A corporate film can cost €3,000 as much as €120,000. There's a reason for this dizzying range: what we call "a film" covers about ten different products. This guide details the real ranges by format, what they include, and how to scope your budget smartly.
Contents
Why prices vary so much from one film to another
First thing to understand: there is no one price for a corporate film. The cost is shaped by five factors you need to identify before requesting a quote.
- Format (duration, ratio, deliverables) — a 30-second TV spot doesn't cost like a 12-minute documentary.
- Technical complexity — how many shooting days, how many crew members, what equipment (cinema camera vs camcorder, drone, motion control).
- Travel — Paris only, multi-site in France, or international. Shooting in Singapore or Brazil easily doubles the budget.
- Post-production — editing only, or with cinema-grade colour, motion design, professional sound mix, multilingual subtitling.
- Rights and casting — a union actor, a known voice-over or commercial music can add €5,000 to €30,000.
A simple indoor portrait film shot in half a day in Paris will therefore structurally cost ten times less than a brand film with casting, scenography, full technical crew and motion design post-production.
Price ranges by format in 2026
Here are the realistic ranges observed at Kyma Production over the last 12 months, by type of format. These ranges reflect professional productions (full crew, cinema-grade equipment, careful post-production) — they don't reflect low-cost rates often quoted online, which rarely match what brands actually expect.
| Format | Duration | Range | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media film (vertical 9:16) | 15–30 s | €3,000–€8,000 | 2–3 weeks |
| Corporate portrait / interview | 1–3 min | €4,500–€12,000 | 3–4 weeks |
| "Voice-over" institutional film | 2–4 min | €8,000–€20,000 | 4–6 weeks |
| Brand film / brand content | 1–2 min | €15,000–€45,000 | 6–8 weeks |
| Series of 3–5 portraits (programme) | 3–5 min each | €20,000–€60,000 | 6–10 weeks |
| Multi-format global campaign | 1 film + variants | €30,000–€80,000 | 8–12 weeks |
| Documentary / long-form film | 8–15 min | €40,000–€120,000 | 10–16 weeks |
| Event coverage | 1 shooting day | €4,000–€10,000 | 2–3 weeks |
These ranges include: full pre-production, shooting with professional crew, post-production (editing, colour, mixing), 2 rounds of revisions, HD/4K deliverables in required formats.
For a major account (CNP Assurances, HEC, Dior), our 2-minute institutional films typically range between €12,000 and €25,000. That's the average budget for production "calibrated to last", not for a temporary social spot.
What's included (and not) in a quote
A serious quote must always distinguish what's included from what's optional. Surprises almost always come from things that weren't listed from the start.
Usually included
- Pre-production (brief, scouting, location, scheduling)
- Technical crew (director, DOP, sound, lighting)
- Professional equipment (camera, lenses, lighting, sound)
- Editing, colour grading, sound mixing
- 2 rounds of revisions on the edit
- Deliverables in brief-agreed formats (HD, 4K, ratios)
Often optional (anticipate)
- Voice-over actor (€300–€2,000 depending on profile)
- Stock music (€200–€1,500) or original score (€3,000–€15,000)
- Multilingual subtitling (€200–€500 / language)
- Motion design / 2D-3D animations (variable, €1,500–€15,000)
- Talent casting
- Drone, motion control, specific equipment
- Extended rights (national TV, international, long duration)
- Travel and expenses outside Paris
Our advice: insist on a quote that lists all line items, even those "free" in the standard version. This allows objective comparison between vendors and clarity on where to invest if you want to scale up.
How to optimise your budget smartly
"Optimising" doesn't mean "pushing prices down". It means placing every euro where it's visible. Here are the levers that work in 2026:
1. Bundle shoots
If you plan 3 portraits in the same year, negotiate them as a series. A single grouped shoot day will be about 40% cheaper than three separate days. This is what we do with HEC Paris on Stand Up programmes.
2. Invest in pre-production
A poorly scoped brief costs 2–4 days of re-shoots. Careful upstream briefing saves €5,000–€10,000 on the total. The marginal cost of good pre-production is trivial compared to what it prevents.
3. Limit casting
Filming your real employees costs 3–5 times less than actors, and it's more authentic. Reserve actors for specific cases (mainstream TV, fiction series).
4. Design deliverables at shoot time
Shooting in 4K with sufficient margins generates 10+ different formats (16:9, 9:16, square, story) from a single shoot. This is what we do for Mac Douglas: one shoot, Digital + Print + TV + B2B variants.
5. Choose a studio that owns its range
A serious studio will not make a €8,000 film if it proposed a €30,000 crew. Beware of "low-cost quotes that can evolve". Favour transparency.
3 concrete cases of budgets and productions
To make these numbers concrete, here are three recent Kyma projects with indicative budgets and what they included.
Case 1 — Mac Douglas (global campaign)
Multi-format campaign for the leather goods brand: 1 TV spot 30s + 5 digital films + print visuals. Budget: global campaign range. Included: scouting, model casting, 4 shooting days in a Haussmann apartment, full technical crew, extended post-production with product motion design. Lead time: 10 weeks. View case →
Case 2 — CNP Assurances (institutional series)
Annual series of short educational films (cybersecurity, finance, ESG) for internal and external communications. Budget: series range. Included: single point of contact, recurring formats, optimised workflow. Lead time: 4 weeks per film. View case →
Case 3 — HEC Paris (Stand Up portraits)
Series of female entrepreneur portraits (Stand Up programme). Budget: portrait range per portrait, bundled shoot for savings. Included: long preparation with entrepreneurs, half-day immersive shooting each, edit mixing face-to-camera + immersion. View case →
