Short answer: no. Long answer: Although it is not absolutely final it will be used as a direct reference for a single video deliverable project. We've stress-tested this pricing system for all scenarios and believe it gives a very accurate and fair number for all of the combinations of projects possible within the calculator.

‍

So in what scenario would the number not be final? One factor that would significantly affect the price would be retainer-style work or a full campaign rather than a single video. We routinely offer a variety of services alongside our video production such as photography, graphic design & web design as well as many other custom-fit video solutions. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to incorporate this into our current calculator or give ballpark prices without further discussion on the details of the project. If you are interested in packaging our services together for a larger campaign, series or other retainer work, get in touch with us so that we can provide examples and give you a more realistic cost breakdown.

We have developed a system for pricing ourselves that delivers consistent results while allowing for more transparency for the client. Rather than just giving a number that seems 'right' we have created a way to build off of a tangible figure (rental prices) and adjust our crew size, quality and intensity of work relative to that figure.

How it works: first we take the cost of our equipment rental. On smaller to medium size projects, we have packages that utilise in-house equipment and allow us to start with a rental package that is below market rate. On larger projects or under specific circumstances where we need to rent equipment from a rental house, you will be informed and the invoice from the rental house will be shared with the client, which will then become a part of the total "base" equipment rental price.

This base amount is then multiplied by a series of numbers representative of the services that will be rendered (Shoot Length, Edit Type/Complexity, Director/Producer Involvement Fee).

If you have a specific requirement that doesn't fit into our pricing system (eg. Shoot longer than 16 hours, an edit that requires one complex shot and everything else basic, etc), we will first try to get the price as close to final as we can with our current pricing system and then add or remove costs as necessary. This will be determined by any additional rental costs, extra crew involvement or extra hours needed.

Set amounts don't scale well, especially for smaller & larger productions. In this way, the cost of the services scale with the equipment rental figure, as larger crews are needed for larger productions, and more hours are needed for more complex pre-production, post-production and project management.

One function of the calculator that might seem a bit 'random' is how small rental fees can rack up to be much larger numbers on projects with complex edits or long shoot hours (which seemingly don't correlate), why is this?

Well, the cost of equipment rental on a production is usually pretty indicative of the overall quality of the final project. And of course, the overall quality of the final project is a result of the production value, expertise, planning and hours spent in production & post-production.

While the cost of renting a mic on a smaller shoot might only be a small amount, but then cost a totally different amount on a full production (even though it's the exact same equipment), is because we will not be spending the same amount of time & effort on set, or in post, audio mixing, mastering & other audio post work on a smaller production as we would be on a larger production.

If we were pricing our services in a fixed way, the same amount would be getting added on to the production & post-production fees regardless.