TL;DR
A product launch video in London costs £15,000–£80,000 in 2026, depending on whether you are commissioning a single hero film or a full campaign package of hero film, teaser, and social cutdowns. A standalone hero film for a mid-market B2B SaaS product runs £15,000–£30,000. A complete launch package for a funded DTC consumer brand — hero, teaser, 4 social cuts, and a paid-ad version — sits at £35,000–£65,000. Enterprise hardware at the top end reaches £60,000–£80,000 when motion control, prototype management, and broadcast rights are in scope. London adds a 20–30% premium over comparable UK production outside the capital, driven by crew day rates, studio hire, and location access fees. Here is what the numbers look like across B2B SaaS, DTC consumer, and enterprise hardware, and how a London-specific 6-week process works.
What a London product launch video package includes
The term "product launch video" in a London brief almost always means more than one asset. Clients who commission only a hero film and then need social content after launch pay 40–60% more than those who plan the full package from day one. A professional London production brief in 2026 covers three output tiers:
Hero film — the primary asset
2–3 minutes for B2B SaaS and enterprise; 60–90 seconds for consumer DTC; 90 seconds to 2.5 minutes for hardware. This is the cornerstone asset — homepage, product page, YouTube, LinkedIn featured video, investor deck. Budget in London: £15,000–£35,000 for a single hero film with 1–2 shoot days and full post-production.
Teaser — the pre-launch asset
20–40 seconds of anticipation content released 1–3 weeks before launch. Cut from hero footage when planned at brief stage (adds £1,800–£4,000 in editorial time). Shot as a standalone teaser-first format when the hero footage contains too many spoilers (adds £4,000–£9,000 for a targeted half-day London shoot). The teaser drives email capture for "watch first" campaigns and builds search interest before the launch window opens.
Social and paid-ad mix — the distribution assets
3–6 cuts across ratio formats: 9:16 for Instagram Reels and TikTok (30–60 seconds), 1:1 for LinkedIn and Meta feed (30–45 seconds), 16:9 cutdowns for YouTube pre-roll (15–30 seconds). Each cut costs £700–£2,000 in London editorial time when pulled from existing hero footage. Adding captions, platform-specific audio hooks, and subtitle burns adds £400–£900 per cut. Plan the social ratio mix at brief stage — retrospective reformatting from a horizontal hero edit produces weaker results and costs more.
2026 London pricing by deliverable set
| Package | Budget | Shoot days | Deliverables | Typical client |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hero only | £15K–£30K | 1–2 | 1 hero film, 2–3 min | Series A SaaS, hardware MVP, DTC debut |
| Hero + teaser | £20K–£42K | 1–2 | Hero + 30 sec teaser cut | Series B refresh, funded DTC launch |
| Full launch package | £32K–£60K | 2–3 | Hero + teaser + 3–5 social cuts | Scale-up, consumer brand launch |
| Campaign set | £55K–£80K | 3–5 | All above + paid ad versions + broadcast cutdowns | PE-backed brand, retail-distribution launch |
All figures are London production costs including full post-production, sound design, and library music licence. Bespoke music composition adds £3,500–£14,000. Broadcast rights (TV, BVOD, cinema) add 25–50% to base figures. Motion control for product hero shots (Bolt robot arm, Flair slider) adds £1,500–£3,500 per day. London studio hire runs £900–£2,500 per day in Hackney, Bermondsey, or Soho.
Cost and approach by sector
B2B SaaS (£15K–£45K)
SaaS product launch films are the most concept-dependent format in this category. The worst SaaS launch videos show the UI in a screencast with voiceover. The best SaaS launch films never show the software directly — they show the problem the product solves, the human moment of relief when it is resolved, and a brief product glimpse as context. London's creative director and copywriting talent pool for tech narrative is deep; expect to spend £1,500–£3,500 on a script or treatment that earns its cost in the edit.
Key cost driver for SaaS in London: motion graphics. If the product's value proposition involves data visualisation, workflow automation, or abstract software concepts, animated diagrams are required to translate the idea visually. Each 30–60 second motion-graphics sequence adds £2,500–£7,000 depending on complexity. Plan for this at brief stage, not as an afterthought in post.
DTC consumer (£18K–£55K)
DTC launch videos live or die on casting and location. London's strength here is exceptional — the city offers access to diverse casting pools, a density of photogenic locations, and production support infrastructure (styling, props houses, location agencies) that is unmatched in the UK. A strong DTC launch at £28,000 in London would typically allocate: £11,000 to crew and locations (1.5 shoot days in two locations), £3,000 to casting and talent buyout for 3 non-professional leads, £8,500 to post-production (edit, grade, sound), £3,500 to 4 social cutdowns with captions, and £2,000 to music and contingency.
Enterprise hardware (£30K–£80K)
Hardware shoots are the most production-intensive format because the product must look extraordinary — and it must be available, in launch condition, on shoot day. London production companies with hardware experience work closely with product teams 4–8 weeks before the shoot to establish what can be shown, what must be concealed under NDA, and what requires 3D-composited rendering in post. Table-top product photography rigs, macro lens setups, and motion control systems are a significant line item: £2,500–£4,500 per day for motion control, and an additional £3,000–£8,000 for compositing work if pre-release prototype management requires it.
London-specific cost factors
London carries costs that productions in Manchester, Bristol, or Edinburgh do not:
- Location permits: Filming on public land in Greater London requires permissions from TfL, Transport for London Film Office, or individual borough councils. Budget £200–£800 per location for permit fees and 2–4 weeks lead time. Iconic London backdrops (South Bank, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf) cost more and take longer.
- Studio rates: London studio hire runs £900–£2,500 per day. Manchester or Leeds equivalents are £500–£1,200. The London premium is justified for projects where the studio is the set — not for projects where a dressed location would serve equally well.
- Crew day rates: London crew day rates run 20–30% above the UK average. A London director of photography on an ARRI Alexa package charges £900–£1,400 per day including kit. A London gaffer charges £500–£700 per day. These are non-negotiable for top-tier talent; negotiable for mid-market shoots with less experienced crew.
- Post-production: Soho post houses charge a premium but offer facilities — supervised colour sessions in Baselight or DaVinci Resolve suites, ADR studios, full-service DCP mastering — unavailable elsewhere in the UK. For premium or broadcast-destined content, the Soho post premium is worth it.
The 6-week London production process
- Week 1 — Brief and treatment. Director interrogates the brief: single thing the viewer must feel, primary placement, launch window, competitive context. Written treatment produced in 2–3 days covering narrative approach, visual references, tone, and proposed shot structure. This is the cheapest round of creative direction you will buy — change the approach here, not in post.
- Week 2 — Pre-production. Location scouting and permit applications. Casting (on-screen talent or real users). Shoot scheduling. Camera, lighting, and grip package confirmed. Product availability timeline confirmed with client. Social ratio plan agreed — 9:16 and 1:1 framing built into the shot list from day one, not retrofitted in edit.
- Weeks 3–4 — Production. Typically 1–2 days for a hero + teaser package; 2–3 days for a full campaign set. Product hero shots and table-top work are typically day 1; talent-led narrative and location scenes are day 2. For SaaS, UI captures and screen recordings are delivered as .mov files by the client and composited in post — not shot live on a monitor on set.
- Week 4–5 — Post-production, rough cut. Offline edit (40–90 hours depending on scope). Client reviews rough cut at picture-lock stage — structure, story logic, pacing. Temp music track in place. Changes at offline stage cost editorial time. Changes after colour and sound lock cost 3–5× more.
- Week 5–6 — Finishing and delivery. Colour grade (DaVinci Resolve, 10–20 hours). Sound design and mix (8–14 hours). Motion graphics (titles, logo animation, product callouts). Music licence confirmed. Social cutdowns delivered in the same week as hero film. Captions (SRT/VTT) delivered with all files. Masters in ProRes 4444 plus H.264/H.265 web delivery files.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a product launch video cost in London in 2026?
A hero-only film runs £15,000–£30,000. A full package (hero + teaser + social cuts) runs £32,000–£60,000. A campaign set for PE-backed or retail launches reaches £55,000–£80,000. Entry-level single-day shoots with basic post start at £12,000, but these rarely produce a film competitive against funded brand launches.
Why is London more expensive than the rest of the UK for production?
Three drivers: crew day rates (20–30% above UK average), location permit costs and access fees (£200–£800 per location versus minimal fees outside London), and studio hire (£900–£2,500 per day). The flip side: London's talent density — directors, DPs, editors, colourists, sound designers — is significantly deeper than anywhere else in the UK, which produces better creative output for equivalent budget levels.
Should I use a London production company or a national company for a London shoot?
Use a company with London crew relationships. A Manchester or Bristol company flying a full crew to London adds travel and accommodation on top of London day rates — you pay London prices without London-specific knowledge of locations, permits, and logistics. Hire a production company whose core crew are London-based, even if the company itself is UK-wide.
Can I shoot my product launch video and social content in the same shoot days?
Yes, and you should. Planning social ratios (9:16, 1:1) from the shot list — not retrospectively from a hero film edit — produces better results at lower cost. A DP who knows they need vertical social content captures it deliberately during the shoot. Retrofitting vertical cuts from horizontal footage costs £900–£2,500 in editorial time and produces a noticeably worse result.
What if my product isn't finalised when we need to shoot?
Common for hardware launches. Solutions: shoot concept footage without revealing the product; use pre-production renders or CAD composited in post (adds £5,000–£12,000 for 3D asset work); shoot hero product shots from a final-unit session separately from the main shoot and composite in. Agree the plan at brief stage — discovering the problem on shoot day causes reshoots that cost more than the original shoot budget.
How far in advance should we commission a London product launch video?
10 weeks minimum for a full campaign package. 6 weeks is achievable for a hero-only film but adds 15–25% in rush premiums. 12–14 weeks is comfortable for a campaign set with broadcast ambitions. If the launch date is fixed, work backwards from delivery, allow 3 weeks for post-production, add shoot days, and that is your commission deadline.
What usage rights does a product launch video need?
Standard: web, owned social channels, and paid social (LinkedIn, Meta, YouTube) in perpetuity. If broadcast (TV, BVOD, streaming pre-roll) or cinema is in scope, negotiate upfront — retroactive broadcast rights cost 25–50% of original production fee. If professional actors appear, their usage contract governs territorial and channel rights separately from the production agreement.