Why Hyperjump Productions Only Offers Bespoke Pricing
In a city of incredible business exchange like Dubai, getting good deals is essential. This is no different when deciding who to go to when you need video production in Dubai. You don’t want to overspend, but equally, you want to ensure the end result you’re investing in will be a top-notch video that will help you stand out from the crowd. We always have this in mind when quoting potential new clients.
Aligning on pricing is always essential in initiating a video production contract. Naturally, the client will be keen on getting a good deal for their project, and, of course, we always aspire to get the best offers for our company as well. But on a deeper level, it’s also important to agree on a budget that is sufficient to ensure the quality the client desires, and the complexity of the project’s scope.
In this blog post, we detail why we quote bespoke prices for each and every project, and why we stand by this methodology. Rather than offering set price levels for specific services, we believe, in the creative sphere, each project deserves its own unique quotation, taking into account the budget of the client and the creative ambition of the project.
Why No Price List?
An important question we get a lot at Hyperjump is: how are videos priced? And why doesn’t Hyperjump have a price list?
The straightforward response is, we don’t believe film and video production - as we do it, at least - can simply be packaged as a “product”. Video production isn’t like shampoo, or a can of soda, or a t-shirt; it’s not a tangible, assembly-lined product that will always have the same essential components and production method wherever you go.
Instead, video production is a complex creative process that requires many moving parts to come together to make a whole. What’s more, these parts can vary significantly depending on the end goal of the video, the technical requirements, and the creative ideas involved. While there are, of course, procedures to ensure a professional standard, each and every video production is also a unique coming-together of elements, which is, for us, what makes it so beautiful.
To reflect this, here at Hyperjump we employ a bespoke pricing system, wherein we create each project quotation from scratch, based on the criteria unique to that project. We often reference previous project quotations when doing so, but we always keep in mind the elements and approaches that will uniquely help this new project succeed.
How Does Our Bespoke Pricing Work?
The complexity of pricing a video production is based on numerous factors. Firstly, we identify the type of video we are being hired to produce, and use that as a foundation. For instance, even if they are roughly the same length, a Corporate Video, a TV Commercial, a Brand Video, a Social Media Promo, an In-House Training Video and an Event Highlight Video are all very different videos that require their own approach. Each comes with different timelines, cast and crew rosters, equipment lists and levels of creativity required to make them shine.
On the high end, a TVC (Television Commercial) can be a massive creative undertaking, especially if the intent is for it to capture the attention of millions of people. For this, a Creative Director is a must, one who understands the target audience, and is able to translate the brand’s identity into something unforgettable. A TVC needs time and care to develop and perfect its creative concept, not to mention the likely need of high-end acting talent, an industry-standard lighting and cinematography team, and multiple locations or a studio.
For us to do a TVC justice, we’d need a budget that reflects these elements, and that allows us the time and space to give the project the full attention it deserves. But, of course, which elements are and aren’t needed, entirely depends on the creative concept, hence why bespoke pricing is our method of choice.
As a second example, we have Corporate Videos, where standardized pricing might make a little more sense on paper. After all, Corporate Videos fulfill a bit more specific a function in the market (depending on the field), and typically include similar elements: leadership interviews, B-roll, key infographics, and perhaps drone shots of the company’s sites.
Nevertheless, there are many levels to Corporate Videos as well. Always, our first priority is to speak to the client, and understand why exactly they need this video to be made. What is the “problem” they are trying to solve or purpose the video will fulfill? Is this the first corporate video a small company is making to help get their name out there in their field? Or is this a video celebrating specific milestones or achievements? Or is it to announce a new development? Or show the inner workings of their mechanical procedures?
Each of these is a valid reason to produce a corporate video, but each may also require different content or levels of production value. For instance, a company with a significant factory footprint may benefit a lot more from 3-D drone footage than a financial services company that is entirely office-based. Unless, of course, they want to show off their location within the Dubai skyline. You can see from this alone, that so many factors can contribute to the needs and therefore costs of a corporate video.
Therefore, we always start with a comprehensive discussion with the client, listening to their ideas and asking key questions to gauge the needs of their video. To show the credibility of your equipment, would 3-D animations showing the moving parts be of value? Is raw production value (more dynamic lighting, epic drone footage, exciting music) essential, or would something more simple and straightforward fulfill your goals? How soon do you expect the video to be completed?
The most important question of all, of course, is this:
What is the Client’s Budget?
For situations in which the client is confident in sharing this, it can give us an excellent starting point. A client who comes to us with a budget of $100,000 USD vs. one with a budget of, say, $10,000 USD, is likely to have very different expectations on the project and the resources required. The larger budget would open up options like drone cinematography and CGI that can add real production value to the end product. It also allows for the possibility of more shoot days, bigger crews, and higher-end equipment dedicated to the project.
The higher-budget projects are always exciting for us, for obvious reasons, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t open to lower-budget projects as well. It’s simply to say that, the higher the budget, the higher the resources we can pull from to produce a truly one-of-a-kind video. If the expectations don’t require expensive elements such as drones, CGI, or Influencer cast members, and we feel we can do the project justice on a tighter budget, we’re often open to it.
Where the issue comes is in expectations and credibility. Project negotiations often default to “how low can you go to make this video for me?”, and we strongly feel this mindset is a setup for failure. Of course, you want to get your money’s worth and not overspend; any good business would feel the same. At the same time, video is an essential marketing tool in this day and age, something that will likely be seen by a lot of eyes, and if you are contracting us to make a video, you want it to reflect your brand, its credibility and commitment to quality. To be frank, doing so usually requires some level of investment. Where this isn’t possible, the scope needs to be realigned to ensure quality is not sacrificed.
To reflect this, our bespoke pricing system always focuses on value. Specifically, how much value can we create within this budget? If the client does have a smaller budget, we might suggest removing certain elements, so that we can use the budget we do have on what’s most important. For example, filming a corporate video in the client’s offices, rather than in multiple locations or in a studio. Or, using stock/archive footage if CGI and drone footage isn’t strictly essential.
Another way of making the most out of a smaller budget is realigning on timelines. For example, we may be more willing to work on a complex project with a lower budget, if we have a considerable amount of time to produce it. This can lighten the load with editing and CGI costs, for instance. With urgent projects, this simply isn’t as realistic. Ultimately, if we feel we are not able to solve the problem for the client within the offered budget and timeframe, we will not accept the project.
Hyperjump as a Partner
Instilled by our founder Dennis Chehade, we at Hyperjump are very passionate about approaching each client relationship as a partner, rather than simply a contractor or sales person.
We believe you don’t need someone who is going to markup every cost and squeeze maximum profit out of minimum effort; instead, you need someone who is going to use the budget you agree on to maximize the value you get out of the video and, ultimately, solve the problem they were hired to solve. Our ethos is to work as best as we can within each budget to utilize our facilities, team and equipment to its highest potential.
So far, we’ve found this approach works for us, to the point where our clients are now often a lot more likely to be upfront with us, telling us the budget they’re working with, to which we can advise on what is possible within the budget.
Nevertheless, we stand by our bespoke pricing approach, given how much in a video production depends on the budget and therefore resources available. Crew alone is a core example; for a Corporate Video, you need someone who is incredibly good at lighting interviews, at making clean camera setups, at ensuring sound quality is perfect.
At the end of the day, Hyperjump would like to see ourselves not as a third-party contractor to the clients we work with, but as an extension of their marketing team. We really like to fit into the company culture and deeply understand what they are trying to achieve. We want to take full responsibility in solving the issues we’ve been onboarded to tackle. This comes down to clear communication, a breakdown of how we will use our resources and spend the client’s money effectively, and, perhaps most importantly, in telling the clients no if we truly believe something isn’t possible or is the wrong direction.
Because of this, we only create a budget quotation after truly understanding what the client needs, and, in turn, save the client money on unnecessary costs, ensure less risks for the actual project, and leave successful, both parties happy.
So whether it’s for a massive TVC campaign or a small event, we approach each potential project on a case-by-case basis, giving you a bespoke quotation that we believe matches the needs of your project, and that will allow us to do it justice.
Have a project you’d like to talk to us about? Contact us now at hyperjump@hyperjumpproductions.com or at (+971) 058–599-8064.
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