How much does it typically cost to produce a commercial video for a small business?

Production is scalable…

This is what we tell all of our clients. Costs depend on the number of crew required, gear rentals, number of shoot days, and post production (editing, color grade, audio mixing, and music licensing).

Here are a few examples of Plot Line Media’s work to to help illustrate the differences in production costs.

One man band (low end)

Quick social spots can cost about $1,500–$4,500. Here is a story we did for Habitat for Humanity. Chris served as the director/cinematographer due to budget constraints.

The approach was simply to do an on camera interview with the subject to capture the story in their own words. This, in turn, drove what the b-roll for the story. These productions shoot in one to two days. They are great for show how your brand impacts people, solves problems and serve as a case study.

Small crew (mid-range)

The project below, We the People, relied on a director/cinematographer plus two crew members: an Assistant Camera person and a grip/swing to help with lighting and sound on the interview. This is a more polished end result. If the job is complex a producer may be needed to handle logistics such as arranging schedules, hotel and travel. These projects can run between $5,000 and $15,000. Due to more preproduction work, these budgets can climb quickly. If the story calls for a preinterview and then a script, more time is involved and costs increase.

TV or Cinematic Ads (high-end)

When going for a high end look costs increase dramatically. Most “cinematic” ads cost anywhere between $20,000 to six figures. Yep, that’s a lot of green. The project below falls in the $20,000 to $40,000 range. We saved money on this project by using the owners of the business as on camera talent and the voiceover work as well. This not only saved costs, but gave the commercial authenticity.

Major cost drivers to watch for on any production are script & creative/agency fees, crew size and shoot days, actors/talent and usage rights, equipment and locations, and post‑production (editing, color grading, sound design). These factors commonly explain why two 30‑second spots can be priced very differently.