Gourmet Trading grower interview
Brand interviewFilmed in a working packhouse in one visit. Process is what makes that possible without stopping anyone from doing their job.
The corporate video production process
Five phases, about four weeks from filming to the final cut, and a schedule built so your team loses hours rather than days.
One consolidated review round is priced in. Extra rounds are quoted at the time, so a long approval chain never becomes a surprise invoice. Or build your own estimate in two minutes.
Work that came through this process
Four projects at four scales, all run on the same five phases.
Databricks company film
Company filmA multi-location company film. The phases below are what keep a project like this at four weeks rather than four months.
Veld Group, selling a business
Client storyA client interview with real stakes. Paperwork and approvals were settled before the camera came out, which is the whole point.
Kaiser Permanente brand film
Brand filmEnterprise scale, same five phases. The pipeline does not change with the budget, only the number of days in it.
The five phases
What happens, in what order, and what we need from you at each point.
Phase 1: scope and scriptWe agree the audience, the message and the deliverable list, then write. Your sign-off here is the one that matters, because everything downstream is built on it.-
Phase 2: paperwork and approvalsReleases, site agreements, credentialing and any compliance review. All of it happens before the shoot day rather than during the edit.
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Phase 3: pre-productionLocations scouted, schedule built around your working day, crew and gear confirmed, and a call sheet that tells every person exactly when they are needed.
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Phase 4: filmingOne crew, one to three days depending on locations. We work around your operation, not through it, and most people on camera give us twenty minutes.
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Phase 5: edit and reviewA first cut, then one consolidated review round covering everyone who has to sign off. Sequential reviews are what turn four weeks into four months.
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Delivery and archiveFinal files in every format you need, plus cutdowns. Raw footage and project files stay with us, access limited to the people you name.
What we need from you, and when
Four inputs. Everything else is ours.
This page
A named decision maker
One person who can approve
- Length
- At scope
- Runs on
- Prevents committee drift
- Cost
- Free
Access to people and places
Who and where, confirmed
- Length
- Before the shoot
- Runs on
- Protects the shoot day
- Cost
- Free
The deliverable list
Every cut and aspect ratio
- Length
- Before the shoot
- Runs on
- Cutdowns at $750, not a reshoot
- Cost
- $750 each
The only one of these that regularly gets skipped is the deliverable list, and it is the one that costs money. Coverage is either shot for a vertical cut or it is not. Ranges follow our pricing page.
How corporate video production actually works
Corporate video production runs in five phases: scope and script, paperwork and approvals, pre-production, filming, and edit and review. A single-location project takes about four weeks from the shoot day to the final cut, with one consolidated review round built into that schedule.
Almost every corporate video that runs late runs late for the same reason, and it is never the edit. It is a review chain nobody mapped: marketing sees a cut, then legal sees it, then a director sees it, each round a week apart and each one asking for something the previous round did not. So we ask who signs off before anything is written, and we run one round with everyone in it. That single decision is worth more to a delivery date than any amount of production speed.
1How long does it take?
About four weeks from filming to the final cut for a single-location project. Multi-site work adds a week or so per additional shoot day.
2How much of our time does it cost?
Twenty minutes per person on camera, plus an hour at scope and an hour at review. We schedule around your working day rather than asking you to clear one.
3What do you need from us?
A named decision maker, the full approval list, access to people and places, and the deliverable list. All four before the shoot day.
What changes the timeline
Six things move a delivery date. Only one of them is the edit.
+1 to 2 weeks
Compliance or clinical sign-off
Regulated industries review the script as well as the cut.
What a corporate project costs
The published ranges by format, so the process has a number attached to it.
| Package | Typical range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Customer testimonial | $3,500–$15,000 | One story, or a batch day covering several |
| Corporate or interview video | $6,000–$15,000 | Leadership, company and interview-led films |
| Product video or explainer | $6,000–$25,000 | Product films, demos and animated explainers |
| Training or internal video | $6,000–$25,000 | Onboarding, compliance and internal comms |
| Recruitment or culture video | $9,000–$35,000 | Employer brand across one or several sites |
| Video podcast series | $9,000–$25,000 | Recurring episodic production |
| Brand story film | $9,000–$35,000 | Multi-location brand film with cutdowns |
| Commercial or video ad | $9,000–$50,000+ | Written, directed and produced for paid media |
Building your own scope? Pre-production runs $1,000 to $1,500, a shoot day $6,000 to $8,000, and editing $2,000 to $4,000 per finished film. Cutdowns are $750 each. These match our pricing page and budget estimator.
What goes wrong without a process
Nobody knows who approves
A cut goes to four people with equal authority and comes back with four contradictory notes. We ask for one decision maker before anything is written.
Reviews run in sequence
Marketing, then legal, then an executive, a week apart each. This is the single largest source of delay in corporate video and it is entirely avoidable.
Paperwork surfaces on the day
Releases unsigned, a site agreement missing, a badge not issued. A crew standing in reception is the most expensive place to discover this.
The deliverable list arrives late
Vertical and short cuts are $750 when planned and a reshoot when not, because the coverage either exists or it does not.
The shoot eats a working day
Without a call sheet, people wait around. With one, each person gives twenty minutes and goes back to work.
Scope moves after filming
A new message after the shoot means new footage. We settle the message at phase one and hold it, which is why four weeks is realistic.
Corporate pages teams read next
The rest of the corporate cluster, and the service pages behind each format.
Corporate video production
The full service page: formats, process and pricing.
Corporate video strategy
What to make first, and in what order.
Types of corporate videos
Ten formats, and when each one is right.
Testimonial videos
The format most companies should buy first.
Brand videos
The format most companies buy too early.
Video production pricing
Every line item, published.
Where we film
Irvine Los Angeles San Diego San Jose San Francisco New York and nationwide for multi-site systems. Back to all industries.
What clients say about working with us
Kaiser Permanente, Databricks, Google, Porsche, Abbott, Veld Group and Gourmet Trading have all run projects through this process.
They impressed us with prompt responses, ensuring we met all filming objectives without missing a beat. The quality fully met my expectations.
7 Hills Productions went above and beyond in terms of quality, professionalism, responsiveness, and timeliness. They captured our vision perfectly.
They did an amazing job providing a great product. Very easy to work with, we decided to keep working with them for a year-long campaign.
Corporate video process FAQs
How long does a corporate video take?
About four weeks from filming to the final cut for a single-location project, with one consolidated review round built in. Each additional location adds roughly a week.
How much of our team time does it take?
Twenty minutes per person on camera, an hour at scope and an hour at review. We issue a call sheet so nobody sits waiting to be filmed.
How many revisions are included?
One consolidated review round covering everyone who has to sign off. Extra rounds are quoted at the time rather than absorbed silently, so the number you agreed stays the number.
Why do corporate videos run late?
Almost always a review chain that nobody mapped. Marketing sees a cut, then legal, then an executive, a week apart each. Running one round with everyone in it removes two to three weeks.
Will filming disrupt our operation?
No. We scout in advance, schedule around your working day and work with a small crew. We have filmed in working packhouses, hospitals and occupied offices without stopping the work.
What do you need from us before the shoot?
A named decision maker, the full approval list, confirmed access to people and places, and the deliverable list. The last one is the one most often skipped and the one that costs money.
Do you handle releases and site access?
Yes. Releases, site agreements and credentialing are completed in phase two, before the shoot day rather than during it.
Can you work to a fixed deadline?
Yes, if the review round is committed to at scope. We can compress filming and editing; what we cannot compress is an approval chain that has not been agreed.
Who owns the footage?
You own the finished films and the licensed footage. We archive the raw material and project files, and access is limited to the people you name.
Start a corporate project
Tell us the format, the locations and roughly when you need it. You get a written scope, a schedule and a number back, usually the same day.
4.9 on Google5.0 on ClutchShot and edited in houseRaw footage included
Start your corporateReply within one business dayGet a quote
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