Video production: rules of the road

Thank you for contacting us regarding your video needs! You should have already received from us a preliminary quote, request for information (brief), and a link to this page. Here we will tell you what to expect, both in terms of pricing and how collaboration will function going forward.

Please read this page carefully. These are our standard terms and conditions, and by starting active work on the video, you indicate your agreement with the policies below.

Budget calculation

Unlike most other companies, we calculate video cost by the number and complexity of the scenes, not by the time spent on the project. Brevity is often a good thing – just because other companies can stretch 60 seconds of video to 66 seconds does not mean that it will get you any more sales :)

To calculate the budget, we divide the video into scenes. A scene consists of three to five events in a single setting. A change in setting, or a large number of events, represents the beginning of a new scene. Simple scenes cost less, while complex ones cost more. The cost of simple and complex scenes is indicated in the design brief that was sent to you when beginning work on the video.

The video budget includes: the idea, script, graphics and animation, translation and voiceovers by native speakers, purchase of a music track, and audio. This is enough all by itself to make an awesome video. However, clients sometimes ask for “something extra”: composing music, making a detailed 3D model of the client’s product, or drawing a large number of illustrations and characters. Such work is subject to additional payment and, as such, you will also receive the results of this extra work in addition to the final video.

Therefore, the exact budget will become known only after we complete work on the video script. Until the script is finished, we can give only an estimate of the final cost.

How the video will get made

Here is the order of operations: you fill out the design brief that we send you. Then we write a draft and final scripts, create a storyboard with sketches, develop draft and final animations, record voiceovers, and finalize the audio. For a detailed description of the process, click here.

Feedback, comments, and modifications

At every stage of video production, we show you what we have created up to that point: draft and final scripts, visual sketches, storyboards, voiceovers, draft and final animations, and music. If you like everything, you can say “Great, let's keep going!” If you have any wishes or comments, we will make the necessary modifications and obtain your approval. So you are constantly involved in the process and can proactively help to make sure that the result is exactly what you need.

Making changes to an already approved component of the video may require an increase to the budget. For example, if the script has been approved and a voiceover has been recorded for this script, but you then make changes to the text that now requires a re-recording of the voiceover, the budget will increase accordingly. This is an exceptionally rare occurrence, however. In our experience, clients are very careful when approving the results of work in progress, and going back to revise previous stages is rarely necessary.

If we make round upon round of corrections but the client still does not give their go-ahead, we will provide up to three rounds of such proposed corrections free of charge. We have never had any situations of this kind to date, and we are much more interested in making an awesome video than in trying to wrangle an additional $100 out of you.

Video source materials

By default, we do not provide the video source materials, in the same way that software developers do not provide their source code and car manufacturers do not include schematics and factory blueprints with their vehicles. What we are selling is a finished, ready-to-go video, not the methods and techniques used to create it.

If you really truly need the video sources, we can provide these for an additional payment. Tell us (preferably before starting work) and we will be able to provide these materials in shareable form: we will remove dependencies on third-party plug-ins, include the images, footage, and fonts used in the video, and organize the project in a way that can be readily understood by your team.

OK, but how do I update the video when my product changes?

No worries! Just ask us. We keep copies of all projects. If something needs changing, we are always glad to help. Simple changes (such as changing a word on screen) are free of charge.

Localization process

If we have made a video for you in one language, then we can also localize it to any other language! Localizing an existing video that we have created will cost anywhere from 50 to 80% of the original amount. Localization is more complex than simply translating and recording a voiceover. The process requires translating all text shown on screen, recording new screencasts of the product in the necessary language, translating the voiceover text, and recording the voiceover with a native speaker of the target language. But the most important (and most difficult) task is adjusting the animation to fit the new voiceover – since the timing of individual sentences and words varies from language to language – and then re-rendering the video.

Sharing our videos

We love the videos we make and try to share them as much as we can! When a video is finished, we place it on our YouTube channel, Facebook, and Twitter Our monthly newsletter includes our latest videos as well. We often publish articles with our videos on tech blogs and and elsewhere online.

If you prefer to keep your video under wraps until the official product release, then just let us know!

Video resolution

By default we create video at HD resolution (1280x720). If you require Full HD (1920x1080), please say so in the design brief. For videos with 3D graphics, this may require a budget increase of 15%.

So there you have it! If you have any questions, write us at video@alconost.com or click the button below. We will get back to you right away.