What does a trade fair video cost? From 30 seconds to a full film

Which video do you actually need?

The price question can only be answered once it is clear which video you mean. At trade fairs, four formats come up again and again, and the effort behind them differs a lot:

• Highlight video, around 30 seconds: atmosphere, stand, visitors, logo. No presenter, no interviews. The fastest way to show you were there. How it is built is explained in our guide to the 30-second highlight video.
• Vertical 9:16 clips: for Reels, Shorts and Stories, edited as a separate vertical cut.
• Trade fair film, around 90 seconds: with interviews, a product demo and a simple story. Good for your website, sales team and distributors.
• Stage and presentation recording: keynotes, panels and product presentations, usually with several cameras and audio from the mixing desk.

Then there is the corporate video, which is shot at your company rather than at the show: an image film, a recruiting film, customer testimonials. It is priced separately, because concept, locations and editing take more work.

What drives the price

With video, much of the work happens after the shoot. These factors decide the price:

1. Filming time on the stand (booth): a highlight video needs less footage than a film that shows visitors, product and team at different times of day.
2. Number of versions: every extra length and every extra format is a separate edit, not a button press.
3. Interviews and audio: a wireless microphone, a quiet corner, agreed questions, then audio clean-up and subtitles.
4. Languages: subtitles in several languages need translation and checking. We deliver subtitles in English, German, Arabic and Farsi.
5. Music: the licence has to cover every channel where the video will run.
6. Delivery time: a finished video during show week means editing runs in parallel with the shoot.
7. Cameras: one camera is usually enough for the stand. Stages with several speakers need two to four cameras.

That is why filming time alone says little about the price. Two hours on the stand can end up as one short video, or as a highlight video, several vertical clips and two interviews with subtitles in two languages. The difference lies almost entirely in the edit. So always ask for the list of finished versions in a quote, not just the hours on site.

Fixed-price packages

At Pixer, video at the show never stands alone; it always comes together with photos. That saves you a second supplier and a second round of coordination. All prices are plus VAT:

If you book a shorter package but still want a voice in the film, add an on-stand interview with a 90-second extended cut for €190. Multi-camera recording of stages, keynotes and panels is quoted on request, because duration, number of speakers and edits vary a lot. Details are on our trade fair video production page.

For a corporate video shot at your company, our packages start from €1,990 plus VAT. See corporate video for the details.

What the price should include

A video quote is only comparable once these points are clear:

• A finished edit with colour grading and a sound mix, not just raw footage.
• Licensed music for every planned channel, including your website and the screen on your stand.
• Subtitles whenever someone speaks, plus short text overlays for the muted feed.
• Formats: 16:9 for website and YouTube, 9:16 for Reels and Stories, each as its own edit.
• Revision rounds: two are included with us.
• Usage rights: unlimited, with no time limit, including partners and distributors.
• Delivery time: with us, within 24 hours after the show ends.

Raw footage is a separate point. Some companies want to archive it for later edits. Agree beforehand whether and in what form it is part of the delivery.

Getting the most from the budget

The cheapest option is not always the smallest package; it is the one where a single shoot does several jobs. Three typical cases:

1. Showing presence: a highlight video and one vertical clip are enough for LinkedIn and your follow-up email. Two well-chosen hours will do.
2. Supplying sales teams and distributors: a 90-second film with a product demo and a statement from management works all year, in every market you sell to. This is where the full day or the interview add-on pays off.
3. Combining the show with a company film: if you are filming anyway, show footage can be reused in an image film later. Our guide on combining corporate video and a trade fair explains how to plan it.

If you fly in from abroad, two more points matter. Non-EU companies are invoiced without German VAT, EU companies under reverse charge. And the video should be finished before your team flies home, with subtitles in the language your home market reads.

Typical cost traps

• Raw footage only: cheap on paper, expensive once someone in-house has to edit it.
• Music without the right licence: the video then cannot run on your website or on the stand.
• Vertical as a crop: a 9:16 cut from 16:9 loses heads and logos. Plan vertical clips as a separate version.
• Late delivery: a show video that arrives weeks after the fair has missed its most important use.
• Separate suppliers for photo and video: two teams, two briefs, two lots of travel. One team for both saves coordination and cost.
• No agreed revisions: without fixed revision rounds, every change to the edit turns into a new negotiation.

The short version

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