If you want to reach your audience in an engaging and meaningful way, it’s hard to beat video marketing. Unfortunately, that means having to pay for the video production services. You could keep it simple by using your smartphone and posting right to YouTube, or you could spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars hiring the most expensive crew money can buy.
In practice, your business should fall firmly between these two extremes. You need to spend enough so that your corporate videos exude quality and sophistication, but not enough so that your return on investment is ruined.
Here are the key elements that drive the cost of video production services, and some tips on how to keep yours reasonable:
The Length of Your Video
Because there are so many things to take into account for each video, every single minute can add a great deal of cost to your video. Cost Helper estimates that each minute of a finished video costs between $500 and $10,000. While it’s extremely unlikely that your video will fall towards the higher end of this range, it’s important to keep your videos as short as possible. Not only will they be less expensive to produce, but your customers will be more likely to view and finish them, too.
Video Cameras
A higher quality camera can improve the production value of your videos and make editing easy, but you don’t necessarily need something that’s top of the line. If you’re shooting something simple, like a Q&A or a how-to video, you probably wouldn’t see a huge difference in quality between a standard professional-quality camera and a top-end one. You could also skimp a bit if you’re using a video camera primarily to stream video online, since a great deal of quality is lost once video is optimized for the Internet.
If you don’t want to skimp on quality, consider renting your equipment instead of purchasing it. Costs are more reasonable for rented equipment, and you could even consider hiring a crew member or two to make production even simpler.
Additional Equipment
Your camera isn’t the only piece of equipment that you need to worry about. You’ll need to think about tracks and arms to get your cameras into the right position, microphones to improve audio quality, and the necessary lighting to make sure everything is clear and in focus. Depending on the type of video you’re trying to shoot, these costs can range from negligible to hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Like video cameras, it’s worth looking into renting your equipment if you don’t want to purchase it or skimp on quality. If you’re renting cameras and an entire equipment set-up, hiring a crew is an even better idea. You’ll need to rent the equipment for a much shorter period of time with an experienced crew than you would if you’re handling everything by yourself.
Amount of Editing Required
The process of editing a video is extremely involved. Editors must remove everything extraneous, turning your footage into a stylish, valuable video. If you had to shoot through many takes, this can be a lengthy, expensive process.
Another aspect of the editing process that piles on costs quickly is having to add any additional graphics or animation. Things like adding backgrounds to green screens or creating complex 3D animations can add hundreds or thousands of dollars to the cost of your video.
The amount of editing you have to pay for impacts your video’s
bottom-line significantly.
Lowering the Cost of Your Boston Video Production Services
If you followed our advice below and calculated the costs of your video production services carefully, it’s possible that you experienced a bit of sticker shock. Creating great video content can be a bit pricey if you’re only focused on end results. Luckily, with a little bit of experience, you can drive down production costs without sacrificing quality. Here are some tips on lowering those costs a bit:
- Prepare thoroughly. It’s a simple concept, but it’s true – the more time you spend prepping your video, the less time and money you’ll spend on it. Make sure you know each video’s purpose, script, and content well before you’re shooting. By making changes and tweaks before the cameras start rolling, you’ll minimize costs.
- Repurpose existing content. One of the easiest ways to lower the total cost of your video marketing campaign is by taking advantage of content you’re creating anyway. Record any webinars that you conduct and make them available on your video channel. Film training sessions (with everybody’s permission) to edit into useful instructional videos. Take advantage of speeches your executives make by filming and turning them into content.
- Use what you have. Extra costs like props, location permits, and actors can quickly balloon a reasonable video production budget. Use your own employees and equipment whenever possible. If you have a spare office or warehouse that can house your video shoot, take advantage of it. The less you have to pay for, the better your return will be.
- Consider budget before developing a strategy. As we spoke about previously, certain types of videos are more expensive to produce than others. If cost is a major concern, you can simplify your campaign by focusing on less expensive videos. Bring this up to your crew immediately so they can provide input on how to create terrific video content without spending too much.
- Find the right partner. The easiest and most important way to lower the cost of your Boston video production services is by finding the right local partner. Their experience will help you film efficiently and strategize with low costs in mind. They’ll provide the equipment so you don’t have to worry about paying for it. Most importantly, they’ll ensure a higher return on your investment by producing superior results.
Finding a local Boston video production services partner
is one of the best ways to save money and put it back
in your coffer.
If you’re looking for a great local video production services partner, look no further than Blue Wave Marketing. We have decades of experience helping local companies reach their audience with incredible content and strategic marketing campaigns.
For more information on how you can produce corporate videos with a great return, download our free eBook Optimizing Video for Epic Results by clicking here.
