What a commercial costs to make.
Whether it runs on TV, on YouTube, or in front of every Reel in your county, a commercial is a planned production: an idea, a script, a shoot, and an edit built to make someone act. Here's what that costs with me.
The short answer
A commercial with me starts at $5,000 for a single-day production. Two or three shoot days, several locations or a bigger crew start at $10,000. A full campaign with creative development, talent and several spots starts at $25,000.
That's the cost to make it. Airtime and ad spend are separate, and you pay them to the station or the platform.
For comparison, published guides put a locally produced commercial at roughly $3,000 to $15,000 to produce, before airtime.
Scoped to the project, priced in writing.
Every commercial gets a written quote after a planning call. These are where they start.
- Best for a single-product commercial, a brand profile, or a customer story
- Creative and script developed with you before the shoot
- Cut for every platform it will run on
- Best for brand films, multi-location commercials, event films
- Locations, permits and talent handled in pre-production
- Several versions from the same shoot
- Best for TV and digital campaigns, launches, documentary-style brand films
- Several spots built around one idea
- Talent casting and location scouting included
Running ads on Facebook and Instagram rather than TV? A Meta ad creative set is $2,500 for six ad videos.
The work.
A brand reel for Anointed Olive in DeLand, and a drone reel for Brothers Gutters in DeBary. Both filmed and edited by me.
More on the portfolio page, including brand films, video sales letters and ad creative.
Where the money goes.
The idea and the script
A commercial lives or dies on the idea. Creative development, the script and the shot list are part of every production, and a simple, clear idea is cheaper to shoot than a complicated one.
Shoot days
The biggest single cost. Most spots that look expensive are one or two very well-planned days.
Locations and permits
Your business is free and usually the best set. Public places, rented spaces and anywhere that needs a permit add cost and lead time.
Talent
Real customers and real staff cost nothing and often work best. Actors, a voiceover artist or hair and makeup are cast and budgeted in pre-production when the idea calls for them.
Crew
Single-day productions run with one to two crew. Bigger shoots bring in a second camera, audio, lighting help, only when the project needs it.
Drone and graphics Drone $499 per site
Aerials are $499 per site. Product graphics, titles and animated text are part of the edit; custom motion graphics add time.
Versions
A :30 for TV, a :15 for pre-roll, a :06 bumper and vertical cuts for Reels. Plan them before the shoot and they come out of the same footage.
Music
Standard licensed music covers your website and social channels. TV and paid ads need a broader license or a custom track, so that music gets scoped and priced in the quote.
Timeline
Most high-production projects take four to eight weeks from the first call to final delivery. A hard launch date is fine; tell me on the first call.
How a commercial comes together
- Discovery call. What the spot needs to do, who it's for, where it will run, and what the budget is.
- Written quote, usually within a day, with a clear breakdown of where every dollar goes.
- Creative development, about one to two weeks: the idea, the script, the shot list, locations and talent.
- Production, one to three shoot days.
- Post-production, about two to four weeks: edit, color, sound, music, review rounds, and every version you need.
That's the shape of most projects. A single-day spot can move faster, and the quote says exactly how long yours will take.
The work speaks first.
“Bright Valley Media checks all the boxes. Nathan directed, edited, and recorded a music video for me, which now has over 11k views! We filmed in a day, and he had an edited final product sent to me within 24 hours.”
Hudson Tucker · Google review
“Nathan does an excellent job of creating a variety of promotional videos with little to no input from the client. He has excellent judgement on what will work with the target audience and one of his videos he created for us has had over 500K views on Facebook.”
Michelle Wyatt · Google review
Rated 5.0 on Google. Read every review
You'll work with me, start to finish.
I'm Nathan LaValley. I've spent ten years making videos for businesses, more than 1,000 of them for over 100 local owners. I'm on every shoot and every edit, so the person you talk to on the first call is the person behind the camera.
That matters more than it sounds. I already know which videos get a phone call and which ones just get a like, so we plan for the call.
Tell me about your spot.
Where it will run, what it needs to make people do, and when you need it. I'll call you back, ask a few questions, and send a written quote, usually within a day.
Tell me what you have in mind.
- Tell me what you need in a sentence or two
- I call you back and ask a few questions
- You get a written quote, usually within a day
Rather talk now? Call or text (321) 578-8477.
Questions people ask
Does the price include airtime?+
No. These prices are for making the commercial. TV airtime, YouTube ads and social ad spend are paid separately to the station or platform. For Facebook and Instagram, I can run the ads too, for businesses whose website I build or manage.
Do you write the commercial?+
Yes. Full creative development is part of every high-production project: the idea, the script, storyboards or a shot list, and creative direction on the day. If you already have a script, we start from it.
Can you cast actors and find locations?+
Yes. Location scouting, permits and talent casting are handled in pre-production when the spot needs them, and they show up in the quote, not as a surprise later.
How long does it take?+
Most high-production projects take four to eight weeks from the discovery call to final delivery: one to two weeks of creative development, one to three production days, and two to four weeks of post-production with review rounds built in.
Do we own the commercial?+
Yes. Once it is paid for, the finished commercial is yours, copyright included. The one thing to plan for is music: standard licenses cover your website and social channels, so for TV or paid ads the right music license gets written into the quote.
What's the difference between this and the $999 shoot?+
The 3-Video Shoot is one hour and three short edits, priced as an easy first step. A commercial is days of planning, a crew day or more, and weeks in the edit. Different products, and the prices reflect what each takes to do well.
Got it. Talk soon.
I'll call you back to go over it. Heads up: the call will come from a 321 number. If you miss me, I'll text you. If you'd rather not wait, call or text (321) 578-8477.