Many people hire videographers to film special events, like weddings or school reunions, for example. Here, we’ll explain what a videographer does, review the factors that determine a freelance videographer’s rates in the UK, and suggest how to reduce the video production costs.
Videographer’s Work
In simple terms, videography means making videos, while cinematography refers to producing motion pictures, although modern digital technology has almost erased the difference. A videographer is a professional video camera, lighting and sound operator and sometimes an editor, all in one but they will sometimes need film production assistants.
Video production consists of two parts, namely the filming and the post-production editing. When the work is done, either the videographer loads the video on a hard drive and gives it to you personally, or you download the video from a cloud service on which the videographer has saved it.
Advantages of Paying Videographers’ Prices
Hiring a professional videographer is better than trying to film an event yourself.
- A videographer’s experience and skills help produce a better quality video than an average person would, and that’s especially true for editing work.
- A camera operator for hire brings special equipment that would be too expensive for most people to consider buying, and they wouldn’t know how to use it anyway.
- Making a video will require all your attention, whereas by delivering the responsibility to a videographer, you can fully participate in the event.
Freelance Videographer’s Rates in the UK
Average videographer prices are from £40 to £250 per hour. If you’d like to pay for a project instead of per hour, the rates range from as low as one hundred quid for promotion camera operators to about K1.5 for the most reputable videographers. Most freelance videographers for hire in London charge between £300 and £1,000.
Post-production editing usually costs about 150% more than the filming, while some even charge 600% of the camerawork. Since the total costs are high, some people choose to make videos themselves and only pay for editing. It works if you have camera operating experience. But it doesn’t make sense for amateurs to do it since the videos they produce require a lot more editing, increasing the costs thereby.
The most economical alternative is to hire a videographer to do both parts and charge you for the entire project. One can easily find video production studios in London on Poptop that produce high-quality videos for much lower prices than big reputable companies do.
Videographers’ prices usually depend on the following factors:
- Location
Naturally, freelance videographers’ prices are a lot higher in London than in the other parts of the UK, so you may feel tempted to hire one from a small town. It might not necessarily be a good idea, though, as you would have to pay for the camera operator’s return ticket and accommodation in London. Plus, videographers in London will probably have better equipment to make the total costs noticeably lower.
- Duration
Even if you pay for the project rates, longer videos and events will cost you more. To reduce the costs, you can hire a videographer for some parts of the event only.
- Season
The rates increase in summer and at weekends, on public holidays, and socially significant days, like St. Valentine’s Day. It applies to other services too, so it makes sense, if possible, to plan the event for a cheaper time.
Apart from that, urgent applications are more expensive, while making a reservation well in advance might even earn you a discount from some video production studios and, especially, from freelance videographers.
- Work Conditions
Camera operators charge more if they have to work in uncomfortable or awkward conditions. There is little you can do to change those conditions, though, to cut the expenses.
- Type of Event
Of course, the type of event affects the price too. Wedding videography, for example, will cost a lot more than filming a birthday party.
- Special Effects
Visual and audio effects come at an additional and sometimes high price. Their costs will also depend on the quality of the videographer’s equipment. Modern technology helps reduce the costs noticeably, which is why it’s better to hire a videographer from a professional and well-equipped studio.
Conclusion
Freelance videographer’s rates in the UK might seem high, but professional video production services are worth paying for, especially in the case of an important event. And you can reduce the costs noticeably by considering the factors that affect the prices.
We hope our article will help you find a good and affordable video production service in London and here you can find video production service in London.
