Blue Barn Creative

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Pricing, the Video Roadmap, production days, travel, customer stories, event coverage, photography, and delivery — answered straight.

Pricing & Process

Why do you charge for the Blue Barn Video Roadmap?
Because the strategic thinking is the work that makes the rest of it possible. Most production companies give that thinking away to win the bid, then make their margin on hours. We'd rather get paid for the part that drives the value. The strategy call (Step 1) is free. The Roadmap (Step 2) is paid because it's a real deliverable, built around a structured questionnaire, that you keep regardless of whether you book production.
What if we just want a quote without the Roadmap?
For Crew for Hire, Event coverage, and Photography, we quote directly after the strategy call. For Brand Films, Customer Stories, Corporate Videos, and Commercial work, the Roadmap is part of how we make sure the project actually delivers. If your project is small or already fully scoped, tell us during the strategy call. We'll figure out the right path together.
Can we customize?
Almost always. The packages are starting points, not boxes. The Roadmap is where we build the right scope for your specific project.
What's the deposit and payment structure?
Most projects book with a 50% deposit at kickoff and 50% at delivery. Larger campaigns are split into milestone payments. We invoice through our studio and accept the standard ways.

Production Days

Is a co-founder always on the shoot?
Yes. A Blue Barn co-founder is on every production day, unless otherwise agreed in advance. That's the access promise the work is priced around. On larger setups, the founder leads with support from a small bench of Blue Barn-trained operators.
Do you travel?

Yes. Blue Barn productions happen across San Diego, throughout California, and nationally or internationally when the project calls for it. Customer stories especially often involve travel, since the customer being filmed is usually in a different city from the brand commissioning the story.

Travel costs are billed separately from the production package. That includes flights, ground transportation (rental car or rideshare), lodging, and a per diem for the crew. We handle the logistics so you don't have to coordinate any of it. Travel is quoted at booking once we know the production location and crew size.

How long does a project take?
Timelines depend on scope. Single-film productions like The Spotlight and The Customer Story typically run three to six weeks from green light to final delivery. Larger productions — full-day shoots, multi-day shoots, series, programs, and the Brand Collection — run six to eight weeks, sometimes longer for the most complex campaigns. Event coverage can land in days when the project calls for it. Specific timelines are scoped in the Roadmap.
How do you handle gear failure or events that run long?
Every Blue Barn event shoot uses at least two cameras, both for richer coverage and to keep us covered if one fails. Schedules can flex within reason on the day. If your event runs past the scheduled coverage window, overtime is billed at $225 per hour per crew member, agreed before the time runs.
Do you carry insurance and provide a Certificate of Insurance?
Yes. Blue Barn carries production insurance and can provide a COI on request. Send us your insurance requirements during booking and we'll handle the paperwork before the shoot.

Customer Stories

What about rights and usage for customer story films?
Every customer who appears on camera signs a release before the shoot that grants you the right to use the film for the intended use period we agree on during pre-production. The rights conversation is handled before any cameras roll, so you know exactly what you can and can't do with the footage going in. We help shape the release language to match how you actually plan to use the film, including paid ads, sales decks, internal use, and longer-term marketing.
What if our customer drops out before the shoot?
It happens. If a confirmed customer ghosts or pulls out, we work with you to find another candidate from your customer base and produce the story with them instead. Production costs may increase if we had already spent money preparing the original shoot. If that's the case, we tell you what changed and why before any new costs are approved.

Event Coverage

Do you offer livestreaming or event photography?
Yes to both. We can livestream the event when your venue provides upload bandwidth and the right connection points. Event photography is available as an add-on, including hybrid bookings where photo coverage runs alongside video. Both are scoped during pre-production planning.
How fast can we get the footage?
Default cloud delivery typically lands within 48 hours. If you need footage same-day, we can copy to your drive on set, or you can rent one of ours for $750 with a Premiere project file included. Same-day turnaround requires the final invoice to be paid in full at delivery.

Photography

How many edited photos do we receive?

It depends on what we're shooting. As a guide:

  • Event photography: 25 or more edited photos per hour of coverage (color, exposure, and crop adjustments)
  • Lifestyle photography: roughly 100 edited photos per half-day session
  • Headshots: 3 to 5 fully retouched selects per person (skin, clothes, backgrounds, eyes, mouth, hair)
  • Architecture or specialty work involving advanced compositing (sky replacement, object removal, full composites) is scoped as a custom post-production budget per project

Final image counts are confirmed in the Roadmap or pre-production based on your specific shoot.

What file formats do we deliver?
Default delivery is high-resolution JPG via cloud link. Hi-res 16-bit PSD or TIFF files are available on request. The edited images are the deliverable; RAW files are not provided.
How long until we get the edited photos?
Event coverage typically delivers within 7 business days of the shoot. Lifestyle photography also delivers within 7 business days. Headshots run 5 to 10 business days depending on headcount, since each person receives full retouching. Specific turnaround for custom or specialty work is scoped in pre-production.
Who owns the rights to the photos?
You do. Once final payment is made, all delivered images are yours to use across your brand, marketing, sales, and any commercial application.

Still have questions?

We're happy to chat — no pressure, no sales pitch.

Blue Barn Creative — 2635 Reynard Way, San Diego, CA 92103 — (619) 770-1896

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