Should I Tell a Video Production Company My Budget?
Yes, give them a range. Your budget tells a production company which film to plan, so they can show you the best version for the money instead of guessing and quoting something too big or too safe. A good company won't spend more than the job needs, and will tell you early if your number won't stretch. No number yet? Send a reference point or a run sheet and ask for options instead of a single price.
Key Facts
- A 60-second highlight reel and full coverage of a two-day conference are both "event videos", and one can cost many times the other.
- A quote can start from a budget to work backwards from, or from a run sheet or list of what needs capturing.
- On one first-time webinar, the client's run sheet reached us within six hours and became the whole brief.
Why Do Production Companies Ask for Your Budget?
Because the budget decides the idea as well as the price. Asking how much a video costs is a bit like asking how long a piece of string is. A smaller budget might mean one strong location, real customers and a tight edit. A bigger one might bring in a presenter, recreated moments or a second shoot day. Both can be great. They're different films.
So when we ask for a number, we're asking which film to think about. It lets us work backwards to the best thing we can make with it, instead of spending a fortnight quoting the wrong project.
What Happens If You Don't Say?
The production company has to guess, and it usually goes one of two ways.
- They aim high. You get a quote for a film you love and can't afford, and everyone goes back to the start.
- They play it safe. You get a sensible, forgettable option, because nobody knew there was room for the idea that would have made it work.
Either way it takes longer and the result is weaker. Sharing a range is usually the fastest route to a quote you can sign.
How Do You Share a Budget Without Overpaying?
Give a range, a ceiling or what's been set aside. You don't need an exact figure.
- A range. "Somewhere between X and Y" is plenty. If there's a hard ceiling, say so.
- What's set aside. If the video is part of a bigger campaign, a rough sense of its share is enough.
A fair worry is whether a production company will spend whatever you say. A good one won't. If your job needs less than your number, you should hear that. We'd rather lose a job than oversell one.
What If You Don't Have a Number Yet?
Send a reference point or a list instead, and ask for options. Either one narrows the job far more than you'd expect.
- A reference point. Last year's event video, a film you liked, or something you made before. "Like this, but with our people" tells a production company a lot.
- A run sheet. For an event, webinar or live stream, who speaks, in what order and for how long. Duration is what changes the job most.
- A list. How many people or products, where you'll film, how long the finished video runs, where it'll be seen and when you need it.
From there, ask for two or three versions you can compare, such as a half day against a full day. The ways a quote can be split into options, and how to choose between them, are in why a video quote comes in tiers.
It's either working backwards from a predetermined budget or quoting a good, better, best version of what it could look like.
How Do You Get Sign-Off Without a Number?
Take the options to whoever approves the spend. They can see what each step up buys and choose for themselves. Ask for the quote in a form you can forward as it is, with what's included written under each option.
If nobody can approve any spend yet, some teams start with a short concept stage to agree the idea first, then price only the version they've chosen.
What If the Budget Won't Be Known Until Close to the Day?
Lock the date anyway and ask for a few options. For events funded by sponsors, organisers often can't confirm a number until late. Holding the date while you go back to sponsors with tiered options keeps the crew and the price available, as long as everyone accepts things may shift. Say where the video money is likely to come from, such as a sponsor package or the event budget, so the options fit.
What If Your Budget Is Too Low?
A good production company tells you early and plainly, rather than cutting corners to make it fit. When that happens, we'll usually suggest a smaller first piece you can build on, several simpler videos from one shoot, or a staged project where the minimum version goes out now and grows later. Sometimes the honest answer is that another supplier is the better fit, and we'll say so.