That depends. Each project is unique and the fee is determined by a number of factors:
- What style of video will it be?
- What is the required duration?
- Will it be part of a series?
- How much reference material will you provide and how much additional research will we need to do?
- Will the project include our voiceover?
- What's the delivery schedule?
The fee includes creating a detailed creative brief, research, any interviews with subject matter experts, script writing, storyboard, voiceover recording and editing, animation and editing, any meetings or calls related to the project, and up to two rounds of requested revisions.
Our pricing is well within industry norms. We always provide a written proposal that includes a fixed fee rather than an hourly rate, so you know exactly what your project will cost with no surprises.
If you’re just looking for the lowest price and you don’t care about the quality of the work, we suggest trying some of the freelance job boards. If you want professional communication at a fair price, contact us. We’d be pleased to offer you a proposal. There’s no obligation.
Short answer: No. We do not use AI for creative work like writing, design, or video production.
Slightly longer answer: We may use AI for routine tasks like transcribing spoken audio or background removal in images. Even in those cases we always double-check the AI’s work. Search engines we use may provide some AI-driven results, but we don’t depend on these; we always dig deep to find original sources for information.
Longer longer answer: Read our blog post, What Star Trek Can Teach Us About Artificial Intelligence. With LightningStrike Studios, you get real insight, real creativity, not AI slop.
Our background is Information Technology and Medical, but we'll work with just about anyone. We've worked with dog trainers, motivational speakers, cosmeticians, musicians, photographers ...
Time - By hiring us to produce your video content, you're free to focus on your core business. There are many necessary functions in a well run, growing business, but you don't have time to do them all yourself. So you hire secretaries, janitorial staff, accountants ... and content creators ... to help carry the load.
A fresh perspective - You are thoroughly familiar with your business, your customers, and your products and services, so familiar that you may overlook some aspect of your business your customers need to know. Coming from outside, LightningStrike brings a new outlook and fresh ideas to a project that may otherwise have grown stale.
Load - Your own people may be too busy to take on additional work. By hiring LightningStrike for specific projects you avoid having to increase your full time staff.
Already have in-house staff handling your video creation? We don't want to put anyone out of a job. Simply keep us in mind for those times when your people are overloaded and they need some extra help, or when you'd like another set of eyes on a project.
Absolutely! We've worked with clients and contacts across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. We conduct almost all our business by email, phone, and video conference. Technology has made telecommuting a viable alternative and in many cases a preferred means of conducting business, saving time and money for everyone involved.
Of course! We'll be happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement at your request. If you wish, any materials we receive from you will either be returned or destroyed. To secure email communications, we use OpenPGP encryption. Download our public key:
36A1 66D7 3050 DDB9 1B26 F582 59FD 9BA6 5493 5714
Revisions are not the same as changes in direction or scope.
Suppose that you initially wanted a 2-minute video highlighting just a few main points about your product. Then you decide you'd like to include more details and some customer reviews. The original 2-minute video is now 4 or 5 minutes. That's a change in scope.
Now suppose that when we started out you decided you wanted a very formal video, just the facts, to the point, with little or no humor. Then, after we've delivered the first draft, you decide you want a more light, humorous, friendly style. That's completely different. The direction of the project has changed.
Our quoted fee includes up to two in-direction / in-scope revisions. Changes in direction or scope will require a new proposal from us, and a new purchase order from you.
Of course! We work with marketing/communications agencies, web site designers, graphic artists, and videographers as a subcontractor on a project-by-project basis. During the project we'll act as your representatives in all interactions with the client, and bill you for our services.
Rest assured that we won't try to steal your clients. We agree not to solicit your client for a period of at least one year after our combined project concludes.
If the project is interrupted before we deliver the first draft, we will only bill you for the portion of work completed up to that point. Otherwise, payment is due in full within 30 days from the delivery of the first draft.
Understand that once we lose momentum on a project, we can't always just pick up where we left off. So if you later reactivate a project, depending on the length of time that has passed, we may need to start from the beginning, with a fresh proposal.
Any work we produce for you is classified as a work for hire. This means that you, as the client who commissioned the work, own the copyright. We will not reuse your content for other clients. This includes any proprietary information, text, photographs, and other assets you provide; that remains yours.
Ideas, facts, and phrases are not covered under copyright. So, if we produce a video about widgets for you, we're free to produce content about widgets for anyone else. We can also use the same publicly-accessible information. But the end result will be unique.
We may use stock images, music, and sound effects. When we do, we make sure that those assets are fully licensed for commercial use.
This is different when you use artificial intelligence to produce your content, whether it’s a video, graphics, or text. AI may spit out the same or very similar content for anyone who gives it a similar prompt. It doesn’t care about creativity or originality.
Contact us. Send us an email message and tell us a bit about your project. We’ll arrange a mutually convenient time for a brief phone call. We’ll then follow up with a detailed proposal outlining the requirements, deliverables, schedule, revisions, and fee. There’s no charge for this initial discussion and there’s no obligation.