Woah take it easy there Jonathan. You're flaming mad. You have good reason to be mad because you're way underpaid, but you shouldn't take it out on everybody else. I'm sure if you apply yourself and work hard enough you can raise your day rate. Until then have a beer and relax. Hang in there buddy I know you can do it !
How Much to Charge to Edit a Feature?
- Thread starter dust'n the callipygous
- Start date
David W. Richardson
Chapelgrove Films
Tell you what guys. Personally, I'd love to have the editing equipt that JonathanLB has, and be getting paid what he makes to do editing. If I told you what I edit on, you'd laugh yourselves silly.
I also wish I could afford to PAY someone to edit these two features of mine. But since I can't, I'm slugging my way through it using what I've got. One day I hope to be able to do better.
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I also wish I could afford to PAY someone to edit these two features of mine. But since I can't, I'm slugging my way through it using what I've got. One day I hope to be able to do better.
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Steve House
Veteran
You can cover you rent or mortgage, feed your family, pay for the car and gas, medical and dental bills, hospitalization, vacation, etc etc - all of the expenses for you and your family PLUS buy and maintain all your video equipment, computers, software, and all the other expenses of operating your business, all on $100 per day?!?!?!?!?!?! Man, I wished I lived in your low-cost paradise corner of the world - this past week I figure it's cost me $75 a day just to cover gas and tolls to get to and from work.
David W. Richardson
Chapelgrove Films
At my 'real' job, I commute 60 miles round-trip each day and work 3rd shift -- and I make less than $100 a day before taxes.
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Steve House
Veteran
For all intents and purposes the US$ and CA$ are at par these days so we can disregard any currency differences (right now US$1.00 = CA$0.985). Unless you've got a LOT of dependents, $100 a day before taxes works out to perhaps $75 a day after deductions. $75/day * 20 workdays per month = $1500 month take-home. With the average price of a 2 bedroom bungalow in the Toronto/Hamilton area at about $350,000, rents for a mid-range apartment at $750 to $1500 and gas ranging the last few months at $1.25 to $1.40 per litre (US$4.65 to US$5.25 per gallon) there's no way anyone here could survive on that, at least not and actually buy food as well, especially if you have a family. BTW, my figure for the daily cost is a round trip of 250 km (155 miles) getting 7.5km/litre plus $32 road tolls for the round trip. I could avoid the tolls by taking a different route through mid-town but then it would take me closer to 2 1/2 hours each way instead of the 1 1/2 it takes via the tollway. Thank god I don't have to do it every day - some days I'm at a closer location where it's 50km RT and the toll only $10 and others I'm in downtown Toronto where I don't have to drive and the train costs $16 RT plus subway of $5.
Ted Spencer
Veteran
According to the US Census Bureau the median 4-person family income in the US is $67,019. In California it's $70,712. Since CA's the filmmaking center of the country, I'll use that.
Assuming a 50 week year, since most filmmakers (or editors, or whatever we're discussing here) aren't salaried and thus don't have things like paid vacations, it looks like this:
$70,712 divided by 50 weeks = $1414 a week, or $263 a day.
But freelancers rarely ever work 50 five-day weeks, and if they're that much in demand, they could certainly charge higher rates. I've been a freelance audio engineer for my entire multi-decade career, and I currently average about 2.5 fully paid 8 hour days a week, 50 weeks a year. As much as that might sound like "half-time" to some people (particluarly those who don't freelance for a living), it actually means I'm pretty successful (if I may say so myself).
So let's use that as a basis.
$1414 a week divided by 2.5 days would be $566 a day.
That's what a family would need in the state of California to make the *median* income. The LA area's undoubtedly a good deal higher.
Even in the state with the lowest income, New Mexico ($48,223) the equivalent daily earnings figure is $386. In the highest, Connecticut, ($92,205) it would be $738.
So at $200 a day, which evidently sounds pretty high to some folks in this discussion, you'd be making just over half the median income of the lowest-earning state in the US.
And you'd have to be booked 2.5 fully paid days a week, 50 weeks a year to do it.
Assuming a 50 week year, since most filmmakers (or editors, or whatever we're discussing here) aren't salaried and thus don't have things like paid vacations, it looks like this:
$70,712 divided by 50 weeks = $1414 a week, or $263 a day.
But freelancers rarely ever work 50 five-day weeks, and if they're that much in demand, they could certainly charge higher rates. I've been a freelance audio engineer for my entire multi-decade career, and I currently average about 2.5 fully paid 8 hour days a week, 50 weeks a year. As much as that might sound like "half-time" to some people (particluarly those who don't freelance for a living), it actually means I'm pretty successful (if I may say so myself).
So let's use that as a basis.
$1414 a week divided by 2.5 days would be $566 a day.
That's what a family would need in the state of California to make the *median* income. The LA area's undoubtedly a good deal higher.
Even in the state with the lowest income, New Mexico ($48,223) the equivalent daily earnings figure is $386. In the highest, Connecticut, ($92,205) it would be $738.
So at $200 a day, which evidently sounds pretty high to some folks in this discussion, you'd be making just over half the median income of the lowest-earning state in the US.
And you'd have to be booked 2.5 fully paid days a week, 50 weeks a year to do it.
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craigbowman
Veteran
Peter, in case you haven't noticed this thread dates back to 2008. Its now 2011. Jonathan has sinced fudged his way into the directors guild, made his first feature and hasn't been around the community since.
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longcipher
Active member
What is the name of his feature?