Urgent-HVX DAILY RATE

[Eric Papa]

Some Corporate clients are a SSSSlow pay. I was doing 3 installments, but try to get 2 because usually delays on projects are on there end. Heres a contract I wrote, should help you out-

Eric Papa Productions
PO BOX 836
Chardon OH 44024
www.ericpapa.com



PRODUCTION CONTRACT

1.The purpose of this document is to establish a contract between Video Innovations, hereinafter referred to as PRODUCER, and X, hereinafter referred to as CLIENT, for the production of X, hereinafter referred to as the PROJECT.

2. PRODUCER offers to produce the PROJECT for CLIENT in exchange for valuable consideration, as specified in Paragraph 9 below.

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: The PROJECT, described as “X” is to be an approximately X-minute, color, and sound DVD of the X. The purpose of the PROJECT is to provide CLIENT with a professional X video.

4. PRODUCER shall provide CLIENT with a meeting approximately one month before production date to confirm the “look and feel” of the video, if desired. CLIENT will be responsible to submit any particular events, people, or things that must be included in the PROJECT.

5. PRODUCER shall exercise sole discretion in the hiring and firing of cast, crew, and other production staff, exercising his best professional judgment in this selection to ensure the highest possible standards of production for the specified budget.

6. CLIENT shall approve the written production budget submitted in advance by the PRODUCER. PRODUCER warrants that the production shall cost no more than the grand total listed on said budget without prior written consent of the CLIENT.

7. PRODUCER shall submit a shooting schedule to CLIENT for approval. Once said shooting schedule is approved in writing, any deviation or delay there-from caused by CLIENT shall be considered unreasonable, and any costs for said delay shall be charged to the production budget over and above the original grand total of said budget.

8. PRODUCER shall provide a finished version or versions of the PROJECT to CLIENT approximately 8 weeks after X.

9. The grand total of the production budget for PROJECT approved by CLIENT is X

(a) 50 percent upon acceptance of services for the PROJECT.
(b) 50 percent upon completion of the PROJECT.

10. There are no other agreements or codicils relative to this PROJECT between either parties hereto, either verbally or in writing, and this document constitutes the entirety of the contract.



I have read, understood, and agreed to each and every provision of this contract and with my signature hereby certify and avow that I accept and agree to abide by them and that I am competent and legally qualified to enter into such a contract.

Executed this _________day of _____________________, __________, in the
(day) (month) (year)

city of ____________________________, county of ____________________,


state of _________________________________ by:

 

[235 Studios]

Some Corporate clients are a SSSSlow pay. I was doing 3 installments, but try to get 2 because usually delays on projects are on there end.

That's funny- I switched from 50/50 to 33/33/33 for exactly the same reason. Currently I have the contract stipulate 33% upfront, upon exicution of the contract- Preproduction costs. 33% upon production- day of principle photography or an earilier agreed to date. And then 33% upon delivery of the final video. That way both you and the client are protected. You get paid for the work you've done, and the client gets the video that they've paid for.

But in the end it's all going to depend on how you want to run things.

 

[Eric Papa]

Thats exactly how I was operating but after production there was always a delay in the second installment, basically because of getting the invoice to the right person who actually cuts the checks I believe.

 

[Erik Olson]

All of my clients - including one who has been lurking like a creepy old man in the shadows of this thread - pay in a timely manner if not sooner.

I've only had to take one account to collections since officially starting business three years ago.

If you extend discounts, set up an expiration period (say right around the 15th day after receipt of invoice) to encourage quick AP activity. It is a rare situation to collect on past due accounts by threatening to levy finance charges against your client - better to provide a healthy incentive to pay early.

Treat your AR as if it were the most important part of your business. If you concentrate all of your effort on production, you won't be in business long!

Curse you Frenchy!!!

e

 

[Barry_Green]

All of you are bringing up extremely good points! It would be good to hear about everyone's experiences with clients paying and when? Does anyone get them to sign something before the project starts? I have heard a lot of stories in my time about clients/ business's postponing paying for up to over a year!

I never, ever, ever deliver the final product without payment in full upon delivery. As others do here, I'll establish a three-payment plan, depending on the nature of the project and the expenses I expect to encounter. Usually 1/3 down, 1/3 upon the START of production, and 1/3 upon completion.

I never take a job where I'm out cash up front. The budget is paid in full (usually through those two 1/3 payments) before I start. I've only been burnt once and that was the one time I deviated from this policy, and gave the client a non-watermarked web version of his video before getting the final payment. Turns out that a web version is all he needed, and I got stuck... oh well. Lesson learned!

 

[hotchkiss]

I can admit when I'm wrong, and it seems to be an overwhelming majority stating that it's important to stick to your guns on any sort of equipment and labour costs. I do definitely see what all of you are saying.
I guess I'll just chalk it up as the inexperience of a newbie
The rates are now officially going up to where they should be

That's good to hear ! It's always better to work less and make more money-than vica versa. Once you get in the habit of charging appropriate rates, the anxiety of telling your clients your rates dissipates and you will then be back in the drivers seat. It's not to say that there isn't room to work with a client, just don't do it at the expense of your base units of pricing.

Good luck

 

[hotchkiss]

I agree as well.

Many people will only charge a full day rate for shooting, as what are you going to do with the rest of the day? Working on set is a lot different then a 9 - 5 job. If something comes up while on set which delays you, you can't exactly say to your next production / client sorry I'm late, but we got delayed on the last project ...

Charging a half days rate for travel, or other non-shooting time is a good way to go. Just be careful on the half days rate- as it has been my expierence that there are very few actual half days when it comes to shooting. (Editing can be a different story.)

Only doing full days will not work in my market and many others. Of course a "half day" rate means five hours and %75 of my full day rate, not %50. It's nice to double dip, but I'm not as concerned with doing so when I get %75 of my day rate for a half day. Also, I work off a portal to portal basis, and I'm much more of a stickler on that for a half day rate than full day.

 

[DP StrangeLove]

Eric Pappa, great post on the Contract! I know there have been a lot of discussions here on how to list equipment charges and day rate, and I am trying to implelent a new invoicing system to work with. Can anyone post a txt or PDF example of what they work with, what they give to clients?



So is the general concensus here around $700/800 for a full day, $350 half a day?

 

[donatello]

getting back to camera day rates !!
a day rate has NOTHING to do with the size camera you use .. you have a day rate for X hrs of labor & then you have a rate for equipment to be used .. IMO there are NO 1/4, 1/2 ,3/4 day rates - ... if a client calls you and needs you the next day for 1/2 day and you're not working then maybe there is a 1/2 day but to book you in advance for next wednesday for a 1/2 day pay is a no in my book ... the friends that i know that allow 1/2 days charge 75% day rate ( not 50%) and anything over 5 hrs becomes a full day ... in my book the only 1/2 days are travel days ... IMO if you want to give somebody a "deal" then give them a break on your equipment NOT labor ...you have x experience and you deserve to be PAID for it ..

which then brings up music video's - many producers want to buy you out for a flat one rate -start to finish( no OT) -i've seen tooooooo many of these go 20-26 hrs... always put a limit on a them !!!!

 

[Pro Gressive]

Hmm so is by the Hour better? Nobody wants to be stuck on a long shoot, especially when its cold and uncomfortable etc, been there done that

So what does everyone else think about Erics Contract? Is there anything that needs to be added? I personally like it, very professional Eric thanks man Im sure it will help a lot of people that are starting out.

I would like to change that payment system to 1/3rds though as Yoda (Barry) and others were saying. This seems to me like the best way to get them to pay evenly and also that way you are always covering your arse.

 

[235 Studios]

Hmm so is by the Hour better? Nobody wants to be stuck on a long shoot, especially when its cold and uncomfortable etc, been there done that

It is only better if you have not specified what a "day" means - if it is unclear, then you will get milked for all you are worth. If you say up front that a day is 8 hrs, or 10 hrs, or whatever- then you'll be fine. But you should also specify that going over this time period means OT and Double OT depending on how much over the shoot goes...

 

[Erik Olson]

Ryan said it right. Nail down the OT, DT, Meal (Penalty) and Forced Call parameters during the negotiation phase before your services are locked.

If you do not have a contract of your own, ask the hiring company to provide a brief "deal memo" in writing. Even an email memo is better than working by "handshake".

The time to negotiate isn't on the set when the rest of the crew, producer and client deserve results.

e

 

[Eric Papa]

Yes, there is nothing wrong with accepting payment in 1/3's. IMO I would prefer 2 payments, but it all depends on the client and the budget. Im working with a 3 payment project right now, waiting on the second payment, which is supposed to be issued after the production stage...Just my opinion.

 

[Erik Olson]

I'm still doing 50/50, but I rarely control post production. My gag is usually limited to labor and equipment - physical production only. Pre-production and post is in someone else's hands.

e

 

[Digital Angel]

Heh, this is great info. Its realy making me think even more seriously into the image i would like to establish. Like writing a script you want to first know the message u wish to convey, the same is to be done with a contract, payment plan etc.

I thought i would only get one or two replies, so im pleasantly surprised by the helpfull feedback.

Thanks to all that took the time to write this, it seems i may not have been the only one unsure of my worth.

man im tired, il read all this carefully tomorrow, cheers again, gnight

 

[235 Studios]

I'm still doing 50/50, but I rarely control post production. My gag is usually limited to labor and equipment - physical production only. Pre-production and post is in someone else's hands.

e

Yeah, the few times that I have done the production only I've done the 50/50 thing, but most of the time its 33/33/33- since I'm working all the way through ...

 

[pkendall]

Okay, I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Do not, for the sake of all working professionals in the trades, mix labor and equipment into packages for any client.

Discounting Labor is Bad.

Discounting equipment, through various creative methods is fine - to a point.

e

Yeap, DV has ruined it for the big expensive ENG crew houses... I bought my camera so I can do my own projects, but if I get a call to shoot something, I charge a simple day rate for me and my HVX camera package. and I stick to it.. People know my rates and will either use me or not use me. like i said before, it's around $500/day , half day is $350. One thing I hate is clients asking me what my labor rate is and then insisting on me using their equipment to save money. I don't go out looking for work with my camera, people come to me... If they want lights or a jib or something, of course i'll charge more..... All I can say is, you are going to charge whatever the hell you want to charge... whether you are trying to get future business or just trying to pay off your loans.... we might be peers but we are also competition.. nobody's going to tell me that I can't mix labor and equipment into one rate... come on, "creatively discounting" equipment is essistently mixing labor and equipment. anyways the point is, the more you work, the more you move up the ladder, the more you charge... if a producer falls in love with your work, they will pay you whatever you want... and we all want money...

 

[PUNCH]

Great Post! When figuring the price for equipment I often look to rental houses to see what the going rate is. What if your gear gets double booked or what if it goes down? You may have to rent, so you don't want to loose your shirt. I also like to pick the right camera for the job. I own an HVX, but sometimes an SDX is the way to go (eng applications or low light shooting or a client that needs a big looking camera ;-p ) so I need the flexibility to bring the right tool to the job. I do mostly corporate and commercials, so I'm not the right one to comment on budget film prices, but I think some projects offer creative or learning or political opportunities that warrant special price considerations. Its probably not so ironic that the stuff I do on the cheap makes it on my demo reel and earns me future business. I've made some good strategic decisions that have already paid off.

Stay sharp, you reap what you sew.

By the way, the price/20 kind of falls apart with items like Tripods....$6000/20=$300 a day rental. OUCH...that'll never fly. But, then the tripod should last forever unless it stinks. Sorry if I'm missing something obvious..maybe there is a longevity factor?

 

[Erik Olson]

Naturally, every rule is made to be bent or broken. If you have a $6000 tripod... well, you have to decide if 40 makes more sense. I'd more likely roll the tripod into a package rate with the camera and associated accessories at the 20 rate but show a lower extension in the sub or nothing at all - hiding some amount of money within the larger package.

This is entirely up to you and how you do business and justify your capex. I rent to broadcast series for months at a time, so I tend to deep discount using formula-based standards across the board when preparing proposals.

On the matter of labor discounts, we can simply agree to disagree.

e