This is how much your image film costs

bike mechanic burning 100 euro bills, with a smile

4. March 2025

This is how much your image film costs!

Every company that has ever asked for quotes for an image film knows that high-quality moving images are not exactly cheap and that it is sometimes difficult to understand the pricing of production companies. The budgets for what appears to be the same product vary greatly. A corporate film can cost between 7,000 and 70,000 euros, with no upper limit. This is because the cost of a promotional video depends on many variable factors. Depending on the film idea, the concept is trickier, the location rental more expensive, the film crew larger and the editing more time-consuming – or not. This makes it all the more important to get the right advice in the initial meeting, in which the open points are adapted to the customer’s wishes. Only then can a meaningful quote be prepared.

Before you delve deeper into the topic of pricing with us, take a quick look at our services. This will give you an overview of the steps required to produce an image film.

Not all image films are the same

When our customers imagine a film for their company, they usually have examples in mind that they have stumbled across on the Internet or at the competition. Naturally, their ideas differ greatly. This is why the term image film is rather vague and requires clarification before a budget can be set. The best way to do this is to discuss the costs using specific examples:

1. traditional image films

By traditional, we mean the often seen but proven combination of narrative text that informs and images that emotionalize. For OpenSpaceAlps, an organization that campaigns for the preservation of natural open spaces in the Alps, we were able to create a film like this. The aim was to get to the heart of the transnational project in just a few minutes. Take a quick look:

The shots were taken in several Alpine countries throughout the seasons and could also be part of a tourism campaign in terms of their look. Many days of shooting were necessary to produce this variety of images. The costs can quickly explode with so many hours of work, but the budget was very limited. So we found a compromise and produced all the images in a team of two. Sound was not necessary for our concept on set. We were also able to save on the lighting crew because we worked entirely with available light. And thanks to fewer, but selectively deployed actors, the fees were kept low. This made it possible to produce an image film in a lower price category, even if it looks more expensive.

2. Documentary

For us, using a documentary as an image film is clearly in line with the current zeitgeist. Our documentary about the talented architect Chris Precht has not yet been released, but we can show a short teaser.

For this approach to work, a lot of conceptual preparatory work is required, with the director being particularly challenged. Before filming, we need to understand the passion of the protagonists and the processes in the company. We don’t just shoot at random; in-depth research is a prerequisite for a dramaturgy that does justice to our customers.

A documentary as an image film can last five minutes and therefore be less expensive. But it can also appear as a ten-part series of ten minutes each. The amount of time required for filming depends on the project in question, as does the time we need for editing.

Exceptions prove the rule, but the documentary approach is usually more expensive than the classic image film. However, a lot of material is produced that can be used elsewhere. For Chris Precht, the ten-minute documentary is the foundation of a campaign. In addition to the main film, we can, for example, produce snippets for social media without much effort. Our clients benefit from a major investment for a long time.

3. Artistic Approach

Before ski racers plunge down the slope, they visualize the course in their mind’s eye. Because this process looks like a dance, it immediately appealed to us as a conceptual thread. In our film for Atomic, we visualized the visualization again, so to speak. If you don’t understand it now, just watch the Atomic commercial:

Admittedly, our Atomic Spot is not really the typical image film of a company, but rather a trailer promoting an event. But this film helps us to understand one fact: The length of the films is not always the decisive price factor and offering the price of an image film in fee per film minute is dubious and economically unsustainable. One minute in the Atomic Spot means: storyboard, studio rental, lighting system, crew of several, professional athlete, contracts, catering, make-up, shoot on the mountain, camera system for ski shots, cameraman on skis, self-composed music and and and…

“And how much does my movie cost now?”

We could give many more examples that somehow fall under the term image film, but that would probably need its own blog entry. Our aim was for you to understand why we don’t give a specific amount when it comes to the cost of a film. Every film project has individual requirements, which always results in a different budget. Basically, it can be said that if the budget hurts a little, the film is important and valuable enough to be realized.

At the end of the day, only one thing helps: contact us and find out what kind of image film you really need and what it will cost.