AI video agency or DIY: what are you paying for?

First, decide who will finish the film

You have an idea, a few references and a date in mind. One service offers a monthly subscription. Another offers to make the whole film. Both mention AI, but you are buying different things. Before looking at the price, write down what you want to receive: a finished edit, a collection of clips, a speaking portrait or a campaign with several versions.

For a first experiment, doing it yourself can be a sensible choice. You get to explore the idea without handing over creative decisions. The practical question is whether you also want to write the story, select attempts, repair the edit, choose sound and check the final exports. If those jobs are missing from your plan, the subscription price will not describe the full effort.

Read a quote as a list of decisions

A useful production quote connects the brief to concrete work. Who develops the concept? Who approves the storyboard? What happens when a generated shot looks attractive but changes the product shape? Who makes the sound and checks the version that will actually be posted? Ask for these answers in plain language. A long list of model names does not resolve them.

Compare the same deliverables across providers. A single horizontal film and a film with vertical edits, subtitles and alternative endings are different scopes. Reframing may require a new shot rather than a crop. A review round also needs a definition: are you commenting on the concept, the first edit or a nearly finished master? These details make a price easier to understand without guessing a universal market rate.

• Concept and script: who develops them and when you approve them.
• Production: what must remain accurate, including people and products.
• Finishing: edit, sound, captions and checks on the agreed formats.
• Changes: included review stages and how extra work is handled.
• Delivery: files, formats, usage conditions and any source assets.

Count accepted shots, not generated seconds

Imagine a short film with six shots. Each needs a few attempts, and only some attempts survive the edit. Paying for thirty seconds of raw generation does not mean you have bought thirty seconds of finished film. The useful unit for your own planning is the accepted shot: a clip that fits the story and passes your review. This six-shot example is a planning scenario, not a measured average.

The worksheet below asks for your estimates: shots, attempts, cost per attempt, finishing costs and time. It shows the arithmetic and lets you keep time separate from cash. Change one assumption to see how sensitive the total is. Use figures from the exact plan you are considering; do not mix an annual subscription headline with a monthly bill or credits from different providers.

Choose the route that fits your next step

DIY fits a small experiment when you have room to learn and can judge the result. A specialist can take over a particular job, such as editing clips you already have. An author-led film can cover the concept through the final cut. A larger studio may be useful when the work needs several specialists or substantial production coordination. Size alone tells you very little about whether someone understands your idea.

There is also a practical middle route: make a rough outline yourself, then commission a clearly defined sequence or film. Agree the handover. If your draft uses temporary music, stock footage or a generated face, say so before the producer assumes those assets are ready for the finished piece. A good starting conversation can be as simple as the audience, the intended feeling and one reference that explains your taste.

Take an imaginary maker launching a portable lamp. They already have clear photographs but no approved script or soundtrack. A subscription solves access to a generator. A shot specialist may solve one difficult movement. A complete film still needs someone to choose the sequence, verify the lamp’s shape and prepare the agreed files. Compare proposals against those missing jobs. A low number with a different handover is a different purchase, not automatically a better offer.

Ask to see a whole piece and a small relevant example

A showreel can hide the transitions that matter to your project. Watch a complete piece with sound, then ask how a similar problem would be approached in your brief. If your product must look exact, discuss a sample featuring that kind of object. If the story follows one person through several scenes, ask how identity and wardrobe will be reviewed across the edit.

In the film example on this page, look at the difference between a premise and a finished sequence: setup, change, pacing and sound. It is my existing AI film The Impossible Brief. It demonstrates an authored piece, not a controlled comparison of services or a promise about your campaign results. The relevant question is whether the choices suit the kind of film you want.

Leave the conversation with fewer unknowns

Before commissioning, you should understand what will be made, what you need to supply, how you will review it and what is outside the agreed scope. A deadline without those decisions is difficult to assess. A price with those decisions is much easier to compare. If an important feature is uncertain, agree how it will be checked before expanding the work.

Send me the idea, who it is for and where it will be shown. If you already have a brief or a rough edit, include that in the conversation. I can help shape a concrete scope for discussion. This guide does not publish a price list for SOLONSKY Films or guarantee a delivery date; those belong to the actual project, after the materials and expectations are clear.