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
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

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:

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 74 reviews
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Alice KirklandAlice Kirkland
14:01 21 Dec 23
I had the pleasure of working with Chocolate Films for a corporate video campaign. From the offset, the team were professional, engaging, and quick to communicate. Rachel and Lucia worked with our vision and helped turn it into a reality, offering suggestions and expertise to help bring the story to life to a highly creative and timely manner.The video created a real buzz within the organisation and the feedback received has been fantastic. I would highly recommend Chocolate and look forward to working with them again in the future.
Stephen WheatleyStephen Wheatley
16:50 03 Nov 23
Make Listening Safe Campaign UK is an initiative of The World Health Organisation aimed at increasing the awareness of avoidable risks to hearing in those between 10 and 40 years of age, launched at an in person event in London on 1st November 2023.We needed the launch to be filmed and were lucky enough to be introduced to Chocolate Films who provided the crew and the equipment required.Our events team have informed me that the crew were a delight to work with and were very helpful.We were very impressed with the quality of the footage and were very surprised when we received it so quickly after the event, so we could edit it and get it out on to social media in a timely fashion.We have no hesitation in recommending Chocolate Films.Thank you for making the filming such a pain free experience.Stephen Wheatley | Chair – MLSC UK |
Stella HungerStella Hunger
18:15 01 Nov 23
I was lucky enough to work with Nikita and Chocolate Films on a photo shoot. They were extremely professional, accommodating, organized and generally lovely. We definitely plan on working with them in the future! Thank you for everything, Nikita!
Vanessa RushtonVanessa Rushton
12:59 25 Oct 23
Great provider – always happy to help and deliver what’s needed quickly and cost effectively
Laura CliffLaura Cliff
09:49 12 Oct 23
I worked with Chocolate films to produce a voice over for a film translated into Welsh. Nikki and Lucia were professional, friendly and understood the brief. They ensured all deadlines were met and the work was produced to a really high quality.
Rachael CresswellRachael Cresswell
09:03 05 Oct 23
A friendly group of professional, talented film-makers who created some brilliant videos for us. Anna and Han were a pleasure to work with and were available to discuss the project whenever we needed it. The entire process was slick and efficient from start to finish – I would definitely recommend Chocolate Films for any film project.
Nick HarmerNick Harmer
14:26 21 Jun 23
A very professional team with flexibility and great understanding of the craft. The pre-production was straight forward but the dedication from the team on the day to capture lots of high quality footage of the event was admirable.The final outcomes were well edited and the revisions process was painless and fast. I highly recommend Chocolate Films for event and interview videography.
joe plimmerjoe plimmer
11:21 25 Apr 23
A pleasure to collaborate with such a wonderful company that nurtures talent the right way
Anoushka FreemanAnoushka Freeman
17:27 13 Jan 23
We couldn’t recommend Chocolate Films highly enough! The team had a thorough attention to detail, communicated each phase of the production clearly, and were extremely friendly and patient with time delays gathering necessary media items on our side.
A Google User
A Google User
17:27 13 Jan 23
We couldn’t recommend Chocolate Films highly enough! The team had a thorough attention to detail, communicated each phase of the production clearly, and were extremely friendly and patient with time delays gathering necessary media items on our side.
Emma HalesEmma Hales
16:57 11 Jan 23
Worked with this fantastic company On a vaccine hesitancy video. The company were professional from start to finish, very understanding and patient with the young people involved in making the video and truly brought their ideas to life! Highly recommended!
Social MediaSocial Media
13:27 29 Dec 22
It was a pleasure for Museum of London to work on one of our most exciting wrap up films of the year with Chocolate Films. Anna, Phil and the whole team were helpful, accommodating and flexible through a tricky brief and shoot. Definitely recommend! Jaanuja
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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.

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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