Video production questions, answered straight

Everything below is what we actually tell people on a first call. Prices are the same ones published on the pricing page. Where the honest answer is "it depends", we say what it depends on instead of leaving it there.

Cost

What things cost, and what moves the number

What does a video actually cost?

It depends on the format, and the ranges are published rather than quoted on request. Commercials and ad spots run $5,000 to $15,000. Brand films run $3,500 to $8,000. Event coverage runs $3,500 to $7,000. Testimonials run $1,500 to $3,500. Monthly content is $3,200 to $6,500 per month. Those are scoped to output, not day rates.

Why is there a range instead of one price?

Three things move a project inside its range: crew size, shoot days, and how much post-production the piece needs. A single-camera interview in one room and a three-location brand film with motion graphics are both brand films. They are not the same job.

Do you charge by the day?

No. Day rates reward slow shooting and punish efficient ones. Projects are scoped to what gets delivered, so if we finish the shot list early that is our problem to have solved, not an invoice reduction to negotiate.

Is there a rush fee?

Yes, for anything under two weeks. A rush booking means reordering work already promised to other clients, so it carries a surcharge. Four weeks or more of lead time gets the standard rate.

What is not included in the quote?

Licensed music beyond our standard library, paid talent, location fees, permits with a hard cost, and travel outside South Florida are quoted separately and shown as line items. Nothing gets added after the fact without a conversation first.

Is a retainer cheaper than one-off projects?

Per asset, usually yes, because one or two shoot days produce a month of content and the setup cost is spread across everything shot that day. Per month it is a larger commitment. If you need three videos a year, a retainer is the wrong product and we will say so.

Timeline

How long things take

How long from first call to finished video?

The variable is not shoot length, it is decision cycles. A single-day shoot with one approver typically runs two to three weeks from brief to delivery. The same shoot with a committee, legal review, or a regulated claim to clear runs six to eight. Event work is faster on the edit and slower on the planning.

How far ahead do we need to book?

Two to four weeks is comfortable for a standard shoot. Events need longer because the date is fixed and we cannot move it if the calendar is full. Aerial work in controlled airspace needs the most lead time, because authorisation is not instant.

How many rounds of revisions do we get?

Two rounds are included in every project. In practice most work finishes inside one, because the shot list and the edit direction are agreed before the camera comes out. Extra rounds are billed hourly, and we will tell you when a request has crossed from revision into new scope.

What slows a project down most?

Feedback arriving in pieces from several people over several days. One consolidated set of notes per round is the single biggest thing a client controls, and it usually saves more time than anything we do on our end.

Coverage and logistics

Where we shoot and what we bring

What areas do you cover without a travel charge?

Palm Beach County, Broward County and Miami-Dade run on the same crew rate from our base in Palm Beach Gardens, as does Stuart and the Treasure Coast. Orlando and Tampa Bay are travel markets, usually booked as a block of shoot days so the crew and gear move once.

Do you handle permits and location access?

We handle the production side: scouting, load-in planning, and the paperwork a municipality or facility requires from a crew. Fees charged by a venue, a city or a port are passed through at cost. Private property access is usually faster if it comes from you.

Are you licensed to fly drones?

Yes, FAA-licensed. The constraint on an aerial shoot is rarely distance, it is airspace. Broward carries the densest controlled airspace in our service area because of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and Executive, and authorisation there takes lead time a Palm Beach shoot usually does not.

Are you insured?

Yes. Most commercial buildings, hospitals and event venues will ask for a certificate of insurance naming them before a crew is allowed on site. Tell us who needs to be named and we will have it issued before the shoot date rather than on the morning of it.

Deliverables and ownership

What you get, and what you own

Who owns the finished video?

You do. Delivered files are yours to use across your own channels, paid media and internal use without a further licence from us. We ask only to feature the work in our portfolio, and if you would rather we did not, that is respected without argument.

Do we get the raw footage?

On request, yes, usually as a separate delivery because raw files are large and most clients never open them. Say so before the shoot rather than after, so we can plan storage and hand-off instead of scrambling for a drive later.

What formats do you deliver in?

Whatever the destination needs. A single shoot normally produces a horizontal master for the website and YouTube, vertical cutdowns for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, and square if a placement calls for it. Captions are included on social deliverables because most of that audience watches muted.

Can we use the video in paid ads?

Yes. The one thing to check first is music. Our standard library covers organic and paid use, but if a project uses a specific licensed track, the paid-media terms depend on that licence and we will flag it at the quote stage rather than after you have spent budget.

Working together

Fit, references and the awkward questions

Can we see work in our industry first?

Yes, and you should ask. Published work covers manufacturing, medical device, home services, automotive, sports hospitality, public sector and product launch. If your category is not represented, ask anyway. We will tell you honestly whether we have shot something comparable rather than stretching an unrelated project to fit.

Do you publish results for past projects?

No. Client analytics belong to the client, and we do not have permission to publish view counts, conversion data or spend figures. Some clients will speak to their results directly on a reference call, and we can arrange that once a project is genuinely under consideration.

Are we too small to work with you?

Probably not. The named work skews toward established brands because those are the projects clients let us attribute. A large share of what we shoot is monthly content for smaller local businesses, which rarely produces a single hero film worth featuring but usually produces better return per dollar.

When would you tell us not to hire you?

When the format you are asking for will not fix the problem you described. A client who asks for a brand film but needs six short testimonials gets a beautiful asset that moves nothing. We would rather say that on the first call than take the booking.

Still deciding

Ask us the question that is not on this page

If something here did not cover your situation, tell us what you are trying to do and we will tell you what format actually solves it, including when the answer is that you do not need us yet.