Blog / Guide
Realistic timelines for delivering a corporate video
How long it takes to produce a corporate video: real timelines for each phase, from pre-production to final delivery. No surprises in your schedule.
When a client asks me when the video will be ready, the first thing I think about is how many phases are still left to coordinate, not how many free days I have. A corporate video involves back-and-forth: the client reviews, the client approves, I edit again. Every review round that isn't built into the schedule makes the project longer without anyone having asked for it.
The timelines I describe here are the ones I usually work with for companies in Madrid. They're not the bare minimum, nor the most comfortable: they're the ones that let us work without squeezing phases and deliver something both sides can be proud of.
What counts as a realistic timeline
A realistic timeline isn't how long the edit takes. It's the total time from the moment we confirm the project until the client has the final file in hand. That includes pre-production, filming, editing and review rounds. When someone tells me they need the video in four days, the first thing I assess is whether there's enough time to do each of those phases properly.
On simple projects, with no complicated locations or large numbers of participants, a 2–3 minute video can be ready in 10 business days from kickoff. On projects with multiple interviews, travel or third-party dependencies, the usual range is 3 to 5 weeks.
How the timeline breaks down by phase
Pre-production: 3 to 10 business days
This phase covers the briefing meeting, defining the script or narrative structure, choosing locations, coordinating participants and shoot logistics. For small, responsive companies, three days is enough. For organizations with internal approval processes, it can take up to ten. The most common mistake is underestimating it and starting the shoot without the basics nailed down.
Filming: 1 to 3 shoot days
An 8-hour shoot day can produce between 6 and 10 minutes of final edited video, depending on the pace and the number of participants. For videos of up to 3 minutes, one well-organized day is usually enough. For projects with several locations or lots of testimonials, I need two or three days. Cramming more than is reasonable into a single day compromises the quality of the footage.
Editing and delivery: 5 to 15 business days
Editing a 2–3 minute video takes between 8 and 16 hours of work, depending on the complexity of the cut, the amount of footage and the level of finishing in color grading and audio. On top of that comes at least one review round with the client and the resulting changes. With two review rounds agreed in advance, total post-production usually lands between 8 and 12 business days.
Factors that stretch timelines without anyone seeing it coming
- Unconsolidated feedback by email: when four people on the client side send comments separately and at different times, every round turns into two.
- Participants who cancel on the shoot day: reorganising a shoot at the last minute eats pre-production time that no longer exists.
- Archive footage in incompatible formats: if the client supplies videos in resolutions or codecs that need converting, that wasn't in the schedule.
- A script that changes after the shoot: rewriting the narrative in post-production is possible, but it multiplies the editing hours.
- Approvals that depend on one person who's away: a director who's traveling can stall the project for a week.
- Music with unresolved rights: using an unlicensed track in the final delivery means replacing it, which affects the edit and the timing.
Frequently asked questions about corporate video timelines
How long does a 1-minute corporate video take?
Between 7 and 12 business days from kickoff, provided the brief is clear and the participants are available. Filming can be done in half a day, but editing, reviews and final delivery take their own time, even when the video is short.
Can a corporate video be made in 48 hours?
In genuinely urgent cases, it's possible to have a simple video in 48 hours: a few hours of filming, a basic edit and no review rounds. But that scenario means skipping pre-production, and it shows in the result. I don't recommend it as a standard way of working.
How many review rounds are reasonable?
I work with two review rounds included in the quote. The first is for adjusting structure, pacing and shot selection. The second is for fine-detail corrections. A third round is possible, but it means additional time that needs to be scoped.
What can I do to speed up the timeline without losing quality?
What speeds a project up the most is having the brief locked before starting, confirming every participant's availability in advance, appointing a single person on the client's team to consolidate feedback, and not changing the script once filming has started.
If you have a project with a tight delivery date and want to know whether it's feasible, tell me the details through the contact page. We'll work out together whether the timeline is realistic and what would need adjusting to hit it.