What affects the price of a business video?

The main cost drivers

When two quotes for “a 60-second video” are far apart, the difference is almost always in one of these lines. Roughly in order of how much they move the price:

• Planning: concept, script, shot list, location scouting. A simple promo needs a call and a shot list; a scripted story with several scenes needs days.
• Filming time: half a day, a full day or several days. Every extra location or lighting set-up adds time.
• Crew: one person, or a director, camera operator, sound recordist and assistant. Each extra person is another day rate.
• Locations: hiring a space, permission to film in public places, travel between sites.
• Editing: choosing shots, building the story, getting the pacing right. Usually the largest single block of hours.
• Colour and sound: grading so every shot matches, cleaning up voices, mixing music under speech.
• Music: a track properly licensed for business use costs money, per track or through a subscription.
• Revisions: how many rounds of changes are included before extra time is charged.

Where the hours on a €790 promo film actually go

My promo film package starts at €790 for a 60–90 second film. It includes planning, up to four hours of filming, the edit, colour, music, and both a widescreen and a vertical version. Because I do every stage myself, I can be straightforward about where the time goes.

The filming is the part you see, and it's the smaller part. Before the shoot there's the planning conversation, the shot list and often a short script. After it, I review every clip, build the story, cut it down to length, grade the colour, clean the sound, choose and fit the music, then re-cut the whole film for vertical, because a good 9:16 version is re-framed shot by shot, not just cropped. Then come two rounds of your changes.

As a rough rule, the time at the desk is several times the time on location. Ninety seconds of finished film can easily be built from 30 or 40 shots, each chosen from several takes. That's what you're paying for when a short video costs more than you expected.

Which extras add the most?

Some additions barely move the total. Others can double it:

• Actors or presenters: fees, casting time, and usage rights that depend on where and for how long the video runs. This can cost more than the filming.
• Animation and motion graphics: anything beyond simple text and logos is specialist work, normally quoted separately and priced by complexity.
• Longer running time: a 2–10 minute brand story needs interviews, more footage and far more editing. Mine start at €1,400, compared with €790 for a short promo.
• Extra versions: a 15-second ad cut, a 30-second version or subtitles in a second language. Each is more edit time, though far cheaper than filming again.
• Drone: modest when added to a shoot that's already happening. I charge €120 on top of a shoot or €240 on its own. Flight rules can add planning time in some places.
• Photos on the same day: efficient if planned in advance. I add them to a video shoot for €90.

How to reduce the cost without hurting quality

Most savings come from your side of the project, not from the videographer cutting corners:

• Send a clear brief. Time spent guessing what you want is time you pay for. How to brief a videographer has a template.
• Film in one place on one day. Moving kit between sites eats hours.
• Be ready when filming starts. A tidy space, staff who know when they're needed and products laid out save more than any discount.
• Batch your content. Ask for reels or photos from the same shoot instead of booking another day later.
• Send feedback in one list. Gather everyone's comments before replying, rather than forwarding notes as they arrive.
• Agree lengths and formats upfront. Deciding after the edit that you also need a 15-second ad and a square version adds work that could have been planned.

Why the cheapest quote can end up costing more

A low quote nearly always means fewer hours somewhere, and the edit is the easiest place to cut. The footage looks fine, but the story is flat, the voices sound thin and the colour jumps between shots. You end up with a video you don't want to post, which costs you the whole fee, not just the difference between quotes.

Other hidden costs show up later: no vertical version, so you pay again for reels; music that isn't cleared for business use, so the audio gets muted on Instagram; one round of changes, then hourly charges; or files delivered in a format your website can't use. Comparing quotes line by line against the list above shows you what's missing.

Expensive isn't automatically better either. A large agency quote includes project managers and overheads that a small business often doesn't need, which I compare honestly in freelance videographer or agency. My full list, with what each package includes, is on the prices page.