What Kind of Rates Do You Charge for Shooting with a 160/130?

[bmcc87]

I know alot of you are probably using these cameras primarily for weddings and events, which are priced a bit differently. Even if this is your primary work, I'm sure you all get asked to shoot an interview or promotional video for somebody from time to time. I was curious to see what sort of rates people charge in these situations. in other words, what is your "day rate" with this cam? Or is your day rate the same regardless and you add on the rental value of the camera too that?

I know that this will vary widely depending on your experience, location, other equipment, the complexity of the project, the client etc. but any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. I'm fairly young and this is the first camera I have invested in myself, so I'm trying to get a feel for what I can reasonably ask for from clients, while using this camera.

[ChrisHarding]

I don't really see what a camera has to do with the price you charge for shooting as it's your time behind the camera and your skills so price it according to your skill set and time rather than the cost of your gear. My personal views on the 130/160 is that it's far more suited to dance recitals and corporate work rather than run 'n gun weddings anyway but that aside I still cost out all my gigs at a set cost per hour whether it's a wedding or an interview...it's your time they are paying for. However for interviews/promos/web-o=mercials and the like I charge a flat rate of $500 for a half day (if I'm done by lunchtime) or $1000 a full day ... That equates to around $100 an hour overall but includes some editing too....Weddings and events are much the same ..I might only shoot around 8 hours at a wedding but with travel and edit time I charge out for at least 20 hours. Regardless of whether you are shooting on a DigiBeta cam or a Handicam still charge for your time on an hourly basis. With things like promos I might end up splitting the shoot into say 2 hours on site and 3 hours with edits/travel etc etc so that stills comes back to $500. Unless the client has insisted that you provide specific cameras and accessories (which we usually hire anyway and charge extra for) they are in the end still paying for you.


Chris

[kwkeirstead]

To me, there is a huge difference between a concert where you have very little edits to do and, say, a documentary where you might have 100 hours of recording that has to be reduced to 7.5 minutes. I have seen posts in other forums where the rate is quoted in $$ per minute of final product. Seems to me the scripting and editing time can in some cases dwarf the filming time

My wife is a singer and a group of university graduating students did a documentary on her quartet as a project/contest. It seems they spent close to 100 hours traveling around and going to rehearsals and following the individual members around at their respective workplaces.

I will try to ask the director of that group how long they took and how much they would today charge in a commercial context to make such a recording.

I need these numbers myself because I am about to commit to do a archive of a full season of plays for a theatre.

[ashclever]

If you are just starting out and don't have much of an online portfolio to land you gigs, then I think you might find it hard to get work for more than $35-$60 per hour depending on where you live. Having a portfolio is what allows you to charge a solid price as it is your example of your experience and style. I would recommend initially taking on projects from the perspective of bidding them as a whole project and not think of it hourly yet. The reason I say this is because initially, without great samples of your work, clients will be timid to pay a lot. If you only put as many hours into your project as a new client is willing to spend or risk on an unseasoned Videographer, than you will end up with a mediocre end portfolio piece. If that is all you build than you will never have a banging portfolio to charge higher rates.

Just my opinion and how I have viewed the building of my personal business over the past 3 years. This has worked for me. Also, by the way, the AC-130 is fully capable of making a full production pro looking promotional video content so don't limit yourself to only run N Gun types of work. Happy to provide links showcasing this if desired.

Hope that helps,
Ash

[Josh Bass]

I guess I'm the freak here. I charge for shooting by the half day/day day (up to 5 and then up to 10 hours, respectively). Equipment very much factors into the rate! Each piece of gear is generally a separate line item. That means my labor (that is, if someone has their own gear and I'm just using it) by itself has its own fee, the camera has its own fee, audio has its own fee, lighting gear has its own fee. This way, anything can be added/removed from the list of required gear, and the rate changes accordingly, as it should.

To answer about the camera, seems reasonable that rental rate per day is 3-5% of the purchase price. I guess you could factor in batteries, media and accessories into what you consider the "purchase price" and adjust accordingly. For example, have an on-cam monitor you would never shoot without? Then that's part of your camera package. Its price should be factored in.

PS, labor is the only thing billed at half day/day/overtime. . .gear is always a full day, no OT, for each piece, same as it would be if rented from a rental house.

This is the only way it makes sense to me.

[kwkeirstead]

IMO clients expect a quality product and in the normal course of business if you work on your own, costing out special equipment that you have to rent would make sense to charge out by the day (cost plus).

Again, if you are part of a group of vidreographers who take out pooled equipment where there are different grades of each piece of equipment, I could see equipment rates being factored in if the client is able to articulate and appreciate the difference between a simple mic going to say a Zoom h4n as opposed to an expensvie mic going to an expensive mixer/recorder. I suspect some clients would not be able to detect any difference.

What could make things difficult is pricing an afternoon wedding differently from an evening wedding because you need lighting for the latter - it's not unlikely that two clients might talk to each other with one of them possibly concluding they got ripped off.

If you have two videographers on a job, clearly this makes for a better deliverable and under this type of scenario it is easy for a client to understand why two cameras cost more than one, assuming the client is able to appreciate the difference.

For a documentary where you write the script, orchestrate the actors and generate a final product at the end of several months, I go back to my $$ per minute of final product. Does anyone else think this way?

Personally, I would never use anyone else's camera for fear of not being proficient with it. Too many variables. If the end result is of poor quality because of the equipment, you end up with all of the complaints, requests for refunds and damaged reputation.

So, a client who would come to me asking that I use his/her camera would be politely referred to someone I might know who is comfortable with using multiple cameras (or perhaps they are so experienced that they can pick up any camera and start shooting with it).

[rzr219]

I'm sure you all get asked to shoot an interview or promotional video for somebody from time to time. I was curious to see what sort of rates people charge in these situations. in other words, what is your "day rate" with this cam? Or is your day rate the same regardless and you add on the rental value of the camera too that?

Everyone has a different approach on what to charge. I think the official formula is 3x what you might make working for someone else. So lets say you work for someone and they say I will pay you 30 per hour. Then with that figure you would charge 90 per hour. This is a very simple version and works well for those who work for themselves. However the way I have started is by doing allot of work for almost free (not quite but yes free). I am currently working on a promo for a historic Opera House. Now they never asked me, so I told them how great it would be to have such a piece (many different pieces) for many different reasons. I told them I would not charge them because they offer the local community such a great service and they do. This project includes interviewing persons I would never get to interview because they are actors, singers etc (management companies wont let just anyone interview them, but when its for some type of local community service they will, buts its allot of red tape to get this far). This project will take me almost 1 year to complete and allot of editing. Now here is my long term angle. By doing this once I have it completely finished I can now command a free for doing this same type of work and they will feel comfortable because they will see that they know what I am doing. There are many other options that will also open once I do this. So for me I think long term so I know where my business will be in 3-5 years (or at least I try).
Here is an example, I also a few years back started doing photos, we changed almost nothing. Now we shoot schools, seniors etc. It takes time to make a name for yourself and my thought it I don't charge until I am pleased with the work(and I am very picky). Start your business slowly and build on it and never, never, never give anyone any product if you are not completely satisfied with it, offer to do it over if possible. Go that extra step to set yourself apart from the rest. It will make a difference in the long run.
Well I didn't exactly answer your question because there is no real answer just allot of different options.

[scapsinger]

I offer full-day/half-day/hourly rates of $500/$325/$100. That is the same rate for production and post-production. Post-production is not included in production costs, but for jobs where I just need to roll the footage onto a disc as-is, I don't bill post charges.

I also break out different charges for the camera, lighting, audio, etc.

Rates are highly variable based on experience, ZIP code and the type of production. There's also the consideration for discounts, freebies, favors, all that good stuff. So when building out your "standard" rate chart, build in enough room so that you CAN afford to give discounts whenever appropriate.