Why costs vary so wildly

You can get a quote for a corporate video in Egypt and hear anything from a few thousand pounds to several hundred thousand. Both quotes might be for what sounds like "the same thing." The reason isn't that someone is lying — it's that the scope, crew, equipment, location, and level of polish involved are completely different, and two companies may be quoting you two entirely different products.

Here are the factors that move the needle most:

Scope and brief clarity

A vague brief — "we want a video about our company" — produces wildly different interpretations. One producer imagines two hours of shooting in your office. Another imagines a three-day production with actors, locations, and a post-production team. Before anyone knows what something costs, they need to know what they're making. The more specific your brief, the more accurate your quote.

Crew size

A one-person crew with a good camera can produce solid results for many types of video. A three-camera shoot with a director, two operators, a gaffer, a sound engineer, and a production manager costs proportionally more — because you're getting more simultaneous coverage, more controlled lighting, and a more controlled set. Neither is right or wrong for every situation. It depends on what you're making.

Equipment

Cinema-grade cameras, stabilizers, drones, lighting rigs, and recording equipment all add to day rates. A social media short might be shot on a mirrorless camera with a small lighting setup. A large-format brand film might require cinema lenses, a jib, and professional sound equipment. Drone footage adds a permit process on top of equipment cost. Most of these costs are justified when the end use warrants it — a 15-second Instagram reel doesn't need the same setup as a cinema commercial.

Locations

Shooting in your office is simpler and cheaper than renting a location. Shooting outdoors in a managed space (a hotel, a landmark, a construction site) may require permits, coordination, and security. Travel outside Cairo adds transport, accommodation, and logistics costs. Some locations charge a daily rate just for the right to film there. If your brief involves multiple locations, expect the budget to reflect that.

Script, voiceover, and talent

A video that needs a script written from scratch, a professional voiceover recorded, and on-screen talent sourced and booked costs more than one where your team appears on camera and the message is straightforward. Voiceover artists — particularly those who work professionally in Arabic and English — charge per project or per recording session. Talent (actors, presenters, extras) charge a day rate. This can be a significant line item if you're not aware of it upfront.

Post-production depth

Basic editing is included in almost every quote you'll receive. But colour grading, motion graphics, animated lower-thirds, subtitle files in multiple languages, music licensing, and multiple rounds of revisions all add time. Post-production can represent 40–60% of the total work on a polished corporate video. If a quote seems unusually low, it's often because post-production has been scoped very lightly.

The core insight

Two quotes for "a corporate video" can look the same on paper but describe completely different products. Before comparing prices, compare the scope of what each company is actually proposing to deliver.

The main types of videos Egyptian businesses buy

Not all videos are the same job. Here are the most common types of video that businesses in Egypt commission, and what makes each one different in terms of production requirements:

Social media shorts (Instagram Reels, TikToks, YouTube Shorts)
Short-form vertical content, usually 15–60 seconds. Often fast-paced, requires fast editing. Simpler setups can work well. High volume is the usual challenge — you need enough footage to keep posting consistently.
Product demonstrations
Shows your product in use or explains how it works. Clean shooting environment, good lighting, close-up work. Often includes motion graphics or text overlays to highlight features. Works for e-commerce, SaaS, consumer goods, and B2B products alike.
Corporate or brand film
A longer-form piece (90 seconds to 3–4 minutes) that tells your company's story, values, or vision. Usually involves interviews, b-roll, scripting, and professional voiceover or on-screen talent. These take longer to plan, shoot, and edit — but they're the videos that build real brand equity.
Event coverage
A documentary-style capture of a conference, product launch, wedding, or live event. Requires multiple camera operators, fast turnaround editing, and often same-day or next-day delivery of highlight reels. The scope depends heavily on the size of the event and how many outputs you need.
Testimonial and interview videos
Client or staff interviews filmed in a controlled setting with professional lighting and sound. Often the most credible kind of marketing content a business can produce. Relatively straightforward to shoot, but quality of the resulting edit matters enormously.

Each of these has a different production footprint. A social media short and a brand film involve different crews, different timeframes, and different post-production pipelines. When you ask for a "video," most production companies will ask clarifying questions — but if they don't, that's a flag in itself.

What's typically included vs. what's extra

One of the most common sources of confusion is the difference between what's in the base quote and what gets added later. Here's a general breakdown of how production scopes typically work in Egypt:

Usually included in a standard quote

Commonly quoted as extra, or scoped separately

Watch out for this

If a quote doesn't specify the number of revision rounds, find out before you sign. "Unlimited revisions" is a red flag — see below.

The safest approach is to be explicit about every output you need. If you need a 30-second version, a 60-second version, and a vertical cut for Stories — say that in your brief. If you need Arabic subtitles — say that. If you need the raw footage — ask upfront. Any of these items left undiscussed can become a surprise cost later.

Why a clear brief saves you money

This is probably the single most practical piece of advice in this entire guide: a clear brief is not just helpful for the production company — it directly saves you money.

Here's why. When a production company receives a vague brief, they have to make assumptions to build a quote. Different companies make different assumptions, which is why you get wildly different numbers. The company that quotes lowest may be assuming the simplest possible scope. The one that quotes highest may be building in contingency for all the things your brief didn't specify.

When you come in with a clear brief — you know the goal, you know the format, you know the audience, you know what needs to be in the video and what doesn't — the production company can quote the actual job accurately. There's less padding for unknowns. There are fewer surprises during production. And you spend less time on revisions because the brief set clear expectations from the start.

We've written a full guide on how to write a strong video production brief, including a free template you can use: How to Brief a Video Production Company. If you haven't written a brief yet, start there.

Red flags when getting quotes

Not every production company operates the same way. Here are things to be cautious about when evaluating quotes and proposals:

No contract or written scope

If a company is reluctant to provide a written agreement specifying what's included, the number of shooting days, the deliverables, the revision rounds, and the timeline — walk away. Verbal agreements in production work are how disputes happen. Any professional company will have a clear written scope of work or production agreement.

Vague deliverables

A quote that says "a corporate video" without specifying duration, format, number of revisions, and delivery timeline is not a real quote. Push for specifics. What exactly will be delivered, in what format, by what date?

"Unlimited revisions" claims

No professional production company actually offers unlimited revisions without qualification. What this usually means in practice is either: (a) revisions are limited to minor textual or colour changes, or (b) the company intends to scope-creep the revisions back into the budget by charging for any change that's "outside the original brief." Ask what counts as a revision, what counts as a scope change, and how many rounds are included before additional charges apply.

No questions about your brief

A production company that sends you a price without asking what you need the video for, who the audience is, what the message is, or what success looks like — is quoting you a generic number, not a real proposal. The first conversation with a production company should involve them asking you as many questions as you ask them.

Extremely low prices

Genuinely low prices exist — particularly from freelancers just starting out or smaller operators who want the work. There's nothing inherently wrong with that if the quality matches your needs. But if a quote seems dramatically lower than everything else you've received, find out why. What's been cut? What's not included? What does post-production actually look like at that price?

How to decide your budget: start with the goal, not the price

The most common budgeting mistake is treating video as a commodity — something you need to buy at the lowest possible price. The better frame is to think about what return you need from this video, and work backwards.

If a video is going to run as a paid ad to a cold audience, it needs to be compelling enough to stop someone scrolling. If it's going on your homepage as a brand introduction, it needs to represent your company at the level your clients expect. If it's for an internal training programme, production quality matters less than clarity and accuracy.

Start with these questions:

Once you know what the video needs to accomplish, you can have a much more productive conversation with a production company about what scope is appropriate — and what budget makes sense for that scope. You'll also be in a much stronger position to evaluate whether a quote is right for what you actually need.

Practical advice

When you contact a production company, give them a budget range rather than asking for their lowest price. This lets them design the best possible video within your range rather than guessing at what you're willing to spend. It also saves everyone time.

Orion Productions works with Egyptian businesses to plan and produce videos across all of these formats. We don't publish prices publicly because every project is different — but we do offer a free planning call where we'll tell you honestly what a project like yours typically involves, and what questions you should be asking before you commission anything.

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Tell us about your business, your goal, and the video you're thinking about. We'll come back with a plan — no pitch, no pressure, no invoice.

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