It's the first question most businesses ask, and the honest answer is that video production is priced by scope, not by a fixed menu. Two jobs that both sound like "a video" can sit a long way apart on price once you look at what's actually involved. Understanding the levers helps you brief better and compare quotes fairly.
Shoot days are the biggest single factor. A single-location half day is very different to a multi-day shoot across the Gold Coast and hinterland. Crew size matters too — a solo shooter-editor costs less than a director, camera operator, drone pilot and separate editor.
After the shoot, the edit is where a lot of the value is made. Colour grade, sound design, licensed music, motion graphics and multiple rounds of changes all add time. So does the number of deliverables: one landscape hero cut re-framed into vertical social edits is far more economical than commissioning each piece separately.
The cheapest video is the one you only have to make once. Content planned around where it will actually run — your homepage, a paid ad, a reel — tends to work harder and last longer than footage shot without an end use in mind.
Booking film, photo and drone off the same shoot day is usually the biggest saving available. The crew and gear are already on site, so adding stills or aerials costs a fraction of a separate booking.
Come to the conversation with the end use, roughly where it will run, and any hard deadlines. The clearer the brief, the tighter the quote — and the fewer surprises later. At Ninefive Creative every job is quoted per project, with a fixed price agreed before we shoot.