How Much Does a Vertical Drama Cost to Make?
Updated: Oct 9
The number people want is a price per episode. It is also the easiest number to misuse. Two productions can each deliver ninety-second episodes while having entirely different costs for cast, locations, wardrobe, music, post-production, and marketing. A production budget should start with the whole season and the intended release plan.
Build the budget from the script
Count speaking roles, shooting days, locations, night work, action, children, animals, and effects. A dialogue-heavy scene in one accessible room is not priced like a street scene in the rain. Then cost the crew, equipment, insurance, editing, sound, captions, thumbnails, and deliverables. Include a contingency for delays and reshoots.
The cost viewers never see
The series may need trailers, paid promotion, app placement, and staff to test which opening attracts viewers. A platform might fund production but spend far more to acquire an audience. A small creator who can make episodes cheaply still has to solve discovery.
A better comparison
Ask for cost per finished minute, cost per shooting day, and total cost of a season. Then compare those figures with the rights granted and the money likely to return. A writer quoting for scripts should define revisions and ownership separately from production spend.
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A practical budget check
What is included in the quote? Who pays for revisions and pickups? Are deliverables vertical only? What is the plan for music, captions, and marketing? Is the contingency real?
Viola Musaraj is a writer, novelist, micro and vertical drama producer, and interactive narrative designer with more than 140 million reads worldwide.
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