Free planner
Launch film planner: format, timeline and brief.
Answer six questions about your launch. You get the film format that fits, the latest sensible date to brief, and a checklist you can paste straight into a brief. Built from HELM’s published schedule and the way we direct product films.
Plan your launch film
Your plan · planning estimate
The Launch Film
Published target HELM’s stated schedule Typical most films, not guaranteed Assumption a planning allowance for your side
Your brief checklist
Paste the brief into the enquiry form. HELM’s published target is a free fixed quote within 1 day, and that quote confirms the real dates and price. This plan is an estimate, not a quote or a promise. Nothing you choose here leaves your browser.
How does the planner choose a format?
It matches the film to the one question your first audience has. People meeting you cold need the point fast, prospects comparing options need proof, and a long or abstract product needs room to explain.
| Situation | Recommended format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Email, social, or a single feature | The Product Film, 15–30 sec, from $1,000 | One message, short enough to be watched in full where attention is thin |
| A new product or AI capability for a launch page or homepage | The Launch Film, 30–60 sec, from $1,800 | Room for the buyer’s world, the change and one proof moment |
| A product people don’t get, or several flows | The Extended Film, 60–120 sec, from $2,500 | Time to build the argument before the interface |
| Prospects evaluating, film used in sales follow-up | A screen-recorded demo, kept by your team, plus a short HELM film for the first touch | Evaluators need precise, current workflows that change with every release |
How is the timeline worked out?
It counts back from your launch date using HELM’s published schedule plus a review allowance for your approvers. The result is the latest sensible date to brief, not a promise of delivery.
- Quote (published target): a free fixed quote within 1 day of sending the product.
- Direction (published target): story and key frames within 5 days of kickoff. Kickoff follows your acceptance of the quote and the 50% first payment.
- Your review (assumption): 2 days for one approver, 4 days for two or three, 7 days for four or more or legal review. These allowances are planning assumptions.
- Production (typical, not guaranteed): most films are delivered 7–10 days after you approve the direction. The planner uses 10.
- Buffer (assumption): 3 days before launch to place the film on the page and in email.
- Example: four or more approvers or legal review gives 1 + 5 + 7 + 10 + 3 = 26 days. That is a planning estimate, not a guaranteed turnaround.
For the reasoning behind each step, read how to plan a B2B launch video, and for the scene-by-scene structure, what a 60-second SaaS film should show. Formats and prices are on the product launch video page.
Questions about the planner
Is the timeline a promise?
No. It is a planning estimate based on HELM’s published schedule: a fixed quote within 1 day, the first direction within 5 days of kickoff, and most films delivered 7–10 days after you approve that direction. Your fixed quote confirms real dates.
Does the planner store or send my answers?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you choose is sent to HELM or to analytics, unless you choose to copy the brief and send it yourself.
Why does the number of approvers change the dates?
Every extra reviewer adds review time between the first direction and approval. The planner adds a review allowance for this, so your timeline reflects how your company actually signs things off.
What if the planner recommends a demo instead?
When buyers are already evaluating you and the film will live in sales follow-up, a screen-recorded walkthrough kept by your product team often serves them better. HELM specializes in the cinematic film that comes before that.
Send the product. We'll find the story worth showing.
Free fixed quote within 1 day, with no obligation.