What brand film costs depend on

In short: Brand film costs depend mainly on shoot days, concept development, crew size, motion design and usage rights, not on the length of the film. The market ranges from a freelancer with one shoot day to a campaign production with several locations. A serious figure is therefore always a fixed-price quote after the briefing. Maze & Friends from Vienna prepares it after the initial call, for exactly your project.

“What does a brand film cost?” is the question we hear in initial calls more often than any other. Online, the answers are mostly vague, so here we get specific: three market segments, seven factors behind the price, three typical project scopes from practice and, at the end, the route to a fixed-price quote. All images come from Maze & Friends productions and show how different brand films can look.

Which segments do brand film costs fall into?

From a student with a camera to a film production company with a 20-person crew, the market has everything. Sorted by scope of service, there are three segments:

• Entry-level segment: freelancer, 1 shoot day, little or no concept. That is enough if you know exactly what you want. But the strategy is often missing, and the footage is hard to reuse.
• Mid-market segment: agency or experienced team, concept + shoot + post-production, several formats for website, social media and ads. This segment is where most professional B2B productions are made.
• Premium segment: several shoot days and locations, actors, elaborate motion design, embedding in a campaign. The effort only pays off if there is a clear campaign goal behind it.

Which 7 factors determine the price?

1. Shoot days: the strongest lever, because every shoot day ties up crew, equipment and time. Compact projects manage with half a day, large ones need a whole week of shooting.
2. Concept & script: the difference between “nice pictures” and a film that sells. Good concept work costs money, poor concept work costs impact.
3. Crew size: a one-person team, or camera, sound, lighting and director? The more hands on set, the higher the quality.
4. Locations & logistics: one location or five? Hire costs, travel, permits.
5. Motion design & animation: on-screen figures, animated logos, 3D: a separate item in the quote that often gives the film its professional feel.
6. Music & licences: royalty-free music is inexpensive; exclusive compositions and advertising licences cost money. If you run the film as an ad, the licence has to cover that.
7. Output formats: just one 16:9 film, or 9:16 Reels, 1:1 cuts and ad variants as well? Only the way the film is used determines its actual ROI.

Three typical project scopes and where they sit in the market

These scopes come up in our projects in this or a similar form. We deliberately don’t give package prices; instead we assign the examples to the three segments above. What your project costs is set out in the fixed-price quote after the initial call.

Compact brand film with one shoot day

1 shoot day at the client’s premises, concept + interview guide, interview + B-roll, 1 main film (60–90 seconds) + 2 social media cuts. This suits mid-sized companies that need a credible company portrait for their website and LinkedIn, and on the market it usually sits in the lower mid-market segment. A second location pushes the price up. If you bring a finished interview guide from your own team, it comes down.

Brand film with a workshop and two shoot days

2 shoot days, storytelling concept with a key message workshop, main film + 5 social cuts + photo set from the shoot. Designed for companies that use the film as the foundation for recruiting, sales or trade fairs. On the market, this scope typically sits in the middle to upper mid-market segment. The workshop and the second shoot day make it more expensive; a single location for both shoot days makes it cheaper.

Brand film as a campaign with several locations

Several locations, motion graphics, a campaign package including 6 months of content reuse from the footage. This is aimed at brands that want to get half a year of visibility out of one shoot, and depending on scope it borders on the premium segment. Every additional location and the motion graphics raise the price. In return, months of reuse spread the cost across many placements.

Where can you save, and where never?

You can save on: shoot days (good planning halves the effort), actors (real employees come across as more credible) and exclusive music.

You should never save on: the concept (without strategy, every euro spent afterwards is half lost), the sound (bad sound looks cheaper than bad pictures) and the distribution. A film that only sits on your website is an expensive monument. Put it to work in ads, on LinkedIn and in sales, and it becomes an investment.

From the studio: iSi Group: brand film “iSi World” · Lumitech: corporate film from a single shoot day.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to have a brand film made?

What a brand film costs is determined mainly by shoot days, concept development, crew size, motion design and usage rights; a serious figure is a fixed-price quote after a briefing.

The market falls roughly into three segments. In the entry-level segment, you get a freelancer with one shoot day and little concept work. In the mid-market segment, an experienced team works with concept development, shoot and post-production and delivers several formats for website, social media and ads. The premium segment covers several shoot days and locations, actors or elaborate motion design. Compare quotes by scope of service; the final sum alone says little. At Maze & Friends, you receive a fixed-price quote for exactly your project after the initial call.

What does a 3-minute brand film cost?

A 3-minute brand film is not usually priced by running time and sits in the same market segments as shorter films.

The price is determined by shoot days, concept development, crew and post-production. A longer version does, however, need a story that can carry three minutes, more footage and more editing time. Even so, a price per minute of film means little. A short film with elaborate motion design can cost more than a long interview. Check beforehand whether you really need the three minutes. For the website, 60 to 120 seconds is usually enough, supplemented by cuts of 15 to 30 seconds for social media and ads.

What does a compact brand film with just one shoot day cost?

A compact brand film with one shoot day is the most affordable professional scope and on the market usually sits in the lower mid-market segment.

Typical for this scope are a concept with an interview guide, one shoot day at the client’s premises with an interview and supporting footage of the work and the spaces, a main film of 60 to 90 seconds and two social media cuts. This suits mid-sized companies that need a credible company portrait for their website and LinkedIn. It usually only gets cheaper without a concept. But that is exactly where you shouldn’t save, because without strategy, every euro spent afterwards is half lost.

What is the biggest cost driver in a brand film?

The biggest cost driver in a brand film is the number of shoot days, because every shoot day ties up crew, equipment and time.

Depending on the project, the scope ranges from half a shoot day to a week of shooting. Every additional location also adds travel, set-up and lighting planning. That is why good preparation saves the most. A well-thought-out concept with a clear shooting schedule can halve the shooting effort without making the film worse. The next price factors are concept development, crew size, motion design, music licences and the number of output formats, meaning additional versions such as portrait-format Reels or ad variants.

How can I roughly calculate the cost of a brand film myself?

You can roughly calculate the cost of a brand film by breaking it down into building blocks: concept development, shoot days with crew, post-production, extras and the formats you need.

First decide how many shoot days and locations are needed, because that is the biggest item, and then add extras such as motion design, actors or exclusive music. Finally, determine the versions, such as 16:9 for the website and 9:16 for Reels, because each variant costs editing time. Online cost calculators only provide guide values. Serious providers, Maze & Friends included, will only give you a fixed price for exactly your project after an initial call.

Which extras make a brand film more expensive?

A brand film becomes more expensive mainly through motion design, additional locations, actors, exclusive music with an advertising licence and aerial footage.

On-screen figures, animated logos or 3D are a separate item in the quote, but often they are what gives the film its professional feel. Every additional location brings travel, set-up, lighting and possibly hire costs or permits. Drone footage needs a suitable weather window, and under the EU drone rules the drone operator must be registered with Austro Control, Austria’s civil aviation authority. Depending on the location, conditions or flight restrictions may apply, for example in no-fly zones, which Austro Control shows on dronespace.at (in German). This belongs in the planning from the start. Have such items itemised separately in the quote. Then you can see which extras genuinely support your goal and which only look good.

Does a brand film need actors, or are your own employees enough?

For most brand films, your own employees are enough, and they usually come across as more credible than actors.

Actors typically belong in the premium segment, because fees, casting and more elaborate staging are added. Real people from your company, on the other hand, show who actually stands behind the service. For this to work, you need preparation: an interview guide, calm locations with good lighting and a director who guides people confidently in front of the camera. Actors are mainly worthwhile for scripted stories that can’t be told with your own team.

Where can I save on a brand film without it looking cheap?

You can save on shoot days, actors and exclusive music. Concept, sound and distribution, on the other hand, are the wrong places.

Good planning reduces the number of shoot days considerably, real employees replace actors, and you can usually do without specially composed music. Saving on the concept, by contrast, is expensive, because without strategy the film hardly fulfils any purpose. As for sound: bad sound looks cheaper than bad pictures. And saving on distribution means getting fewer versions for ads, LinkedIn and sales out of the same shoot, which is exactly the material the film works with later.

What does a brand film cost with a freelancer?

With a freelancer, a brand film usually sits in the entry-level segment of the market: one shoot day, little or no concept, one main film.

That works if you know exactly what you want and set the message, the process and where the film will be used yourself. Often, however, such projects fall short on strategy and reusability: you get nice pictures, but not a film with a clear purpose that keeps working in several formats. Agencies and experienced teams sit in the mid-market segment, because concept development, post-production and several formats are part of the package there. Always compare the scope of service, not just the final sum.

When is a premium brand film worth it?

A brand film in the premium segment is worth it when several shoot days and locations, actors, elaborate motion design or embedding in a campaign serve a clear goal.

A typical case is a film as the foundation of a campaign: several locations, motion graphics and a package that delivers content from the footage over months. If you want half a year of visibility out of one shoot, you spread the cost across many placements. The extra cost is not justified if it only pays for effects or prestige. Always check whether the additional effort really achieves more with your target group.

When does investing in a brand film pay off?

A brand film pays off when it works continuously: in ads, on LinkedIn, in sales and in recruiting.

How the film is used determines the actual return on investment, in other words the ratio of cost to impact. Plan several formats from one shoot right from the concept stage: the main film in 16:9, Reels in 9:16, square cuts in 1:1 and ad variants. That way, the production costs are spread across many placements instead of a single spot. If the film only sits on the home page, it remains an expensive monument.

Is there funding for brand films in Austria?

Whether a brand film qualifies for funding in Austria depends on the federal state and the programme; some digitalisation grants can include video production.

Because the conditions change regularly, check the current programmes in your federal state before awarding the contract, for example in the funding database of the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO, in German), or ask the Economic Chamber directly. According to the Vienna Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Wien) (in German), you submit the application before the project starts (as of September 2024). To apply, you usually need a detailed quote that clearly sets out the scope, services and costs. Treat possible funding as a bonus at most. The film has to be worth it for your goal even without a grant.

What role does music play in the cost of a brand film?

Music has a noticeable effect on the cost of a brand film: royalty-free music is inexpensive, while exclusive compositions and advertising licences cost more.

It depends on where the film is going to run. As soon as you run it as paid advertising, the music licence must explicitly cover that use, because under Section 26 of the Austrian Copyright Act (UrhG) (in German), the contract with the rights holder determines how far the right to use a work extends. Clarify before production on which channels and for how long you want to use the film, and have the licence terms confirmed in the quote. An exclusive composition is worthwhile above all if the music is to become a permanent part of your brand presence. For a film that runs mainly on your website and LinkedIn, well-chosen licensed music is often enough.