Media Production in Los Angeles.

Three situations account for most production work. The first is a brand whose marketing has outrun its asset library — the channels are running, but the same twelve photographs have been recycled for two years. The second is a launch: a new product, location or service that needs images and video before anything can be announced. The third is an ongoing content requirement, where social and advertising consume more short-form video each month than any single shoot can supply. Where we are a poor fit is broadcast advertising at network scale, which needs a different crew structure and budget than we quote for, and any brief where the deliverables are undecided. If nobody can say what the assets are for, a shoot day will be spent gathering material that fits no channel. We will hold the scoping conversation until that list exists, even where a client would rather book the date first. Los Angeles adds specific practicalities. Locations often require a permit and a certificate of insurance, some neighbourhoods restrict parking for a vehicle carrying equipment, and traffic determines what a two-location day can realistically achieve. We plan around those constraints rather than discovering them on the day, and we quote permits, location fees and travel as separate lines so you can see what is production fee and what is third-party cost. Delivery is scoped as precisely as the shoot. Every aspect ratio, cut-down and file format a channel needs is listed before we shoot, because reformatting a finished edit later is a second piece of paid work rather than an afterthought.

The sequence below applies whether the booking is a half-day session or a multi-day production. The pre-production step is where the money is saved: decisions made on a call cost nothing, while the same decisions made on set cost crew time.

Production quotes vary more than retainer pricing because the variables are physical. The items below are the ones that actually move a number, and we would rather discuss them openly than issue a low estimate and revise it after the shoot is scheduled.

The categories below cover the commercial work we take on. Talent fees, usage licensing, location rental and specialty equipment are quoted as pass-through costs at what they cost us, listed as separate lines so you can see what is production fee and what is third-party.

Production is sold three ways. A Content Session is a shorter booking aimed at a defined set of assets. A Production Day is a full day with a crew, used for launches and campaign work. A Recurring Production Partnership is quoted per quarter or year for brands with a continuous requirement, and is the most economical route when you know you need content every month. Shoot length, crew size, equipment package, deliverable count and post-production depth set the number. Talent fees and usage licensing, location rental, permits, travel and specialty equipment rental are billed as pass-through costs. Pass-through means exactly that: those costs appear at what they cost us, as separate lines, and we do not mark them up.

Licensing and ownership are the questions worth settling before a shoot date is held, because they are much harder to renegotiate afterwards.