What is the cost for a 5 Min Interview Documentary Video?

What is the Cost for a 5 Min Interview Documentary Video? Production rates vary significantly between companies and between individual projects. Filming a documentary is no different. The addition of an interview can add a lot of value to your documentary, but it may also add a little to the bottom line too. If you’re considering the addition of interviews to your documentary, you’re probably wondering, “ what is the cost for a 5 min interview documentary video? ” And, do you really need 5 minutes, or should it be potentially longer, or shorter than that?

These questions come up a lot, especially when someone is new to the production of a documentary-style film. As a general rule of thumb, any style of video will run somewhere between about $1,000 and $10,000 per finished minute unless you get into hardcore animations and deeply technical special effects in which case you can quickly spend upwards of $20,000 or more per finished minute. Since a documentary interview is a relatively easy concept to shoot, expect to pay about $1,500 to $3,500 per finished minute for this style of film production. Many documentaries are able to be filmed for $1,000 per minute which would mean that you should budget at least $5,000 for a 5 min interview documentary video.

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Documentary Budget Expenses

So where does the money go? That’s another great question. When you produce an interview video for a documentary, much of your budget goes to the camera crew and editors that are involved in the production.

For video production you will need the following:

• Film Director – >$250 per hour
• Script Writer – >$150 per hour
• Cameraman – >$400 per hour
• Editor – >$175 per hour
• Actors – >$500 per hour
• Equipment – up to 100s per hour
• Studio Shooting – up to $400 per hour
• Narrator – >$400 per hour
• Audio Files – up to $1000
• Video Rendering – up to $75 per hour
• B-Roll – expect to pay a percentage between 10 and 50% of your total cost
• Miscellaneous Fees – can cost very little up to 1000s extra

Now each of these is the expected maximum rates per hour for the professionals listed. A documentary is typically not something that requires a ton of experience, so you can get away with hiring someone at the lower end of the experience spectrum and still walk away with quality production. Expect to spend about 70% of the above estimated total hourly cost for each professional involved in your production.

Factors Influencing Your Documentary Video Costs

Several factors are going to play into the total cost for a 5 min interview documentary video. The level of quality that you expect is a big sticking point. Higher quality production will require people with more experience. Likewise, you can get away with typically hiring some less experienced crew members and still get away with a nice quality documentary. Filmmaking experience really varies, so just make sure that you are paying close attention when hiring a director, the sound crew, and the editor — these are really what will make your video shine.

Additionally, the number of filming locations will also influence the cost of your documentary. Filming in a single location will run between about $1200 and $3000 per day for a small film crew. However, if this film crew moves around, you’ll chew up time on travel and incur more expenses with less shooting taking place. Keep this in mind as you plan your interview and do what you can to limit travel if you’re looking to cut costs.

Finally, the addition of third party graphics or things like music can also add to your documentary video costs. If you’re just conducting an interview, you probably won’t need music. However, you will need B-Roll footage. Expect to pay a percentage of your total shoot cost to acquire a b-roll that can be used to keep the audience entertained during the interview. Nothing is more boring than an entire interview that focuses only on looking directly at the interviewee on camera!

Still, wondering what the cost for a 5 min interview documentary video will be for your individual project? Give Beverly Boy Productions a call today! We’ll discuss your project with you and provide a quote that works with your budget.

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