Estimating the Cost for Interview Video Production with a Professional Crew
Hiring a professional film crew to assist you with producing an interview video for use in a case study, as part of a client testimonial page for your website, or for one of a variety of other purposes is an important decision. When it comes to estimating the cost for interview video production it’s important to understand the individual factors that figure into the overall cost including the length of the video, the film crew experience, and the talent involved.
When clients ask what to expect when they’re budgeting cost for interview video production, the first thing our team asks is a series of questions that will help us to determine:
- What type of video the client is interested in creating.
- How long of a video they want.
- What style of video they need.
- Whether there are any unique features to the production which could increase estimated costs such as drone footage, animations, or special effects.
These questions, and others, help our crew at Beverly Boy Productions to come up with an estimated overall cost for the video production. Without any real key details, we tend to tell clients that they can expect the cost for interview video production to be somewhere between $600 and $3,000 per finished minute. Since interviews can range from being very short (under 1 minute long) to rather long (about 15-30 minutes long) additional details are really important in order to accurately determine the cost for interview video production.
How Much Does an Interview Video Cost?
Producing an interview video is going to have some expected expenses that will be sure to influence the total cost while there may be some expenses that are less likely to figure into this particular type of project. For instance, most interview videos do not have special talent involved and instead focus on an interviewer and an interviewee – the interviewee is often a customer, client, or individual that ties into the video subject in some manner but doesn’t necessarily have a background in film.
Additionally, most interview videos can be filmed using a 2-3 camera setup and a small crew, but for a larger interview, one that has multiple people on camera, or when there are other film needs in addition to shooting the interview, the expected production costs are likely to be on the higher end whereas a simple interview shoot would have production costs on the lower end.
A short interview video, of between 1 and 2 minutes can cost between $600 and $6,000 to produce depending on a variety of costs related factors. A longer interview is naturally going to have higher overall costs because the production and post-production will require more resources and takes more time.
Actual Cost for Interview Video Production
The actual cost for interview video production depends on the individual rates charged by each of the film crew members involved in the production as well as on the rates charged for things like equipment rentals, B-roll footage, studio costs and miscellaneous fees. Below is a look at the various expenses or costs for interview video production that you should plan for:
- Video Director – $25 to $250 per hour
- Script Writer – $60 to $150 per hour
- Video Editor – $60 to $175 per hour
- Cameraman – $25 to $400 per hour
- Talent – $60 to $500 per hour
- Equipment – $25 to $100s per hour
- Studio rental – $100 to $400 per hour
- Narrator – up to $400 per hour
- Audio files – $30 to $1,000
- Video Rendering – $30 to $75 per hour
- B-roll – Additional 10% or more added to shooting costs
- Miscellaneous fees – $100 to $1,000s depending on production
As you can see, the cost for interview video production has many different variables associated with it and the list above doesn’t take into account the potential costs involved with animations, graphics, special effects, of the potential for expenses associated with other unique variables that could come up during the course of production.
How to Estimate the Cost for Interview Video Production
So, how can you estimate the cost for interview video production with so many different variables involved? You start with planning out the anticipated total length of your interview video. From there, you can estimate costs based on your individual needs. Will you require a small crew? If so, you can estimate your costs rather toward the lower end of the spectrum of the $600 to $3,000 per minute rate. Will you be willing to work with a crew that has less experience? Again, if so you might be able to estimate your costs on the lower end of the spectrum.
The easiest way to estimate the cost for interview video production is to have a good idea of what you need in mind when you call a professional to speak with them about your project. To learn more about what you can expect to pay for an interview video, give Beverly Boy Productions a call! We’ll estimate the total cost of production for you based on the individual project needs and specific details that apply to hiring our crew.