As a non-profit organisation considering video production, you likely have questions about the process, costs, and potential impact. For many charities, it’s a pretty new thing and often, people aren’t familiar with what is actually needed to make it happen and how to ensure the video will work.
In this guide, we’ll address the six most common queries that charities face when starting a video production journey, whether the video is for fundraising, awareness, a project evaluation or recruiting staff and volunteers.
1. What Will It Cost, and How Can We Budget for It?
One of the first considerations for any non-profit is understanding the financial investment needed for a professional charity video. Video costs can vary quite a bit and are usually based on several factors:
- Length of the final video
- Filming: Filming locations and travel requirements
- Filming: Number of filming days
- Animation: The design style
- Animation: The quality of the animation
- Post-production complexity
- Inclusion of animated characters or 3D elements
- The location of the production company
Many production companies offer special rates for non-profits, such as a discount. They can also usually provide different quality levels or options based on various budgets; as it’s a bespoke product, it can generally be tailored to suit (such as lowering or increasing the quality / combining filming days / looking at reducing the runtime / exploring other options).
So it’s good to be honest about your expectations of the video and the budget so that everyone can see how that aligns from the start.
As a very rough guide, a professional video production company would start at about £1.5k, but this can still vary, and some may be able to offer a lower cost option that is less bespoke to you, using stock assets or UGC. High-quality animation and longer durations will also increase this cost, you can learn more about the various video cost levels here.
When budgeting, consider the immediate cost and the potential return on investment ROI through increased donations and awareness. A much lower-budget video that is less engaging overall may have less impact and bring in fewer donations – and so not be worth the money.
2. How Much Time and Resources Will We Need to Commit?
Understanding the time investment required from your team is important for proper planning, so we’ve given a few typical schedules here, and have also written a page about the methodology behind a film video production on this blog post. A typical filmed video production timeline includes:
Pre-production planning (1-2 weeks)
– Scripting, location planning, storyboard, shot list, and confirmation of any staff, clients, or other interviewees, or actors appearing on screen.
Filming (1-4 days)
– Many shoots only need 1 day of filming, and this can capture up to 5 minutes of content, whether it’s B roll only, interviewed or scripted sections to camera. But for a video series, you may need more days, we recently filmed for 4 days to create a comprehensive series of 9 videos.
Post-production editing (2-4 weeks)
– All the shots are edited together seamlessly as per the storyboard or as per the questionnaire, with post production including audio enhancement, colour correction, voiceover is required, music and any graphics needed.
Review and revision cycles (1-2 weeks)
Make sure all the appropriate parties, including those who have appeared on camera, see the video before it’s released and are happy with the content. This may also be when your video company creates 1-2 short highlight reels for social media. And create English language SRT files for subtitling.
And an animated video production:
Pre-production planning (1-2 weeks)
– This includes concept, script development and written treatment – like a written story of the video, and art direction, which is where we confirmed the style of the animation.
Design (2-4 weeks)
– Creating a few style frames, these are a few still images representative of the final look and feel, then after approval is the fully illustrated storyboard. Here’s a quick example of a final charity animation storyboard. The longer the video is, the more frames there are to design. Often they will share voiceover samples for you to choose from during this stage too.
Animation (2-4 weeks)
– The animation stage is where the studio brings the designs to life, complete with movement, music, voiceover and sfx.
Review and revision cycles (1-2 weeks)
Again with animation, make sure all the appropriate parties see the video before it’s released and are happy with the content. However, with animation such as a charity explainer video, it’s often easier to snag any amendments earlier in the process, for example, at the design stage or written treatment. Catching big changes and amends earlier on makes for a smoother process that is much more likely to stay on budget – and will be over all more headache free. At the very end after confirmation of the video, this is also when we’d create English language SRT files for subtitling.
Your staff will primarily focus on pre-production planning and review stages of each of these steps. It should take up minimal time after the script is in place, but you do need to ensure proper review. Most professional production companies can handle the technical aspects independently, minimising disruption to your operations and showing you just the key stages for approval.
3. How Can We Ensure Our Message Connects?
Creating a great video requires more than just technical expertise and equipment. Look for production teams with rich experience, cool ideas and a good portfolio.
The video production company would ideally have experience working with non-profits in your sector, and you can see it on their website pretty quickly if they understand your world, or a short email can tell you a lot – don’t be afraid to just enquire and ask questions. There’s never a commitment.
Browsing a portfolio online or asking to review some more samples will demonstrate if they’re good at storytelling – clearly demonstrating the cause and giving the audience a reason to keep watching through scripting, editing, powerful visuals, and a strong arc.
A video production company should also understand how to balance emotional impact with dignity, carry out any filming in a sensitive manner, and demonstrate good safeguarding when working with young people.
The best results come from production companies that take time to understand your mission, values, and specific goals before filming or animation begins – so their attention to detail and communication in the preproduction stage is vital.
4. What Technical Expertise Should We Look For?
Professional video production requires specialised skills and equipment. Your production partner should provide:
- High-quality cameras and lighting equipment
- Professional audio recording gear
- Experienced operators and directors
- Smooth edits that flow seamlessly and absorb you
- Graphic design that’s high quality and reflects the brand well
- Talented illustrators, who have a range of styles or perhaps one strong style done very well.
- Video that is inclusive and accessible
- Animation that is dynamic and engaging.
They should also be able to handle most any type of video project while maintaining professional quality standards.
5. What About Rights and Usage?
Understanding the legal aspects of video production is important. Key factors to consider before starting a project include:
- Video ownership rights
- Music or stock asset licensing
- Model releases for any participants
- Rights to edit or modify the content
For some productions, these won’t come up and are not major. However, for larger organisations where a lot of content is created by different staff and other parties, it’s important to outline these points in your production agreement to avoid future complications.
6. How Will We Share and Distribute the Video?
A great video needs an effective distribution strategy to make sure it’s seen. Your production partner should be able to guide you on:
- Optimise content for different platforms (social media, website, presentations)
- Create multiple versions of varying lengths (sometimes, this may have an additional cost)
- Provide guidance on video SEO and video players
- Advise on distribution strategies
- Provide SRT files for accessibility
Consider asking for additional deliverables like short social media cuts or event-specific edits. This is usually a simple question for a filmed video. But for animation, it may be less straightforward as it could include redesign to fit the new aspect ratio – and would incur extra cost – which may well be worth it. Make sure you have conversations about the aspect ratio and who / where your target audience is right at the start. We find many clients are choosing to go vertical first, or square ratio, as a middle ground.
Moving Forward with Your Video Project
Now you have some of the answers to these key questions, you’re better prepared to move forward with your video production project. When procuring a video production, remember to:
- Get multiple quotes and compare services
- Have a quick meeting or phone call, you want to like who you’ll be working with
- See references or testimonials from other non-profit organisations
- Review previous work samples
- Discuss all concerns up front
- Get agreements in writing
When you have multiple quotes and have spoken with a few companies, red flags may also appear, for example, if one is a lot cheaper than the rest – question why? Or one promising to deliver by a much faster deadline. Are they cutting corners? Is the video made from automated software or templates? Is it just a big team? Are you involved in the process? If you are interested in more questions to ask a potential company, we have an extensive list here
Video content remains one of the most powerful tools for sharing your mission and inspiring support for your cause with 93% of marketers considering video a crucial part of their overall strategy. By understanding these key aspects of video production, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions about your next steps.
At Digital Finch, we specialise in helping non-profits create impactful videos that respect your mission and budget. Our team understands charitable organisations’ challenges and would be happy to discuss how we might support your video production needs.
Whether you’re ready to start a project or simply have more questions, we’re here to help. Reach out for a no-obligation conversation about your video ideas, and let’s explore how we can help bring your story to audiences who need to hear it.
