing clear audio. Your budget should account for enough microphones for each individual in the video, and wireless mics are standard to ensure that you don't see any messy wires in the shot.
In addition to the director and camera operator, a brand video production might also require a hair and makeup artist, set designer, construction crew (if building sets), grip (responsible for set up and take down), assistant director, production coordinator, and production assistants.
On average, brand videos take one to two days to film. But depending on the size and scope of your project, it could take longer as the producer will also need to factor in the time it takes to set up and break down each scene.
Post-Production: The Final Touch
Once filming wraps, it's off to the editing suite! This is where all the footage is cut together, and a final product is created. The editor will use their creative skills to craft an engaging brand video that tells your brand’s story and meets all the objectives that were set out in the brief.
Editing is a complex and often time-consuming process, so it's essential to factor in the cost of the editor's time when putting together a brand video budget. Some video production companies outsource their editing. In this case, your budget might need to cover the costs of hiring out the edit suite as well as the editor's daily or weekly rates. Depending on the complexity of your brand video, post-production usually take a few weeks to complete.
The video editor will have their own overhead costs that include access to powerful editing software and sound libraries, but you will potentially need to foot the bill for any additional plugins or specialized software that might be required to complete the project and hardware such as durable hard drives on which to store and backup your footage.
A video production company will usually have a dedicated post-production team responsible for creating the final brand video. This team will piece together the footage in an engaging and visually appealing way, source and create motion graphics, add sound effects and music, and color correct and grade the footage until it looks perfect.
Some projects will require two separate editors or edit teams - an offline editor and an online editor - which doesn't really have anything to do with the internet. The offline edit process involves the assembly of all the shots and rough cuts into a cohesive piece, after which the project is exported for the online editor to finalize sound and music and finesse the cut. The director might need to be hired to sit with the offline editor to view rough cuts (drafts of the final piece) and make changes before it's ready for you to review.
Engaging music that conjures emotions is a core element of brand videos and can make or break the overall feel and tone. It can be one of the most expensive aspects of post-production, so your budget should factor in the cost of a good sound designer. The editing team will have access to ready-to-use music from professional sound libraries. You'll need to pay for the rights to use this music and, depending on where your video will be played and how wide the distribution will be, the cost of licensing your music can range from a few dollars to thousands of dollars. The sound designer will then mix this music with the other audio elements (sound effects and dialogue) to create a final sound mix.
Motion graphics and special effects such as using a green screen can bring brand videos to life and help them stand out from the crowd. But this kind of work takes time and valuable resources. Creating motion graphics typically requires software such as Adobe After Effects, which can be expensive for video production companies and editors to license. So, if your brand video includes any animation or special effects, this must be worked into your budget from the outset.
Finally, depending on what style you choose for your brand video, you might need a professional voiceover artist to record audio that helps deliver your brand's message. The director, producer, or editor will work with the voiceover artist to ensure that the audio is perfectly synced with the visuals. This is another cost that you'll need to factor in when budgeting for your brand video.
Brand videos typically require a few rounds of revisions to get it just right, so your budget should account for the cost of additional rounds of editing, as well as the time it takes for you to review the drafts and provide feedback.
Depending on your distribution and marketing plan, the editor will export your brand video in the correct format for upload. If you're planning to post your brand video on social media, most video production companies will provide an optimized version for online playback. If you need your video in multiple formats, or to be delivered on a USB drive or hard drive, then you'll need to specify this in your budget.
Our Final Thoughts on Corporate Video Budgets
If you're considering investing in a brand video, remember that quality is key. But that doesn't mean you have to break the bank to produce a high-end video. By working closely with a video production company and being realistic about your budget, you can create a high-effective brand video that won’t put you under financial strain.
When putting together a brand video budget, it's important to remember that you get what you pay for. By investing in a professional team of filmmakers and editors, you can be assured that your brand video will have a polished, high-quality aesthetic that will help to elevate your company and brand.
Including all of the aspects we've mentioned in your brand video budget can seem daunting. Still, it's important to remember that a professional corporate video production company will be able to take care of all of these elements on your behalf. By taking the time to plan and budget for every stage of production, your video production company is ensuring that you have the best chance possible of an on-time, on-budget delivery.
The reality is that without a professional team overseeing the process from concept to final delivery, the costs involved in producing an exceptional brand video can add up quickly. However, it's important to remember that a brand video is a powerful marketing tool that can help your business reach new heights. When executed professionally, a brand video has the potential to generate leads, drive website traffic, and increase brand awareness.
Your video is a direct reflection of the brand you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into building so you’ll want to work with a production company that is as dedicated to protecting and elevating your brand as you are. Don't be afraid to invest in a quality video production company and let them help you create an engaging and memorable brand video that will help take your business to the next level.
If you're looking for some inspiration, check out Skylight Productions Our Work page for examples of successful brand videos we've created for our clients. And if you have any questions or would like a quote for your own project, feel free to get in touch with our team of experts today!