How much does it cost to produce a television commercial?
Here at Pikewood Creative, one of the first questions business owners have when they’re considering TV advertising is, “How much does it cost to product a TV commercial?” Although this question is certainly a valid and important one, there really isn’t one answer.
Television commercials, like any type of custom designed product, will range in cost from free to literally millions of dollars. Did I say free? Yes, there are some local television stations that will not charge to produce a commercial, because they’ll recoup their expense when you buy commercial airtime on their station. And, yes, some commercials produced at the highest level can cost well over a million dollars.
Ok, let’s remove the extremes and provide some realistic budget ranges for producing a thirty-second television commercial for local, regional, and national broadcast.
Cost is determined by several factors:
Commercial Production Time
Exactly how many combined hours will a production company spend on your project? This total includes planning, actual production (filming), and post-production (editing and motion graphics creation).
Crew Size and Numbers
How many people are involved in the project? This could range from one person to more than a dozen. The level of complexity required to acquire the shots or create the images determines crew size. The expertise of crewmembers is invaluable. On-location shooting can present a myriad of challenges that require a crew to be nimble and creative.
Equipment Needed to Properly Produce the Commercial
Just how much and what type of equipment is needed to produce your commercial? A camera and microphone may be all you need for a very simple commercial. However, equipment ranging from cameras, lenses, jibs, cranes, lighting and electric truck, green screen, etc. may all be needed to properly execute your project.
Average Commercial Price Ranges
A single-day production utilizing a crew of up to three people, including post-production, can range between $500 and $5,000 dollars.
A commercial utilizing a crew of up to 10 people and a complete HD camera package and lighting/grip truck, including post-production, can range between $10,000 and $50,000 dollars.
Multiple day on-location productions that include crews that exceed 10 or more, and equipment that includes custom designed sets, helicopter aerials, professional actors, animation, and extensive post-production can range between $50,000 dollars into the millions.
Understanding your Budget
The easiest and most efficient way to determine how much a television commercial will cost is to tell the production company how much you’re willing to pay. That may sound counter to how we normally transact business, however it actually helps everyone involved.
A production company can provide examples of past projects that are in your budget range.
We’ve found this process to take away any mystery involved in production. Ultimately the client has the commercial they want produced within their budget. The production company has done its part by meeting and hopefully exceeding the client’s expectations.
So there you have it. The cost of a television commercial can range from free to millions of dollars, but in reality you can produce a commercial for the budget you have available.
Still curious and want a more refined answer as to what you might spend on a TV commercial production? Contact us [here] or call us today at 304-554-3910.
