FAQs

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about our video production services.

What's the process for making a video?

STAGE 1

Consultation

We’ll arrange a call or meeting to discuss what you want to achieve with your video, as well as creative ideas about content, tone, and style. What is your message? Who is the audience? Where will this video be seen? How will you measure the success? We will prepare a quote or detailed proposal that works within your budget. You’re welcome to come to us with a detailed brief, or if you just have a vague idea at this stage we can work it out together. Book a free consultation

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STAGE 1

STAGE 2

Pre-production

Once the proposal has been signed off, we’ll assign a dedicated Account Manager who will be your constant point of contact throughout the process, overseeing the whole project. They will organise a kick-off meeting to review the content, tone, and style of your film and to discuss logistics such as contributors and filming locations. Depending on the nature of your project, our team will then prepare the script, storyboard, or shot list for your film and a full shooting and delivery schedule.

STAGE 2

STAGE 3

Production

Now the fun of actually making your film! Our versatile team of in-house creative filmmakers will work with our state-of-the-art production kit – from the basics of cameras, lighting and sound equipment to specialised grip kit including gimbals, motion control sliders and drones. We’ll make sure you’ll have a clear idea of the crew, timings and equipment ahead of the day.

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

Post-production

This stage involves intensive editing, ensuring the drafted film hits upon all the points planned in stage 2 and successfully captures the required themes, messages and style. We will also welcome the client into each stage of editing, using their feedback on our accessible video amends platform to make any changes they require.

STAGE 4

STAGE 5

Storage and archiving

At Chocolate Films we understand how valuable your footage can be, not just for this project but also for future projects. We archive all of our projects and footage using a long-term LT07 data storage system which will safely store footage for 15-30 years. If you would like a back-up of all your footage, we can copy the content onto your hard drive so you can organise long-term storage.

STAGE 5

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How Much Does Video Production Cost?

We prepare bespoke budgets for each brief, tailored to your project so you’re only paying for what you need. We’re happy to discuss how we can work to your budget, and you’ll always receive an itemized breakdown from us. Here’s an idea of the potential costs involved at every stage of the process:

Pre-Production

Project Management, including client meetings
Shoot preparation and planning
Location scouting
Talent casting
Research, scripting and storyboarding

Production

Crew time, including travel, set up and pack down times in addition to the shoot
Equipment hire
Travel, subsistence, and accommodation expenses
Carnets and licences
Location or studio hire
Actors’ fees
Hair & Make-up
Costumes and Props

Post-Production

Editing
Motion Graphics Design
Subtitling
Licences for music and stock footage
Optimisation for social media

What about the process for an animation?

The animation process is similar to the live action video process. However, because everything is produced in-house, we have a few more stages. We create scripts, style-guides and illustrated storyboards before starting the animation itself. Watch the video to find out more or visit our animation page.

Play Video

What our clients say

Chocolate Films

5.0

Based on 84 reviews

review us on

Chloe Abbott

21:43 17 Oct 24

We were very impressed by Elton and he was professional and kindly with the children for our photo shoot. Thank you!

Jake Subba Row

11:26 07 Oct 24

Diana Furlong

11:23 07 Oct 24

Any artist or creative who has not wrapped their head around creating unique visual imagery needs to invest some time, effort and energy on this powerful medium which is now taking priority over a business card or website. Even a short workshop like those on offer at Chocolate Films will set you off in the right direction.

Idrissa sailor Koroma

00:36 26 Sep 24

Heisenberg

17:35 13 Jul 24

My children attended their film making workshops. What a great time they had! The crew members were fantastic, especially Bea, who has got excellent attitude towards children and tons of patience. I really recommend them, if you are looking for some quality workshops for your children.

Belinda Cupid

15:49 08 Jul 24

I work at Cystic Fibrosis Trust and we are delighted with the animation Chocolate Films created for us. It met the brief and has helped us to explain our activities to current and future partners. Chocolate Films were a pleasure to work with and we appreciated their flexibility in working to a very tight timescale.

Katy Tipping

13:04 08 Jul 24

Great working with Chocolate Films and the team for our new program. Nikita was a great point of content and we had a blast at the filming studio with everyone. Thank you everyone for your work on this project!

Chloe McCarthy

11:59 12 Jun 24

We commissioned Chocolate films to complete a BTS film as a promotional film for our Level 4 foundation course. We were out on location with our own 3 short films with our most senior students, and we needed an extra crew to capture all that was happening on set. They were thoughtful, efficient and proactive. Capturing some great interviews and BTS (thanks Elton!), weaving it into a great promotional film for us. Lucia steered the project beautifully from start to finish (thanks Nikita too). We’ve worked with Chocolate films before and would happily do so in the future. Chloe – London Screen Academy

Tai Campbell

13:03 29 May 24

I filmed a green screen production using sound and it came out great. Lucia and Nikka are lovely and happy to help, the facilities are exactly what I needed (there’s also a make-up room) and it was easy to get to.

Kerri Atherton

14:11 15 May 24

Chocolate films produced a fun promotional video for us as part of our 80th anniversary. They were professional with clear communication, and the project was delivered to time.

Samantha Chetwood

09:34 03 May 24

The video content creation workshop offered by Chocolate Films was incredibly useful, packed full of handy tips on how to create compelling videos with the minimum equipment and time! The space is great and the team were welcoming, generous with their knowledge and clearly enthusiastic about what they do.

The Avenue Cookery School Marketing

13:16 02 May 24

HUGE round of applause for the Chocolate Films team! We attended their ‘Using Video for Business’ Workshop, which they so kindly offered free of charge for local businesses in the Wandsworth area. Hosted at their lovely new Nine Elms studio space, we had a great morning of learning, chatting over tea and coffee. They are a really delightful and organised company that we hope to work with going forward, and we would love to see the team at one of our cookery classes one day! Ax

Other Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Just send your brief to info@chocolatefilms.com, or visit our contact page. If it’s urgent, just let us know your deadline, and we’ll get a quote over to you.

All of our quotes are fully itemised, so you’re aware at proposal stage exactly what you’re paying for (and not paying for).

Additional services can be arranged during the production process if, for example, you decide you would like another day of filming. But we guarantee that we will deliver the work as set out in the proposal for the costs agreed.

Our standard terms are payments in two instalments: 50% on confirmation of the job (refundable deposit) and 50% on delivery. This allows us to get started on any production expenses straight away and spreads the cost for you.

In short, you can be involved as much as you like! At a minimum, we like to ensure that we have a detailed initial brief at the beginning of the project. This could take the form of a written brief, a phone call or a face to face kick-off meeting. However, we are always delighted when clients want to be more involved in the production process, from scriptwriting and production through to reviewing the edits. Our dedicated Account Managers will ensure that you are constantly kept abreast of the project’s progress, and have every opportunity to take a more hands-on involvement in the project, if you so wish.

The space required depends on the nature of the shoot. We will always consult with you at the beginning of the project to advise on whether the proposed spaces are suitable. If you need a studio, we can help with our studio at our London base.

The amount of kit is dependant on the nature of the shoot. We keep our filming material in contained suitcases (around the size of hand luggage) and flight cases for bigger items such as lights. We will need a sizeable, locked space to keep the kit stored when it is not being used.

Filming times are different for each project. A talking head film can take just a couple of hours and 1-2 days is ideal for a case study, however we’ve also produced 2-3 year documentaries! If you’d like guidance on how long we’d suggest for a project, just get in touch at info@chocolatefilms.com.

Interviews often require contributors to be available for 30-60 minutes, however depending on the project they can be much shorter or longer. If you would like to discuss the practicalities of a shoot, just drop us a line at info@chocolatefilms.com.

Depending on your requirements, we can send a crew ranging from 1 filmmaker to 20 videographers, directors and producers. We will listen to your needs and agree with you on the size of the crew at brief-stage, so you know exactly who’s coming, who you can get in touch with and who you are paying for.

Each film will be assigned a director. He/She has been briefed about what needs to be captured from the day.

We will share interview questions ahead of the shoot, to make sure you/colleagues are well prepared in what they would like to say. Please also share the schedule with your team so they know their interview slot – this will keep things ticking over nicely on the day! If the room could be made available an hour before the shoot, we will have enough time to set up before you/colleagues are ready to shoot.

If you are being interviewed on camera, it is great to consider what you will wear. Generally, we ask for no bold colours or big patterns, as well as tight stripes which will interfere with the screen. It’s also recommended not to wear big statement pieces of jewelry, as they can distract from what you are trying to say!

We will happily share script templates with you before the writing process, so that you can see the best way to format initial scripts.

Our team are also highly experienced photographers, and are always happy to capture still images at the same time as video. In some cases this may involve an additional cost, but this will be made clear up front in the initial quote.

For conference and event films, we can turnaround the edit very quickly and even edit social media clips on-site if needed. Other projects like animated explainers, impressive promos or longer-form documentaries require more time in post-production.

Yes, we frequently include clients’ self-shot clips in our films. If you haven’t shot it yet, we can send over a document giving our recommendations about how to make your self-shot footage as impactful as possible.

Of course! We have an in-house motion graphics team who can design custom animations for your project to highlight your key messages. If you have existing assets to include that’s no problem at all – just send them over and our team can include them in the cut.

As standard, we offer our clients two rounds of amends. Usually the first round is used for feedback on structure, tone etc. and the second round for final tweaks and corrections. If your organisation requires more, we’re happy to factor this into the budget!

Completed drafts will be shared with you via our online amends platform frame.io, allowing you to comment directly onto the video for quick and easy communication.

The cost for subtitling (whether that’s burnt-in captions or separate SRT files) will be specified in the budget. Make sure to ask about subtitling when briefing us about your video project.

You absolutely can take still images from your video to use elsewhere. However, if you have specific still image needs, we recommend capturing dedicated photos on set for higher quality.

GET A QUICK QUOTE

IT's FREE

We’d love to hear from you.

The producers at Chocolate Films are available to talk through your project at a time that suits you. We’ll make sure we really understand your organisation and what you’re looking to achieve with video content. Following the discussion, we’ll send over a detailed proposal for the work you’re looking to commission.

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FAQs

What's the process for making a video?

Consultation

Pre-production

Production

Post-production

Storage and archiving

How Much Does Video Production Cost?

Pre-Production

Production

Post-Production

What about the process for an animation?

What our clients say

Other Frequently Asked Questions

We’d love to hear from you.

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