Are you looking to produce high-level medical device video productions this year to add value to your marketing? Struggling to find an accurate breakdown of how much it will cost to run a medical device video production?
We have all the answers here.
This article will guide you through the video production process for a medical device filming day and help you understand the costs involved.
The average price of medical device video production at Podymos ranges between £10,000 and £40,000+, depending on scope. In this article, we’ll explain what ‘scope’ means and what factors influence the cost. Note: All costs in this article are in British Pounds (GBP) £1 = USD 1.18652. You can use a currency converter for reference while reading.
What can affect the cost of a medical video production?
When we talk about ‘scope’ in videography, we’re referring to several factors, such as:
- How many cameras are needed for the shoot?
- What lighting is required?
- Is B-roll needed to help tell the story?
- How many setups/scenes need to be filmed?
- How many days does the shoot require (filming and video editing)?
- Does a venue/location need to be hired?
- Are voiceovers or subtitles required?
- Does the team need to stay overnight?
- Is an actor/hand model needed?
- Does the video require music? If so, what type?
- How many video outputs are needed?
How many cameras are needed?
Whether you’re filming a patient testimonial, an equipment demonstration, or a surgical procedure, there are many ways to approach it, so it’s important to think about the shots you’d like to capture to make the most out of the video production process.
This can affect the number of cameras you might need for the video project, which typically ranges between 1-4.
Here’s a list of camera configurations that may be used:
|
Camera setup |
Description |
|
1 Camera |
If your video project is for platforms such as social media or websites, you may only need to capture one angle. However, be aware that this style works best for quick, short videos and may make longer footage look flat. It is also very limiting from a video editing standpoint as there are fewer opportunities to cut out mistakes. |
|
2 Cameras |
Two cameras provide ample coverage for most equipment demonstrations and interviews/patient testimonials. Often, this includes one static camera and another on a robotic track to be used as B-roll. This setup gives much greater scope during video editing. |
|
3+ Cameras |
A third camera is often used to supplement a 2-camera system. This could be because you need extreme close-ups with a macro lens or more mobile shots for B-roll that cannot be achieved with larger cameras. |
How will lighting affect your medical video production?
There are usually two grades of lighting that you can use in your video production: normal and enhanced. When shooting in smaller spaces (e.g., interviews in offices), normal lighting is often appropriate, but when filming in larger spaces or close to windows, enhanced lighting is necessary to balance the scene.
This typically ranges between £200 and £450 per day, depending on your supplier and the type of shoot.
Do you need B-roll in your medical video?
B-roll is any additional footage that adds dynamism to your video.
For example, if you’re filming a testimonial and the patient expresses how they can now ride their horse again following treatment, adding a video clip of them with their horse would add significant emotional weight and contextual value to the video.
All B-roll needs to be planned before filming starts, as it can take up to 1.5 hours to set up the cameras and lighting in a new location. This might add at least half a day to your shoot and will need to be accounted for when planning your day and budget.
What is a scene, and how will it affect your medical video production?
In medical video production, a scene refers to the different setups in the location where you plan to film. For example, you might film your introduction near a neutral background and then film the rest of the video in the operating theatre.
The number of setups required can affect both the price and the length of the shoot, which is why it’s critical to plan the time spent assembling your setups upfront. It can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or more to set up the cameras and lights for a new scene.
Normally, you can do a maximum of 3 setups in a day; however, this depends on the amount of footage to be captured.
If there is too much footage to capture, it’s often better to spread the filming across another day, as rushing can lead to missed scenes, causing significant issues in the editing suite and potentially requiring a re-shoot.
Still have questions and want to talk it through with an expert?
How long does it take to film and edit a medical video?
When predicting how long it can take to film and edit a medical device video, there are a few things to consider. Filming often takes longer than anticipated due to retakes, nervous speakers, or technical issues.
Accurately predicting how long video editing can take does vary, but in our experience, we estimate a minimum of three days of video editing for one day of filming. This allows the video editors to focus on the video production process and produce the highest quality content.
To help you accurately estimate how long your filming day might take, here is a rough guide that we use to predict our shoots:
|
Type of shoot |
Filming |
Editing |
|
Procedure filming |
1 day |
3 days |
|
Patient testimonial in one location |
1 day |
3 days |
|
Patient testimonials in two locations |
2 days |
4 days |
|
Product demonstration |
2 days |
4-6 days |
As a medical video production company ourselves, we price a day of filming with full post-production ranging from £8,000 – £16,300. This includes cameras, lenses, lighting, and the full project team.
How will voiceover and subtitles affect video cost?
Some medical video productions need that extra element that only a voiceover or subtitles can add. If your video requires a voiceover and subtitles, there are several steps you need to take.
Firstly, you’ll need to create a script before filming to ensure you know how much footage you need to capture for each scene. Spending a full day filming only to find out you haven’t got enough footage to cover the script is incredibly frustrating.
Secondly, who would you like to do the voiceover? Each voiceover artist will have different rates and buy-out fees (allowing you to use their voiceover in the future on either specified platforms or freely across all platforms).
The rough cost of a voiceover artist with their buyout fee (normally 100% of the studio fee) and production is from £2,250 upwards.
Does the team need to stay overnight?
A major factor influencing the price of a medical filming day is the location. Most filming crews will have a base, but if your location is more than 2 hours away, it would be more efficient for them to stay in the area.
Not only will this extend the filming time, as they won’t have to factor in travel time into their day, but it will help keep your crew well-rested and ready for the next day.
This is something that needs to be considered in the budget, as it will cause the overall cost to rise.
Is an actor/hand model needed for your video?
If you’re doing an equipment demonstration, you’ll need either a member of your team to be a model to point to everything as needed, or you can hire a model who will do this for you. This is often a good option, as they’re trained to make products look good and are used to the pressure of being filmed, so they won’t need as many takes. In this respect, they’re worth the cost.
Does your medical video need music?
Music has many functions in video and can add a huge amount of emotional depth to your video content.
The right music will also help keep your video content engaging and entertaining. You can have music created for your video, but often, you can use pre-recorded tracks from an audio platform and mix them to match the length of your video.
Purchasing a music track or producing one will add between £500 and £750 to the cost of your project.
How will video marketing affect your production?
One of the final things you need to think about is the final version of your video and where you want to share it. Adding video marketing to your overall content strategy is a great move to improve your engagement and reach.
But how will this affect the video production on the day?
How your video will fit into your marketing strategy will change how it’s filmed.
Things to consider include:
- Quality of video
- Orientation of the camera
- Post-production (graphics and effects)
For instance, if you’re thinking of filming a 2-hour interview and also cutting it down into small clips for social media, then you’ll need to make sure these factors are considered in your shots.
Additionally, when it comes to social media, different platforms have different size requirements, so when exporting the video, you need to export the correct size for each platform. This will require additional time and add to the overall cost.
Your marketing agency or freelancer should be able to tell you the number of outputs needed based on your intentions for the video, but you can easily look up specs on sites such as SproutSocial.