Just the FAQS
Here's a quick reference guide to answers those burning questions when you're planning your new video.
1. I need a 2 minute video – what will it cost?
Video production pricing is based on all the ingredients we will need to put into your project. Most basic videos include: planning; a field production crew; graphic animation; editing; and posting of your video. We’ll ask you a series of questions to help determine what elements you need. The more elaborate the video the more financial investment you’ll need to make. Think of it like building a house – do you need 2 bedrooms or 4? Is it made of brick or just vinyl siding? How many windows and what size? And, like in home building, if you make a major change to the plan after construction begins it will probably affect the cost.
2. Why do you need all those people in the crew?
When we estimate a project we’ll determine the most effective & efficient field production crew to get the job done right. A basic crew is the field producer, photographer & grip.
The field producer does a lot of the planning before the shoot. At the shoot they’ll ask the questions during the interviews & they may write the script afterwards.
The photographer determines the best location for the interviews, lights the subject and/or location & makes sure to get the creative shots needed to tell your story.
The grip will help haul gear, help set up lights & essentially help out in whatever way needed during the field production.
Other crew members needed might be: an audio recordist; a lighting grip; a prompter operator; a makeup artist; actors – each project is different. Each budget is different.
3. Can I produce the video myself?
Many clients ask this question. The general answer is yes, but we’d prefer if you didn’t. You may think doing it yourself will save you money, but in the long run you probably won’t. Here’s why - a video producer has years of experience in video project planning, years of experience in interviewing people for great answers, years of experience in writing professional scripts, years of experience in organizing field productions & years of experience in storytelling.
You probably don’t.
Our experience with self-producing clients usually means more work & additional port-production hours that we’ll need to bill you for after the field production.
Post-production time relies heavily on what we have gathered during pre-production & the field shoots. An efficient & experienced producer will acquire, organize & provide all the foundational elements necessary for a proper script & edit timeline. Believe me; we have spent many hours trying to “fix” a project done by self-producing clients who are trying to save money.
Things will be more economical & efficient if you just leave it to the professionals.
We do encourage clients to be a part of the process – in fact we wish you would - help with location scouts, find good interview subjects, out-line your script, and provide graphic files. Helping out WILL lower your investment. Doing the field producing yourself will NOT.
4. Why do I need to pay for music? Can’t I use free music?
There is no such thing as free music. You may think there is, but there is no free music. A good question to ask yourself when using music is: “Did the composer create this song with my product/business in mind?”- if the answer in no, then you need to compensate that composer for the music. If you don’t pay for the music you are stealing it.
Buying a file from iTunes or another popular music source does not give you rights to use that song for marketing your business. Elton John did not write “Tiny Dancer” for your kid’s ballet troupe.
We use a professional music library that is cleared for various uses... from website to social media to broadcast. Your music fee is based on what you’ll use it for.
5. Why do I need a professional to voice my video? Can’t I or someone I know voice it?
Yes, you or someone you know could be the “voice” of your project. Keep in mind - a professional voice-over person knows how to tell a story. They don’t read your script – they tell your story thru the script. So a professional might be a better choice to represent your company. This is something we can help you determine pretty early on in your project.
6. The estimate I agreed to is the amount I’ll be billed, right?
Theoretically, yes. If we use less time to produce your project we will charge you less than the estimate. And conversely, if it takes longer to produce your project the invoice will reflect that.
Don’t worry, we are pretty good estimators.
When you make a project change we’ll let you know if your changes affect the estimated cost - before we make the changes.