What This Music Video Budget Template Covers

The music video budget template is built for commercial music video productions, from independent artist shoots to label-funded projects with full crew and concept production. Music video budgets have a distinct structure compared to film and TV: they are typically one- to three-day shoots with compressed pre-production timelines, minimal post-production editorial costs, but significant production design and wardrobe spend relative to budget size. The template covers pre-production, production, and post-production with music video-specific line items throughout.

Music Video Budget Categories

Pre-production covers treatment development (director fee for treatment, if separate from shoot fee), production design, location scouting, casting, and crew prep. For concept-driven music videos, pre-production can be the most expensive phase, accounting for 20-30% of total budget before a single frame is shot. Production costs include director fee, director of photography, camera package, lighting and grip, locations, set construction, wardrobe styling, hair and makeup, catering, transportation, and talent (artist performance fees, background performers, featured talent). Post-production for a music video covers picture editing, color grading, motion graphics and visual effects, and deliverable encoding for streaming and broadcast formats.

Two line items are particularly important to budget correctly on music videos: director fee and production design. Director fees on music videos range from a few thousand dollars on emerging artist projects to $50,000 or more for established directors on major label budgets. Production design costs can spike significantly for high-concept treatments involving custom set builds, period wardrobe, or complex props.

Music Video Budget Tiers

Music video budgets span several tiers. DIY productions under $5,000 cover basic crew and equipment with minimal styling. Independent artist productions from $10,000 to $30,000 support a full skeleton crew, one shoot day, and a proper director. Mid-tier label-funded videos run $30,000 to $100,000 and cover two to three shoot days with a full crew, dedicated production designer, and cast. High-end label productions above $100,000 support elaborate concept productions with multiple locations, large set builds, or VFX-heavy post-production.

Using the Template in Saturation

Music video productions move fast. The Saturation music video template is designed for the pace of a one- to three-day shoot where budget decisions need to happen in real time. Issue department heads virtual expense cards with category-specific limits, and every purchase hits the correct budget line automatically. After the shoot, your post-production budget is already populated with actuals from production, and your final cost report is one click away.

For productions working with multiple vendors across styling, equipment, and locations, Saturation Pay handles contractor and vendor payments directly, so your production wrap is clean and your 1099s are organized at year end.

Ready to get started? Explore Saturation's film budgeting software to manage actuals alongside this template, or read our guide to creating a film budget for a step-by-step walkthrough. Saturation cardholders also unlock exclusive production perks on software and services used every day on set.