Hourly rate question.

[Thinketernity]

What do you guys charge (on average) per hour for editing?

For Shooting?


Thanks

[Thinketernity]

Alot of people charge like 70 bucks an hour.

[Neil Rowe]

..i see youve taken the time to answer your own question. lol ..sure though, 70 per hour sounds fair. but it all pends how good you are, and what is all involved in the "editing". alot of times that means color correcting and effects or compositing and all sorts of other stuff. and again it pends how good you are at each of these aspects and how well polished the project is when its done.

i wouldnt try to charge 70 per hour if your not vey good, and if you are good or are doing more than just editing i would expect more.

i would just straight out say what i personally charge, but i dont think anything good would become of it. just be sure that the money is worth your time (not like 70 per hour is bad pay, but some of those rush or high pressure jobs can really make even alot more than that seem like your getting paid in bubble gum for the hoops your jumping through), and that your not undercutting the market as a whole and youll be a happy camper. 70 per hour is not a bad figure to start with.

[pookie_old]

"70 per hour is not a bad figure to start with"


LOL

[wabbit]

$70 is not even close to a reasonable figure (IMO) for someone who needs to ask what to charge. Some very good editors charge upwards of $125 per hour even before they charge for their $100,000 editing bay.

A editor worth this rate has years of production editing experience and can cut with lightning speed. If you have ever seen one of these guys in action it's like watching a great musician compose; their hands never even touch the mouse.

If you are a Xpress, Premeire, FCP digital video off-line editor I think $25 per hours is much more likely to get you a gig if you are just starting out. You might push it up to $35 to give yourself some barginning room.

Results may vary depending on your market and experience. Try calling around to editor in your area and asking their rate, experience, and equipment. This will give you a bar to set yourself by (undercutting a guy with 15 plus years exp by 10 percent won't work).

.......IMHO :)

[pookie_old]

If you're on this forum, asking "What do you guys charge (on average) per hour for editing?....
For Shooting?", and you reply to your own question with "A lot of people charge like 70 bucks an hour.", I doubt you'd get $10 an hour. The lack of experience shows. If you were in the business, or had training, or worked for an editor, even sweeping floors, you'd know the rates, and you'd know what is expected for that money.

Wabbits, is an equally amusing post.

It's always amusing to see the posts here, telling people who haven't any idea, to go for the going rate.

If you're starting out, without any formal training, you're competing with established pro's, charge what their rate is, and not deliver equal quality....trouble. Undercut, look for a new line of work.

Now that's simply for the editing end.

Shooting will get you into trouble even faster if you don't deliver.

Take a look at Jared here, look at the amount of time he puts into it, second camera, editing etc. First you learn and put in the time, later you ask for more money.

Look at it this way. If you want a house built, and go to an inexperienced builder, the quote for the cost will probably be massively off, and the likelyhood of having the house finished on time is going to be seriously off as well, and you can imagine the quality issues.
The same is true for editing, or shooting, without experience, the probability of running into serious problems ie: bad late edit, shots missing, out of focus etc.
Charge a realistic price for your ability, and ignore the going rate, you're not in that league yet, not without a reel, and satisfied clients.

When I was starting out, you'd do things for free, or close to, just to be able to be around the people who were established, learning and watching everything you could, and you slowly moved up the chain. The prices I charged when I was getting going, even adjusted to todays money, was maybe 10% of what I can charge now, even at the going rate. I put in the time, learned the craft, and am now getting the benefit's.

You're a beginner, be realistic, if you're thinking of charging the going rate, it better be exactly the same as the pro's, in both quality, and delivery.

[Alexa]

First you learn and put in the time, later you ask for more money.

Look at it this way. If you want a house built, and go to an inexperienced builder, the quote for the cost will probably be massively off, and the likelyhood of having the house finished on time is going to be seriously off as well, and you can imagine the quality issues.

good answers. inspiring

if you want some numbers..any number? at least $12/hour for starters..hell, I don't know.

[wabbit]

Wabbits, is an equally amusing post.

It's always amusing to see the posts here, telling people who haven't any idea, to go for the going rate.

If you're starting out, without any formal training, you're competing with established pro's, charge what their rate is, and not deliver equal quality....trouble. Undercut, look for a new line of work.


Wondering where you read me saying to charge with the pros. That would be the opposite of my post.

"Results may vary depending on your market and experience. Try calling around to editor in your area and asking their rate, experience, and equipment. This will give you a bar to set yourself by (undercutting a guy with 15 plus years exp by 10 percent won't work). "

I don't think this was confusing; guess you could have read wrong. Just can't figure how you pulled that out, unless you are reading for what you want to see and attack.

On the Seattle front, companies here (including mine) hire realitively new editors in their 20's with good reels for $20-$30 all the time. The best editors in town are dropping their rates to compete; it's just the nature of times.

[pookie_old]

Sorry Wabbit, I may have misread your post slightly.
You said, "$70 is not even close to a reasonable figure (IMO) for someone who needs to ask what to charge. Some very good editors charge upwards of $125 per hour even before they charge for their $100,000 editing bay."
There are two ways that statement can be read, I must have read it as recommending $70 as too low. My error in reading the wording.

[WaveRiderXIX]

I charge by how much hassle the client gives me.
If a client lets me pretty run the edit session... I can charge up to 1/2 the price just for being a cool person.

[pookie_old]

"If a client lets me pretty run the edit session"...

You're editing their work, and you want to run the edit.....?

I must be missing something here... ???

[Barry_Green]

No, not missing anything, I'd say. It's like plumbers who have a sign on their truck: "labor = $60/hr. $90/hr if you help."

I'd say 99% of what I edit, I get to do alone, occasionally sending them a web preview. And 99% of the time, they like what I do. But if the client wants to sit with you, well, it can be fine, or it can be tedious and annoying, but almost always it's less pleasant than if you were just left to do it yourself... so I can certainly see why Stitch would charge more for "client supervision" and less for "free reign."

[Neil Rowe]

$70 is not even close to a reasonable figure (IMO) for someone who needs to ask what to charge. *Some very good editors charge upwards of $125 per hour even before they charge for their $100,000 editing bay. *

A editor worth this rate has years of production editing experience and can cut with lightning speed. *If you have ever seen one of these guys in action it's like watching a great musician compose; their hands never even touch the mouse.


id certainly agree with that.. *read my post again but this time read the "70 dollars per hour is not a bad figure to start with" part and respond like pookie did.. *with an "lol" *.. all i was saying there was that *70 per hour is not an unreasonable figure.. but it all pends your experience and skill- if you could actually start out at 70 per hour.. well then thats pretty good. *but i know its not really clear that i was being pretty tounge in cheek with the last sentance.


thinketernity, * in all honesty *i dont think you should be starting out at 70 per hour as youve heard a few times here that might be a bit high for starting out, but then again it might not..all pends where your at you could be rockin' at it and just not have charged before for all i know. ..but, i dont think you should be starting out charging per hour at all as a general rule. *i think you should just quote them a flat rate and give them a deadline as to when they will have it in hand. *because when you charge by the hour you better be lightning fast at what you do or your going to really get some people upset with how much time you have to put into something by the time you hand it over. but with a flat rate theres no mess with that. just give them a quote for the work, and make it worth your time. **a big problem with flat rates is that the client may work you to the bone with revisions or changes to the project because its not costing them any more to do so. so be sure that your flat rate only covers so much and so many reasonable revisions. .. pre production and keeping the client in the loop is very important. get them to sign off on things, as a written approoval whenever possible. that way if it needs to be changed after you put in 20 hours on it, you can charge hourly *for revisions *beyond *small changes included in the flat rate. * each system .. houerly and flat has its ups and downs, but if your just starting out id go flat rate as i think its just easier overall. give them a deadline and a price. and whatever you have to do to deliver on time is up to you. if you average to 70 per hour.. mo powaz to ya. i useually always make what i want per hour, but i do alot more than just straight editing. ..and i really work with clients to make sure they are happy. a comment from my last client really mad me feel good about my freelance work.. and the experience the client had hiring me. because in the end theres still more to the game than the product you turn out or even how much you charge.

[Taylor Moore]

I think all of this is quite interesting.
Having owned a post facility and working many years as an editor/compositor, my rate is dependent on a variety of variables.

The plumber approach always costs more to the client. If I work alone it is less, but most of the time I roll the editing cost inside of the full production or post-production budget.

Also, if you are good, the market can bare some crazy rates, on a couple of projects that were very simple I have charged my regular fee and it worked out to like $1000 per hour...these are rare, but if the client wants you they will pay for it.

I also charge new clients more, *to see how the new relationship evolves, into either a Pain in the Ass or a good client.

[Neil Rowe]

..i have to start doing that.. charging new clients more. that is seriously a really good idea. ..learn something new every day. good stuffs taylor.

[WaveRiderXIX]

"If a client lets me pretty run the edit session"...

You're editing their work, and you want to run the edit.....?

I must be missing something here... ???
Yes. I edit their work, and I want to run the edit. You didn't miss anything. That's my job.

People see their own stuff all the time. You ALWAYS need a new set of fresh eyes to see your stuff from a different perspective to edit your stuff. Do you think Walter Murch edits all his movies with the director there over his shoulder the entire time?

It's 1 of 3 things for me when it comes to categorizing a client for an edit session. I am not sure how others have experience. But this is how it works for me.

#1(The cheapest/easiest option) The Trusting:
They give me their masters of different movies or sources.... they trust my judgement... and let me hack it down to a 2-5 minute reel. They let me do the fades/cuts and everything without them having a say. Come back in 6 hours or the next day... Only recieved complaint that way. Maybe a few suggestions on moving stuff around or chaning/adding a slate. That's about it. I charge these guys the least.

Then... there's #2. Perfectionists
(Nothing wrong with that. They know what they want. Which is fine)
The guy who knows EXACTLY what they want. They know which time code to use on the tape, they bring in notes if the digi was made on NDFTC 29fps or 2:00 into a VHS they need a certain part. They know which takes/cuts they want, what kind of fades they need etc... This is convenient because they know what they want. Which lets my edit sessions go much faster. Don't waste time looking for useless crap or footage not even on their masters. These guys I charge normal rate because it takes more time to do it exactly how they want it. But they don't give me a hard time... because they know what they want and tell me exactly what they need. Again, this takes longer. So I charge normal rate.

Then there's #3. I call this "The Chode".
They come in with 20 masters on different formats in a bag.(usually without any logs or TRT or know what is on what tape. Some aren't labeled properly or labeled at all) Have no clue WHAT THE HELL they want first from whatever tape... they don't know how long they want their reel. Then when you do something... they want something changed... and when you put it together, it doesn't work or they aren't happy with all the stuff they choose. Then they want some scenes slowed down here.. fade here. Filter here.. text here... then they want to change something again after they see the overall piece... next thing you know... you're 4 hours into the session with only 1 hour of footage encoded because they keep changing/not knowing what they want. These guys of coarse will get charged the most by me.

Coincidentally, "The Chode" complains the most and wants the cheapest price too. They make your job hell, complain more... then complain about price... then that 4 hours you spend encoding/looking for the 30min-1 hour of footage on 20 masters... (to them... still only looks like 30min-hour) THey think you should only charge them 30min-hour of time because that is what is on the computer. (Keep in mind, this isn't even edited yet). Next thing you know, the edit session is going well into a week... More jobs come in which I have to crank out... which pushes their job back because it lasted x-amount of time. Now I am in negative cash flow because their crap is taking so long due to changes. no reel done yet, they're pissed because I told them I can get it out in 6 hours or next day, and it's already Friday, and suddenly they deserve a discount and won't pay you what you bill them. (Not that I have experienced this first hand. But who knows. It might happen to unfortunate bastard out there.) And if you're laughing by now, it's because you know exactly what I am talking about and have been there. Chode's suck.

Now... as far as pay? I will charge as low as $20 an hour if they want me to charge by the hour. Trusting clients who have worked with me in the past who trust me, can pay up to $250.00. But usually, I can foresee how long a project can take. And I will charge a "packaged" price for the edits they need. Those can go from $200-2000. Most the time, clients choose the package option.

I've even done a few edit sessions for free just because the client was some hot chick who took me out to dinner, or some struggling actor without much money was really cool/easy to work with, and gave me a case of beer or invited me out to some big party somewhere in Hollywood.

In the end, I tell people... you charge them as much as you feel you deserve from them. If you feel someone owes you $500 of your time and effort to deliver that project... then by all means, charge them that.