What should a TVC production quote include?

The eight sections

Every quote should account for each of these. If one is missing, ask for it before you compare totals.

Pre-production

Scripting, storyboards, casting, location scout, PPM and permits.

Crew

Roles and headcount, not the words “full crew”.

Shoot

Number of days, setups per day and hours per day.

Equipment

Camera package, lenses, lighting, grip and any specialist rigs.

Talent

Number of cast, day rates, and usage as a separate line.

Locations

Fees, permits, travel, and who carries the weather risk.

Post

Edit, grade, sound, VFX scope and the number of revision rounds.

Deliverables

Every file you receive, by format and run time.

What a vague quote hides

Usually nothing sinister. Most of the time it reflects a production company that has not scoped the job properly yet, which carries its own risk.

Watch for “full crew” with no headcount, “post-production” as a single line, “social cutdowns” with no number attached, and talent costs that do not separate the day rate from usage. Each of those is a place where the price can move after you have signed.

Deliverables, spelled out

This is where most disputes start. A deliverables list should read like an inventory.

• Master file: format, resolution, frame rate and colour space
• Broadcast deliverable: to which spec, with which compliance checks
• Run-time versions: 60, 30, 15 and 6 seconds
• Aspect ratios: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 and 4:5
• Subtitled and clean versions
• Stills, when stills were shot
• Source files and project archives, if you want them

Agree this before the shoot. A 9:16 version is straightforward to plan for and difficult to rescue from footage framed only for 16:9.

The exclusions list

A good quote says what it does not cover. The ones worth confirming in writing:

• Music licensing
• Talent usage beyond the stated term
• Additional revision rounds
• Versioning for further markets or languages
• Travel and accommodation outside the stated region
• Overtime beyond the quoted shoot hours

A production company that writes its exclusions clearly is easier to work with than one that leaves them unsaid.