Quick answer: Vourly handles restaurant video production in Seattle across reels, brand and ambiance films, and menu or chef features, with rates published up front: $100 per hour for iPhone 4K, $200 per hour for professional cinema cameras, and editing at $75 per hour on a 2-hour minimum. Most hospitality clients book hourly reel batches, where a 2-hour shoot plus three edited reels runs about $425. For a polished brand film, a done-for-you profile video is $775 all-inclusive. Hospitality is one of Vourly's six commercial verticals, so the crew knows how restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels actually shoot, and your raw footage hits a client dashboard within 24 hours.
Vourly rates at a glance:
- iPhone 4K filming: $100 per hour (plenty for social)
- Professional cinema cameras: $200 per hour (for brand films)
- Editing: $75 per hour (billed separately)
- Brand or profile video: $775 all-inclusive
- Video shoot minimum: 2 hours
Food and hospitality are some of the most video-friendly businesses on the planet. A plate of food, a packed dining room, a bartender building a cocktail, the first pour of coffee in the morning light: it all moves, it all looks good, and it all belongs on a phone screen. The hard part is not whether to make video. It is finding a crew that can show up, shoot a batch fast, and hand you content you can actually post this week. This guide covers what to film, how many reels you get from a shoot, what it costs at Vourly's published rates, and when to step up from social reels to a full brand film.
What kind of video do restaurants and hotels actually need?
Hospitality video splits into a few clear buckets, and most venues need a mix rather than one big film. Here is how it usually breaks down:
- Social reels. Short vertical clips for Instagram, TikTok, and Google. Dish close-ups, plating, the room filling up, a quick staff moment. This is the bread and butter and the fastest path to a posting habit.
- Brand and ambiance films. A 60 to 90 second piece that captures the feel of the place: the light, the pace, the people. This is what lives on your website, your Google profile, and the top of your reservation page.
- Menu and chef features. A signature dish built start to finish, or a short intro from the chef or owner. These travel well as both standalone posts and B-roll for everything else.
Most restaurants, cafes, and bars start with reels because they feed the algorithm and keep the page alive. Hotels and larger venues tend to lead with an ambiance film for the website, then layer reels on top. For the social side specifically, see our guide to social media reels, and for a full project breakdown see social media video production cost in Seattle.
How much does restaurant video production cost in Seattle?
Vourly's rates are public, so you can price a hospitality shoot before you ever talk to us. Restaurant video production costs are driven mostly by the camera and the editing hours:
- iPhone 4K filming: $100 per hour. A stabilized iPhone 4K rig is genuinely enough for social reels. The platform is a phone screen anyway, and food looks great on it.
- Professional cinema cameras: $200 per hour. Full pro 4K with lenses, lighting, and audio. The right call for a brand or ambiance film that will run on your website and ads.
- Editing: $75 per hour. Billed separately. Most short reels take 1 to 1.5 hours of editing each, and one revision round is included per reel.
- Brand or profile video: $775 all-inclusive. A done-for-you 60 to 90 second film with a no-memorization interview, raw footage back in 24 hours.
Rates elsewhere in Seattle vary widely, and plenty of hospitality videographers will not put a number on their site until after a call. We do the opposite. Every figure above is on our pricing page, so you can build a budget around what you actually want to post.
How many reels do you get from one shoot?
This is the number that matters most for a busy restaurant. An hour is not just an hour of recording, it includes setup, framing, multiple takes, and enough coverage to cut from. In practice:
- A standard 2-hour shoot yields three to four social media reels, plus B-roll you can reuse across menu posts, ambiance clips, and staff features.
- One location, a shot list worked through methodically rather than rushed, and all of your raw footage delivered to a client dashboard.
- Enough material to stagger posts across a few weeks, so one short shoot keeps the page fed without scrambling for content.
For a typical small project the math is simple: a 2-hour iPhone 4K shoot is 2 hours times $100, which is $200, and three edited reels at roughly 3 hours of editing times $75 is $225. That comes to about $425 total for three finished, captioned, vertical reels plus all of your raw footage. Scale it up or down freely. A single reel from the same shoot is cheaper, and a four-reel batch is barely more.
What should a restaurant film first?
If you only book one shoot, point the camera at the things that make people hungry and curious. The highest-return list, in order:
- Dish and plating close-ups. Your three or four signature plates, shot tight, with the steam and the sauce and the final garnish. This is the content people stop scrolling for.
- The room at its best. The dining room and bar during golden hour or service, so the ambiance reads on camera the way it does in person.
- A chef or owner intro. A short, no-memorization piece on what makes the place yours. It humanizes the brand and doubles as B-roll.
- An ambiance loop. A 10 to 15 second mood clip for the top of your site and your Google profile.
One 2-hour shoot can capture all four as a batch. That is the whole point of booking hourly: you walk away with a content shelf, not a single video. Venues that also host private dinners, launches, or live music can carry the same crew into event video production coverage on the same booking.
iPhone 4K or professional cinema cameras?
For social, iPhone 4K at $100 per hour is genuinely enough. Reels live on a phone, the autofocus is fast, and food reads beautifully. Stepping up to professional cinema cameras at $200 per hour makes sense when the footage has a longer life:
- Book iPhone 4K for reel batches, menu posts, quick features, and anything destined for Instagram, TikTok, or Google. It is fast, flexible, and the right tool for the platform.
- Book professional 4K for a brand or ambiance film that will headline your website, run as a paid ad, or anchor a hotel landing page. The lenses, lighting, and audio earn their keep when the piece has to feel premium.
Many hospitality clients do both over time: reels on iPhone to keep the feed alive, and one polished brand film a year on pro gear. For larger brand and commercial work, see our commercial video production page for what those projects include.
When does a brand film beat a reel batch?
Reels keep the page alive, but a brand film does a different job. It is the piece a hotel puts on its booking page, the film a new restaurant uses to introduce itself, the spot that runs as an ad. Vourly's done-for-you brand or profile video is $775 all-inclusive: a 60 to 90 second film, a no-memorization interview so the chef or owner does not have to perform, and raw footage back in 24 hours, and you can see the full brand and profile video cost breakdown before you book. If your goal is paid advertising, our ad campaigns start at $1,300 for three variations cut for Meta and YouTube, and our guide to video ad production in Seattle walks through how those spots come together. The honest rule: book reels when you need volume and consistency, book a brand film when you need one piece to carry the brand.
What is the turnaround and what areas do you cover?
Speed is a feature in hospitality. Your raw footage lands in a client dashboard within 24 hours of the shoot, so you are never waiting weeks to see what was captured. Edited reels follow after, with one revision round included per reel. Coverage spans more than 20 cities across the Greater Seattle area, covering King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties, and the crew shoots in English and Spanish. Full commercial rights and team accounts come standard, so a restaurant group running multiple locations can manage everything from one place.
The short version: For Seattle hospitality, Vourly films reels, brand films, and menu features at published rates: $100 per hour on iPhone 4K, $200 per hour on pro 4K, and $75 per hour to edit. A typical reel batch is about $425 for a 2-hour shoot plus three reels, and a full brand film is $775 all-inclusive. iPhone 4K is usually enough for social, and pro 4K earns its keep on brand films. Raw footage is back in 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
How much does restaurant video production cost in Seattle?
It varies by studio, and many do not publish a rate. Vourly's are public: $100 per hour for iPhone 4K and $200 per hour for professional cinema cameras, editing at $75 per hour, with a 2-hour minimum. A typical reel batch runs about $425, and a full brand video is $775 all-inclusive.
How many reels do you get from one shoot?
A standard 2-hour shoot yields three to four social media reels, plus B-roll you can reuse across menu items, ambiance, and staff moments.
What should a restaurant film?
The highest-return content is dish and plating close-ups, the room and bar at golden hour, a chef or owner intro, and a short ambiance loop. One 2-hour shoot can capture all four.
What is the turnaround?
Raw footage lands in your client dashboard within 24 hours of the shoot. Edited reels follow after, with one revision round included per reel. A brand or profile video delivers its raw footage in 24 hours too.
What areas do you cover?
More than 20 cities across the Greater Seattle area, spanning King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. We shoot in English and Spanish.
Ready to feed your feed? Review transparent pricing, see how reels come together on our social media reels page, or explore full commercial video production for brand films. When you are set, book a shoot directly, no discovery call required.