A music video budget template that survives contact with the label.
A free music video budget template with the whole shoot itemized: full crew, gear, art department, locations, travel, and post, for performance or narrative videos. Load it in the builder, delete what the budget can't carry, and price what's left with your margin in view.
Music video budgets tend to move: the treatment grows, and the number that was final changes. Itemizing every line means the version you send accounts for everything you're on the hook for.
What’s in the template
This is the exact checklist that loads in the builder, with each line’s unit already set. Delete what this job doesn’t need.
Pre-production5 lines
Everything billable before anyone touches a camera: concept, scripts, scouting, permits, insurance.
- Concept / creativeflat
- Scriptwriting & storyboardsflat
- Location scoutingday
- Permits & licensingeach
- Production insuranceflat
Crew13 lines
Day rates by role, 1st AC included. Quantity is people, the multiplier is days.
- Directorday
- Producer / line producerday
- Director of photography (DP)day
- Camera operatorday
- 1st / 2nd ACday
- Gafferday
- Key gripday
- Sound mixerday
- Production assistants (PAs)day
- HMU artistday
- Stylistday
- Art directorday
- Drone operatorday
Unit: day. Quantity = # people, multiplier = # days.
Cast / Talent3 lines
On-camera people, voiceover, and the rights to keep using them. Usage buyouts live here.
- Principal talentday
- Background / extrasday
- Specialty talentday
Gear14 lines
Camera, lighting, grip, and audio by the day, plus the truck it all arrives in.
- Camera packageday
- Lighting packageday
- Grip packageday
- Audio packageday
- Monitors / video villageday
- Gimbal / dolly / sliderday
- Droneday
- Specialty / cinema cameraday
- Specialty lensesday
- Generator / powerday
- Grip truckday
- Studio / soundstageday
- Media cardseach
- Expendablesflat
Merged equipment + rentals. Default unit: day.
Locations6 lines
Fees, permits, parking, security, and cleaning and restoration afterward.
- Location feesday
- Permitseach
- Location managerday
- Parking / holdingday
- Site securityday
- Cleaning / restorationflat
Art / Set / Wardrobe5 lines
Set construction, set dressing, props, wardrobe, and on-set signage and graphics.
- Set constructionflat
- Set dressing & propsflat
- Wardrobe / costumeeach
- Props purchase / rentaleach
- Signage / graphicsflat
Catering / Craft5 lines
Crew meals, craft services, talent catering, and beverages, priced per person so the math scales with headcount.
- Crew mealsperson
- Craft services / snacksperson
- Talent cateringperson
- Beveragesperson
- Dietary / specialflat
Unit: person. Quantity = # people, multiplier = # meals/days.
Transportation / Travel7 lines
Moving people and gear: vehicles, flights, hotels, per diems, freight.
- Vehicle rentalsday
- Fuel / mileageflat
- Flightseach
- Hotels (room-night)each
- Per diemsperson
- Gear freightflat
- Parking / tollsflat
Post-production10 lines
Where footage becomes the deliverable: edit, color, mix, graphics, music licensing, revisions.
- Editingday
- Color gradeday
- Sound design / mixday
- Motion graphics / titlesflat
- VFXflat
- Music licensingeach
- VO recordingflat
- Captions / localizationeach
- Revision roundseach
- Deliverables / encodingeach
Commonly left off
In the template, and easy to drop from a one-number quote.
- Production insurance
- Permits & licensing
- Revision rounds
A one-day performance video, priced out
Sample rates on the main lines. Switch views to see what you track and what the label gets.
Questions
Units, tax, deposits and exports are covered in the Help guide.
For the longer answer, there’s a guide: What to Include in a Video Production Quote.
What does a music video budget include?
Nine sections: pre-production, a full crew list, talent, gear, locations, art and wardrobe, catering, travel, and post. The art department and location sections matter more here than in most video work: treatments sell production design, and production design costs money. Every line is itemized.
How much does a music video cost?
Anywhere from four figures for a one-location performance video with a small crew, to six figures once a treatment involves sets, specialty talent, and multiple locations. The template makes sure your number covers what the shoot contains.
Can the label or client see my costs and margin?
No. Client exports and share links are built from a copy that only contains prices, totals and terms. Costs, margins and internal notes are not in it.
Is the template free?
Yes. The builder works without an account, and the free plan includes every estimate export: client PDF, Excel, CSV, and a read-only share link. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: your branding on client exports, no Estimatery footer, invoice exports, unlimited cloud saves, and a Saved Items catalog of your standard lines.
Related video production templates
Full-service commercial or branded video production.
Short-form social content (vertical, batch shoots).
Documentary / interview-driven production.
General information for pricing your own work. Not legal, tax or accounting advice. Deposit caps, licensing, lien and permit rules vary by state.