GH2 Corporate Project Pricing

J

Jim Simon

Veteran
I'm looking to get a sense of what other GH2 users are charging for their corporate projects. (Or any corporate producer really, regardless of camera.)

Assuming any other costs are incurred by someone else, what would you be charging for a project that involved 2 days of shooting (5 hrs each) and 30 hrs of post work (including editing, effects, revisions, etc)? What general geographic region are you in? (For example, I'd expect rates in NY and LA to be higher than Wala Wala, Washington.)
 
I gear my pricing to the size and affluence of the company I am working for.

Small companies ( less than 100 employees ) don't have the same size budgets to work with as larger companies. ( 500+ employees )

It also depends on the type of business they are are in, as some sectors ( i.e. automotive, financial, pharmaceutical, etc... ) are a lot more flush with cash than others.

You will also change the size of your production crew depending on the budget, as clients expect a lot more "pampering" when they are paying you a good buck.
 
I'm from Eugene, Oregon. I don't do big events like you're talking about, but just for reference, right now I'm doing freelance commercials for our local FOX affiliate and usually charge $300. It's not much, but as my notoriety is growing, I'm planning to increase. I have already done two projects that have been a bit more work intensive and I have charged $400 and $600.

Most of these commercials are pretty simple ones. Get creative shots of their business and voiceover as they talk about their most recent promotion, or what not. Most involve about 1 to 2 hours of shooting, and about 4 or 5 hours in post.

So 6 hours of work, $300. $50/hr isn't bad, but of course, as I remind clients when they complain about paying $300 for a commercial (I mean, really? You're getting these things dirt cheap!), I have to pay for all my gear, too, not just my time and paying a crew (when required, though most don't.)
 
So 10 hours of shooting and around 30 hours of editing? Sounds about the same work load as a wedding edit. Thus, anywhere between $1500-2000.
 
Don't "charge" a price. Ask them what their budget is. You might be surprised (both ways). But let them tell you. Get a range of what they can afford, and then tailor the project to give them the best you can at the highest price they can afford.

Back when I was doing these jobs, this would likely be a $5k-$10k job.
 
Barry_Green said:
Don't "charge" a price. Ask them what their budget is. You might be surprised (both ways). But let them tell you. Get a range of what they can afford, and then tailor the project to give them the best you can at the highest price they can afford.

Back when I was doing these jobs, this would likely be a $5k-$10k job.
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Exactly, also to blazer003 I could never survive on those rates...... I charge $700-$1500+ just to Edit. The lowest and I mean lowest I would be doing any commercial would be $2000 and I would grow from there. If I had to pay the rent $1000 and even then I doubt it. If you work with low paying clients they are the worst....

Now to the op 5hrs of shooting is a full day when you include travel time, set up, lunch + any other problems that might occur, now x that by 2. Secondly think about the Post work.

Easily a $3500 or more job. I would not do this any lower than that and like Barry suggested let the client tell you their budget. Right a spreadsheet and include all of your cost, very easily you can charge $5k if you break it down. Now if you just want to build your portfolio then maybe charge at least $2k but be careful.....
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated

The job is already done, though, so it's too late to ask about budget. I'm also not comfortable charging based on the client's resources. I just feel there's something unscrupulous about that, like the mechanics from the Chevy Chase movie Vacation.

Clark: "How much are the repairs?"

Mechanic: "How much you got?

The same work should cost the same amount, regardless of who the client is.

The other factor to consider is that this isn't my client. I'm doing some work for a local producer. He'll be billing the client for the entire project. I'm sending the producer my bill for the shooting and post work. That's why I said "other costs are incurred by someone else".

So I leave the question open. For two days shooting, 5 hours each day, and 30 hours post work, what kind of rates would you expect to bill out?
 
Barry_Green said:
Don't "charge" a price. Ask them what their budget is. You might be surprised (both ways). But let them tell you. Get a range of what they can afford, and then tailor the project to give them the best you can at the highest price they can afford.

Back when I was doing these jobs, this would likely be a $5k-$10k job.
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+10000000000
Always ask what they have budgeted. If they called you, it's most likely because they saw your work and are interested in working with you. Last year I was paid $28,000 to shoot 6 talking head videos against a grey seamless with two camera multi shoot, with some motion graphics. They said they had a bid from another shoot coming in at $6500. WHy did they go with me? Because I asked what the budget was and they felt the other guy was wet behind the ears.....
 
Jim Simon said:
I'm also not comfortable charging based on the client's resources. I just feel there's something unscrupulous about that, like the mechanics from the Chevy Chase movie Vacation... ...The same work should cost the same amount, regardless of who the client is.
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When I shoot for a larger company they expect me to...

- Bring a larger crew: so that there is always somebody ready to take care of any problem immediately with zero down time. ( the client's time is worth more than 100x what mine is )
- Bring more equipment: so I have backups on almost everything, with extra gear in case the client wants something different done on the spot. ( this means rentals, a bigger vehicle, and extra crew )
- Never have any down time, so everything goes to schedule, even if extra things are tacked on at the last moment.
- Fast turn-around: They want the finished piece ready to go ASAP, and they are happy to pay what ever it costs to get things done pronto.


When I shoot for a smaller / non-profit company they expect me to...

- Be as low cost as possible: so they don't mind if it's just me and a production assistant, and that things take longer to do because it's just the two of us. ( and they have limited funds to work with )
- Own all the gear necessary: so there are no extra charges for the shoot.
- Longer turn-around: They know they are getting a bargain, and don't mind waiting a while if it helps to keep the costs down.
 
your labor rate should be X and gear rental should be Y, add those 2 for your day rate. if the shoot goes into overtime(past 10 hours), divide X by 10 and multiply that number times 1.5, thats your hourly overtime rate. once you hit 12 hours, 2x that number. most camera dudes i work with(i'm a sound mixer) charge around $650 for labor and gear(camera, sticks, monitor, light kit) is around $400-$600+ depending on camera package. editing, depending on your skills, $75-$100 an hour. thats what most post shops i know of charge.
 
TheDingo said:
When I shoot for a larger company they expect me to...

- Bring a larger crew: Etc. etc. etc.
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That would not be "the same work", then.

Like I said in the original post, other expenses are incurred by someone else. This is just for 2 days shooting (5 hours each day) and 30 hours post.
 
dustylense said:
If they called you.
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They actually didn't call me. They called my producer. He'll be billing the client for the entire project. I'm billing the producer for my roles, shooting and post. I was just trying to get a sense of what others are charging for those jobs.
 
Jim Simon said:
This is just for 2 days shooting (5 hours each day) and 30 hours post.
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Do you have any idea about what they expect to pay?

Are you on good enough terms that you can ask them?

...Here in Toronto I've seen corporate day-rates as low as $600/day with gear and as high as ten times this amount. Every shooter I meet seems to charge a different price.

I've also seen projects where the highly paid shooter was incompetent and the job blew up in their face before it was finished.
 
Sorta useless to charge by the hour since the less experience you have and the slower you are at editing, the more money you end up charging and making on the project. You already know the number of hours so just decide how much money you want to make. Problem is can you meet the client's and producer's expectations with your experience level within the hours you stated.
 
For two days shooting, 5 hours each day, and 30 hours post work, what kind of rates would you expect to bill out?
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again, like others have mentioned. it totally depends on WHAT youre shooting, the TYPE of location, and what the client expects from an "on-set comfort and options" level. that all dictates what (and what amount of) gear and crew you're bringing. and THAT is where much of the pricing difference between what you charge exxon and what you charge aunt meg's corner florist comes into play.

and i'm like barry. when somebody calls and asks "how much is a 5 minute video" i first ask them "a 5 minute video of what?" because 5 minutes of ducks on a lake is a whole different shoot than 5 minutes of talking head interviews.

once we get that established thats when i ask them their budget. because i CAN do a $1000 production and i can also do a $100,000 production. just depends on what the client wants (NEEDS) or is used to

if we're talking typical BASIC corporate interview and general b-roll. just me. no other crew. i charge $1500 for a full day (no more than 10 hours, including travel and breaks) that buys them: me, appropriate camera, tripod, basic audio bag (a couple lavs and a shotgun) and a basic 3-point light setup. then $80/hr for edit work.

so i'd be looking at $5400 for the package.

now as far as the "day rate" thing goes. that has gotten me into as many problems as not. in one particular case, i had this ass-hat of a client once that contracted me out on a day rate. we were done in about 4 hours. but she made me stay there and basically do nothing of any value simply because she was paying me for the full day. so what i tend to do is offer an hourly rate option of $200/hr and we shoot until we have what we need. if thats 1 hour, fine. if thats 17hours - thats fine as well.

but again, getting into the situational variables. there are so many things that you can do to work smarter rather than harder. if the client has budget, hire crew to schlep the gear so you can pay attention to the set and shooting. hire an audio guy! nothing like not having to worry about riding levels, so you can pay attention to the shot itself. and if you have a person on set marking timecode of good and bad clips. that can save you HOURS of going back over everything in edit.
 
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My advice is simple:

Charge 50% more than the client wants to pay, which is invariably 30% less than they can afford.

Also, bare in mind, if less than 30% of your clients are complaining you charge too much, then you are not charging enough.

Last piece of advice; be careful about discussing fees on the internet. It can be seen as price fixing, which can land you in a whole lot of bother...
 
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