What’s the Cost of Making a Documentary Film?

Production costs vary for documentary films just as they do for animated features, movies, and corporate event productions. While the sky is the limit in terms of what it “could” cost to produce a documentary, the average cost of making a documentary film is generally in the range of somewhere between $1,000 and $10,000 per finished minute with the majority of films being produced in the range of between $2,000 and $4,000 per finished minute for this style.

Documentary filmmaking budgets are based on several factors including the quality of the production, the professional skills of the production crew, the complexity of the story, and the editorial input that is required to bring the documentary to life.

Production Quality

You want your documentary film to make a good first impression on your audience, but you also want it to be memorable and to stick in their minds long-term. The production quality will directly influence how memorable your film is. Likewise, the cost of making a documentary film will be influenced by the desired production quality.

If you want your film to have a professional feel, expect to pay more than $1,000 or $2,000 per finished minute. If you don’t expect top-quality lighting, sound, or even a professional production crew, then you may get your documentary produced for significantly less.

Production Crew Skills

Producing a documentary film requires several professionals to work together to create a working project that will effectively portray your story to the world.

Each professional has his or her own background and history which should include experience in the task at hand. From the Director to the Editor and the narrator as well as all others involved, you’ll pay an hourly or daily rate for the support and technical skillset of each individual.

Consider the following production crew rates as a baseline to help you understand where your budget is spent:

● 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

Each of these professionals will play a role in the cost of making a documentary film as well as in the professionalism of your finished video.

Complexity of the Story

The estimated budget associated with making your documentary film depends on the complexity of your story. A story that is to be filmed in multiple locations or that will require visual effects or special effects can increase the total cost of production.

Additionally, things like travel and paying for your cast and crew to travel will also add costs. Consider filming in a single location if you want to curb costs and reduce spending. You can also focus on reducing the input of any third party footage or special graphics such as titles or overlays and text in the production to keep costs low.

Editorial Input

The cost of making a documentary film often reaches a bottleneck when it goes to editing. This is because editing is a major part of the production budget and happens to be where the majority of the total production hours are spent.

Editing in post-production has a day-to-day cost that is between $500 and about $2000 per day just for the main editorial crew. Additional costs involved in things like multiple revisions or reshoots can also add up. This is why it’s common to hear about a documentary film that costs say $1,000 per finished minute versus a film that costs $4,000 per finished minute.

Making a documentary film can range in price based on all of these factors and several more. If you’re still looking for information on the cost of making a documentary film, give Beverly Boy Productions a call.