A standard business video takes 3 weeks from the strategy call to delivery: week 1 is pre-production, week 2 is the shoot, week 3 is post-production and delivery. A testimonial video takes about 2 weeks (14 days). Other services vary by scope, and the variables are almost always permits and approvals, not the camera.
That is the schedule behind 150+ videos for construction, trades and industrial businesses, including a founder-led brand film for Sawback Builders used as an introduction before the first bid. It is our standard video production in Calgary process. Below: the 3-week answer, each week, what slows it, and how to book.
How long does video production take? 3 weeks for a standard project
Three weeks, kick-off to delivery, for a standard project: one shoot day, one hero film up to 2 minutes, vertical cutdowns, captions and a transcript, with one revision round. The clock starts on the strategy call, not when the camera arrives. Each stage ends with something you approve before the next begins, so the three weeks assume you answer within a day or two at each gate.
Timelines by service, taken from how we actually book:
| Service | Typical timeline | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Standard project (brand film, corporate, construction, commercial) | 3 weeks | One shoot day, one revision round, fixed scope agreed in writing first |
| Testimonial video | About 2 weeks (14 days) | One interview, no script, shorter edit; the customer’s calendar is the main variable |
| Event video packages | 1-week turnaround after the event | Scope is set by the event date; pre-production happens before it |
| Training libraries, progress documentation, drone series | Varies by scope | Multiple procedures or repeat flights, each approved in writing before filming |
Two honest caveats. First, “3 weeks” is for the standard project; a training library of 20 procedures or seven months of weekly site documentation is a different animal. Second, the timeline is a promise about our side of the work. If a cut sits in an inbox for ten days, the project is ten days longer.
At a glance
- Typical length: hero film up to 2 minutes; vertical cutdowns 15–60 seconds
- Shoot: one day for a standard project; most construction shoots run 1–2 days
- Timeline: 3 weeks standard (week 1 pre-production, week 2 shoot, week 3 post-production and delivery); testimonial about 2 weeks (14 days); other services vary by scope
- Deliverables: hero film, vertical cutdowns, captions and transcript, one revision round
- Drone: Founder Jared Ho holds an advanced RPAS licence certified by Transport Canada
What happens in each week of the video production process?
Week 1 turns the strategy call into a written plan you approve: audience, message, locations, who is on camera, shot list, permits and a schedule. Week 2 is the shoot, usually one day. Week 3 is the edit, colour, sound, motion graphics and captions, one review round, and delivery. Here is what you will actually see from us in each week.
Day 1: the strategy call. We find out who the video has to persuade and what they need to see to believe you. On a construction brand film that usually means the people who built the company on camera, in their own words, on a live site. The scope and fixed price go in writing before any work starts.
Week 1: pre-production. The written plan covers:
- Interview subjects and the questions we will ask (no scripts for interviews)
- Locations, with site orientation and PPE requirements confirmed
- Shot list, including any drone block and the airspace it sits in
- Permits and notifications, booked this week, not next
- Shoot-day schedule to the half hour
You approve the plan. Our full checklist is in the pre-production planning checklist.
Week 2: production day. One day for a standard project. Interviews first while people are fresh, then b-roll of the work, then aerials when light and airspace allow. We work around your crew’s schedule; a shoot that slows a pour or a lift is a shoot that gets cut short.
Week 3: post-production and delivery. Edit, colour, sound, motion graphics and captions. You review a cut and we apply the revision round in your package. Then the hero film, cutdowns, captions and transcript are delivered. What happens in that week, step by step, is in the post-production checklist.
For Foothills Academy we built an interview-led fundraising film for the annual gala from parents and students telling their own stories, then produced a 2026 follow-up cut for the online course. The follow-up was faster than the original because week 1 had already been done once. That is the pattern: pre-production is the week that cannot be skipped, and it is the week that pays back on every project after.
What slows a video project down: permits, approvals and weather
Four things stretch a 3-week project: City permits that were not booked in week 1, controlled-airspace authorization for drones, review cuts that wait in an inbox, and weather on an exterior shoot day. None of them is the edit. Each one has a lead time you can plan around, and the numbers below are the published ones.
| Delay | Published lead time | How we plan around it |
|---|---|---|
| Filming on City of Calgary streets, sidewalks or parking | Minimum 5–10 business days | Booked in week 1; the City replies to intake within 2 business days and approvals run 5–21 business days by service |
| Filming in City parks or pathways | Minimum 5 business days | Same week-1 booking; private job sites need no City permit |
| Drones launched from City property, or City-owned facilities | Minimum 10 business days | Launch from the client’s own site where possible; otherwise it sets the shoot date |
| Drone flight in controlled airspace (near YYC) | NAV CANADA: up to two weeks, typically one week; some requests auto-approved | Authorization requested in week 1; a low-altitude plan often clears faster |
| Review cut waiting for feedback | Not published, but the most common delay | One named approver, feedback consolidated in one pass |
Sources: City of Calgary film services, City of Calgary filming applications, NAV CANADA NAV Drone FAQ.
A few details behind the table:
- Private sites need no City permit. Most of our shoots happen on the client’s own job site, yard or shop, so the City lead times only apply when the camera or the drone is on City property. The exceptions are covered in permits for corporate video in Calgary.
- Drone authorization is a real date. Advanced operations allow flight in controlled airspace with air traffic control permission (Transport Canada). Founder Jared Ho holds an advanced RPAS licence certified by Transport Canada, and airspace authorization is arranged before each flight where required. Close to YYC that request goes in on day 2, not the night before.
- Weather. Weather-postponed flights are rescheduled at no additional cost. On a one-day shoot we plan interviews indoors first so a grey morning does not cost the day.
- Approvals. The 3 weeks assume a reply at each gate within a day or two. A single named approver on your side is the biggest schedule protection you can give the project.
Cost follows the same drivers: extra shoot days, extra locations and extra revision rounds all add time and money, and the market numbers are in how much video production costs per minute in Calgary. We don’t publish prices on this blog because the number depends on scope; you get a written scope and fixed price after the first call.
Filming in Calgary: how to book so the 3 weeks hold
Book the strategy call three weeks before the date you need the video, name one approver, and tell us on the call whether the shoot is on your own site or on City property. That is enough for the 3-week standard to hold. If a drone block near the airport or a City street is involved, add the lead time from the table above to the front of the schedule.
What we bring to a Calgary or Alberta shoot:
- Address and reach. We are at 118 Waterfront Ct SW, Calgary. Calgary shoots carry no travel fee. Travel elsewhere in Alberta, from Airdrie to Lethbridge to Edmonton, is quoted up front.
- Site-ready crew. Orientation done, PPE in your standard, proof of licence and liability insurance, a written flight plan and a flight log for any drone work.
- Remote review. You review cuts from your office or the truck. Nobody needs to come to the studio in week 3.
- Business hours. Monday to Friday, 09:00–23:00 Mountain Time, which matters when the review happens after the site shuts down.
On Feraform’s Elliston Park parkade, alongside builder Kalamoir, the schedule was seven months of weekly documentation from October to April. That is the opposite end of the range from a 3-week brand film, and it ran on the same principle: a written plan in week 1, a fixed shoot rhythm, and approvals that did not wait. If your project is an event, a hybrid event or a webinar, the one-week event turnaround and the live-production planning are covered in the webinar and hybrid event production guide.
Video production timelines: FAQ
How long does it take to make a brand video? Three weeks for a standard brand film: week 1 pre-production, week 2 a one-day shoot, week 3 post-production and delivery, with one revision round. A main film of around 2 minutes and social cuts of 15–60 seconds come from the same shoot.
How long does a testimonial video take? About 2 weeks (14 days). The interview is one session with no script, and the customer’s availability is usually the only thing that moves the date.
What are the video production process steps? Strategy call on day 1, pre-production in week 1, production day in week 2, then post-production and delivery in week 3. Each step ends with something you approve before the next begins.
Can a video be done in one week? Event video packages have a 1-week turnaround after the event because the planning is done beforehand. For other projects, compressing below 3 weeks usually means dropping pre-production, which is where the video is won or lost.
What takes the longest in video production? Waiting. City permits run 5–21 business days by service, NAV CANADA drone authorization typically takes a week, and review cuts that sit unanswered add days nobody planned for.
Do I need to be on set? No. A site contact usually attends and production follows the approved plan. You review the cut remotely in week 3.
Plan your shoot
Send us the address and the date you need the video by, and we will tell you on the call whether 3 weeks holds or where the lead times push it.
Book a free 15–30 minute call at contact us or phone +1 587-215-9103, Monday to Friday, 09:00–23:00 Mountain Time. We are at 118 Waterfront Ct SW, Calgary, shoot across Alberta, and every project starts with a written scope and fixed price. The full service list is on video production in Calgary.
