Post production services cover everything that happens to a film, series or video after shooting: editing, conform, color grading, visual effects, sound design and mixing, titles and graphics, localization, and deliverables with quality control. Most are priced by day or hour, by fixed bid or as packages, and the right partner is one whose pipeline matches your delivery specs.
This guide is for producers, brands and content owners buying post for the first time or re-tendering an existing relationship. It explains what each service includes, how quotes are usually structured, how to compare post production companies, and where AI-assisted tools now fit alongside human craft.
Key takeaways
- Post production usually includes editorial, conform, color, VFX, sound, graphics, localization, and deliverables with QC.
- Quotes are typically built from day or hourly rates for rooms and artists, fixed bids per deliverable, or bundled packages.
- The biggest cost drivers are footage volume, VFX shot count, the number of deliverable versions, turnaround time and revision rounds.
- Choose a partner on relevant credits, delivery-spec experience, security, review workflow and capacity, not on day rate alone.
- AI-assisted tools speed up VFX, reformatting and review, but editors, colorists and mixers still make the creative calls.
Table of contents
- What are post production services?
- What is included, service by service
- How post production pricing is structured
- How to choose a post production partner
- Post production studios vs freelancers vs in-house
- Where AI-assisted post production fits
- Getting quotes you can actually compare
- Frequently asked questions
What are post production services?
Post production services turn raw footage and audio into a finished program that meets a distributor’s technical specification. The work is part craft (shaping story, look and sound) and part engineering (making files that pass a broadcaster’s or streamer’s QC).
A post house may offer everything under one roof, or specialize in a single discipline such as color, sound or VFX. Either way, the job ends only when the deliverables are accepted, not when the edit is locked. That distinction matters when you compare quotes, because a low price that stops at picture lock leaves the most technical work unpriced.
What is included, service by service
A full post production package covers eight areas. Smaller projects may skip some, but every professional delivery touches most of them.
Editorial
The editor assembles footage into a story, working through assembly, rough cut, fine cut and picture lock with the director and producers. An assistant editor handles ingest, syncing, organization and turnovers to the other departments.
Conform and online
Once picture is locked, the offline edit is relinked to the original high-resolution camera files and rebuilt for finishing. This is where resolution, frame rate and format decisions get applied consistently.
Color grading
The colorist sets the final look and makes shots match. One widely used color framework is the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), which its maintainers describe as the global standard for interchanging digital image files, managing color workflows and creating masters for delivery and archiving. ACES is free and open source, dozens of companies have built it into their tools, and it is now a project of the Academy Software Foundation.
Visual effects
VFX ranges from cleanup (removing rigs, logos and boom mics) to compositing, set extensions and fully digital shots. VFX is usually quoted per shot, so the shot count is one of the first numbers a vendor will ask for.
Sound design and mixing
Dialogue editing, sound effects, Foley, music editing and the final mix happen here, along with separate stems and a music-and-effects track for international versions. Loudness is a delivery requirement, not a preference. The ATSC A/85 recommended practice, updated in July 2026, gives broadcasters, streaming-media service providers and audio creators guidance on loudness measurement, postproduction monitoring and loudness control.
Titles and graphics
Main and end titles, lower thirds, maps and motion graphics, often with textless versions required for localization.
Localization
Subtitles, closed captions, dubbing and audio description. Each language multiplies deliverables, so localization plans belong in the budget from day one.
Deliverables and QC
The final masters, versions and paperwork a distributor requires, checked against its specification. Some distributors specify the Interoperable Master Format (IMF) for this. The SMPTE community IMF User Group notes that IMF was the first professional open media format to support immersive sound, HDR video and worldwide subtitles and captions.
The table below summarizes who does what and what you should expect to receive.
| Service | Who does it | What you receive | How it is usually priced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editorial | Editor, assistant editor | Locked cut, turnover files | Weekly or daily rate |
| Conform | Online editor | Full-resolution timeline | Hourly suite rate or fixed bid |
| Color | Colorist | Graded masters (SDR, HDR) | Hourly or daily suite rate |
| VFX | VFX supervisor, artists | Finished shots | Per-shot bid |
| Sound | Sound editors, mixer | Final mix, stems, M&E | Stage day rate or package |
| Graphics | Motion designer | Titles, textless versions | Per item or day rate |
| Localization | Subtitlers, dubbing studio | Subtitle files, dubbed tracks | Per language, per runtime |
| Deliverables and QC | Deliverables and QC team | Accepted masters and reports | Per deliverable or fixed bid |
Key insight: Ask for your distributor’s delivery spec before you ask for a quote. Deliverables, not the edit, are where post budgets most often overrun.
How post production pricing is structured
Post production is priced in four common ways: time-based rates for rooms and people, fixed bids, per-unit prices, and packages. Most real quotes mix them, which is why two numbers for the same project can look far apart.
- Day, week or hourly rates. Common for editorial, color suites and mix stages. Flexible, but the total depends on how many days the work takes.
- Fixed bids. A single price for a defined scope, such as conform and deliverables for a feature. Predictable, as long as the scope is written down precisely.
- Per-unit pricing. Per VFX shot, per language, per deliverable, or per finished minute for short-form work.
- Packages. Bundles such as “picture and sound finishing” for a set runtime. Convenient, but check exactly what is excluded.
We have deliberately not listed rates. They vary widely by market, facility, union status and project type, and any single figure would mislead more than it helps. What you can control is the scope. These factors move the total most:
- Footage volume and shooting ratio. More material means more assistant and editor time.
- VFX shot count and complexity. Usually the largest variable line.
- Number of versions. Every aspect ratio, language, HDR pass and cut-down is another deliverable.
- Turnaround. Rush schedules mean overtime and parallel teams.
- Revision rounds. Know how many are included before the first review.
- QC failures. Rejected deliverables cost time and redelivery fees.
How to choose a post production partner
Pick a partner that has already delivered projects like yours to distributors like yours. Rate cards matter less than whether a facility can hit your spec, on time, without surprises.
| Criterion | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant credits | Similar format, genre and budget in the last two years | A feature house and a social agency solve different problems |
| Delivery experience | Past deliveries to your target distributor, IMF and HDR capability | Spec knowledge prevents QC rejections |
| Pipeline | Color management approach (such as ACES), loudness workflow, media management | Consistency across departments and versions |
| Security | Access controls, watermarking, secure transfer | Unreleased content is a liability if it leaks |
| Review workflow | How notes are given, tracked and closed | Lost notes become extra revision rounds |
| Capacity | Named team, availability on your dates | The senior artist on the pitch may not be on your job |
| Commercial terms | Included revisions, overage rates, payment schedule | Clear terms prevent end-of-project disputes |
Ask for a sample of work in your format, a named team, and a written scope that lists every deliverable. Then speak to a recent client with a similar project.
Five questions worth asking on the first call with any provider of post production services:
- Which recent project is closest to ours, and can we see it?
- Who exactly will work on our project, and are they available on our dates?
- Have you delivered to our distributor before, and what caused any QC rejections?
- How are notes tracked, and how many revision rounds are included?
- What is excluded from this quote?
The answer to the last question is often the most revealing. Exclusions such as archival footage licensing, music clearance, extra languages or an additional HDR pass can change the total more than the day rate does.
Post production studios vs freelancers vs in-house
Full-service post production studios offer one point of accountability, freelancers offer flexibility and often lower overhead, and in-house teams suit organizations with steady volume. Many productions mix all three.
- Full-service facility. Editorial through deliverables under one roof, with shared media management. Best when deliverables are complex and the schedule is tight.
- Specialist boutiques. A color house, a sound studio, a VFX vendor. Strong craft in one area; you or a post supervisor coordinate between them.
- Freelancers. Good for editorial and graphics on smaller projects. Budget for someone to own conform, QC and delivery.
- In-house. Efficient for brands and publishers producing steadily, with specialist finishing bought in as needed.
Whichever model you choose, appoint one person, usually a post supervisor or producer, who owns the schedule and the deliverables list.
Where AI-assisted post production fits
AI tools now speed up specific tasks within post production services, such as VFX, reformatting and review, while the creative decisions stay with editors, colorists and mixers. Used well, they reduce repetitive work and let a smaller team take on more.
CineVision builds tools for three of those tasks:
- Big Idea covers script, storyboard, pre-viz and render, and its prompted VFX feature lets you upload your own shot footage and add, edit or enhance VFX elements with text prompts. It also focuses on consistent characters and environments across shots. Our walkthrough of Big Idea from script to screen shows the workflow.
- PeakView is a QA workspace for comparing two versions side by side, frame-accurate, with notes at the exact timecode. It is built for reviewing reframing, VFX, color correction, restoration and upscaling, and QA teams can export notes with timecodes or a JSON file for the editorial pipeline. See how PeakView handles review.
- Reframe produces new aspect ratio versions from a finished master, up to 4K, without pan and scan. When a distributor or social team needs vertical 9:16 alongside 16:9, Reframe turns that extra deliverable into a conversion job instead of a re-edit.
None of this removes the need for skilled post people. We describe the approach as Human Generative Workflows: the human makes the creative call, and AI does the heavy lifting around it.
Key insight: The best place to add AI in post is where the work is repetitive and the result is easy to check side by side, such as cleanup VFX, reformatting and version comparison.
Getting quotes you can actually compare
To compare post production services fairly, send every vendor the same package: the delivery spec, runtime, footage volume, VFX shot list, languages, version list and target dates. Ask each to price the same scope, list exclusions and state included revision rounds.
If your project needs AI-assisted VFX, pre-viz or a faster route from idea to finished render alongside your post partner, request a Big Idea demo and bring your shot list.
