What product
video costs.
No "starting at $X" tricks. Here's how product video pricing actually works in Los Angeles — from founder-tier launch films to motion-control brand campaigns.
Most production company websites either bury pricing behind a "request a quote" form or list a vague "starting at $5,000" that means nothing. We don't. Below is the actual range we work in, broken into four tiers — sized by scope, not by guess.
Real pricing depends on shoot days, the complexity of motion-control work, post-production scope, and deliverable count. The four tiers below cover roughly 95% of the projects we take on. Where you land depends mostly on what the film needs to do, not on who you are. An honest fit check matters more than a cheap number — we'll tell you on the discovery call if you'd be better served by a different studio or a different budget.
Founder launch & single-product
A focused, single-product film. One shoot day, controlled studio setup, no motion control. Suited for early-stage DTC brands, Kickstarter launches with tight budgets, and ecommerce founders who need cinematic product video without a full campaign.
- 1 shoot day
- 1 hero edit + 1-2 cutdowns
- Standard studio lighting
- 2-week delivery
Brand-level product film
The most common range for serious launches. Multi-product or multi-angle hero shots, light motion-control work, full deliverable system (hero + cutdowns + verticals + Amazon spec). Most DTC brand launches, beverage SKU launches, and CPG hero films land here.
- 1-2 shoot days
- Hero + 3-5 cutdowns + verticals
- Light motion-control work
- 3-4 week delivery
Motion-control campaign
Full motion-control production with AD1 or AD2, high-speed liquid or material work, premium tabletop staging, and an extended deliverable system. Suited for brand campaigns, agency-led commercial work, and tech or beverage launches where production value is part of the pitch.
- 2-3 shoot days + previz
- Full motion-control workflow
- 300fps high-speed capture
- 4-6 week delivery
Full agency-grade campaign
Multi-day shoots, both robotic arms, complex motion-control sequences, talent or set work, VFX integration in post, and full platform-spec deliverable matrix. Suited for national brand campaigns, agency-led work for major brands, and hardware launches where the launch film carries the campaign for 12+ months.
- 3+ shoot days + extensive previz
- Both AD1 + AD2
- Full post pipeline + VFX
- 6-10 week delivery
What changes the price: shoot days, motion-control complexity, deliverable count, post-production scope, talent and set requirements, and turnaround urgency. None of these get tacked on as surprises — every line is in the production estimate before you sign.
What doesn't change the price arbitrarily: your industry, your company size, or how badly you want it. The estimate is built from the work, not from who you are.
Trusted across tiers.
Cost, answered.
Product video is a controlled-studio discipline. Every variable — light, motion, product position, surface, timing — is engineered for the shot. That requires specialized equipment (motion-control rigs, probe lenses, high-speed cameras), specialized studio space (controlled lighting, blackout staging, tabletop rigs), and specialized crew time (pre-light, previz, multi-pass shooting). The same hour of production yields a few seconds of finished hero footage, not a few minutes of conversational interview. The price reflects the production density, not the length of the deliverable.
Included in every quote: concept development to the depth the brief calls for, all pre-production planning, shoot day(s) with our crew and equipment, the studio, all standard post (edit, color, sound), and the deliverable cuts agreed in scope. Standard revisions are two rounds editorial, one round color, one round sound.
Extra (quoted separately when needed): on-screen talent, set construction beyond standard tabletop, food stylist or specialty stylist, music licensing for non-stock tracks, voiceover artist fees, rush-delivery surcharges, and out-of-scope post revisions. None of these get added without your approval first.
Sometimes — usually only for very tight, well-defined briefs (one product, one shot, one deliverable). The reason most production days are full days isn't time-padding; it's that the lighting setup, motion-control programming, and pre-light typically take a meaningful chunk of the day before shooting starts. A "half day" rate often means the same setup with less footage and less value per dollar. We'll be honest on the discovery call about whether a half-day or full-day is right for your scope.
Yes — for the right project. Sub-$5,000 work means tight scope: one shoot day, one or two products, controlled studio setup, no motion control. That's enough for a real cinematic product film for a founder launching a single SKU or a DTC brand getting their first hero piece. We'll be candid about what the budget can deliver and we don't pretend a sub-$5k film can do what a $25k campaign does — but at this tier we still bring the same studio, the same cinematography craft, and the same delivery standard.
Yes — for DTC brands and ecommerce teams running ad creative at scale. A monthly retainer typically covers a recurring shoot day, a defined number of cutdowns and verticals per month, and faster turnaround on rush deliverables. Retainers work best for brands shipping new product, refreshing the ad account quarterly, or running a consistent paid social cadence. Discovery call covers fit.