If you’ve been searching for this, you’ve probably met a lot of “contact us for a quote” buttons. So here are my real prices, what each one includes, and an honest guide to what you should expect to spend.
Most business videos in Scotland cost between £1,400 and £5,000. A freelance videographer for a filming day starts from around £650. Documentary-style brand films usually run £3,000 to £10,000+, live streams start at £950, and a monthly video retainer starts at £1,450 a month.
Every project gets its own quote, because a half-day event edit and a multi-location documentary live on completely different scales. These ranges are where the large majority of my projects land.
Most video companies keep their prices off their websites. I understand why: a number on its own can put people off before they see the value behind it. The trouble is that it leaves good clients guessing, and plenty of them would rather move on than ask.
Now I’d rather you know the numbers up front. If they fit, we can spend our first conversation on your film instead of on budgets. If they don’t, you’ve lost nothing, and the rest of this page should still help you spend wisely with whoever you choose.
For agencies, production companies and in-house teams who already have an editor.
A freelance videographer (sometimes called a self-shooting DP) turns up with the kit, films what you need, and hands over the footage. You or your team take it from there.
What my day rate includes:
Across Scotland you’ll find videographer day rates anywhere from a few hundred pounds to over £1,000. The gap usually comes down to kit, experience, and whether sound and lighting are properly handled. Cheap footage with bad audio costs you more in the edit than you saved on the day.
More detail on my freelance videographer services in Scotland.
For businesses that need a finished, ready-to-publish video.
This is where most of my projects sit. You tell me what the video needs to do, and I handle everything from planning to the final export.
Where your project lands in that range: one shoot day with one edited film sits toward £1,400. Multiple shoot days, several edits, or a batch of social clips push it toward £5,000.
Several films from one project, such as a testimonial series or a campaign, are quoted on scope. They usually start from £8,000 and run up to about £15,000.
For conferences, awards, product launches and ceremonies.
An edited event film starts from £1,400. That covers filming on the day and an edit that captures the key moments, the speakers and the atmosphere, so you have something to share the following week and use to sell next year’s tickets.
If you’re an agency with your own editor, I can film your event on a filming-only day from £650. If people need to watch live, the live streaming packages below start at £950.
More on event videography and vox pop filming.
For organisations that want one film to carry their story for years.
This is the film you build your brand around. It uses real people, real places and real conversations, shot and edited with the care of a documentary, so the audience trusts what they see.
A focused brand film with strategy, a full shoot day and a cinematic edit usually sits between £3,000 and £6,000. Several filming days, extra crew or more locations take it toward £10,000 and beyond.
If you have one person’s story to tell, a Docu-Portrait is a simpler project and starts at £1,950. You’ll find it under documentary prices below.
See documentary-style brand films, or read a founder’s guide to producing one.
Documentary budgets vary more than anything else in video, because length and access change everything. Here’s how I’d break it down.
A Docu-Portrait tells one person’s story, so it’s the simplest documentary I make and starts at £1,950. A brand film tells your whole organisation’s story, with more people, more locations and more planning, and starts at £3,000.
| Type | Typical cost | What shapes it |
|---|---|---|
| Docu-Portrait · focused, 3–10 minutes | £1,950–£4,500 | One story told well. One-day shoots with interviews and b-roll sit at the lower end |
| Docu-Journey · in-depth, 10–30 minutes | £4,500–£20,000+ | Several contributors or locations, more filming days and a longer edit |
| Documentary-style brand film | £3,000–£10,000+ | Filming days, extra crew, locations and post-production |
| Docu-Feature · long-form | £25,000–£45,000+ | Access, travel, duration and where it will be shown |
| Feature documentary, full crew | £100,000+ | Multi-location shoots, large crews, festival or broadcast delivery |
See documentary filmmaking, charity video production, and Traces, one of my own documentaries.
Fixed packages for events that need to reach people who can’t be in the room. Every stream includes a full master recording, so you also end up with a video to keep.
Single-stage keynotes, press briefings and pop-up launches. Up to 3.5 hours on location, streaming to one or two platforms, plus a 1080p master recording.
Company launches and events that move between rooms, with roaming coverage, branded lower-thirds, speaker names and slide integration.
A full-day, multi-camera broadcast with a two-person crew for conferences and hybrid events where everything has to go right.
Full details on live streaming in Edinburgh and Scotland.
Half-day standalone shoot, fully licensed and insured.
I fly under the Civil Aviation Authority’s Open A1/C0 category, which allows flights over people and built-up areas. If drone shots are part of a wider film, they’re simply built into that quote.
More on drone videography in Scotland.
For businesses that want a steady flow of video without hiring someone in-house. The same filmmaker plans, shoots and edits every month, and the footage library you build is yours to keep.
A half-day shoot every month (or a full day each quarter) for smaller teams starting to take video seriously.
A full shoot day every month for businesses making video a regular part of how they win work.
Everything in Signature, plus paid ads on Meta and Google and posting done for you.
Prices are for 12-month terms. Six-month terms and the full list of what’s included are on the video retainer page.
Two quotes for “a two-minute video” can be £500 and £8,000, and both can be fair. The length of the finished film matters far less than people expect. These are the things that really move the number.
The biggest single factor. One location on one day keeps things lean. Every extra day adds crew time, kit and travel.
The edit is where the film is really made, and it often takes longer than the shoot. Interviews that need shaping into a story take the most care.
One hero film costs less than one hero film plus a 60-second version, three vertical clips and subtitled cuts. Planning them together is far cheaper than asking later.
A solo filmmaker is efficient and unobtrusive. Multi-camera events, live streams and larger productions need a second person or more.
Documentary-style work needs research, pre-interviews and planning before filming. That groundwork is why those films land with an audience.
I’m based in Edinburgh and film all over Scotland and the UK. Multi-location shoots and longer travel days get built into the quote.
Here’s a quick sum I walk clients through. Work out what one new customer, donor or hire is worth to your organisation over time. Then ask how many of them this video needs to bring in to pay for itself.
Say a new client is worth £5,000 to you, and you invest £2,500 in a film that lives on your website, your proposals and your LinkedIn for the next two or three years. It needs to tip one client your way, once, in that whole time. A well-made film has years to do that.
That’s also why the cheapest option can be the most expensive one. A £300 video that makes you look smaller than you are quietly costs you work every day it’s online. So the goal is the video that earns its keep, at whatever budget that turns out to be.
| Option | Typical cost | Good fit when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-house videographer | ~£4,500/month plus £12,000–£15,000 in kit | You have 40 hours of video work every single week | Salary, employer NI, pension, kit and someone senior to manage them |
| Marketing agency retainer | £3,500–£8,000/month | You want strategy, ads and content from one supplier | Filming is often subcontracted to a freelancer at a markup |
| One-off production | £1,400–£10,000+ per project | You need a specific film for a launch, campaign or website | One film on its own rarely keeps social channels fed |
| Freelance filmmaker on retainer | From £1,450/month | You want regular content without an employee | Works best when you can give one shoot day a month |
If you run an agency, I’ve written up the full numbers in in-house videographer vs white-label partner.
Day rates in Scotland range from a few hundred pounds to over £1,000. My filming-only day rate starts from £650 and includes a Sony cinema camera kit, lighting and professional sound, with raw footage delivered by download link.
For a professionally shot and edited two-minute corporate or promotional video, expect roughly £1,400 to £5,000 in Scotland. One shoot day and one edit sit near the lower end. More filming days, interviews or extra versions for social media move it higher.
Because the finished length tells you very little about the work involved. Filming days, editing time, crew size, story development and the number of versions you need all change the cost. When comparing quotes, compare what’s included line by line.
For finished videos: planning and creative direction, filming with cinema-grade kit, editing, colour grading, sound design, licensed music, subtitles and social cutdowns. Filming-only days include the kit, lighting and sound, and you receive the raw footage.
Yes, and I’d encourage it. Tell me the number and what the video needs to achieve, and I’ll tell you honestly what’s possible within it. For charities and non-profits I can shape a leaner package around the funding you have.
Yes. I’m based in Edinburgh and film across Scotland, and further afield in the UK when a project needs it.
Write a few lines about your organisation, your budget if you have one, and what you’d like the film to achieve. I’ll reply personally within 24 hours with honest advice and a clear quote.
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