How to hire a video production company in Colombia (2026)

Direct answer

How do you hire a video production company in Colombia?

Send every candidate the same written brief, then compare their written estimates line by line: roles, production days, deliverables, review rounds, usage rights, currency, taxes, payment milestones and exclusions. Ask who leads the project and what is subcontracted, watch complete films rather than a reel, and confirm who files the permits and when.

Do you need a fixer, freelancers or a production company in Colombia?

It depends on how much of the production you want to run yourself. A fixer helps a visiting team on the ground, while a production services company takes on the production in Colombia and answers for it.

Fixer, freelancers, production company or agency, as of November 2026
Option	Usually fits	What it takes on	What stays with you
Fixer	Documentary, journalism and small crews that bring their own camera	Research, contacts, access to locations, translation, transport, and cultural or safety context	The local budget, crew and equipment hiring, payments and invoicing
Freelancers hired one by one	Simple pieces with a clear scope, such as an interview or short event coverage	Their own role	Coordination: you align schedules, solve the sound, decide who edits and answer for the files
Production services company	Commercials, series, projects seeking an incentive, and shoots that combine crew, locations and post-production	Budget, crew and equipment hiring, insurance, permits, local payments and invoicing	Approving the budget, and the decisions that belong to the agency, director or client
Agency	Brands that need the idea and the media plan as well as the production	Strategy, the creative concept and media buying; it usually hires a production company for the shoot	Approvals; you also pay for the idea and the media strategy

No option is better in itself. A large structure does not guarantee judgment, and a small one does not mean improvisation, so check whether the team proposed matches the scope of your piece. With several freelancers, your company becomes the producer; with a production company, you pay for that coordination and for responsibility over the result.

Commercials, series and projects seeking an incentive usually need a Colombian company that contracts and answers for the work. Two rules explain why: only Colombian companies can request the POA (Permiso para Otras Actividades) for foreign crew, and the CINA tax-certificate incentive requires working with a Colombian production or film services company registered in SIREC, the film registry. Our filming guide compares what a fixer and a production services company handle.

What should a video production brief include?

The objective, audience, deliverables, dates, intended usage and approvers, with enough detail for a local team to flag permits, lead times and risks before quoting. Send the same written brief to every candidate, with the same reply date, so all the proposals answer the same need.

Start with the problem, not the camera. Say what should change once the video is out: explaining a solution, presenting a company, launching a product, recording an event or starting a content series. Then include:

The audience, the channels and the action you expect from viewers.
The treatment or current concept, with references and what each one is for. A lighting reference, a performance reference and a location reference can imply very different resources.
Tentative dates, cities and number of shooting days.
Deliverables, technical standards and intended usage: media, territories and term.
Roles that travel and roles you expect to hire in Colombia.
Who approves creative, budget and logistics, and in which time zone.
Whether you plan drone shots, road closures or performers, and whether you will apply for the CINA or the FFC incentive.
A working budget range, if there is one, and confidentiality terms if the creative is unreleased.

Name what is still undecided, too. With that information the conversation stops being generic, and each company can propose concrete alternatives from the first exchange. A careful proposal will list the unknowns instead of hiding them inside a fixed package.

What questions should you ask a video production company before hiring it?

Ask who leads the project and who will be on set, what is subcontracted, how sound is recorded, how many review rounds are included, which formats are delivered, how long the material is kept and what happens if the shoot is canceled or postponed. For a shoot in Colombia, add who files the permits and who contracts the local crew.

Questions to ask before hiring, and what a clear answer includes, as of November 2026
Question	A clear answer includes
What is your role, and what does the proposal assume?	Responsibilities, assumptions and exclusions in writing, so two teams do not both assume the other is covering a task
Who leads the project, and who will be on set?	Named people and roles, and access to the producer; “we’ll see as we go” anticipates disputes later
What do you subcontract?	Which parts are done in-house and who does the rest
How do you record sound?	A sound plan and a person responsible for it, above all when there are interviews
How many review rounds are included?	A number, with approval milestones for script and edit in the schedule
What exactly will you deliver?	A written matrix: frame rate, resolution, codec, aspect ratios, audio configuration, captions, file names and delivery method
How is media backed up, and who keeps it?	Backups during the shoot and on how many drives, who keeps the raw footage afterwards and for how long, and whether you can request it later
What happens if the shoot is canceled or postponed?	Written conditions, including what happens to the advance
Who files the permits, and with what lead time?	The permit path for each location; in Bogotá, the PUFA (Unified Permit for Audiovisual Filming) takes 5 working days, or 3 if urgent
Who contracts and pays the local crew?	Whether the company hires, pays and invoices locally as a Colombian company, or only coordinates

The answers reveal the working method. An organized company replies with roles, documents and dates. Ask, too, for a schedule and a call sheet from a similar project with the client’s details removed: they show how the company plans a shooting day.

Good candidates ask questions back, about the audience, the channel, the action you expect, approvals and the calendar. If the conversation starts and ends with equipment, it lacks the context to design the piece.

How do you judge a production company’s work beyond the showreel?

Ask for two or three complete films similar to yours and watch them from start to finish. A showreel gathers the best seconds of many projects; it does not show whether a whole piece holds up.

Look for projects with challenges close to yours: interviews, product, direct sound, events or vertical content. Check whether the message is clear, whether the audio is clean in every intervention and whether the pace holds without leaning only on music and transitions.

Then check what the company actually did on each project. Direction, filming, editing and post-production can belong to different teams, and clear credits prevent the wrong conclusions. Visual craft can be judged from the material itself; client results and case-study claims need separate, authorized evidence. A reel shows taste, but a clear estimate and schedule show whether a team can turn that taste into a controlled production.

How do you compare video production proposals?

Put every proposal in one table with the same columns, and decide how much each criterion weighs before you look at prices. Otherwise the price decides alone, and totals may cover different responsibilities.

Useful columns: creative approach, shooting days, crew, deliverables, review rounds, usage rights, schedule, exclusions, payment terms, and the price with and without VAT (IVA in Colombia). Two offers with the same name can hide very different work. In our price study, a “corporate video” could be a piece assembled from stock scenes and a voice-over, or a production with a script, a shoot, lighting, color and two rounds of changes.

Much cheaper? Look for what is missing. Often it is the sound recordist, the second shooting day, licensed music or a review round.
Much more expensive? Ask which additional resource explains the difference, and whether your objective needs it.
Based in different cities? A company based where you shoot cuts travel and knows the area’s locations, permits and suppliers; a team from another city may bring a specialty the project needs. Ask each proposal to break down transport, accommodation and meals so you compare on equal terms.

Then book a short call with each finalist. How they explain the proposal, admit what they do not know yet and answer your questions shows how communication will work during the project.

How much do video production companies charge in Colombia?

There is no official day rate, and a total only means something next to its scope. As reference points, our study of 42 published records from 26 Colombian providers, checked on September 27, 2026, lists a corporate or promotional video at COP 950,000 to COP 3,200,000 per piece and a reel at COP 150,000 to COP 850,000.

Published video production prices in Colombia, as of November 2026 (records checked on September 27, 2026)
Service	Published price	What the figure covers
Corporate or promotional video	COP 950,000 to COP 3,200,000 per piece	From a one-minute promotional video in Bogotá to a corporate video of up to three minutes made from stock scenes; one production company publishes it from COP 3,000,000 with script, shoot and two rounds of changes
Video production day	COP 2,250,000 per day	One provider, with script, logistics, filming, and video and sound editing
Editing existing footage	COP 350,000 per minute	One provider; editing only, with the client’s own footage or stock libraries
Reel or short social video	COP 150,000 to COP 850,000	COP 150,000 buys the editing of existing footage; COP 850,000 includes a script and 4K filming on location
Drone photo and video	COP 250,000 per flight hour to COP 1,590,000 for a day of up to 8 hours	In almost every case, raw footage; editing, when offered, is quoted separately

These are the minimum and maximum figures providers published, in Colombian pesos and unconverted, not averages. Most pages do not say whether their figures include VAT. Use the ranges to place a budget, not to set a price: if a proposal lands far below or far above them, compare its scope with the closest record, looking at length, shooting hours, people on the crew, number of pieces, review rounds and delivery formats. The full study, Video production prices in Colombia 2026, lists each record with its source.

What should a video production estimate include?

A written estimate should name the roles, production days, deliverables, currency, taxes, payment milestones and exclusions. Each cost should sit on its own line rather than inside a single total.

What a written estimate should show, as of November 2026
Line	What to check
Roles and days	Each role included and the production days it covers, from development and prep to the shoot, and how travel days for the local crew are charged
Equipment	What travels with your team, what is sourced locally, and whether key tools are compatible
Locations, art and casting	Location fees, art and casting, with the lines that depend on scouting or casting marked as estimates
Permits and insurance	Permit fees and the insurance policies a permit requires, when applicable
Transport, accommodation and catering	Vehicles, accommodation and meals for the crew, planned with real travel times
Overtime and surcharges	How overtime is charged, and whether night, Sunday or holiday work carries a surcharge
Post-production and deliverables	Editing, color, sound, subtitles and masters, or an organized handoff to your team
Rights and licenses	Usage rights for the intended media, territory and term, and licenses for music, fonts and stock
Currency, taxes and validity	The agreed currency, taxes identified, whether VAT is included and how long the figure holds
Bank charges and contingency	Each on its own line
Payment milestones	The advance and the milestone for each later payment
Exclusions	What the estimate does not cover, in writing

Some lines can only be confirmed after scouting or casting: the fee for a private location, the insurance a municipality requires, the real number of vehicles. A good estimate marks them as estimates and says what they depend on. A short final film is not automatically a small production, either: the work is driven by what must happen around the camera.

Value-added tax depends on the contract. According to the Colombia Film Commission, the Tax Statute treats services provided in Colombia and used exclusively abroad, by companies or people without business or activities in Colombia, as exempt with the right to a bimonthly refund. Whether that applies depends on each contract and on formal requirements, so validate it with an accountant before invoicing.

How do payments and usage rights work with a production company?

An advance when the proposal is approved is common, because the company has to book people, equipment and locations before the shoot. Usage rights are set in the contract: the media, channels, territory and term in which the material can be used.

What matters is that the contract states the advance percentage, the milestones for the following payments and what happens to that money if either party cancels or postpones the project. On rights, Colombian law is specific: article 183 of Law 23 of 1982, as amended by article 30 of Law 1450 of 2011, requires any transfer of copyright’s economic rights to be made in writing. If the transfer does not state its term, it is limited to five years; if it does not state the territory, to the country where it is made. For complex cases, consult a lawyer.

What a production contract should cover, as of November 2026
Clause	What it should state
Piece and deliverables	What is produced, with its versions, formats and technical delivery matrix
Schedule	Dates, with approval milestones for script and edit
Review rounds	How many are included
Price and payments	Amount, currency, taxes, advance percentage and the milestones for later payments
Cancellation or postponement	The conditions, including what happens to the advance if either party cancels or postpones
Weather and extra days	What happens if it rains on an exterior, and who pays for an extra day caused by client changes
Usage rights	Modalities, channels, territory and term of use, matching the territories and channels you plan
Releases and licenses	Who manages image releases for the people who appear, and licenses for music, fonts, stock and other third-party elements
Performers	Role, language, availability and intended usage defined before casting; rights, term, media and territory written into the scope
Confidentiality	Terms for unreleased creative, signed before it is shared when the project requires it
Media and portfolio	Who keeps the raw footage and for how long, and whether the company may show the piece in its portfolio

What is different about hiring a production company in Colombia?

Permits, crew immigration, drones, incentives and VAT follow Colombian rules, so ask each candidate how it will handle them. Approvals and incentive eligibility are decided only by the official bodies; a local partner prepares and coordinates the requests.

Colombia-specific points to confirm with a candidate, as of November 2026
Topic	What to confirm	Official source
Public-space permits	Who files each request, and with what margin: in Bogotá, the PUFA takes 5 working days (ordinary) or 3 (urgent, with 25% added to the fee); in Medellín, at least 7 calendar days; other municipalities set their own	Bogotá Film Commission; Colombia Film Commission
Permit insurance	Who takes out the compliance policy and the third-party civil liability policy the PUFA requires; they are not included in the fee	Bogotá Film Commission
Private locations and façades	A contract or written authorization from each owner or manager; the PUFA does not cover the image of building façades or monuments	Colombia Film Commission; Bogotá Film Commission
Foreign crew	Who requests the POA, which only Colombian companies can do, at least 10 business days before entry (COP 151,884 per person in 2026); with a foreign sponsor, the route is the type V visa	Colombia Film Commission
Equipment that travels	Professional equipment can enter temporarily without duties, recorded against the traveler’s passport; drones cannot come on commercial flights and must be imported in advance through a customs broker	Colombia Film Commission
Drone shots	A registered drone, a certified pilot and operator, and a flight authorization from Aerocivil (Colombia’s civil aviation authority)	Aerocivil
Incentives	For the CINA, a Colombian production or film services company registered in SIREC is mandatory; advertising is eligible for the CINA, with a minimum spend of 400 monthly minimum wages (SMLMV), and is not listed for the FFC	Incentives handbook; CINA and FFC pages
VAT	How the contract treats VAT for services used exclusively abroad; validate it with an accountant before invoicing	Colombia Film Commission

If the project aims for an incentive, plan it from the budget: local contracting and supporting documents change how expenses are invoiced. Our guide to filming in Colombia covers each permit, visa route, drone rule and incentive with its lead time and official source.

What are the red flags when hiring a video production company?

Be wary of proposals without a breakdown, schedules with no room for approvals, promises of sales or virality, portfolios without clear credits, and interview pieces where nobody looks after sound. It is also a warning sign when nobody asks about your objective, your audience or the channels where the video will run.

Red flags and what to ask for instead, as of November 2026
Red flag	What to ask for instead
One total with no breakdown	Separate lines for roles, days, equipment, travel, post-production, rights, taxes and exclusions
A schedule with no approval steps	Approval milestones for script and edit, and the number of review rounds
Promises of sales or virality	Commitments a video can actually keep: deliverables, dates and review rounds
A reel with no credits	Two or three complete films like yours, with who did what on each
Client names, awards or figures with no evidence	Authorized evidence for any case-study claim
Interviews with no one in charge of sound	The sound plan and the person responsible for it
“We’ll figure it out as we go”	Roles, documents and dates
An equipment list before any question about the piece	Questions about audience, channel, expected action, approvals and calendar first
Every location, permit or incentive promised up front	The permit path and lead time for each location; approvals and eligibility depend on the official bodies

Healthy signs look the other way around. A good partner acknowledges uncertainty, documents exclusions and offers alternatives. When the date is fixed, it says what can be achieved responsibly within it instead of promising every reference. The right company is not always the largest: it is the one that understands the objective, puts together the right team and keeps things clear until delivery.

What should you agree with your production partner before the shoot?

Agree on the working language, the time zone for reports, who approves what, the data plan and what is handed over at wrap. Bogotá runs on UTC−5 all year, with no daylight saving time.

Roles. Role names and responsibilities vary between countries, so write them down. If your director of photography travels but the first camera assistant is local, both should agree on format, lenses, color profile, frame rate and data workflow before the shoot.
Spending authority. If your producer approves expenses, the local producer needs to know up to what amount they can decide alone.
Daily communication. Call sheets, status updates and wrap notes, sent to the person who approves each decision.
Data plan. Media, copies, checksums when required, folder structure, naming and the person who receives the handoff. Uploading during production depends on volume and connectivity, so do not assume it. The day ends when media is copied, verified and backed up, not when the camera stops.
Wrap and handoff. Drives, camera and sound reports, daily reports and the expense support for settling the budget. If post-production moves to your team, add an agreed folder structure, proxies or original media and a documented inventory.

From checklist to production

Comparing production partners in Colombia? Send us the same brief.

Sequoia Studio is a production company in Bogotá. We work in English and Spanish on Colombia time (UTC−5, no daylight saving time) and can run a complete local execution or a defined part of it. Our written estimates state roles, production days, currency, taxes, payment milestones and exclusions, so you can set them beside the other proposals line by line.

Production services in Colombia

Before you sign: a hiring checklist

Fixer, freelancers, production company or agency decided
Same written brief and reply date for every candidate
Objective, audience, channels and approvers in the brief
Traveling roles and local roles listed
Two or three complete films reviewed, with credits
Project lead, on-set team and subcontracted work named
Sound plan for interviews
Proposals compared in one table with the same columns
Estimate with roles, days, currency, taxes, milestones and exclusions
VAT treatment and quote validity confirmed
Advance, payment milestones and cancellation terms in writing
Usage rights by media, territory and term
Image releases and licenses for music, fonts and stock
Permits, required insurance and lead times in the schedule
Backups, raw-footage custody and handoff agreed
Working language, time zone and daily reports agreed

Hiring a production company in Colombia: frequently asked questions

What should I ask a video production company in Colombia before hiring it?

Who leads the project and who will be on set, what is subcontracted, how sound is recorded, how many review rounds are included, which formats are delivered, how media is backed up and who keeps it, and what happens if the shoot is canceled or postponed. For a shoot in Colombia, also ask who files the permits and who contracts the local crew.

Does the production company need to be Colombian?

Not always, but often. A fixer or freelancers can support a small team, yet only Colombian companies can request the POA permit for foreign crew, and the CINA incentive requires a Colombian production or film services company registered in SIREC. Commercials, series and projects seeking an incentive usually need a Colombian company that contracts and answers for the work.

Is it normal to pay an advance to a production company?

Yes. An advance when the proposal is approved is common, because the company has to book people, equipment and locations before the shoot. The contract should state the percentage, the milestones for the following payments and what happens to the advance if either party cancels or postpones the project.

How are usage rights set when you hire a production company in Colombia?

In the contract, which should list modalities, channels, territory and term. Under article 183 of Law 23 of 1982, as amended by article 30 of Law 1450 of 2011, a transfer of copyright’s economic rights must be in writing; if it omits the term, it is limited to five years, and if it omits the territory, to the country where it is made. For complex cases, consult a lawyer.

Do production quotes in Colombia include VAT?

Not always, and most published price pages do not say. Ask whether the figure includes VAT (IVA) and how long it holds. The Tax Statute treats services provided in Colombia and used exclusively abroad, by companies or people without business or activities in Colombia, as exempt with the right to a bimonthly refund, but that depends on each contract: validate it with an accountant.

How do I compare two quotes that look very different?

Put both in one table with the same columns: creative approach, shooting days, crew, deliverables, review rounds, rights, schedule, exclusions, payment terms and price with and without VAT. When one is much cheaper, look for what is missing, often the sound recordist, a second day, licensed music or a review round. When one is much more expensive, ask which resource explains the difference.

What are the red flags when hiring a production company?

Proposals without a breakdown, schedules that leave no room for approvals, promises of sales or virality, portfolios without clear credits and interview pieces where nobody handles sound. Also be wary when nobody asks about your objective, audience or channels, or when every location, permit or incentive is promised before anyone has checked it.

Should I hire a fixer or a production services company in Colombia?

A fixer handles research, contacts, translation, access and transport for a visiting team, and suits documentary, journalism and small crews with their own camera. A production services company also manages the local budget, hiring, insurance, permits, payments and invoicing. Commercials, series and projects seeking an incentive usually need the second.

Sources

Checked on 9 November 2026 (official figures, as published in our filming guide; prices as published in our study, checked on 27 September 2026). Rules, fees and amounts change: confirm the current version with the official body before budgeting. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Keep planning

Our English guides for teams working in Colombia, and two Spanish articles: the one this guide adapts and a brief template.

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