HOW MUCH DOES EXPLAINER VIDEO COST?

It is widely known that nowadays people are very busy and easily get bored especially with tons of words. Do the math: if you had choice between the reading of 1-2 pages of the text with product description or service or watching engaging animated video instead what would you choose? The answer is quite obvious. But explainer videos can be useful in other ways.

For example, with explainer video you:

have 53 times more chances of being found on search engines.
increase the average visit time spent on a webpage from initial 8 seconds to 2 minutes.
grow conversions up to 65% .
increase E-mail click-through rate by 100%.

Animated Explainer video is one of the most popular instruments of the video marketing now. Their usual length is less than 2 mins but within this time you can present your product or service, its advantages and illustrate your work. All of that makes explainer videos good for both big companies and startups.

At this stage the first question you can ask is the cost.

A typical explainer video costs anywhere from $500 to $10K a minute. Of course, $500 is the price for the video which most likely was made with standard tools such as PowToons or GoAnimate. And this type of tools may be of great assistance but only in the hands of a professional. Otherwise you should remember that no video is better than a bad one.

The cost of 1-5K for one minute is quite the average budget in the industry. If you suppose it is too expensive you should keep in mind that the video is the investment and the investment produces profit.

Before we turn to the factors influencing the cost let’s look through the stages which every video undergoes regardless the length, style or studio you work with.

The process

The process starts with research and script development, where a script is prepared suiting the information to be conveyed. At this stage we study your company, product/service and, of course, your goals for fully understanding. The next step we discuss the plan and process of production with you. This stage is equally important for the final result like any other.

After that we provide 3-4 style frames for your future video so you can choose the visual imagery at the very beginning and have a clear idea of what you will get at the end.

Then a storyboard is prepared sketching out the script in visual form. All the scenes are shown with detailed description, explaining each action and movement that will take place in the video so the client can see the “sketch” of the future video and in case of need makes the changes. Preparing of the storyboard allows to save time for any further changes which may be critical if the deadline is tight.

The examples of the storyboards of Hound Studio may be found below:

The third step is a voice over stage where the artists narrate the script and credit the video with an audio. Hound Studio proposes the library of the voice over artists in almost any language.

During the next stage, the illustrations are animated (using applications such as Adobe Illustrator, After Effects, Cinema4d, 3ds max, Blender and others) with voice-over. It is one of the most time consuming and work-intensive part of the process where the animator takes all the finished assembles into one piece according to the script.

And last but not the least stage is where all the sounds (including the music, voiceover, and sound effects) are mixed together to fit the animation.

Although the description of the process takes just around 200 words, in effect it is a lot of work.

So what actually influences the price?

Of course, it is not a secret that reputable studios charge higher. When budgets are tight you can still find many companies to fit your budget and style. So find a company with a portfolio you like, and find out who they’ve worked with in the past to get the references.

Another factor is the timeline. Usually the time of production is around 4-6 weeks and the less time it is allotted for production the higher are the chances that the quality will suffer or expensive premiums will be charged. So if you lay out sufficient time for the project and you will receive more competitive pricing.

Be involved. Remember that it is your video. Control the results on every milestone and be responsive. Any amendments once the result is approved may be charged additionally not to speak of the saved time.

Keep hope this article gave you better understanding of the video production process and pricing. If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

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