Media Bar Answers / Episode 03 / Pre-Production
What Does a Video Production Company Need for an Estimate?
An accurate video production estimate starts with the business goal, audience, filming plan, schedule, deliverables, and approval process - not the finished runtime alone.
This video features Ruben Garcia's digital avatar. The guidance and script come directly from Media Bar Productions. Watch on YouTube ↗
The short answer
What should a video creative brief include?
An accurate estimate starts with the business goal, audience, filming plan, schedule, deliverables, approval process, and budget context. Finished runtime alone is not enough to define the work.
Three practical takeaways
What to carry into your project.
- 01
Start with the business goal, audience, and where the finished video will be used.
- 02
Share the location, preferred production date, people or activities to capture, deadline, and complete deliverable list.
- 03
Useful estimates explain their assumptions and connect the investment to the work required.
Full transcript
What a production company needs for an estimate
Presented by Ruben Garcia, founder and executive producer of Media Bar Productions in San Antonio, Texas.
I'm Ruben Garcia, founder of Media Bar Productions. This is my digital avatar, but this advice comes directly from years of building real production estimates.
What does a production company need before it can provide an accurate estimate?
Start with the business goal, the audience, and where the finished video will be used.
Then provide the filming location, preferred production date, number of interviews, scenes or activities you want captured, final deadline, and every deliverable you expect.
A two-minute video alone is not enough information.
Two videos with the same runtime can require completely different crews, schedules, equipment, and editing.
It also helps to share examples you like, photos of the location, your approval process, and a preliminary budget range.
A useful estimate should explain its assumptions and connect the investment to the work required.
Visit the Media Bar Project Planner to organize your scope.
Keep planning
Related guidance and next steps.
More Media Bar Answers