Planning a corporate video: goal, length, shoot days, budget

Start with the goal: who should do what after watching

Many corporate video projects start with a picture in someone’s head: a drone shot over the site, people in production, the logo at the end. That is a list of scenes, not a goal. The goal answers a different question: who watches the film, in what situation, and what should they know or do afterwards?

Write the answer down in one sentence before you talk to a production company. Four examples show how different the resulting films are:

• New customers on your website: the film has to show what you do within the first seconds and end with a clear next step. Short, clear, subtitled.
• Sales follow-up: the film can be longer and show processes, quality and references, because the viewer is already interested.
• Head office, a parent company or investors: site, capacity and team matter here, usually in English and without an advertising tone.
• Visitors at your trade fair stand (booth): the film runs on a loop without sound, so it has to work with pictures and on-screen text alone.

If two of these audiences matter equally, plan two cuts from one shoot rather than one film that serves both halfway. Where an image film ends and a recruiting video begins is covered in our guide image film or recruiting video.

The right length: from 60 seconds to the long version

Length follows use, not budget. A film that starts automatically on a homepage is watched differently from one your sales team sends after a meeting. As a rule of thumb:

Most companies do not need one length but a family: a main film, a short cut and a few vertical clips. That adds little shooting time if it is planned in advance. The short cut needs its own opening shots and sentences that work without context, and those only exist if the interviewer asks for them.

Estimating shoot days: what half a day, a day and two days deliver

Shooting time is the biggest cost driver. It depends on how many locations, interviews and processes the film should show. A rough rule from practice:

• Half a shoot day (4 hours): one location, one or two interviews, footage from one area. Enough for a 60-second film.
• Full shoot day (8 hours): up to two locations, several interviewees, enough footage for a film of up to three minutes.
• Two shoot days: several sites, processes that only run at certain times, or a film with a written script and voice-over.
• Three days or more: brand films with a director, storyboard, drone footage and several versions.

What often shifts the estimate: distances between buildings, new lighting for each interview, machines that only run at a certain hour, and colleagues who are only available on one shift. It is better to drop one location and get better pictures of the rest. How to organise the day itself is covered in preparing a shoot day at your company.

Budget: what a corporate video costs and what the price includes

Pixer publishes fixed prices. They depend on the scope of the shoot, not on the type of film, and are quoted plus VAT:

Unlimited usage rights are included in every package, and so is travel within North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Additional shoot days, travel to other German cities (quoted once per trip), actors, studio hire and add-ons such as drone footage, further languages or express delivery are listed separately in the offer. Non-EU companies pay no German VAT; EU companies with a VAT ID are invoiced under reverse charge. The full list is on our corporate video page.

For your own budget, include internal costs too: management time for the briefing and approval, the working time of colleagues on camera, and the hours needed to prepare and tidy the locations.

Timeline: from idea to finished film

1. Briefing (30 to 45 minutes): goal, audience, channels, people on camera, preferred date. A fixed quote follows.
2. Concept: structure, interview questions, shot list and schedule. You approve it before the shoot day is booked.
3. Preparation on your side: rooms, people, consent forms, time slots. Usually one to two weeks, depending on your diary.
4. Shoot: half a day to two full days, depending on the package.
5. Edit and review: preview via private link, comments with timecodes, two or three revision rounds.
6. Delivery: 5, 7 or 10 working days after the shoot, depending on the package.

Allow three to five weeks from first enquiry to finished film if decisions on your side are made quickly. If the film has a fixed deadline, such as a website launch or a trade fair, plan backwards from that date. Marketing teams abroad should add time for approval by head office.

Common planning mistakes and how to avoid them

• Too many messages: a film that tries to say everything says nothing. One core message and two or three pieces of proof are enough.
• Only management speaks: colleagues from production, service or sales make the film more credible.
• No plan for the short cut: if LinkedIn only comes up in the edit, the right opening shots are often missing.
• Too many approvers: decide in advance who signs off. Every additional opinion stretches the revision rounds.
• Music and rights unclear: use licensed music only and get written consent from everyone on camera.
• No subtitles: in the office and on phones, films often play without sound, and international viewers need subtitles anyway.

The short version

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