A day of interviews. B-roll. The edit. One hero film and a few cuts for social. It’s the shoot corporate teams ask us about most. And it buys more than most people expect, if the money goes to the right places.
Not An Ad · Ep. 04 · By Caldera Films · October 2026
“What does a day of interviews, B-roll and edit cost?” For corporate teams, that’s often the first question. It’s a fair one. Ask ten production companies and you’ll get ten numbers, most of them without a breakdown.
So here’s how ours breaks down, in the open.
In Episode 01 we asked whether people would still watch if you removed the logo. In Episode 02 we talked about finding the story before the camera. In Episode 03 we argued that searchable footage still needs a director. This one is the practical part. What the money buys.
One number worth keeping in mind. A new Omnicom Media study, reported by Digiday on Oct 6, found that 65% of U.S. consumers avoid advertising to some degree. The aversion isn’t to brands. It’s to ads that feel interruptive, repetitive or irrelevant. Budget is how you make the thing they don’t skip.
The short answer
A corporate film day, meaning leadership interviews, B-roll and the edit, with motion graphics and a few cutdowns, typically falls in the $15,000–$16,000 range. It’s a typical range for that scope, not a fixed price. Every project is scoped against its own brief.
For that scope, you usually get:
- One 60–90 second hero film
- 2–3 short social cutdowns
- One shoot day
- Pre-production, the shoot and post, through final delivery
Turnkey. One team from concept to final file. No handoff between a “creative agency” and a “crew.”
Branded work is a different conversation. A concept-driven brand film is budgeted around the concept: the idea, the set, the talent, the number of days it takes to do it right. So it varies, and we don’t put one price on “a brand film.”
Where the money goes
Three buckets. Every corporate film day, at every budget, has the same three. So does a branded film. The concept just changes the size of each.
Pre-production and creative
Concept. Treatment. Script support. Shot list. Casting. Locations.
This is where the film gets decided. Who speaks. What they need to say. Where they sit. What B-roll proves the point instead of decorating it. It’s also the line clients most often want to trim. Don’t. A thin plan shows up on screen as a thin film.
The crew day
The shoot is crew, camera, light and sound in one place for one day. It’s usually the biggest slice.
Our rule of thumb: at most three setups per shoot day when we’re shooting both photo and video. A setup is a new position. The lights move, the camera moves, the room gets reset. A leadership interview, a B-roll pass through the office, a team moment. That’s a full day, done well.
Interviews are a craft of their own. Our corporate interview work is built on pre-interview subject calls, controlled lighting and a relaxed two-camera setup. “Every great interview starts with making the subject feel safe to speak.” That’s where the quotable lines come from.
Post
Edit. Color. Sound. Motion graphics. Cutdowns. Delivery.
Post usually takes 1–2 weeks from shoot to first cut, depending on availability. Then revisions, then final files.
How a corporate film day budget splits
Illustrative example only. Not a quote. Every project is scoped against its own brief. This shows the rough shape of a one-day interview-and-B-roll corporate film, not a price list.
| Bucket | Rough share |
|---|---|
| Pre-production & creative (concept, treatment, script support, shot list, casting, locations) | 15–20% |
| Shoot day (crew, camera, lighting, sound, gear) | 45–50% |
| Post (edit, color, sound mix, motion graphics, cutdowns, delivery) | 30–40% |
The shares move together. Heavier motion graphics means a bigger post slice and a leaner day. A more complex shoot means the reverse.
What pushes the budget up
The same film gets bigger in predictable ways.
- Extra shoot days. The single biggest jump. A second day is a second crew day.
- More locations. Every move costs time, and time is setups. Two locations in one day often means fewer setups, not more footage.
- Talent. Actors, hosts or influencers. We can add them through our partners. They carry fees and usage terms of their own.
- LED wall, virtual production or VFX. A different scale entirely. Our ZKP film with Kevin O’Leary was built on a three-screen LED arc, with the brand designed into the set itself. That’s concept-driven work. Different scope, different build, different budget.
- Travel. Crew, gear and time on the road.
- More deliverables. More versions, more lengths, more languages, more formats. Each one is edit time.
None of these are bad. They just need to be on the table before the quote, not after.
What to cut if the budget is tighter
Something has to give. Better to choose it than to discover it on set.
- Fewer setups. One interview setup and B-roll in the same space.
- One location. Your office, shot well, beats three locations shot fast.
- Fewer voices. One or two speakers, not five.
- Lighter motion graphics. Titles and lower thirds, not an animated explainer.
- Fewer cutdowns. One strong social cut instead of three.
What not to cut: the planning, the sound and the light on the interview. Those are the things people notice, even when they can’t name them.
The deliverables you should expect
Whoever you hire, the package should be clear in writing before the shoot.
- The hero film. A 60–90 second master in your main format.
- Cutdowns. Sized for where they’ll actually run: 16:9, 9:16, 4:5 or 1:1.
- Captions. Burned-in versions or a caption file, or both.
- Music. Licensed for the way you plan to use the film.
- Revisions. A stated number of rounds.
- Final files. Who owns them, in what format, and what happens to the raw footage.
If any of that is vague, ask before you sign.
Questions to ask any production company
Use these with us. Use them with anyone.
- Who directs the film, and are they in the edit?
- What does pre-production actually include?
- How many setups are you planning per day?
- What’s the timeline from shoot to first cut?
- How many revision rounds are included?
- What’s not in the number? Talent, travel, music, usage?
- If we had to cut 30%, what would you cut first?
- Can I see a film you made at a similar scope?
A good answer to the last two tells you more than the reel.
A budget is a brief
The range above isn’t a magic number. It’s a scope. One day of interviews and B-roll, one story, one hero film and the cuts that carry it. Branded work starts from the concept instead, and the budget follows the idea.
The point of this series hasn’t changed. Make something people would choose to watch. The budget just decides how much room the story gets.
More from the series on the Not An Ad hub.
Have a number in mind? Tell us. We’ll tell you honestly what it buys.