While local businesses and non-profits can’t expect to have Ken Burns direct their next documentary, Matt DeSarle of Matty D. Media provides a local equivalent. Ken Burns is a PBS documentary producer known for his textbook approach that includes centering first-person witnesses, weaving archival materials, and capturing America’s landscape. In this thought exercise, we present a hypothetical scenario where Matty D. Media features 10 interview subjects in a 10 minute documentary. This is a common formula for the long-form videos Matty D. Media produces. The output would include not only an archival piece of history, but marketing assets that can serve an organization for years to come.
How much does a 10 minute documentary cost to produce with interviews?
When budgeting a historical mini-documentary, video production companies must account for meticulous planning, professional field production, and a heavy post-production workflow. For a standard 10-minute short-form documentary package, an industry-standard estimate typically ranges from $25,000 to $55,000. This budget is distributed across coordinating multi-camera interview setups on location, securing high-quality B-roll, and executing complex editing tasks. Because these projects often demand specialized visual aids like animated maps, historical timelines, and social media cuts, pricing reflects a massive volume of specialized labor rather than just the length of the final runtime.
Matty D. Media fits seamlessly within this professional tier, bringing localized expertise to historical and community storytelling. Our standard video production rates—including dual-camera interview packages, b-roll capture, and drone videography. Each of these services are priced at their own hourly rate.
This dynamic approach allows us to scale our crew precisely to a project’s geographical needs. For example, when capturing a complex regional narrative, our team utilizes these exact rates to build transparent, line-item budgets that cover extensive ground while maintaining network-quality standards.
Authentic programming requires trusting people to speak from the heart
Matty D. Media has built its business on trusting experts to talk about what they know. First hand witnesses not only make for compelling stories. They also have a firm understand about the past, present, and future of their topic.
How much pre-production and post-production goes into a 10-minute documentary?
A realistic production timetable requires months of staggered development to ensure a polished final deliverable. The process begins with several weeks of pre-production to iron out interview scripts, scout locations, and storyboard the visual style. Once the cameras roll, principal videography is usually consolidated into a tight 3-to-5-day window to maximize crew efficiency.
Click here to learn more about how Matty D. Media field producers handle location-scouting.
Finally, post-production requires a substantial block of time. Creating a 10-minute documentary could easily take 4-6 weeks of video editing. Clients might see that represented in a cost estimate as 200-280 hours of video editing labor. Real human video editors handle this process instead of artificial intelligence. These professionals review the captured materials and log the footage. They also complete the sound design, add custom name graphics, and export the final video files.
Crafting compelling documentary timelines
Those tasks above cover the practical steps of post-production. However, the real magic happens when an experienced editor reviews the footage with a careful eye. Our video editors have a special knack for picking out highlights. Furthermore, they excel at reading the body language of an interview subject. Two quotes compared side-by-side on paper simply do not have the same impact. A human watching body language captures much more depth. Ultimately, body language and tone trigger the real impact that the spoken word has on an audience. Our video editors go through painstaking detail to account for what was said and exactly how it was said.
This structured timeline above mirrors how Matty D. Media successfully scales local history projects into broadcast-ready features. Our first long-form documentary as a small business was produced in 2016 as part of an National Endowment for the Humanities grant for a project called, “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History.”
Our meticulous pre-production and deep interview weaving allowed us to expanded a standard brief into a comprehensive feature cut that ultimately earned official PBS programming approval.
By sticking to a strict editing workflow in our internal suite at a competitive hourly post-production rate, we ensure that every milestone—from the initial rough cut to the short-form social media deliverables—is met on time and within budget.
To produce the “Stories from Oakland, Topeka” documentary for the PBS “Latino Americans 500 Years of History” project, Matt DeSarle worked closely with oral historian
Why Drone Video Matters for Local Documentaries
Drone video changes how we tell local stories. In the past, getting high aerial video required renting a costly helicopter. Today, small drones can fly up high to capture beautiful views of towns, farms, and rivers. This aerial footage helps the audience see exactly where a historic story took place. It makes a short film look like a big Hollywood movie. When a video includes these high-angle views, it holds the viewer’s attention much better.
How Matty D. Media Films Aerial Video in Kansas
Matty D. Media uses FAA-licensed drone pilots to capture safe, stunning aerial video across the Midwest. We charge a simple, fair rate for drone filming. This makes it easy to add professional flying shots to your project. We have used our drones to film everything from big 220-Acre Rural Land Property Listings to close-up views of a Commercial Roofing Project Completion. These high flying views give your local history project a cinematic feel that connects viewers directly to the land.
Animated graphics and other contingency costs
Our video production bids are very meticulous, listing the time and budget required for major areas such as recording interviews, action footage, aerials, and video editing. These production elements often come with predictable hourly costs. However, more custom work such as animated graphics require custom cost estimates. Please visit with your producer about those additional costs.
Examples of animated graphics
Matty D. Media productions include simple text graphics, such as a name and title of interview subjects. More creative artwork can be done to match the project’s needs. For example, we recently produced two different styles of videos to help one client showcase their 10 year history. Please consider the two YouTube samples below to compare these different approaches.
In the first approach, a visual effects editor used After Effects to superimpose visual details from Construction projects into animated interstitial graphics.
In this second example above, archival footage from Matty D. Media’s library was actually mimicked with an ai-generated sketch generator.
