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Most of these come up on a first call. We have written them out so you can get the answer now rather than waiting for a meeting to find out whether we’re a fit.
Money
The question everyone opens with, and the one most video companies dodge.
Most video production in Sydney lands between $2,500 and $20,000 + GST for a finished video asset. A half day with one person on camera sits at the bottom. A multi-day shoot across several locations sits at the top. Our Sydney video production cost guide has the range for every kind of video and what moves the number. Tell us what you’re making and when, and you’ll have a fixed quote to look at, usually within a day.
Not much. What it is, roughly when, where it’s filming and who it’s for. A few lines is plenty. If something’s missing, Jess will call and ask rather than send you a form. You’ll hear back within one business day.
A customer testimonial runs $2,500 to $6,000 + GST. A video news release $2,750 to $5,000. An executive piece to camera $2,800 to $8,000. A corporate video $3,000 to $12,000. A case study or a live action explainer $4,000 to $12,000. A brand story or employer brand film $6,300 to $12,000. Event and conference work runs $3,800 to $20,000, and livestreams $3,000 to $20,000, depending on the days. A multi-day or multi-location project runs $12,000 to $30,000. The full cost guide shows what sits inside each number and what doesn’t.
Yes, and the cost guide will get you most of the way there on your own. A two minute conversation does the rest, so you know whether we’re in the right ballpark. Nobody wants to spend a week scoping something that was never going to fit.
Tell us the number early and we’ll tell you honestly what it buys. That’s a better conversation than building a scope you were never going to approve. If the budget won’t stretch to something we would put our name on, we’ll say so rather than cutting corners quietly.
Yes. The quote is itemised and fixed before anything gets booked, and the number you approve is the number you get billed. If something changes on your side we tell you what it does to the price before we do it, not afterwards.
Yes, and it’s on the quote as its own line so you can see it. Planning is the shot list, the running order, the crew booking and the call sheet. It’s the part that makes the shoot day calm, so it’s real work rather than an add-on.
Go deeper: What video costs in SydneyStart a conversationHow we work
Timing
Most people are asking because they already have a deadline in mind.
Usually within a couple of weeks of the brief. We have turned shoots around in a few days when the date demanded it, so ask even if it feels tight. The honest answer comes back quickly either way.
Your first edit lands within 10 business days of the shoot. Event sizzle reels are faster, usually within three business days.
Give us the date at the briefing stage and we’ll either commit to it or tell you it’s not realistic. We would rather lose the job than agree to a date we’re going to miss.
For events, yes, and it’s a common ask. It changes how we run the day, so it needs to be in the brief rather than requested at 4pm on the shoot. Say it up front and we’ll build the day around it.
Feedback and approvals, almost every time. The filming and the edit run to schedule. What moves a deadline is a cut sitting with five people who all need to see it. Deciding who signs off before we start saves more time than anything else.
Go deeper: The full processEvent video
On the day
What actually happens when we turn up, and how much of it lands on you.
The crew the job needs, named on the call sheet before the day so there are no strangers. Normally a Director of Photography plus whoever else the shoot calls for, sound, lighting, a second camera or a producer running the floor.
You’re welcome, but plenty of clients brief us once and get on with their week. The brief and the call sheet cover what we need. If a decision comes up we call you rather than guess.
That’s the normal starting point, not the exception. Our crew came up through live broadcast news, so settling nervous people is most of the job. We talk to them like a person, keep the set calm, and nobody sees the first three takes.
In your own building, almost always. We bring lighting so a plain meeting room still looks good, and filming where your people actually work looks more like you than a hired studio does. We film on location and in studios too when the job calls for it.
We plan for it. There’s a wet weather option on any outdoor shoot, spare kit in the van, and a crew used to solving things on the day rather than stopping. If a shoot genuinely can’t go ahead we reschedule it, we don’t bill you for a day that didn’t happen.
Go deeper: Corporate videoVideo production
The edit
What happens between the shoot and the files landing with you.
Two rounds are built into every job. In practice that’s plenty, because you’re commenting on the actual frame rather than describing a timecode in an email. If a job genuinely needs more we talk about it rather than surprising you with a fee.
Through Frame.io. You click on the moment you mean and type. Everyone on your side comments in the same place, so we get one clear list instead of four conflicting emails, and nothing gets missed.
Yes, and it’s worth asking for at the briefing stage rather than afterwards. If we know you want vertical cuts and short social versions, we frame the shoot so they work. Asking later means cropping something that was never shot for it.
Yes. Send your brand guidelines and the font files and we work inside them, so the titles and graphics match everything else you put out. If you don’t have a video style yet we build one on the first job and it becomes your standard.
Often, yes. Send it over and we’ll tell you honestly what is usable before you commit to anything. Sometimes there’s a good video sitting in there. Sometimes the honest answer is that it needs a reshoot, and we would rather say that early.
Go deeper: Video editing
The fine print
The questions procurement and legal ask, usually after everyone else has agreed.
Yes. The finished videos are yours to use anywhere, for as long as you like. There’s no licence clock running in the background and no fee that reappears in two years when you want to keep using it.
We archive it after delivery so it’s there if you come back wanting another cut. It isn’t a permanent archive though, so tell us if you’ll want to come back to it.
Yes, and we do it regularly for professional services, government and anything commercially sensitive. Send yours over. We’re used to filming things that aren’t public yet and keeping them that way.
Yes. Public liability is in place and we can send the certificate. Our vehicle registrations are on file too, so venue access, loading docks and site inductions get sorted before the day rather than at the gate.
Go deeper: Government workProfessional services
Working together
The things people want to know before they hand a job over.
Jess, from the first call to the final files. No handover chain, no being passed to an account manager you have never met. One person who knows your job and answers the phone.
Yes. Sydney and greater NSW is standard, and we travel interstate for the right job. Travel and mileage go on the quote as their own lines so you can see exactly what the distance is costing you.
Whatever the job needs. Some clients hand over the brief and we carry it from planning through to final files. Others have an in-house editor and just want the filming. Tell us where the line sits and we quote to that.
Yes, and running both on the same day is usually the smart move. The lighting is already up and your people are already organised, so you walk away with two libraries instead of booking everyone twice.
Usually what went wrong was managing them, not the footage. So the whole thing is built around you briefing us once and not having to chase anyone. Fixed quote, one contact, named crew on a call sheet, and delivery on the date we said.
Go deeper: About Zarco CreativeWho we work with
Not answered?
If your question isn’t here it’s probably a good one. Tell us what you’re trying to make and we’ll give you a straight answer, whether or not it wins us the job.
