What Video Production Costs Before You Book a Call in South Florida

We are Mile 1 Media, a video production studio in Palm Beach Gardens that builds monthly video systems and one-off shoots for businesses across South Florida. The question we hear most is the one people hold back on a call: what does this actually cost.

You can price a South Florida video project to within a few thousand dollars before you ever book a call. Our published ranges run from $1,500 for a testimonial to $5,000 to $15,000 for a commercial. Where you land inside a range comes down to five things: scope, shoot days, location, add-ons, and turnaround.

We shoot and edit these projects every week across Palm Beach County, and the same five factors set almost every quote. This article is a way to read a number before you talk to anyone, including us.

Key facts to know before you book a call

• Every price band we quote is published, so a ballpark is available without a sales conversation.
• Most quotes change on deliverable count, not minutes of finished video.
• A half-day shoot versus a full-day shoot is the most common fork in a quote, and the gap is real crew time.
• Aerial, licensed music, and motion graphics are add-ons, each its own line, not baked into the base.
• Rush turnaround and extra revision rounds raise the number more often than fancier gear does.

The video production pricing you can check before any call

Our full rate card is public on our video production pricing page, and the table below is the short version. The low column is the floor for a simple build. The high column is where a project carries multiple shoot days, several locations, or heavy post. Typical is where most South Florida jobs in that band land.

For a longer walkthrough of how these bands break down by project type, our guide on how much video production costs in South Florida goes deeper than the table can.

Where corporate video production sits in the range

A recruiting video, a culture piece, or a sales explainer is corporate video production, and most of this work lands in the brand film band. The number moves on how many people go on camera and how many locations we cover in a day. One office with three interviews is a clean half-day to full-day shoot. Four sites across the county is a different quote.

Why commercial video production costs the most

A commercial video production carries the widest range for a reason. A spot has a written concept, often paid cast, sometimes multiple locations, and it is cut to the exact specs of the channel buying the media. The paid-media requirements, not the camera, set the ceiling.

Five things that move your quote up or down

Scope is the first axis, and it is measured in deliverables, not minutes. A single two-minute brand film is cheaper to finish than ten fifteen-second social cuts from the same footage, because every cut needs its own edit and aspect ratio. A film built for your homepage and YouTube is one widescreen edit.

Vertical cuts for Instagram are separate edits, each reframed and captioned for a muted feed. We ask how many finished pieces you need and where each one runs, because that count sets the base.

Shoot days are the second axis, and they move the number more than any gear choice. A half-day holds roughly four hours on location with a lean crew. A full day doubles crew time and usually adds a second shooter. Two shoot days is not always double a one-day price, but it is the single biggest factor in a quote.

Location is the third axis. One controlled space keeps lighting and sound predictable. Three sites across Palm Beach County add travel and setup time that reads as cost even when the camera never changes. South Florida weather is a real variable too, since an August shoot gets built around afternoon storms and humidity on the lens.

Add-ons are the fourth axis, and each one is its own line. Licensed music from a library like Epidemic Sound keeps a video clear of copyright claims and is a small cost we pass through honestly. Aerial is the add-on people underestimate: a compliant drone shoot needs a pilot licensed under the FAA Part 107 rule, and some coastal or airport-adjacent sites need airspace authorization before anyone flies.

Turnaround is the fifth axis. A standard edit schedule costs less than a rush, and extra revision rounds beyond your package add edit time. That time is the honest reason a quote climbs late in a project. Our comparison of a retainer against per-project work digs into how turnaround expectations differ.

What video production services are bundled into the quote

Every quote on our video production services page includes pre-production planning, the shoot, and a finished edit with one or two revision rounds. What is not bundled by default is premium music, aerial, and heavy motion design. Naming those as separate lines keeps the base price honest.

Quotable: A video quote is set by how many finished pieces you need and how many days it takes to shoot them, not by how expensive the camera looks.

A representative South Florida example, priced end to end

Here is how a typical job prices out, using our real published ranges rather than a specific client. An auto aftermarket shop in Palm Beach Gardens wants a brand film for its homepage plus short social cuts, and books one full shoot day. We cover the build bay, two customer interviews, and detail b-roll of finished cars.

Glossy paint is the operator detail that shapes this shoot. Polished panels mirror everything around them, so we shoot the cars under diffused light or wait for overcast rather than fighting hard Florida sun that throws the crew into the reflection. That is why a car shoot runs slower than an office interview.

The finished package is one brand film plus a set of vertical cuts. Add licensed music and simple lower-thirds, and the project lands in the $3,500 to $8,000 range from the table, toward the middle for a single shoot day. Aerial of the shop exterior would be a separate $800 to $2,000 line. Nothing here is a surprise, because every piece was a line on the quote first.

Decision rule: if you need more than three finished pieces a month, the monthly content system usually costs less per video than booking the same work one project at a time. If you need one or two pieces a year, per-project pricing is the cheaper path.

When waiting to call us makes more sense

We are not the right fit for everyone, and a pre-call budget check is the fastest way to find that out. If you need a single quick clip for under a thousand dollars, a skilled freelancer or filming it yourself on a phone will serve you better than a studio quote. Our piece on when a cheap video quote is fine and when it costs more lays out where the line falls. We are also the wrong call if you want raw footage with no edit, or if the timeline is tonight.

Questions to ask any studio before you book the call

Ask what is included at the base price and what is a separate line. A strong answer names pre-production, the shoot, and a set number of revision rounds, then lists add-ons plainly. A red-flag answer is a single lump sum with no breakdown, because that is where scope creep hides.

Ask how many finished deliverables the quote covers. A strong answer counts them and names the aspect ratios. A weak answer talks only about minutes of video, which tells you nothing about the social cuts you actually need.

Ask who owns the footage and the final files. A strong answer is clear that you own the deliverables and says whether raw footage is included or extra. A vague answer about ownership can cost you later when you want to recut old footage.

Trust band

Written by Reagan Cotton, owner of Mile 1 Media, a video production studio based in Palm Beach Gardens serving Palm Beach County and South Florida. We write from the shoots we run and the analytics we review each month. Pricing in this guide reflects our published rate card. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Can I really get a price before a call, or is that just bait?

Yes, a real ballpark is available before any call. Our bands are published, so a brand film reads as $3,500 to $8,000 whether or not we speak. The call pins the number inside that band by counting deliverables, shoot days, and add-ons for your job. It is not a gate in front of the pricing.

What usually makes a quote go up after the shoot is booked?

Added deliverables and added revision rounds. A project booked for one brand film often grows when the team wants ten social cuts from the same footage, and each cut is its own edit. We confirm the deliverable count in writing before the shoot so scope changes are a choice, not a surprise.

What happens if the weather kills a shoot day in South Florida?

We plan around it, and the plan is part of the quote. Summer shoots get scheduled in morning windows ahead of afternoon storms. If a day is lost to weather, we reschedule rather than deliver a compromised shoot.

Is a monthly content system cheaper than booking projects one at a time?

Usually, if you publish often. The monthly system spreads one or two shoot days across a batch of deliverables, so the per-video cost drops as the count climbs. If you only need a video or two a year, the per-project rate is cheaper. The switch point is roughly three finished pieces a month.

Does the quote include music, captions, and the vertical cuts for social?

Captions and a basic set of social cuts are usually in the edit. Premium licensed music and a large volume of platform-specific cuts are separate lines. Vertical video is a different edit from a widescreen film, so a quote that covers both prices the extra cuts rather than assuming them. Travel for distant locations shows up as its own line too, named rather than buried.

Related reading

• How to Write a Video Brief for a Palm Beach County Business. The one document that makes any quote faster and more accurate.
• Seven Mistakes Businesses Make Hiring a Videographer in South Florida. What to avoid before you sign anything.
• Freelance Videographer vs Production Studio in South Florida. Which one fits the budget and the job you have.

What happens when you call

1. A 20-minute discovery call where we ask what the video is for and how many pieces you need. No pitch deck.
2. A written quote within two business days, every line itemized so you see base and add-ons.
3. A pre-production plan once you approve, covering shoot date, locations, and the weather window if we are outdoors.
4. The shoot, then a first edit, then your revision rounds, then final files ready to publish.

If you already know roughly what you want and what band it falls in, you are most of the way there. Book a discovery call and we will turn your deliverable list into a fixed quote.