How Long Does It Take?

In this blog post we thought we would address once and for all the question we get asked more than any other:

“So how long does it take to make a video?”

Good news = it’s a good question, and one we’re more than happy to try and answer for you

Bad news = there is no simple answer, because it’s a bit like asking “how big is a house?”

Let us try and explain!

COMPLEXITY

Every effort we make for our clients can be stripped down to its basics and placed into one of two categories – it’s either a “traditional” video production (featuring filming) or it’s an animated production (featuring, well, animation – the clue’s in the name).

This is simple enough, but here’s the catch – within both of these categories there are differing levels of complexity on show.

For example, one video production may be a relatively straightforward “piece to camera”, whereas another might involve filming on location and/or with professional actors.

Likewise, one animation might be made up of basic motion graphics, whereas another might need 3D elements included within it.

The more complex something is to make, the longer it will take!

But how do we arrive at the video’s required complexity? Well…

THE PROBLEM

As we’ve said before – it’s great that our videos look good, but what’s far more important is that they solve the requisite problem.

How complex the video needs to be all depends on the problem it is trying to solve, and how we can solve it within the budget available.

This means that a video featuring a university lecturer highlighting their research endeavours probably doesn’t need to be hugely complex – it just needs to feature an interview, some cutaway shots, and maybe a stock music track for background ambience (great word).

A video which will form the centrepiece of a charity campaign however could very well include elements such as script creation, recces of filming locations, or several rounds of storyboarding – all things which will increase the complexity and in turn the time it takes to make the video.

IN CONCLUSION

You know it’s not like us to um and ah or sit on the fence, but “How long does it take to make a video?” is a really tricky question to answer because – as you can see in the reasons above – every effort is different!

For more on this fiendish poser, our Matt has made a video all about it which – if you haven’t already done so – you can watch above!

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