Advice on producing an infomercial?

DC

DC

Cinematographiliac
Recently I was asked about fully producing a 30 minute infomercial (also to eventually cut shorter spots from the 30 mins) for someone who should have plenty of money to pay for a quality production. It won't be super fancy with cranes or anything like that. Just some basic coverage in one room with multiple angles and a tight storyboard. Perhaps some other indoor locations too. I'll likely be shooting in either SD or HD with Panasonic's HVX200. I already have Avid Xpress Pro HD v5.2.1 on a killer workstation.

I may have to outsource certain aspects of the production by bringing in various professionals in some different capacities. I realize that the more hands involved the less profit there will be. However, I feel I can justify charging this person accordingly to cover all costs involved to achieve a high level of quality for the finished product.

The infomercial would be used to sell a service that is slated to eventually be all over the country, and perhaps internationally. So this has the potential to be relatively big.

My questions have to do mostly with pricing. He is asking how much it will cost. I figure there will be different ballpark figures for different scenarios. But I really have no idea what to tell him (and eventually charge) as I'm just getting this business of the ground. I do have a bit of experience in the industry and I'm confident I, along with the help of the team I assemble, can do a really good job. So, if anybody has any advice to offer and/or different scenarios to present as examples, I would really appreciate it.

Much Thanks,

D~C
 
How much does a house cost?


Not being facetious, but like you said, there are so many variables that it could be all over the board -- a little shack by the railroad tracks might be twenty grand, a 5,000 sf. waterfront property might be 2 million.

So it is with the video. Depending on what you do with it it could be quite expensive or really cheap. The "rule of thumb" in the industry is $1,000 to $2,000 per finished minute. In the case of a 30-minute show, that means $30k to $60k. However, I used to produce a weekly half-hour TV show and I charged $2,000 per episode, and made awfully good money at it, because the show was really, really, really simple to do.

So -- it depends on your experience level, it depends on the expectations of the client, it depends on the talent costs and the space rental and the graphic design and all sorts of things. All you can really do is think it through and see what it would cost you to do it (i.e., I have to hire a host, that's $500/day... then I need a prompter & operator, that's $600/day... then I need a location, that's $500/day. Then I need someone to light it, they're $1000/day. Then I need an audio person, that's $600/day. Then I need to pay myself for shooting and gear, that's $1000/day. Multiply that by three shooting days 'cause I think it'll be three days, so now we're at about $13,000. Then there's editing, it'll take five days of editing, that's $1000/day, so another $5,000. Then there's graphic design, I have to hire Kai for three days, he's $1000/day. Then there's audio sweetening and soundtrack design, that's $1000/day for two days. So a grand total of $23,000. Then you have to throw on another 33% for your corporate profit to make it worth having done the job in the first place and... yep, there you are, $30,000.)

Or, it could be something easy cheesy and $2,000. Show up, let him ramble for 30 minutes about his product, slap some graphics on the front and back and a few cutaways in the middle, finish it all in one day -- that's $2,000 right there.

Only you can tell. The thing to keep in mind is, there's no such thing as a "price" to do a video. What there is, is a BUDGET. What's his budget? What's he willing to spend?

If he's gonna buy a car, is he willing to spend $5,000? That means a used car and he can't complain about it, right? If he's willing to spend $50,000 well, now you can get a Mercedes or a Lexus. It's all about the budget. The bigger the budget he allocates, the better a job you can do for him. The less his budget, the lower his expectations had better be. That's just how it works. So find out what his budget is.

And if his projected budget is $100,000 -- you better sub the job out to somebody who knows what they're doing with that kind of money. You can't take on a project like that with no experience, $100k is major "suing" money -- people get sued over jobs that size. So if his budget is 5 grand, think of what you could do for five grand. If his budget is 50 grand, think of how you could spend that -- could you get a retired sports star as your host at $10,000/day? Maybe. There's things you can do, once you know what the budget is. And until you know what the budget is, you can't possibly give any sort of reasonable quote because you don't have any idea what their expectations are.
 
Barry,

Thanks so much for the advice. I do have some experience shooting/editing but I definitely don't do this full-time (as much as I'd like to and plan to though). :) I know I could do a good job on a minimal budget. But like you said, the $100k arena is serious business and I would absolutely outsource the vast majority of the project to experienced people while I oversee it and act as a liason to the client.

So bottom line is what is his budget? I will find out and I'm sure I'll be able to move forward from there.

Again . . . thanks, Barry! :)

D~C
 
I doubt your client will really know what his budget is, and telling you that still may not answer your questions. SO ask him to identify a couple of infomercials that are similar to what he expects, and what would be different about his. THEN, you can stumble through an estimated range to give him. For example, does he need an audience? Does he need to ruin a couple of cars to show how good his rust-remover works? Does he want to be on-location somewhere or want a name actor? Or even a name infomercial guy like Esteban? So don't just ask him how much he wants to spend, you will not get the right number. Talk about some CLEAR examples of his expectations and his budget, so you can tell him why he is nuts....
 
If this is a start up business, lay this on him... ask to see his business plan. If he has one then evaluate the business and see where his budget is. If he does not have one, then try to figure out what he has to spend.

If he has a legitimate business idea, and a realistic business plan, you may want to think about ground floor and all of that. If he doesn't, well, I'd start thinking, what is in it for me. Be up front and get EVERY THING IN WRITTING!!. Be very careful about "back end" money. Trust me on this.

If he has a little bit of money, think about an hourly rate. For solidly budgeted industrials, I have found that this works out very good. For "One man show" shoots, where I bring in just a couple of assistants, I charge $125/hour for production then go about $65/hour for post. This give them an insentive not to tie up billable time with their "creative input". Of course, if they must have their "creative input", you make more money (which is, in my experience, rarely worth the effort). Flat rates can kill you if they want to be "in the trenches" with their baby.

Check around in your market and see what production charges are, then adjust accordingly.

Good luck.
 
KOVAROVA said:
those responses are great bits of advice. what a great resource this place is. good luck DC!
Click to expand...

Indeed, my friend. And thanks! :) I was going to ask you about this too but these guys gave me some great advice to start with and I've already acted upon it. The ball is in the client's court now so I'm waiting to hear back. I'm a lot more confident going forward regardless if I end up producing anything for this particular client.

With that said, I'm still open to any other suggestions you might offer. And really good seeing you again last week. Sweet place and studio. Your daughter is beautiful and it must be amazing watching her grow up before your eyes. :) I'll keep you updated if I'm heading that way again anytime soon. So far no plans though.

Cheers,

D~C
 
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