Why we ask for your video budget
With almost every video project, there comes a time where you have to discuss the budget, it just becomes unavoidable. As soon as the word comes up, there can be a change in mood, a noticeable tension as the client tries to work out the intention behind you asking about budget. There can also be an element of anxiety as well as suspicion, after all, there’s the potential that the project can’t go ahead because of your lack of budget, right? Whatever the reason may be, a lot of people don’t like talking about the budget for their video project, but there are a few practical reasons why it has to be discussed, and the sooner it can be, the better for the whole project.
The first reason that we ask for a budget is to determine how we might tackle a project. One of the joys (and sometimes anxieties) that comes as part of producing a video are that there are loads of ways that you can produce a video, and each way that is discussed can open up even more potential avenues. Naturally, these different avenues cost different amounts of money, and the sooner we know how much budget is attached to the project, the sooner we can narrow down the right options to choose from. It has been known to happen that a client doesn’t realise just how many options are open to them, and we’ve been able to add elements to the video that they didn’t think would be possible. In short, budget questions aren’t just there to tell you what you can’t have, they’re about telling you what is right and achievable for the project, sometimes with some nice surprises!
For every project we work on we create a unique proposal document, and this includes a detailed breakdown of the services that we’re offering and their accompanying costs. If we don’t know in advance what your budget is, we could either pitch something that is way out of budget, therefore hindering the production of your video whilst you think about what to do, or pitch for services under your budget, potentially limiting your video. When we create these proposals or discuss any project we really are trying to make sure that you get the best possible outcome and budget is really helpful in doing that.
In the event that we discuss the project, and decide that we can’t help on this particular one, knowing your budget can still be helpful. If we know your budget, and you aren’t keen on changing the scope of your video or animation, then we may know of someone else who might be able to help you. Having a clearly established budget means that when we run through other companies that might be able to help we can pick the appropriate ones for your needs and get your project up and running as quickly as possible.
Discussions about budget don’t have to cause anxiety or embarrassment, they’re not about trying to squeeze as much money from you as possible and they’re not there to trip you up. Having a frank discussion about budget at the very beginning of your conversation with a videographer is actually just the best way to get your project up and running as quickly as you can, knowing that you’re working with the best options to achieve your end goal.
