What Actually Goes Into a Post-Production Estimate
So you’ve got an approved concept deck or already have a project shot and on a drive, and you are looking for an experienced post house like Team Thirteen to handle post. If you are curious on how we put together an estimate, here’s a quick explainer.
Reviewing the Deck and the Deliverable
We’d start with a review of the creative deck (if one exists) and the list of deliverables. The creative deck tells us what’s needed to execute the edit. The deliverable list tells us a different story:
Who is the target audience?
What is the creative vision?
How many primary deliverables are there?
Where will this content live (broadcast, web, YouTube, social etc.)
Are cutdowns needed to tease the primary videos?
From all these cuts, how many different re-sizes are needed?
Are there run time or file size restrictions due to a paid media buy?
What about translations, and in how many languages?
Syncing on the Creative
Our Creative Director and Post Supervisor would then jump on a call with the client and make sure we understand the creative needs correctly. Similar to any production, there’s a huge range of creative possibilities and cost implications in your creative choices. There’s custom music vs stock music, different levels of sound design and color correction needs, GFX choices, and much more. We need to budget correctly for the creative vision and let the client decide if that is within their budget.
What Else Affects Costs
Other things that affect the budget are how quickly the edits are needed and how much footage we are sorting through. We also ask if shoot notes exist? Will the client be providing a paper cut or will the editor be in charge of finding the story in the footage?
Working with a Fixed Budget
If the client is working with a fixed budget we always try hard to hit this number. Together we talk through creative options and alternatives that suit the creative and the project scope. Our team has puzzled through hundreds of budgets and can bring lots of ideas to the table.
Have a Project in mind? Get in touch and we'll put together an estimate for you!