How much would you charge for shooting a one hour music show?
- Thread starter omar_
- Start date
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
Multiple cameras?
Lighting?
Who does the sound?
I'd need these questions answered before I even think about a bid.
Lighting?
Who does the sound?
I'd need these questions answered before I even think about a bid.
What are you worth? Not sure why, but if you charge more the people who are willing to pay that amount are much more appreciative of what you give them. You charge pennies, and the people it attracts want it all for nothing.
Unless it's a labor of love, I'd charge atleast $200 a show. At the least. That is if you are going at this totally bare bones guerilla style.
The more you do the more the price goes up. Also are they going to be selling the DVD when you are done with it? Slap your contact info. all over that thing.
Unless it's a labor of love, I'd charge atleast $200 a show. At the least. That is if you are going at this totally bare bones guerilla style.
The more you do the more the price goes up. Also are they going to be selling the DVD when you are done with it? Slap your contact info. all over that thing.
Capt Quirk
Veteran
Me? I charge $50-$60 an hour per cam, $15 an hour to edit, and mileage if applicable.
jonnyh1968
Well-known member
$500/full day for shooting DVX. Say $300 for a short half day.
McGee is asking the right questions.
- How many cameras - this brings you to the question of how many operators, how will you jam-sync the cameras and manage audio for multiple cameras through post. You say that you're not recording audio to the camera - why are you going this way? Double-system means that you have increased your workflow significantly - a full post session is required, not optional.
- Bill your edit by hour, not by flat rate. Give them an estimate for cutting two cameras to a common audio track and that might go a long way toward answering question 1. If you do the first and arrive at a deliverable in less time than you estimated, charge them actuals - it's a great relationship builder, it will help you cut subsequent episodes if they come along.
- What are your deliverables? SD, DVD, HD or web only? Are you duplicating your final edit or distributing it in any way? Even if you're going with web only, who is hosting the content, how is it gettting uploaded to the host? Even a blazing FTP to a host takes time, trying to coordinate permissions for a third-party (you) upload could eat up an additional hour or two. Little things like this will kill you - just because you don't think to include contingencies in your proposal doesn't mean that you won't be contractually obligated to do it. It just means you'll be doing it on your dime, for free - or worse - at your own cost.
- The labor you charge per hour should be based on a flat guarantee of not less than four hours. That four hours should neatly contain a single camera shoot of a two-hour show and a quick strike. Add more gear and labor as it makes sense.
Having little experience in estimating for a proposal, you should simply break every element of what would go into the job into manageable pieces. The resulting number should make sense. Go department by department: VIDEO, AUDIO, ELECTRICS / GRIP, POST, EXPENDABLES (RAW STOCK, DRIVES here), LABOR (always, always, always, always, always, ALWAYS separate), TRANSPORTATION / DELIVERY, TAX.
If the resulting numbers surprise you, you have discovered that the devil is in the details. You can always pull the final bill back if you are off your bid, but charging more does little to endear you to your client.
If ithe resulting number surprises them, they're likely looking for a much lower specification (e.g., one camera with an operator, tape delivered at the end of the day, no editing whatsoever).
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- How many cameras - this brings you to the question of how many operators, how will you jam-sync the cameras and manage audio for multiple cameras through post. You say that you're not recording audio to the camera - why are you going this way? Double-system means that you have increased your workflow significantly - a full post session is required, not optional.
- Bill your edit by hour, not by flat rate. Give them an estimate for cutting two cameras to a common audio track and that might go a long way toward answering question 1. If you do the first and arrive at a deliverable in less time than you estimated, charge them actuals - it's a great relationship builder, it will help you cut subsequent episodes if they come along.
- What are your deliverables? SD, DVD, HD or web only? Are you duplicating your final edit or distributing it in any way? Even if you're going with web only, who is hosting the content, how is it gettting uploaded to the host? Even a blazing FTP to a host takes time, trying to coordinate permissions for a third-party (you) upload could eat up an additional hour or two. Little things like this will kill you - just because you don't think to include contingencies in your proposal doesn't mean that you won't be contractually obligated to do it. It just means you'll be doing it on your dime, for free - or worse - at your own cost.
- The labor you charge per hour should be based on a flat guarantee of not less than four hours. That four hours should neatly contain a single camera shoot of a two-hour show and a quick strike. Add more gear and labor as it makes sense.
Having little experience in estimating for a proposal, you should simply break every element of what would go into the job into manageable pieces. The resulting number should make sense. Go department by department: VIDEO, AUDIO, ELECTRICS / GRIP, POST, EXPENDABLES (RAW STOCK, DRIVES here), LABOR (always, always, always, always, always, ALWAYS separate), TRANSPORTATION / DELIVERY, TAX.
If the resulting numbers surprise you, you have discovered that the devil is in the details. You can always pull the final bill back if you are off your bid, but charging more does little to endear you to your client.
If ithe resulting number surprises them, they're likely looking for a much lower specification (e.g., one camera with an operator, tape delivered at the end of the day, no editing whatsoever).
e
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