Any figures listed here are intended to give a range of costs for general information and planning purposes. The prices vary over time with market conditions and factors such as distance, time-frame and other factors which influence most businesses. None of these projections constitute a quote. Quotes are available after a personal or phone consultation during which we will assess your particular needs and adjust accordingly.
TDI Productions is a lean, low-overhead company with the flexibility to produce small to medium budget projects nationwide. Our business model is founded on a manageable client base for which we can produce timely, effective and often award-winning productions. TDI typically produces projects in the $2,500 to $45,000 category with a majority of productions in the low-teens. Many services are available separately and clients often save significantly by using TDI for the higher-end services and accomplishing other parts of a project in-house. TDI's flexibility in working with partner organizations is the key to producing the affordable excellence we pride ourselves on.
Because media production is an art, it can be frustrating to appraise exactly how much a given piece is worth. First and foremost, when pricing video, photography or graphic design, you must bear in mind that you are really paying for the artistic input of the director, photographer, writer and technical personnel. Anyone with suitable funds can acquire the equipment to produce high quality images. Truly excellent projects, however, are not a function of equipment, but of the artistic vision that utilizes the equipment. High-Definition video of a poorly thought out script is a waste of money. Similarly, a brilliant script can be ruined by a director who does not have the talent to produce it appropriately.
What your organization pays for an effective project is largely a function of the items listed below. While this is not an exhaustive list, it can help in budgeting your project. TDI can give a general price range for a certain project over the phone but exact quotes come only after we have a full understanding of your project. Any prices listed below are for TDI Productions only and may change without notice to reflect market conditions. Prices change over time as technology improves and various factors like travel expenses, labor expenses and other factors change. Bear in mind that each of the services below is also available separately.
Scripting - $500 to $10,000
The Script is far and away the most important aspect of any production, even those which have no narration such as tradeshow or convention pieces. The script is the key component in the communication between the Director and the client. No amount of artistic talent or technical wizardry can make a poor script effective. TDI Productions writes original scripts or, more often, works from client outlines or partial scripts. The cost for a script reflects the time required to write it as well as other factors such as research and revisions. Typically a client can expect to pay between $50.00 and $300.00 per minute of actual time (run-time) in the finished production. Thus the scripting of a fifteen minute educational or training production usually costs in the area of $1000.00 to $4500.00. TDI Productions often refines or touches-up existing scripts or outlines provided by clients. This is a great cost-saving measure due to the fact that much of the research is completed by the client.
Production Management - $500 to $5,000
Experienced production management is absolutely essential to completing projects on time and on budget. The entire production process must be thought through from start to finish so that efforts are not duplicated or wasted. Successful directors coordinate the many elements that make up the production and plan for the astounding number of variables which professional projects entail. The management cost of a given project is directly proportional to the project's complexity. Management can comprise anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of the total budget.
Production - $1000 to $30,000
Much of a video production's expense comes in shooting the original images that will used in the final product. These costs reflect the equipment, personnel and consumable items needed. The cost is heavily effected by the format which will be used to capture the original images. TDI Productions regularly produces projects in the High Definition (HDCAM), Betacam SP, and DVCAM formats. Rates are usually based on 10 hour days but can be broken down depending on the client's needs. We operate on a minimum four hour per day schedule.
Day and hourly rates will vary due to location, shooting and lighting conditions and any camera movements which are required. Our team can accomplish an almost limitless range of camera movements including: Steadicam (body mounted), robotic crane and jib movements from 9 to 35 feet, and various vehicle and helicopter mounted movements. These creative elements can be enhanced by compositing tools which allow real and virtual backgrounds to be inserted into almost any shot. In addition, video "impossibilities" can be created by filming multiple passes of the same scene and combining elements later (This is how one actor can play two parts on screen at the same time as in Disney's remakes of The Parent Trap and The Nutty Professor).
Digital Photography $1000 to $10,000
Often used as a component of a larger media project, digital photography is available separately as well. Currently more than 150,000 TDI Productions photographs have been printed in various magazines, publications and brochures. TDI uses a variety of cameras and formats depending on the subject matter and conditions. Generally, digital photography costs between $50 and $100 per hour and usually carries a five hour minimum which includes time for touching up and formatting the finished images for the particular media in question. TDI issues licenses for most images and the client is then free to use, copy or alter the photos for their purposes so long as they do not re-sell the images (which requires a royalty arrangement).
Post-production $1000 to $25,000
The other cost and time intensive aspect of any project is post-production. This includes everything from editing and color-correction to formatting the final product for DVD, Internet or broadcast. The director is heavily involved in each phase of this process especially the editing. Clients are able to view the results daily through a private web page which displays updated copies of the work in progress. This allows for timely input from producers, scriptwriters and consultants. Suggestions can be sent straight to the Director or posted for review by the entire team.
The editing process involves far more than simply assembling the images into a pleasing presentation, music, narration, graphics and animations all play a part in the process as well. 2D and 3D graphic and animation elements can be extremely important to a production depending on the subject matter. TDI Productions can custom produce 3D animations to illustrate anything from a museum floor plan to a medical condition or treatment. Depending on the application, virtual elements can be added to live action shots to create backgrounds which are either too expensive or remote to film or are otherwise not available.
When it comes to cable or broadcast television, each broadcaster has technical standards which must be met before they will allow a particular piece to air; these must be understood and anticipated. Similarly, producing for the DVD format requires the management of file formats and compression schemes. The care a company takes in these post-production areas will directly affect the quality of the final presentation. Depending on the complexity of the project, post-production can consume 40 to sometimes 60 percent of the budget.
Distribution
A great project deserves to have excellent distribution. TDI productions often guides organizations in the duplication, packaging and distribution of their video projects. While these items are not considered part of the production budget it is important to consider them from the outset.
Ownership and Protection:
The issue of ownership is a major point of contention within the video industry. Many organizations have purchased thousands of dollars of video production services believing that they would be able to modify the project later and use footage in subsequent productions. Only later have they found that the video production company retains all rights to the original footage unless they specifically assign those rights to the client.
TDI Productions clarifies this issue simply: your organization has full use of every frame of the original video shot for your production, period. You will never have to pay additional fees or royalties to use that footage in any project your company produces in the future regardless of whether TDI produces it (though TDI Productions name must appear in the credits of such a production). The only time your organization would need approval from TDI Productions is if the footage is to be re-sold to another entity. These restrictions ensure that TDI footage is not misused and is properly credited.
Another fear which organizations have, concerns updates and changes to their productions. TDI addresses this by guaranteeing that should you desire to add to, subtract from or change content within a production you will pay the hourly rate you paid for the original production or less regardless of how many months or years have elapsed. This allows organizations such as Universities to highlight new programs or facilities, museums to add new exhibits to their video tours, corporations to update their trade show presentations or pharmaceutical companies to add information about new discoveries and treatments.
The rate guarantee applies to filming and editing and only excludes "specials" such as aerial, underwater and 3D elements which are always billed at the market rate. A given piece is considered "the same production" so long as it retains 75% of its original content.
Search categories to assist those using search engines
This article appears in the categories of video production costs, corporate video and tradeshow video as well as training video production and video expenses. Other search terms include video production company, training video company and tradeshow video company as well as trade show video company.
Geographical search factors include Philadelphia and Montgomery County as well as Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County. Further afield locators include Berks County, New Jersey, Trenton, Camden, Bristol, Newtown, Doylestown, Norristown, Pottstown and Harrisburg. Services also available in Baltimore, Washington, New York, Boston and Richmond.
