How Much Does a Corporate Video Cost? A Guide for Small Businesses in Philadelphia
- Angela Wolf Video
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
When determining your business video budget, it's crucial to consider what you can contribute to the production versus what you need the pros to handle. Of course, the more branded video services you require, the higher the cost--but it's almost always worth it. Keep reading for the inside scoop on corporate video production pricing in Philly.
1) Freelance Video Operator Only:
$50 to $150/hr plus Gear
If your small business can cover post-production, then this option might be right for you. Most freelance videographers will charge $50-$100/hr for their time, with additional fees to use their equipment. That extra cost may sound a little odd, but it’s actually standard in the film industry for the production company to provide all the gear. You can either rent it from a rental house or pay the camera operator to rent theirs. To get an idea of the type of gear you may need to provide, we'll look at the example of an interview shoot: We would have 2 cameras, at least 2 lenses, 2 tripods, a 3-point lighting kit, a lav mic, and a boom mic... and that’s just the essentials. Renting that for the day would easily add $500-$2k on top of the videographer’s hourly rate. When hiring a professional videographer, it's crucial to remember that the point is professional footage. That means the raw footage will most likely need professional editing software to work with it. It may need color grading, sound syncing, and other professional touches to make it look as good as it is. So, if you're going for this option, make sure your team can handle professional-level behind-the-scenes support.
2) Freelance Video Editor Only:
$50 to $300/hr
Sometimes, businesses are able to film content themselves but need an editor to turn the raw footage into a video. Keep in mind that the experience and speciality of an editor determines their rate. Someone early in their career will be charging closer to the $50 mark. On the other hand, if you're looking for someone who can do a lot of graphics, green screen, flying text, etc., that’ll cost you closer to the $300 mark (or more, depending on how complicated the edit is). Unlike videographers, editors don't charge for gear rentals. It's still important to note, however, that editors still have costs they need to cover. Video files are large and take a lot of processing power. Experienced editors have to pay for high powered editing computers, large hard drives to hold footage, and pricey monthly software subscriptions just to be able to offer their services. When planning and making content, never forget that your video can only be as good as your raw footage. Editing is kind of like cooking: a good chef can enhance the ingredients, but they can’t turn chopped liver into a steak.
3) 3 Minute About Video:
$3k to $10k
If you don’t know where to begin for video, we always suggest starting with an “about us" video you can put on your website. It’s important that people know exactly who you are and what your business does--who better to tell them than you? Like the above, the price depends on a lot of things. Not only the quality and experience of who you hire, but also how many days of filming, how many rounds of editing, size of the crew, etc. The range for a fully-completed video, both production and post production, is about $1k to $10k per minute of video. Again, that depends on a lot of factors. About videos are the most popular type of video we create. Our typical about video is $5,000, includes 1 full day of filming on location at the client’s office, a 2-camera set up, interviews, B-roll, and 2 rounds of editing changes. Other production companies may like to do more days, or bring more people on set and that can add to the cost. On the other hand, some companies may keep things more bare-bones and cut down the shoot time. From years of experience, we at AWV have found the sweet spot of getting your small business's good side at the right price point.
Angela Wolf Video offers corporate video production services near Philadelphia, PA. Do you have a specific video question? Schedule a free video analysis call at bit.ly/callawv
