What a Commercial Costs

We read the brief, ask what we need to, and send a written quote with the route we would take, the stages, what you approve at each one, what is delivered and a schedule. For a :30 with cutdowns, delivery is in 3 to 7 days when you send the brief, assets and feedback quickly, and sometimes faster. You still approve at each gate, and the date follows those approvals. The price covers development, design, production, review, sound, finish and the versions listed. If the brief changes after a gate, we tell you what the change costs before we make it.

Two films of the same length can be priced far apart. A single figure at the top of a pricing page would be wrong for most briefs, so we quote each one.

• Length and number of films. A :15, a :30 and a :60 are different amounts of work, and a campaign of three films shares its design work across all three.
• Speaking parts. Dialogue needs lip sync, performance and a check on every line. A film carried by picture and voice-over is simpler than one with three people talking.
• Cast and locations. Each character and each place is designed before production, and characters seen in close-up need more design work.
• Crowds and complex scenes. Shots with several people, especially at different distances from camera, need more planning and more takes to come out right.
• Product detail. A product that must be shown exactly, with a readable label or a specific mechanism, needs your real files composited in, and sometimes a filmed insert.
• Look. Photoreal people in daylight is the hardest standard to hold. A stylised or graphic look is easier to keep consistent.
• Live action. Combining generated work with your footage, or with a shoot day, adds conform and matching work.
• Formats and cutdowns. Each length and aspect ratio is edited and checked, not just cropped.
• Music and voice. Library music, a commissioned score, a cast voice actor or a licensed track each cost differently.
• Usage and schedule. Where the film runs, in which territories and for how long, and how soon you need it.

• Decide early. Changes at the route, script and cast stages are cheap. Changes after production has started are not.
• Reuse the cast and the world. The second film with the same characters and locations costs less than the first, because the cast and world are already designed.
• Plan the cutdowns up front, so the shots that carry a :06 and a :15 are designed in from the start.
• Send real product files and brand guidelines at the brief, so nothing has to be rebuilt later.

A traditional production spends heavily on the days themselves: crew, location, permits, travel, equipment, talent. Our cost sits in development, design and the hours spent generating, checking and fixing shots. That changes which ideas are affordable. Extra cities, bad weather or a period setting add design work for us, where on a shoot they add travel, permits and set builds. A film that depends on a famous face does not get cheaper with us at all. The full comparison is on AI commercial or traditional shoot.

For pitch films, second routes, look development and overflow production under your name, we quote per job in the same way. How that works is on white-label partner or in-house team.