What a TVC really costs, and where the money goes.

Every few weeks a brand asks us the same question: "why do commercials cost what they cost?" It's a fair question, and the industry does a poor job of answering it. So here's the honest version, the one we walk our own clients through.

Most of the budget is spent before the camera rolls

By the time a crew shows up on set, the film is largely decided. Concept, script, casting, locations, wardrobe, art direction and shot planning are where a commercial earns its quality. Skimp here and no amount of expensive camera gear will save the film. Pre-production is the cheapest place to fix a problem and the most expensive place to skip one.

The shoot day is a small city

A production day brings together direction, camera, lighting, sound, styling, talent and production management, each of them a specialist you'd notice immediately if they were missing. Day count is the single biggest lever on cost, which is why a tight script that shoots in one day is worth more than an ambitious one that needs three.

Post is where the story gets made twice

Edit, color, sound design, music licensing and finishing turn footage into a film. Then come the versions: broadcast masters, social cutdowns, vertical crops, subtitled variants. A good post pipeline plans these from day one so the media plan gets every format without a second production.

What this means for your budget

Our advice to any brand, whether you work with us or not: fix the idea first, put real money into pre-production, and shoot fewer, better days. That's how a regional budget delivers a film that stands next to international work.

Planning a commercial? We'll gladly walk you through a budget line by line before you commit to anything.