How much does a corporate video cost in Paris? What actually drives the quote

“How much does a video cost?” It’s the first thing almost every client asks me, and fair enough. The honest answer is: it depends. But “it depends” won’t help you set a budget. So here are some ballpark figures for the Paris market and, more importantly, the factors that push a quote up or down, with examples from projects I’ve shot.

Ballpark prices in Paris

Production companies that publish their rates give a rough idea of the market:

• a 1–3 minute corporate video typically costs between €1,200 and €5,000;
• a more ambitious brand film can run from €3,000 to €15,000 or more;
• a simple interview video starts at around €1,000.

The ranges are wide because they cover very different projects. To work out where yours sits, you need to look at what goes into the price.

What actually drives a quote

1. The number of shoot days

This is the biggest line on the quote. A half-day shoot is enough for an interview with one of your executives at your offices. A company film usually needs a full day. A documentary-style piece across several sites needs more.

Example: for Action Logement’s corporate film in Chartres, the shoot ran over two days. We had to follow a construction project, interview several people and capture enough B-roll for a 3 min 43 film.

2. Locations and travel

Shooting in one location is far simpler than moving between sites during the day: every company move eats into set-up and filming time. Outside the Paris region, travel and sometimes accommodation are added to the quote.

Example: for Free, there were two videos in two cities: an aftermovie for an opening in Paris and an on-the-ground report in Marseille. Two separate shoots, so two lines on the quote.

3. Interviews

An interview takes preparation (the questions), lighting and sound set-up, and time to help the person relax in front of the camera. Every extra interviewee adds time on the shoot and in the edit. It’s also often the part that adds the most value, because that’s where your message comes from real people.

4. Editing and deliverables

Post-production often takes much longer than the shoot itself: one shoot day can mean several days in the edit. What makes it vary:

• the length of the final cut;
• the number of rounds of revisions;
• subtitles, motion graphics and colour grading;
• the number of formats you need delivered.

That last one is often underestimated. A 16:9 version for your website, a 9:16 vertical edit for Instagram and LinkedIn, short social cutdowns: it’s more work, but it’s also how a single shoot pays for itself.

Example: for Artisanat du Maroc, every trade show gives us a landscape highlights video, a vertical highlights video and a vertical edit for each day of the show, posted while it’s still running. One shoot, enough content to post every day.

5. Turnaround

Delivering an aftermovie the day after an event is doable, but it has to be planned for: the edit happens overnight or alongside the shoot. A tight turnaround is reflected in the price.

How to bring the budget down without cutting quality

• Batch your shoots. A well-planned day can cover several videos: a company film, two interviews and a set of short social clips.
• Prepare a run of show. A list of who to film, where and the key moments saves hours on the day.
• Think social from the start. Planning vertical shots during the shoot costs far less than trying to recreate them afterwards.
• Work with one point of contact. When the same person handles pre-production, filming and editing, nothing gets lost in translation, and you’re not paying for several suppliers to coordinate.

Questions to answer before you ask for a quote

1. What’s the video for, and who’s the audience?
2. Where will it be shown: your website, LinkedIn, Instagram, a trade show, internally?
3. How many people need to be interviewed?
4. How many locations, and where?
5. When do you need it by?
6. Do you need several formats?

With those answers, I can put together an accurate quote in just a couple of emails.

The real cost of a video nobody watches

What a video really costs isn’t just its price tag: it’s also what it does for you. A cheap video nobody watches to the end is money wasted. By contrast, the videos I’ve shot for Les Compagnons du Patrimoine since 2023 (company film, construction sites, life on the team) have racked up 61,000 views on Instagram on the company’s own account.

Planning a corporate video? Tell me about your project in a few lines: I’ll get back to you within 48 hours with the right questions and a detailed quote. Get a quote · See my corporate videos