How much does an animated music video cost?
The cost of animation comes down to two main factors: length of the video and complexity of the animation.
The industry standard for a music video ranges anywhere from $10,000 to $500,000 (established artists like Beyonce or Kanye West, and others signed to major labels, often have music video budgets in the millions).
Fear not! We do offer options for those with smaller budgets. You can also create your own videos using content from specialized loop collections.
And if you need custom VJ LOOPS or COMMERCIAL ANIMATION for your Company, please reach out: buzanmusic@gmail.com
Why Music Videos?
Music videos are a staple in the music industry. Not only does the combination of video and music offer endless creative possibilities, music videos are an essential part of promoting an artist’s brand, album, or single.
The cost of a music video may seem high up front, but because the video lasts forever, it has the potential to continue marketing your music long after you’re done touring or producing content.
As an independent animator who’s created animated music videos and tour visuals for bands such as The Flaming Lips, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Moon Duo, and more, my small team is highly skilled at creating a dynamic range of work.
Below are the rates for different styles of video to satisfy a variety of goals and budget levels – priced by the minute.
All productions include a treatment, mood board, or storyboard (if narrative is important, though I tend to work best on a very loose storyboard with room for improvisation).
The animation includes one free set of revisions. Animation is highly labor intensive – so the need for revisions should be reduced through communicating clearly and finalizing ideas before the production has begun.
For videos with a narrative structure or emphasis on story, It is important to remember that editing needs to happen during the storyboard/animatic stage, before the animation begins. We’ll start with a solid foundation.
Shot lengths are largely final once they are animated and major/late changes to the animation may merit additional fees.
It is in the best interest of both the artists and clients to make these decisions early. Each project must keep in mind a reasonable deadline to respect the schedules of everyone’s future slated projects.
All projects require a 50% deposit up front and signing a simple worker’s contract.
Please email me below to get started on your video, and find a great fit for your project into our 2019 schedule!
CONTACT to get started: buzanmusic@gmail.com
1. Animated Loops Music Video
Price: 700 (USD) per minute
Production Time : 1 week per minute
The most affordable option with the quickest delivery time.
Animated Loops Music Video allows me to edit looping animations I have already spent hundreds of hours on to match the flow of your song.
Story narrative is limited from this option (see tier 3 & 4 below for narrative animation), making it more suitable as a mood piece with the focus on exciting visuals to enhance the feeling of the song.
Videos may have background visuals to add atmosphere to the animation and compliment the flow your song (Backgrounds could include: space/nebula backgrounds, trippy underwater worlds, fractal animations, etc).
CONTACT to get started: buzanmusic@gmail.com
2. Abstract Sync Animation
Price: 2K (USD) per minute.
Production Time : 1 – 2 weeks per minute.
Transform your music into the flowing world of shape and color!
Richly dynamic animation with an emphasis on bringing the nuances of your music into the world of motion and color.
These abstract visuals dance in sync to the energy of your song.
Animated in a timeless style that takes inspiration from early direct-film animators like Norman McLaren.
Just tell me the mood/colors you want, and relax while your abstract animation comes to life!
CONTACT to get started: buzanmusic@gmail.com
3. Moving Comic / Limited Animation
Price: 2K (USD) per minute.
Production Time: 2 weeks per minute.
Limited Animation can include unique characters and narratives to flow with the lyrics or mood of the song.
Scenes will focus more on telling the idea the story, rather than complex motions. Most scenes will be limited in complexity and have simpler background art than Full Animation (below).
CONTACT to get started:buzanmusic@gmail.com
4. Full Animation
Price: 5K (USD) per minute.
Production Time: 4-5 weeks per minute.
Absolutely the best resources and techniques are lovingly poured into this animation, creating the finest visuals for your audience.
At this budget, the work takes on the production level of an independent studio film.
- Super Fluid Motion + Backgrounds.
- Multiple layers of parallax scrolling for dynamic depth.
- Shading and Highlights applied for eye-popping detail.
- Film Festivals: I’ll personally submit the work into 50+ Film Festivals (previous work has been nominated into dozens of festivals as finalists and award winners, as well as premiered on Adult Swim, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and The LA Times).
NOTE – Mix & Match Styles!
We can also mix any of the above pricing styles into one video.
Example: Say you have a 3 minute song. You could do 2 minutes of Abstract Animation mixed with 1 minute of Full Animation.
Abstract: 2 min. = 2K
Full Animation: 1 min. = 5K
Total Cost: 7K
*Expedited deadlines (to a realistic extent) may be possible at higher prices, as it may be necessary to hire more artists on to the project).
CONTACT to get started: buzanmusic@gmail.com