It’s the big question… How much does a video cost to get made?
After nine years in business and over 2,000 films under our belt I believe we have got our prices right in offering great value at a fair price (all part of our company values) with a refined customer ‘journey’ to make the filming experience easy.
Some enquiries are basically ‘what’s the cheapest price you will do a film for’. (Alarm bells ring when people use the word cheap- this is why). If a decision is being made solely on the lowest price possible then we will never be chosen compared to someone who works out of their bedroom with no overheads such as an office, professional insurances and an extensive equipment portfolio.
We have three main prices for a video:
A ‘video report’ (which is like a report you would get on the local news) is £380 + VAT. Here is an example.
A stylish and short website film which is perfect for a website homepage, or Facebook advert is £580 + VAT. This is an example.
A longer film, which is good for a company explanation film, event video, or funding / award bid, is £880 + VAT. Here is an example.
We also have a ‘non-profit’ rate for third sector (charity / volunteer / social group) customers where we reduce our prices by 20%. Examples of films for third sector can be seen here.
There are four other potential costs – travel, voiceover, custom music and graphics.
Travel costs outside the ten Greater Manchester Council regions is 35 pence a mile. So as an example a return trip to Birmingham is £59 + VAT.
The above video is an audio interview with voice artist Andy Hoyle.
A voiceover artist can really enhance a film (see our blog posts with Andy and Sophie about this, or the video above) this is typically £80 to £100 + VAT depending on the amount of voiceover.
The above is examples of graphics we have had made for customers.
Animated graphics are £50 + VAT for a short 5-10 second sequence (here are some examples) but regular captions and full screen static graphics are part of the edit costs.
Finally, we can ask a composer to create unique custom made music at £60 + VAT per track. A video usually requires a different track every 60 seconds to keep the video moving along. We typically use copyright free music at no cost to the customer unless they specify otherwise.
We aim to make our prices clear, just like every video is different so is every budget. Most of our film projects cost between £580 and £880 + VAT but one filming and edit session doesn’t necessarily result in one video, it could be a few (which means the total cost may be split in two, three or more)
Other ‘add-ons’ included at no extra cost are photography, brainstorming ideas before filming, and help with filming schedules. Our work is insured every step of the way with contingencies in place in case of equipment failure or staff illness. We can provide risk assessments too but, most importantly you are buying in to over 25 years professional and broadcast video-making experience.
All of our prices are explained in full here.
If you have an idea for a film and want a fair and realistic estimate, either call Carol on 0161 477 5621, email us, or use our contact form.
Author: Jonathan Robinson founded Bellyflop.tv in 2008, and started film making as a 14 year old and has now made films, broadcast TV and website video for 28 years. Jonathan is a YouTube expert using the platform since its inception in the UK in 2006.