To start advertising through videos like 2D or 3D animated explainers for video game marketing of your creative ideas, new launches or values that represent your brand, you need to make it professional looking and at par with your brand’s name. If you are planning for video ads like animated explainers, you’ll need expert professionals to do the task for you, and as for shooting real-life videos, even then you’ll need someone to manage all the editing, shooting and scriptwriting for the video to make it as interactive and eye-catching as possible.
The production cost range for making video advertisements can vary dramatically as the case is with most creative disciplines. This is exactly why there is no definite answer to the question, “What do video advertising creative ideas and video production cost?” Since the answer you are seeking is based on numerous factors it becomes necessary to look at them one by one to better understand the whole process and get the most concrete answer.
Before we move ahead, it is important to note that when it comes to video advertising, the budget is not a limitation as long as the end product conveys the message clearly and the video reaches the target audience. So, if you are a small business and thinking that you’ll have to invest a huge amount in the production cost of expert-level video advertising, you are wrong. Even low budget films can get really popular if they are creative. Check out this Frijoles & Frescas Tacos video. This video gained about 5M views on Youtube. It wasn’t an animated explainer and didn’t involve any expert-level editing. The only thing it had was the shop owner’s creativity, who released the CCTV footage of a burglary at his shop with funny captions.
Before we move ahead, there is another pressing question that we need to deal with, “What are you missing out without video advertising?” The answer to this is simple: More potential target customers. It may not seem that obvious but when you add small video elements like animated explainers, snippets from real-life or a simple animation to your logo, it leaves a more prominent impact on your target audience. It creates a bond of trust and makes your users feel that they know you. Adding video content also means the better presence of your brand on platforms like Youtube, Instagram and Facebook. Adding those links to your webpage creates a stronger backlink network with only one-time production cost.
Still not sure? Read more about how google video ads help you boost your business.
Since there are so many kinds of video ads let’s take animated explainers as an example to understand these factors. An explainer animation is pretty much what its name suggests. It is an animated video with a voice-over that explains your message to the target audience. The voice-over may simply explain the things as the video slides progress, or the voice may be associated with an animated character from the video itself. While these animated explainers would need help from the experts as they will be your brand’s trailer online, the videos that you add to your blogs or youtube channel, won’t need that level of expertise. You can also go for a combination of real-life shooting and animation like the Carcassonne Launch trailer to create an interesting storyline.
As mentioned before, the whole process for determining the production cost of video ads is very complex. You can either hire video experts if your content is primarily video-based, or you can outsource your video ads through various digital marketing firms. While calculating the production cost and ROI every little factor counts. However, there are some factors that will play a major role in determining the production cost. They are:
Video length
When working with high-quality videos, the length of the video. The longer the clip is, the more work it will take in post-editing; hence the extra work required for the post-production editing, the higher will be the overall cost. Animated videos can be particularly time-consuming, which is why video production studios like WAYPOINT primarily start the discussion of video length when working on the pricing. In doing so, the studio can budget the number of animators and designers that they will need from the start.
Ultimately, the length will also affect the turnaround time, production schedules and storyboards. Which means as the length of the video increases, work required for the scriptwriting, shooting and editing will also increase, increasing the overall cost of the production.
Day rates
When working with expert artists, they not only charge you for their skills but also for the time they invest in the project. As you go up from a beginner level video ad maker to an expert, the per-day costs increase significantly. Unlike graphic designers and web page developers, whose whole work is centred on their computer screens, so they charge by the hour, the same isn’t true for video editors and makers. The basic shooting of the video takes very less time. Their actual work begins after the shooting when they edit the videos, add effects and animations. The day rates vary according to the skills level required, kind of details needed etc. when you outsource your video ads to production houses they give you an estimate on the number of people who will be working on your ad and the approximate no. of days it would take for the whole video to be completed and give you a rough estimate of the production cost accordingly.
Video style:
Another significant factor involved in determining the video ad production cost is the type of video ad that you want. A real-life video that has been shot using props or actors, will require fewer skills while editing and finishing. An animated video ad like an explainer, on the other hand, will require lots of work while editing and adding animation effects from the animator’s side. In fact, if you are planning an animated video with a high focus on details similar to this GUNDAM BATTLE: GUNPLA WARFARE game trailer, it will require a higher level of skill set from experts and cost a lot. The complexity of the video will also determine the number of days required for its production.
During concept planning
Concept planning involves brainstorming sessions with creative and script writing experts. They begin by outlining the rough idea of the video ad and determining the complexity of the video ad. The more complex ad would mean more work and a higher level of skill set.
At the pre-production stage
This is where the defined work begins. The experts review the materials and ideas from the concept planning and determine the type and no. of clips that would be needed for shooting the video. This is also the stage where the type of equipment required is also finalised. The kind of resources and types of equipment used also add to the final production costs.
The shooting of the video
This step involves the expert guidance of directors if the video is shot using actors in real-life settings. Factors such as the shooting sites, costs of transporting the various types of equipment etc are taken into account. The directors and video planners may also add a few clips that they might think will be beneficial. For videos shot using props, the cost of setting up the scenes and props is taken into account.
Post-production costs
Once the video is shot, it is ready to be compiled into the final video piece with editing and addition of effects and animations. This process is the longest of all. It involved the selection of best clips from all the ones that were shot and then adding the sounds from the interviews. The sound recordings are collected and compiled into single audio to form a story. The script is shared with the customer for approval. Once, all this is done, the experts create the final version of the video through editing and the final version is shared with the client.
All these steps involve several experts like scriptwriters, editors, animation experts etc, and the production cost is set after weighing the combined efforts of all of them in the making of the video. Production houses keep all these costs in mind when discussing the pricing of the video ads with you.
Thus it is safe to say that the bottom line for the production cost of video ads is that it primarily depends on the complexity of the videos and the level of skills required to finish the project.
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