How Much a Videographer Costs in Canada: A Simple Guide to Pricing
Wondering about videographer costs in Canada? I've got you covered. With 10 years of freelance videography experience in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, plus 4 years running my own video production company, I've gained great insight into all the industry's pricing.
What is a videographer?
A videographer is someone who captures videos for various purposes, often handling both filming and editing. This could include recording the video, directing, recording audio and adding lighting. A distinction worth noting is that a “cameraman“ is generally not a videographer. A cameraman may just operate the camera while others handle the rest of the production. In contrast, a videographer is involved in all aspects of the production process.
How videographers charge their clients
No matter where you’re hiring a videographer in Canada, they all use a similar way of charging their clients. Whether or not you see this on your quote or invoice, it’s usually broken down into multiple parts; filming, video editing, and sometimes gear.
Filming rates
Videographers will usually give you a half-day or full-day rate for filming. In some cases, when it’s a really short shoot, they may give you an hourly rate. The reason they simplify the fee into half-day and full-day rates is that even if the shoot itself is only 20 minutes at the location, they are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes before the actual recording takes place. This can include; planning and creating a shotlist, preparing the camera(s) and gear, setting up and installing the equipment at the location, the actual recording, packing up all the equipment, and then when back at their office or home they have to transfer all the footage onto hard drives and organize the footage. So after all is said and done, a 20-minute shoot could take up half a day.
Video editing rates
Video editing rates are a little bit more complicated and can vary between videographers and their skill level. Estimating how long an edit will take can be a challenging task especially when it comes to editing a style of video that the videographer may not be familiar with. From my experience, it can be broken down into two different ways.
Time estimation
A videographer will estimate how long it will take him to edit the video, whether it’s a half-day or full-day, and charge a slightly lower rate than their filming rate, as they don’t have to leave the house.
Hourly rate of editing
Estimating the time it takes to edit and how many revisions the client will want can be difficult, so some videographers will charge an hourly rate from the start.
Revisions
Revisions are any corrections or changes that are made after the video has been completed. These are usually charged in 3 ways:
The videographer offers unlimited revisions included in his price
The videographer charges an hourly rate for any revisions or after a certain number of revisions are completed, an hourly rate is applied
The videographer provides another estimate for each round of revisions
Gear rates
There are some videographers who borrow a way of charging from the film industry and add a “gear” fee. To me, this is like a cleaning fee on Airbnb. It’s not really relevant to the customer, so why should they see it? I like to bake it into the price.
A videographer will charge what it costs to rent their equipment or camera for the day. So if their filming rate is $750 for the day, they will add another $250 for equipment.
How much do videographers charge?
There are many different niches in the video industry, so we are going to break down the pricing based on the niche of the video being filmed. There are four main niches that we will discuss; corporate, wedding, generalist, and director of photography.
Corporate videographer
Videographers who work with businesses and corporate clients are often paid the most. There is a certain level of skills and professionalism required in order to work in this niche, and when you can master it, it comes with a higher fee. It can also be more demanding, as corporate clients have a better eye on the details and require multiple revisions and changes.
Corporate filming rates
Day rate for filming: Between $500 and $1500, with the sweet spot at $1000
Half-day rate for filming: Between $350 and $800, with the sweet spot at $650
Corporate video editing rates
Day rate for editing: Between $300 and $1300, with the sweet spot at $800
Half-day rate for editing: Between $200 and $800, with the sweet spot at $500
Hourly rate for editing: Between $30 and $150, with the sweet spot at $90
Cost of a typical corporate video
Full day of filming and full day of editing: $1800
Wedding videographer
The wedding industry is very popular among videographers because it’s so easy to get into and the client usually isn’t expecting anything super professional. However, there is a lot of pressure when it comes to filming weddings, so guys or gals who can consistently make good videos will charge a higher rate than the rates I list below. I’ve filmed all sorts of videos over the last 10 years, and weddings are still imprinted in my mind as some of the most stressful shoots I’ve been on. 14-hour days, with little to no breaks, pairing your equipment with the venue’s equipment within minutes and having no chance for mistakes because you only get one shot. All this is why wedding videos cost a lot of money.
In most scenarios, you would hire a videographer to film and edit your wedding so everything comes packaged together.
Cost of a typical wedding video
Cost for a wedding video: $750 and $3500+, with the sweet spot at $2700
Generalist videographer
A generalist is someone who takes on all jobs that are given to them and doesn’t necessarily specialize in one direct niche. This could be promotional videos, music videos, event videos, product videos and everything in between. From my experience, these types of videographers can be less experienced and may still be figuring out their niche.
Generalist filming rates
Day rate for filming: Between $250 and $950, with the sweet spot at $600
Half-day rate for filming: Between $200 and $500, with the sweet spot at $400
Generalist video editing rates
Day rate for editing: Between $100 and $500, with the sweet spot at $350
Half-day rate for editing: Between $100 and $300, with the sweet spot at $200
Hourly rate for editing: Between $20 and $50, with the sweet spot at $30
Cost of a typical video from a generalist
Full day of filming and full day of editing: $950
Videographer/Director of Photography
There are some people in the industry who ride the line between a videographer and a director of photography. In short, a director of photography (DP) is someone who works on film sets or on advertisements and is in charge of the overall look and mood of the image. They are very knowledgeable about lighting, and cameras and control the visuals of a video. They will often own higher-quality equipment than your average videographer and can produce a much more impressive image. I consider myself a corporate videographer, but I often get hired as a DP by other video production companies because they are looking for more than just a cameraman. They want someone who can make the image look really good and above average. Generally speaking, these types of videographers will charge higher rates.
DP filming rates
Day rate for filming: Between $700 and $1800, with the sweet spot at $1200
Half-day rate for filming: Between $650 and $1200, with the sweet spot at $850
DP video editing rates
Day rate for editing: Between $300 and $1300, with the sweet spot at $800
Half-day rate for editing: Between $200 and $800, with the sweet spot at $500
Hourly rate for editing: Between $30 and $150, with the sweet spot at $90
Who is the client? Because that affects the price
Working with some clients can be very straightforward, while working with others, not so much. Videographers may have set rates, but the rates will fluctuate depending on who the end client is. Videographers typically have three ways of getting hired: by agencies, by other video production companies, or directly by the end client of the video.
Agency
A creative or marketing agency that doesn’t have the capacity to produce videos will often hire a videographer. They are usually pretty straightforward with their requests, as they have knowledge of the industry. The agency acts as the middleman between the client, taking on the responsibility and the communication with the client.
Direct to client
When a videographer is directly hired by the end client, they often assume more responsibilities, potentially involving extra work and time. This encompasses client management, shoot planning, scheduling, email communication, and more. As a result, they might apply a slightly higher rate to account for these added tasks.
Video production company
If a video production company hires a videographer, the process becomes quite straightforward. They speak the same language, and it will be as simple as “go here and film this and here are the settings you should use”. So in this case, the videographer may charge less because it’s a simpler job.
How do you find the right videographer?
The only way to feel comfortable when hiring a videographer is to make sure they have produced videos similar to what you are looking for because the skills may not be transferable between video industry niches. The main way to do this is by checking out the portfolio or website of the videographer. If you do not see any relevant examples, then ask them if they have any they can show. From personal experience, I’ve filmed so many videos that there’s just no way to fit them all on my website, so it’s best to ask. If you don’t find what you are looking for, then consider looking elsewhere.
Videographer vs video production company
You might be confused by the difference between a videographer and a video production company. A videographer is usually a one-man-band type person who handles all aspects of a video himself. They could also work in tandem with others, but generally, each one works independently.
In contrast, a video production company is a collective of people, or the video production company hires a collective of people to handle bigger jobs that require multiple people. An example of this would be producing a commercial, where there are actors, make-up artists, directors, camera operators, etc. They usually take on bigger projects with bigger budgets.
The best way to pay videographers in Canada
The easiest and most common way to pay a videographer in Canada is to send them an e-transfer. If it’s a larger company, an EFT or cheque will also be fine.
If you’re located outside of Canada, then sending a wire transfer or via PayPal will also work. Keep your videographer happy, and don’t make them pay for the Wire transfer or PayPal fees.
About Winter Summer Media
I'm Wes, the founder of Winter Summer Media, a video production company located in Montreal, Canada. Whether you're seeking videographer services in Montreal, or across Canada, or have questions about this post, feel free to get in touch or leave a comment below.