Best Video Production Companies in San Francisco (2026)

Introduction

San Francisco has a compact production scene built largely around the technology industry, and the 13 companies below cover most of what Bay Area brands commission: commercials, brand films, product launch videos, customer stories and event coverage. They were chosen for current client rosters, recent work and a confirmed base in the city or the wider Bay Area.

Much of the work here follows the product calendar. Launch films, keynote content and customer stories for companies such as Google, Adobe, Salesforce and Uber keep a steady group of studios busy, and the newer AI companies have joined those rosters: OpenAI appears on the client lists of Prism Pictures and Argus HD, and Anthropic on OpenLight Films'. Most San Francisco production companies are independent and owner-run, and several combine creative development with production so a client can brief one team from script to delivery. Directors and crews regularly travel down to Los Angeles, and a few companies here keep rosters that work across the West Coast.

Every company here has an active San Francisco or Bay Area base in 2026. Pure animation studios and VFX houses are covered on separate pages. The list is unranked, because the right fit depends on the brief, the budget and how much creative input you want from the production partner.

The best video production companies in San Francisco

1. Bonfire Labs

Independent · Jackson Square · bonfirelabs.com

Bonfire Labs is a full-service creative studio that describes itself as thinking like an agency and acting like a production company. It covers brand development, product marketing, motion design and live action from its studio on Pacific Avenue, and several of its client relationships, including Adobe and Ancestry, date back to 2012 and 2013.

Recent work includes a commercial for Toast's AI platform built around surreal live-action scenes, Uber's Women Rider Preference and Record My Ride films, and a telehealth campaign for Mochi Health. Other clients include Google, Salesforce, Airbnb, Levi's, Gap, Okta and Splunk.

2. Farallon

Independent · Financial District · filmsbyfarallon.com

Farallon is a commercial production company that represents a roster of ten directors based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas, Mexico and Australia. It partners with both agencies and brands, and runs post-production in-house under a dedicated head of post.

Its client list includes Nike, Adidas, Amazon, Red Bull, Beats, Logitech and Lexus. Recent projects shown on its site include campaigns for CoreWeave, Lexus and Acura, alongside corporate films for Cisco and Modern Treasury.

3. Avocados and Coconuts

Independent · SoMa · avocadosandcoconuts.com

Avocados and Coconuts is a creative production company founded by Dalia Burde, a former executive producer at Goodby Silverstein & Partners. It sits between production company and creative agency, with line production built into creative development so ideas are scoped to budget from the start.

Its long-form work is the most decorated on this list: the Netflix documentary "Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa" won an Emmy, and the company lists a Peabody for its documentary work. Brand clients include AllTrails, Ancestry, Google and Airbnb, and its Nike film "Still KD" was shortlisted at Cannes Lions.

4. Slow Clap

Independent · Financial District and Oakland · slowclap.com

Slow Clap was founded in 2014 by Daniel Lichtenberg, who still owns and runs it with no outside investors or parent company. It has offices at Embarcadero Center and in Oakland, and is certified as a Local Business Enterprise with San Francisco, which can matter for public-sector work.

The company handles everything from creative development to finishing, including animation, colour and sound. Clients include Slack ("Built In Slack"), GitHub ("Building the Future"), Adobe, eBay, Sony PlayStation, Capital One and UCSF. It commits a share of its hours each year to community organisations at reduced rates.

5. STMNT Studios

Independent · San Francisco · stmntstudios.com

STMNT Studios positions itself as an execution partner for in-house brand teams, producing TV and CTV spots, brand films, retail content and social video. Founded by creative director Lukas Schulz, it runs a 2,500 square foot studio on O'Farrell Street with seven sets, and reports more than 300 productions to date.

Clients include Apple, Meta, Plaid, NerdWallet, Allbirds, CASETiFY and Samuel Adams. It won a Gold Telly at the 46th Telly Awards and a Peerspace Open Door Award in 2025. The in-house studio suits brands that need regular product and social shoots on a short turnaround.

6. Zero One Digital Media

Independent · SoMa · zodm.co

Zero One produces brand films, commercials, product videos and event coverage from its headquarters on Mission Street, with crews in New York, Los Angeles, Austin and Seattle. That spread is useful for companies filming customer stories in several cities.

Its clients include Adobe, Google, Intel, Airbnb, Coinbase, Gusto, Okta and Palo Alto Networks. Recent projects include brand films for Adobe and Shopify, event coverage for Niantic's NBA All World and a "Hero Spot" commercial for Old Caz.

7. OpenLight Films

Independent · SoMa · openlightfilms.com

OpenLight Films is a full-service production company founded by filmmaker Kyle Henry, a graduate of San Francisco's Academy of Art. It produces commercials, brand films and customer testimonials, with directing, producing and post-production handled by an in-house team.

The client list leans towards technology and health: Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, Chase, Hinge Health, Turo and Kaiser Permanente. It has also produced content with athletes including Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, and its featured work includes films for Rivian and Google.

8. Prism Pictures

Independent · San Francisco · prismpictures.co

Prism Pictures is a video and photography company founded by filmmaker Brian Tran. It offers creative development, production and post-production, and covers stills on the same shoots, which helps brands that need campaign photography alongside film.

Its portfolio includes work for Sony, OpenAI, Nike, Arc'teryx and Gap Inc., and clients also include Apple, Levi's, Netflix, eBay and Stanford University.

9. New Revolution Media

Independent · Potrero Hill · newrevmedia.com

New Revolution Media was founded in 2016 by Pierce Larick, who still owns it. The studio works on the line between brand and performance content, and offers creative strategy, production, editing, motion graphics and distribution. It also rents out its own studio space on Missouri Street.

Clients include Roblox, Meta, Lyft, Discord, Snapchat, Uber and AWS. Recent work on its site covers Roblox's hack week content, Discord branded content and conference coverage for iConnections.

10. BT Studio

Independent · San Francisco · bt.studio

BT Studio has been producing in San Francisco since 2015, with a focus on product launches, customer stories and corporate documentaries. The team writes, shoots and edits in-house, and the studio reports more than 500 million views across its client work.

Clients include Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft, Netflix, Kaiser Permanente, Hewlett Packard, Adobe, Cisco and Udemy.

11. Argus HD

Independent · South San Francisco · argushd.com

Argus HD specialises in corporate video, livestreaming and audiovisual production for events, with a second office in New York. Its founder worked on the crew of YouTube's first live event in 2008 and helped livestream Facebook's early F8 developer conferences.

That background makes it a natural fit for keynotes and developer events. Recent productions include Google I/O and the GitHub Universe podcast stage, and clients include Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, OpenAI, Databricks and the Golden State Warriors.

12. Gorilla Creative

Independent · San Francisco · gorillacreative.com

Gorilla Creative is a corporate video agency that turns complex business and technical subjects into testimonials, product demos, brand films and training videos. It works across technology, financial services and retail, with a mix of enterprise and earlier-stage clients.

Clients include QuickBooks, Workday, Plaid, Marqeta, Capgemini and HP. Recent work includes a Marqeta customer spotlight with Western Union and a brand film for Dayforce.

13. Mission Pictures

Independent · San Francisco · missionpicturessf.com

Mission Pictures was founded by Shane King and Arne Johnson, who produced the feature documentary "Girls Rock!". The company makes documentary-style films and social content for nonprofits, universities and companies, and works with union crews through IATSE Local 16.

It has completed more than 100 projects and holds an Emmy nomination. Clients include Google, TED, Habitat for Humanity and Saint Mary's College.

What to look for in a San Francisco video production company

Decide first how much creative input you need. Some companies here, such as Bonfire Labs and Avocados and Coconuts, will develop the idea and the script with you. Others, such as STMNT Studios, work best when an in-house team arrives with a clear concept and needs reliable execution. Director-led houses like Farallon suit agency-written commercials where the choice of director matters most.

Match the company to the format. A launch film, a customer testimonial series and a keynote livestream call for different crews and different budgets. Ask to see recent work in the format you are commissioning, and check whether the director on the reel is staff or freelance.

Ask about post-production early. Many San Francisco companies edit, grade and mix in-house, while others hand off to separate post houses. In-house post usually means fewer handovers, but it is worth knowing who will cut your film and how many revision rounds the quote covers.

Plan for review and delivery. Product films often need sign-off from marketing, product and legal teams, sometimes against a fixed launch date. Agree where cuts will be shared, how comments will be collected and who gives final approval, and make sure raw footage and project files are handed over in a form your team can find again.

How Fabric helps video production teams

Fabric gives a production team one workspace for footage, scripts, client feedback and project notes. The commercials production setup keeps each job's treatment, call sheets, cuts and approvals together in one place.

Rushes and project files live in Fabric's cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space. Editors can open heavy files, including video projects, without waiting for a full download, and shared team folders always show the latest version. There is more on this in how to edit video without filling your SSD.

Uploaded MP4 and MOV files are transcribed automatically, so interviews and customer stories become searchable by what people said. Search works by meaning across footage transcripts, scripts and PDFs, and results jump straight to the timestamp.

For client review, a cut or a folder of selects can be published as a web page with password protection, and link analytics shows when each named recipient opened it. Clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without signing up. Timestamped comments and drawing on video frames are listed as coming soon on the annotations page.

Password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best video production company in San Francisco?

It depends on the job. Farallon suits director-led commercials, Avocados and Coconuts has the strongest awards record for long-form and documentary work, and Bonfire Labs is a good match for technology brands that want creative development and production from one team.

How much does a brand film cost in San Francisco?

Most companies here quote per project and do not publish rates. Cost depends on shoot days, crew size, talent, locations and the amount of post-production, so ask for a line-item estimate and compare quotes against the same brief.

Which San Francisco companies cover tech launch events and livestreams?

Argus HD specialises in event production and livestreaming and has worked on Google I/O. Zero One Digital Media also offers event coverage and live streaming alongside brand films.

Where can I find animation studios in San Francisco?

Animation and motion design studios are covered separately in the best animation studios in San Francisco. Several production companies on this page, including Slow Clap and New Revolution Media, also offer motion graphics for live-action projects.

Do San Francisco production companies work outside the Bay Area?

Yes. Zero One has crews in New York, Los Angeles, Austin and Seattle, Argus HD has a New York office, and Farallon represents directors based across the US, Mexico and Australia.

Related lists

Video production in other cities: New York · Los Angeles · London · Chicago · Austin

More in San Francisco: Creative agencies · Content studios · Photography studios · Animation · Post-production · VFX

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for video editors · Commercials production on Fabric · Best cloud storage for video editors