How much does a videographer cost?
How much do videographers charge?
The answer varies, but in this blog post we will break it down.
As an example, let’s look at a typical corporate videography booking. A business will approach a videographer/video production company and ask them to create a promotional video to market and demonstrate their latest products and services, with annotations and professional branding guidelines. The videographer or video production company will calculate the overall cost taking into account a number of factors which are:
Pre-production:
Planning the video which may include consultations with clients (usually free of charge), choosing/finding filming locations, filming permits, creating a narrative, deciding on key messages and goals for the video, and the creation of any story-boards or shot-lists where required.
The cost of this can vary from £250 to £2500, depending on the amount of work required.
Some clients prefer to handle most of the pre-production themselves and simply use the videographer’s services for the parts that they can’t.
Videographers rates:
Videographers in Essex, London, and surrounding areas charge an hourly rate ranging from £40 per hour for a beginner to £250 per hour depending on experience and the quality of camera equipment used. There wouldn’t usually be a cost to hire equipment as most videographers own their own and will factor any related costs such as maintenance into their rates. Videographers may also charge a flat fee for a full day rate ranging from £300 for a beginner to £1500 depending on experience and equipment. For additional camera operators, you should expect to pay between £300 and £600 per day.
Post-production (video editing):
Video editing is almost always more time consuming than filming a project and the amount of time taken varies between projects. Expect to pay 1.5-6X the amount you paid the videographer. So, if their day rate was £350, you should expect to pay £525-2100 for video editing, this however is dependent on factors such as the duration of the video and complexity of the edit.
That’s pretty much it! When quoting for a video a videographer/video production company will factor in pre-production, the time it will take to film and the time it will take to edit.
Should you go cheap, or invest in high-quality services?
There are companies that will charge as little as £500 for a full promotional video (usually 30-60 seconds and a montage of clips set to music), and there are companies that will charge £2000 for the same service completed to a superior standard. When you book a videographer/production company, it’s best to not think of the cost of the service, but instead to consider the end result, what is the potential value proposition that a professionally produced video will have for you and your business, and also what the consequences of a poorly produced and cheap video will have on your business. It won’t have the same result and it’s unlikely that people even watch it, will they just click off if it’s badly produced? You have to grab people’s attention and the best way to do that is to go with professionals and save yourself the hassle and stress of booking an inexperienced company.
It’s almost impossible to find any service or product in any industry that’s good, cheap, and fast but there are a few companies that land right in the sweet spot!
Our team comprises of some of the most experienced and highly qualified videographers and professional editors in the UK, we are certainly not beginners, we use high-end, very expensive Netflix-approved camera equipment, and so our rates reflect this.
Get a quote
We provide free estimates and no-obligation consultations for all inquiries, if you would like to discuss your project and how we can help you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
You can find more video marketing tips here.
For more information on how to get started with a videography project, click here.
