How Much Does Video Production Cost in Washington, DC?

The first question almost every client asks us is what a video costs. There is no standard price, because a video is built from days, hours, and license fees, and those change with every project. What we can do is show you the math. Once you see what drives the price, you can read any quote, including ours, and know exactly what you are paying for.

We are Puritano Media Group, a production company based in Occoquan, Virginia. We have produced video in the Washington, DC area since 1996 for associations, government agencies, and companies, including PBS, IBM, the U.S. Army, and USDA. The numbers below use our own standard rates as the worked example, because we would rather show you real figures than ranges copied from a national survey.

What drives the cost

Crew size and shoot days. A two-person crew with one camera costs less than a four-person crew running two cameras, lighting, and a teleprompter. Most of our productions are priced by the day, so the single biggest decision in any budget is how many shoot days the plan needs.

Scripting and preproduction. Interviews go better when someone has written the questions in advance, scouted the location, and built a schedule. That work happens before the camera comes out, and it is billed as production time.

Editing hours. Editing is where most of the hours sit. A three-minute film can take 15 to 25 hours of editing once you count assembly, revisions, color, sound, and final delivery. Ask any company how many post hours are in the quote. If they cannot tell you, the number is a guess.

Graphics and animation. Titles, lower thirds, and logo animation are usually a few hours. Full animation is a separate discipline and priced separately.

Music licensing. Licensed library music for a corporate or association video typically runs $50 to $250 per track. Original music costs more. Either way, the fee should appear as its own line.

Captions. Captioning is required on most government and association work now, and it is cheap insurance on everything else, since a large share of viewers watch with the sound off. Budget $150 to $300 for a short video.

Real numbers, using our rates

Our standard rates are $2,800 per shoot day, which covers a full crew and all gear, and $150 per hour for editing and post-production. Here is what common projects look like at those rates:

• Half-day interview shoot: one location, one or two interviews, up to four hours. About $1,500 to $1,900 including a basic edit of the best answers.
• Full-day production: interviews plus supporting footage at one or two locations. $2,800 for the day, plus editing. Most clients land between $4,500 and $7,500 all in.
• A 2 to 3 minute brand or anniversary film: scripting, one or two shoot days, archive material worked in, 15 to 25 hours of post. Typically $7,500 to $15,000. To put a real number on it, a package we recently priced for an association 25th anniversary film came to a flat $8,000, covering preproduction, a founders interview day, editing, music, captions, and two 30-second versions for social media.
• Gala or event video: filming the event plus a produced piece to screen during it. Budgets usually run $5,000 to $12,000 depending on crew size and how much original production the screened piece needs.
• eLearning module: priced by scope rather than by the day. A module built from recorded instruction, slides, and interactive elements involves editing, slide synchronization, captioning, and programming hours. Straightforward modules start around $6,500. A full multi-module interactive course is a larger engagement and should be quoted module by module.

How quotes are structured

A good quote separates the shoot days, the post hours, and the pass-through costs (music, captioning, travel) so you can adjust the scope and watch the price move. Flat-fee quotes are fine for defined projects like the anniversary video above, as long as the deliverables are listed. Watch for two things: revision rounds and overage rates. Our quotes include two rounds of revisions, and additional rounds bill at the standard hourly rate, stated in writing before work starts. Payment is usually scheduled in stages tied to milestones, such as signing, the shoot day, and delivery.

What to ask before you sign

Ask how many shoot days and post hours are in the number. Ask what happens if you need a third revision round. Ask who owns the raw footage and the project files. Ask whether captions and music licensing are included or extra. Ask for work like yours, not a general reel. Our case studies include an anniversary video for SMPS and instructional course work for ACOG and the CDC, and any company you consider should be able to point to the same kind of proof.

The short version

For most association and corporate work in the DC area, a professionally produced short video lands between $5,000 and $15,000, and the variables are shoot days and editing hours, not mystery. If a quote comes in far below that, ask which of the cost drivers above was removed to get there.

If you are planning a video and want a number you can take to a board or a budget meeting, call us at 703-490-0040 or visit puritano.com. We will ask about the project, give you a straight estimate, and explain every line in it.