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Videographer · brand and event films
Six people's notes arriving separately is the most expensive thing that can happen to a film.
Not the camera, not the location, not the music. The edit is where video budgets actually die, so this page opens with how the rounds work and who is allowed to send them. The reel, the rates and the music licensing are all below.
Paste your own reel URL into the block above and the player appears. The button underneath is a tracked link to your channel, and it is what makes the section work even before you do.
What a showreel doesn't tell you
It is thirty of somebody's best moments — Cut to music, out of years of work. No film you commission will look like a reel, because a reel is not a film
Ask to see one finished piece — Start to end, in the format you are actually buying. It is the only way to know what a delivered job looks like
Ask what the budget was — A reel doesn't tell you what a day buys. The same shot list at half the budget is a different film entirely
Ask who did what — Reels collect work from crews. It is completely fair to ask which parts were shot, directed or cut by the person you are hiring
Ask what went wrong on it — Every job has something. An honest answer to that question tells you more than any reel ever will
What you'd get here — Two full pieces on request, uncut for the purpose, with the budget for each one stated
Ask to see one finished piece — Start to end, in the format you are actually buying. It is the only way to know what a delivered job looks like
Ask what the budget was — A reel doesn't tell you what a day buys. The same shot list at half the budget is a different film entirely
Ask who did what — Reels collect work from crews. It is completely fair to ask which parts were shot, directed or cut by the person you are hiring
Ask what went wrong on it — Every job has something. An honest answer to that question tells you more than any reel ever will
What you'd get here — Two full pieces on request, uncut for the purpose, with the budget for each one stated
How the rounds work
Two rounds are included — Which is more than it sounds, because a round here means all of your notes rather than one of them
What a round is — One consolidated list, from one named person, arriving at once. That is the whole rule and it exists for your benefit
Why one person — Six people's notes arriving separately is the most expensive thing that happens to a film. It is also how films end up worse rather than better
What isn't a round — A typo, a wrong logo, a name spelled incorrectly. Those get fixed straight away and never count against anything
What is a new round — Changing the structure, the music or the message after it has been cut to them. That is a different film and it gets priced as one
Round three onwards — $180 each — and you'll be told honestly when a round is making it worse rather than better
What a round is — One consolidated list, from one named person, arriving at once. That is the whole rule and it exists for your benefit
Why one person — Six people's notes arriving separately is the most expensive thing that happens to a film. It is also how films end up worse rather than better
What isn't a round — A typo, a wrong logo, a name spelled incorrectly. Those get fixed straight away and never count against anything
What is a new round — Changing the structure, the music or the message after it has been cut to them. That is a different film and it gets priced as one
Round three onwards — $180 each — and you'll be told honestly when a round is making it worse rather than better
Music, and why it matters more than you'd think
What's included — A library licence covering the platforms you named, worldwide and in perpetuity. Real music, properly cleared
What isn't — A track from the charts. Sending a song you love is useful as a reference and impossible as a soundtrack
Why — A sync licence for a well-known song usually costs more than the whole film. That is not a markup — it is what the rights holder charges
If it's ignored — The platform mutes it, or removes the video, or the ad account takes a strike. All three are common and none of them is fun
Original music — From about $400 for a bespoke track. Worth it if the film will run for years, or if the brand has a sound
Voiceover — Priced separately, and usually the cheapest thing that improves a film. Ask before assuming you need one
What isn't — A track from the charts. Sending a song you love is useful as a reference and impossible as a soundtrack
Why — A sync licence for a well-known song usually costs more than the whole film. That is not a markup — it is what the rights holder charges
If it's ignored — The platform mutes it, or removes the video, or the ad account takes a strike. All three are common and none of them is fun
Original music — From about $400 for a bespoke track. Worth it if the film will run for years, or if the brand has a sound
Voiceover — Priced separately, and usually the cheapest thing that improves a film. Ask before assuming you need one
What you need ready before the shoot day
Who's on camera
Named, and genuinely free on the day. A film built around somebody who might be there is a film that gets reshot.
A script, or a plan not to have one
Interview-led works well and needs different preparation. Decide which this is before the day rather than on it.
Permission for the space
From whoever actually controls it, not whoever happens to work there. This is what most often stops a shoot at the door.
Brand assets
Logo as a vector, the fonts, the colour codes. Sent before the edit rather than during it — hunting them down costs a day.
What it's for
One sentence. A film for a trade stand is a different cut to one for a website, and both can come from one day if I know.
Your sign-off person
The one who can actually say yes. If they're away in the fortnight after delivery, say so now and the schedule allows for it.
What it costs
Half day
$650 · one location
- Up to 4 hours filming
- One finished film up to 90 seconds
- Two rounds of changes
- Library music, properly licensed
Full day
$1,200 · up to 2 locations
- A full day filming
- One main film plus three social cuts
- Two rounds of changes
- Library music and captions
Event coverage
$900 · up to 6 hours
- Filmed as it happens
- A two to three minute highlight film
- One round of changes
- Delivered inside two weeks
Extra social cuts — $90 each from the same footage, in whichever aspect ratio the platform wants
Captions — Included on social cuts, $60 on the main film. Most people watch without sound, so it is the cheapest improvement available
A second camera — $250 a day. Necessary for interviews and for anything that only happens once
Original music — From $400, priced before the edit rather than added to the invoice after it
Rush — Half again for delivery inside a week. Say so at briefing, while it is still possible
Captions — Included on social cuts, $60 on the main film. Most people watch without sound, so it is the cheapest improvement available
A second camera — $250 a day. Necessary for interviews and for anything that only happens once
Original music — From $400, priced before the edit rather than added to the invoice after it
Rush — Half again for delivery inside a week. Say so at briefing, while it is still possible
Send a brief
A paragraph is enough to quote from. You'll get a price with the rounds and the music licence written into it, rather than discussed afterwards when it is expensive.
Send a brief
"A committee" is an honest answer and it changes the quote rather than the welcome. It usually means a third round, and it is far cheaper to plan for one than to discover one.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.