The short answer: most live-action corporate films we make cost between US$15,000 and US$75,000. Most animated films cost between US$15,000 and US$27,000. A year of planned films starts at US$10,000 a month. Where a film sits in those ranges depends on how many days you film, how many places you film in, who appears on screen and how many versions you need.
These ranges come from the projects Casual runs each year from eight offices in seven countries. For a figure for your own film, try our free cost calculator, which takes about two minutes.
Typical prices at a glance
| Type of film | Typical range (US$) | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Live-action brand, customer story or recruitment film | 15,000 to 75,000 | Shoot days, locations, cast, crew size |
| Animated or explainer film | 15,000 to 27,000 | Length, style, amount of custom illustration |
| Multi-country series | Scoped per series | Number of countries, shoot days and language versions |
| Year-round programme of planned films | From 10,000 a month | Number of films and cut-downs each month |
Most one-off projects start at about US$15,000. Smaller pieces, such as social cut-downs, are made as part of a programme or alongside a shoot, not on their own.
What drives the cost of a corporate video
- Shoot days. The biggest single factor. One well-planned day can give you a main film and several short cuts.
- Locations and countries. Each extra location adds travel and set-up time. Filming in several countries costs less with local crews than flying a team from head office.
- People on screen. Your own staff and customers cost less than actors, but need more preparation. A presenter or host adds a fee.
- Crew and kit. A two-person documentary crew and a full drama crew are very different budgets. Drones, specialist lenses and studios add to it.
- Post-production. Edit time, motion graphics, colour, sound design and music licences.
- Versions. Language versions, subtitles and cuts sized for each channel. Plan them before the shoot and they cost far less.
How to get more from your budget
- Agree the action first. Decide what the film must make people do, and the number that shows it. Spend follows the goal, not the other way round.
- Batch your filming. Several films from one shoot cost less than several shoots.
- Plan your cut-downs at the start. Short clips for LinkedIn and YouTube come almost free if they are planned in.
- Use local crews. They cut travel cost and know the place and the language.
- Think in a year, not a film. A yearly budget drawn down film by film usually buys more than one-off projects booked one at a time.
What you get for the money
Price only matters next to what the film does. For HSBC, applications per role rose 59% after our recruitment films. For Glean, customer films influenced US$116M of sales pipeline. We agree how a film will be measured before we shoot, so you can judge it on results, not views. See how to measure whether a corporate film worked.
Questions people ask
Why do corporate video quotes vary so much?
Because two briefs that sound the same can need very different shoots. Ask every company to quote against the same brief, with the same number of shoot days, locations and versions.
How long does a corporate video take to make?
Most of our projects take four to eight weeks from brief to delivery. Multi-country series can be done in about six weeks if sign-off is agreed early.
Is animation cheaper than live action?
Often, but not always. Simple animation sits at the lower end of our ranges. Live action can match it when you film your own people in one place on one day.
Do you charge for the first conversation?
No. Tell us what you need and we'll reply within two working hours.
Want a figure for your film? Try the cost calculator, or brief us and we'll reply within two working hours.