How much to charge?

[Brian_Rice]

So I feel like this question isn't bantered around too frequently. If you have your own camera and lighting equipment (sound and editing not necessary), how much do you charge someone per day of shooting? Food provided.

I guess I'm looking for the those people (or the person who once was) who've shot maybe one or two short films.

I'm in Chicago and have been leaning more and more towards outsourcing items of production stuff. I'm needing to do several one minute teaser promos introducing different characters (probably a one or two day shoot each, if that) and am looking to do a short film either this fall or the following spring.

I still might end up doing it myself if it's too cost prohibitive, but what's your guys' estimated going rate?

Thanks!

 

[Kit Hannah]

So I feel like this question isn't bantered around too frequently....

That's because it is dependent on a lot of things, what gear you have, what's involved, your experience, and what the customer is willing to pay. Filmmaking is not a product that is identical or similar across the board. It varies from very low end to super high end.

Throw out a number to them... Say $5 million. See what they say.

In all seriousness, what would make it worth it for you to do the job and cover your costs and make a profit? That's what you ask for. Every person and situation will be completely different.

 

[Brian_Rice]

That's because it is dependent on a lot of things, what gear you have, what's involved, your experience, and what the customer is willing to pay. Filmmaking is not a product that is identical or similar across the board. It varies from very low end to super high end.

Throw out a number to them... Say $5 million. See what they say.

In all seriousness, what would make it worth it for you to do the job and cover your costs and make a profit? That's what you ask for. Every person and situation will be completely different.

That's why I was hoping that people with their own equipment here would toss out figures (roughly) of what they would charge per day of filming on an indie.

Seems like a pretty basic question. And after we have a few answers, that'll give us our average, see?

I think it's important that artists, filmmakers, actors, editors, FX guys, sound techs, et al be able to say at any given minute "I charge X amount per ______"

For instance at 8/24fps I charge $50 per 20 seconds of black and white animation.

Do you have equipment? What would you charge per day?

(And again, I'm even looking for figurative figures, hence me giving the example of a person who has only shot one or two short films, etc. Given that resume, what would you pay someone to shoot per day? I just literally have no clue as to the answer.)

 

[Kit Hannah]

That's why I was hoping that people with their own equipment here would toss out figures (roughly) of what they would charge per day of filming on an indie.

Seems like a pretty basic question. And after we have a few answers, that'll give us our average, see?

I see what you're trying to do, but in this industry, an average rate is still not going to be an accurate representation of what YOU should charge. There are so many variables and there is no standard rate. You need to do a cost analysis of what your equipment, time and skills are worth. Nobody else has posted because most already know this. Filmaking isn't like a union service where everyone gets $50 an hour (well, maybe certain jobs have an average). The range is so diverse, it has to come down to what you would charge and what your client would be willing to pay.

I will give you an example. For 15 years, I owned a sound, lighting and video production company. In the beginning, I also used to DJ quite a bit as there was a lot of money to be made in that market at the time. I had top notch equipment, fantastic service, and not to toot my own horn, but I was good. I charged anywhere from $1000 to $2000 per 4 hour event (10 years ago, mind you),mostly doing school dances. There were 50 other DJ companies around. For the same 4 hour event, there were dozens of guys that would have done it for $150-$200. I was by far the most expensive, but I had the gear and skills to back it up. People knew that they were going to get a high quality service from me. But they still hired me, not the $150 guy because they knew that their service was inferior. Some could not afford my services. some didn't want to pay that much money. But I felt I was worth my prices and so did others, so I charged what I could get while still providing value to my customers.

Across the board in most industries, it's really the same principal. You charge what you think you're worth and what someone is willing to pay. In the film and video world, it's really the same concept because you are still providing a service based on your skills and talent, your gear, your service, everything is thrown into the mix. Portland may be different in what the market will bear in Los Angeles or New York. Austin will be different from either of those. Wherever you are at will be different too. So nobody is going to tell you what you should charge, you need to come up with that yourself. There is no standard rate. No standard formula. But a good rule of thumb is cover your costs then add on what you think you can get in profit and throw out a number. Most clients will have some sort of budget in mind, maybe talking with them a bit and feeling out what that is will be a good starting point. Being dramatically higher or lower than what they're looking for could be a bad thing, so talking with your client and seeing where they are at may be very beneficial for you.

 

[Brian_Rice]

I see what you're trying to do, but in this industry, an average rate is still not going to be an accurate representation of what YOU should charge. There are so many variables and there is no standard rate. You need to do a cost analysis of what your equipment, time and skills are worth. Nobody else has posted because most already know this. Filmaking isn't like a union service where everyone gets $50 an hour (well, maybe certain jobs have an average). The range is so diverse, it has to come down to what you would charge and what your client would be willing to pay.I will give you an example. For 15 years, I owned a sound, lighting and video production company. In the beginning, I also used to DJ quite a bit as there was a lot of money to be made in that market at the time. I had top notch equipment, fantastic service, and not to toot my own horn, but I was good. I charged anywhere from $1000 to $2000 per 4 hour event (10 years ago, mind you),mostly doing school dances. There were 50 other DJ companies around. For the same 4 hour event, there were dozens of guys that would have done it for $150-$200. I was by far the most expensive, but I had the gear and skills to back it up. People knew that they were going to get a high quality service from me. But they still hired me, not the $150 guy because they knew that their service was inferior. Some could not afford my services. some didn't want to pay that much money. But I felt I was worth my prices and so did others, so I charged what I could get while still providing value to my customers.Across the board in most industries, it's really the same principal. You charge what you think you're worth and what someone is willing to pay. In the film and video world, it's really the same concept because you are still providing a service based on your skills and talent, your gear, your service, everything is thrown into the mix. Portland may be different in what the market will bear in Los Angeles or New York. Austin will be different from either of those. Wherever you are at will be different too. So nobody is going to tell you what you should charge, you need to come up with that yourself. There is no standard rate. No standard formula. But a good rule of thumb is cover your costs then add on what you think you can get in profit and throw out a number. Most clients will have some sort of budget in mind, maybe talking with them a bit and feeling out what that is will be a good starting point. Being dramatically higher or lower than what they're looking for could be a bad thing, so talking with your client and seeing where they are at may be very beneficial for you.

No I'm looking to hire, not charge. I'm trying to get a *general* figure of what filmmakers here charge per day of shooting. Doesn't matter if they're in NY or right here in Chicago, I'm just looking for figures. Again, this is a pretty simple question I think. I don't expect everyone to have the same answer.

It's odd because everyone always leaps onto the threads about some guy on craigslist asking for people to work for free, you'd think that people would be equally as eager to jump onto a thread asking what they charge.

I already put feelers out to a few people here in Chicago, and all of them looked as if they'd never even thought about what they would actually charge to shoot per day. In the art world it's completely different. People know exactly what their commission prices are for a variety of different styles of artwork. How can a person not know how much they charge per day of filming and be able to answer that question when asked? lol That is like basic, basic stuff. It's like all these filmmakers want me to tell them how much they charge.

The way this stuff works is that the person who is hiring you asks you how much you charge, if for some reason what you charge is out of their budget they then negotiate within their budget and it's either a go or no. But I don't tell you the filmmaker "I can afford to pay you X amount" unless I am putting out a general call to filmmakers, which I'm not really wanting to do if I don't have to. I'd rather hire a person, not a set of skills and equipment and reels. I'm just surprised that it's this challenging.

 

[Kit Hannah]

No I'm looking to hire, not charge. I'm trying to get a *general* figure of what filmmakers here charge per day of shooting. Doesn't matter if they're in NY or right here in Chicago, I'm just looking for figures. Again, this is a pretty simple question I think. I don't expect everyone to have the same answer.

Oh, well you didn't make that very clear.

Getting quotes from people in your area is going to be the best way to get your answer. Or you can do a post in the "Jobs" forum and see what responses you get (they will most likely be private and should probably stay that way). But my answer is going to be the same... "it depends". The guy that has a 7d and a couple of lights is going to be different than the guy with an AF100 and a full professional lighting kit. Or a guy with a RED that has all the bells and whistles. You asked a very general question, you're going to get a general answer. Who, what, when, where, for how long, what's involved, all the details about the project need to be disclosed to potential people you would be hiring. Very few are going to throw you out a specific answer based on a general inquiry. And those that do, you probably don't want anyways.

I understand what you're trying to accomplish, I really do get it as I'm sure most people reading this thread get it, but in your mind, it should be this cut and dry answer, but the fact is, nobody knows what's involved so nobody is going to know how to give you an answer. There is not an industry standard rate for making you a movie. You would be better to say "I have a budget of $$$ a day and am looking for X, Y, or Z cameras, along with X, Y and Z lights to do it " and interview interested parties that contact you..In video and film, there are just too many variables.

Good luck.

 

[Kit Hannah]

The way this stuff works is that the person who is hiring you asks you how much you charge, if for some reason what you charge is out of their budget they then negotiate within their budget and it's either a go or no. But I don't tell you the filmmaker "I can afford to pay you X amount" unless I am putting out a general call to filmmakers, which I'm not really wanting to do if I don't have to. I'd rather hire a person, not a set of skills and equipment and reels. I'm just surprised that it's this challenging.

That's not how it works in my experience. Even in live video for example, I have done a lot of work on OB trucks as an A1, A2, and running cameras at sporting events. When I get a call, they don't say "What will you charge us?", they say "We need an A2 on X date, it pays $450 for an 8 hour show call plus milage and per diem". That's the way it works in my world. Films and projects have budgets and you try to get the best you can within that budget. If you come to me with a project and ask what I charge, I am going to bid high to make sure all of my basis are covered. If you give a budget, people are more apt to say "Would I do this project for $450 a day?" And take it or leave it. If they're not working, the chance of them taking it goes up or they may try to push for a bit more money, but ask that same person what they charge and they'll tell you $1000 a day, and maybe settle at $900. I'm just throwing out numbers here, but you need to be much more clear about what you're looking for and I think you'll get a much more clear answer.

 

[Brian_Rice]

That's not how it works in my experience. Even in live video for example, I have done a lot of work on OB trucks as an A1, A2, and running cameras at sporting events. When I get a call, they don't say "What will you charge us?", they say "We need an A2 on X date, it pays $450 for an 8 hour show call plus milage and per diem". That's the way it works in my world. Films and projects have budgets and you try to get the best you can within that budget. If you come to me with a project and ask what I charge, I am going to bid high to make sure all of my basis are covered. If you give a budget, people are more apt to say "Would I do this project for $450 a day?" And take it or leave it. If they're not working, the chance of them taking it goes up or they may try to push for a bit more money, but ask that same person what they charge and they'll tell you $1000 a day, and maybe settle at $900. I'm just throwing out numbers here, but you need to be much more clear about what you're looking for and I think you'll get a much more clear answer.

Really? I mean I believe that what you're saying is true, but if I contact mister Parker whose work I've seen and I know what equipment mister Parker owns, what, realistically does mister Parker need to know about a shoot to give me a quote besides time (e.g. One day or two days or three days etc of shooting). Should it make a difference to his quote whether he's shooting on Clark street or north ave at 1pm or 3 pm? I understand when you're being hired by large companies (most of whom are going to be abiding by a union structure) theyre going to tell you what they're spending. That's apples and oranges. If you're an indie producer you need to know what your budget needs to be. Same as if you're a comic producer, music producer, etc. I call a sound tech guy for boom work, he's going to be able to give me a quote. He's not going to say "it depends" lol. I thought I was pretty clear in my original post, but if I wasn't, basically I need to know, as a producer, what I need to budget for different aspects of my outsourcing. Actors from other forums havent had any issue with this same discussion, finding some kind of general concensus, but somehow for filmmakers it's like pulling teeth. I *expect* everyone's answer to be different. One guy could have a RED and a bunch if films under his belt and costs thousands per day, another person could be toting a DSLR and be right out of college doing it for free. The theoretical I came up with was a person who had done approx two short films and had their own camera and lighting kit. That's it. What should that person charge per day? What would you/did you charge when you were/are that person? People should be lining up to talk about this on a forum like this. How everyone gets paid should be *the* most transparent aspect of what we're all doing here. How else are people going to have any clue whether or not your services fit their needs? IDo wedding videographers conduct business like that? There's not a massive discernible difference in terms of the nuts and bolts. Am I asking the wrong question? Should I be asking what a cinematographer with his own camera and lighting kit charges per day opposed to a "filmmaker"? I don't need someone to direct anything. They'd have storyboards and I'd be there as a consultant/director. So maybe I'm just asking the wrong question? Any help setting me on the right track of how to talk with filmmakers/cinematographers is of help. Not doing everything myself and outsourcing work is new to me (but essential at this point)

 

[DMcG]

Am I asking the wrong question? Should I be asking what a cinematographer with his own camera and lighting kit charges per day opposed to a "filmmaker"? I don't need someone to direct anything. They'd have storyboards and I'd be there as a consultant/director. So maybe I'm just asking the wrong question? Any help setting me on the right track of how to talk with filmmakers/cinematographers is of help. Not doing everything myself and outsourcing work is new to me (but essential at this point)

I think the thread title may have something to do with it. It also took me a while to work out that you were looking to hire someone rather than get opinions on how much you should charge for your own services. Maybe try something like 'How much to hire a Lighting Cameraman in Chicago?'. I could tell you that for a project like this I'd estimate around 300 - 400 Euros per day in Berlin but I wouldn't have a clue what someone in a similar position would charge in Chicago.

 

[Scott F]

500 bucks, give or take.

 

[Brian_Rice]

500 bucks, give or take.

Thanks for the last couple responses and also earlier help. And you're right, I didn't notice that the name of the thread was completely misleading. lolLate last night and this morning I put out a couple of "cinematographer" feelers and things seem to be progressing a bit better now. I think my original fear when planning to outsource was that it would be cost prohibitive (eg the 500 per day amount considered here), but it's looking like "cinematographer" with camera and lighting kit is coming in at around 100 per day. But again one of these guys is still in college and the other just got out and has a normal 9-5. That's what I was basing my theoretical on. Thanks so much for helping me get some clarity on this subject. I think it was really coming down to what exactly the position was I was hiring for and how to be clear about that.

 

[Kit Hannah]

I think my original fear when planning to outsource was that it would be cost prohibitive (eg the 500 per day amount considered here), but it's looking like "cinematographer" with camera and lighting kit is coming in at around 100 per day. But again one of these guys is still in college and the other just got out and has a normal 9-5. That's what I was basing my theoretical on. Thanks so much for helping me get some clarity on this subject. I think it was really coming down to what exactly the position was I was hiring for and how to be clear about that.

I thought $500/day with camera and lighting was too cheap. But $100 per day? Even if the camera and lighting together are only $40, $60 for an 8 hour day? That's less than minumum wage, dude.

$100 a day isn't clarity, it's ridiculous for both sides. Let us know how that works out for you, Brian.

A decent quality camera and lighting setup to rent would cost a minimum of (and this is VERY low) $200+ a day. I'm talking like a T2i or maybe HVX200 or something with a couple of basic lights. Anybody that believes in themselves and their abilities are going to charge more than $100.

 

[thetvirus513]

Yah are you sure they didn't quote an hourly rate? That would make a lot more sense.....

 

[Brian_Rice]

lol Nope, not hourly.

Also the guy I think I'm settling on is not a professional. He has a DSLR with solid lenses plus a decent lighting kit. The stuff of his that I've seen is pretty bad, but not bad *looking*. He's 19 and just learning the ropes, so the idea is for us to do a couple of these quick promo shoots over the next year and sort of grow together and then eventually do the first live action short associated with the series. In addition if he has creator-owned stuff that he might need my assistance on at some level, I'll make myself available for that.

The other nice thing is that he has attachments to a lot of very young talent, which can be nice. The more eager 18 year olds you have to cycle through the better the energy is going to be, hectic and erratic though it may be.

If things go well I'd assume that eventually we might form something more like a partnership, but I think for now he's happy just filming things, getting exposure and establishing a reel. The $100 per day is more of a symbol of gratitude, it's obviously not representative of what a professional cinematographer should get paid.

 

[SPZ]

I think this is a nice way to work things out Brian. If its an indie guerrilla film, I think its a good idea to associate with other people that are also starting and need portfolio. Its a good way for both to gain beyond the "dollar" equation. However, in commercial shoots, with clients or in a more ambitious indie, I believe that its better to hire people that can be accounted for. You know that you can only account the kid helping you out to the amount of experience he has: if it comes out bad you shouldn't blame him- its a bit of a gamble. Perfectly understandable for a guerrilla indie low budget film, but a very, very big risk in any other commercial venture. Remember, people will judge your work and they will blame you for the lack of quality, not your hired cameraman/cinematographer.

 

[Brian_Rice]

I think this is a nice way to work things out Brian. If its an indie guerrilla film, I think its a good idea to associate with other people that are also starting and need portfolio. Its a good way for both to gain beyond the "dollar" equation. However, in commercial shoots, with clients or in a more ambitious indie, I believe that its better to hire people that can be accounted for. You know that you can only account the kid helping you out to the amount of experience he has: if it comes out bad you shouldn't blame him- its a bit of a gamble. Perfectly understandable for a guerrilla indie low budget film, but a very, very big risk in any other commercial venture. Remember, people will judge your work and they will blame you for the lack of quality, not your hired cameraman/cinematographer.

Completely concur. That's why I'm doing the story boarding where necessary and final edit. I'll be on set, etc. And since the first things we're doing are just like one minute promo teaser spots, I don't think we'll have a problem putting together a decent set of images. The short film is more ambitious (the promos are all single day/single location shoots), so I want us both to gather some more experience before then.

 

[kenkyusha]

The other nice thing is that he has attachments to a lot of very young talent, which can be nice. The more eager 18 year olds you have to cycle through the better...

{perv} Awesome {/perv}

 

[Darren Levine]

wait a tick, put aside that the 100/day "cinematographer" and all those details, you're forgetting a big part of what you get for your money, and that's knowledge and experience, and there is no way a 19 year old charging minimum wage per day has the knowledge or ability to work around challenges/issues that get thrown at you on any sort of set.

if it's a small gig, by all means give him a shot, but it's a risk. i've had countless clients tell me stories of camera people they had to suffer through. if you want/need it done right, spend money. if you can afford the risk of a reshoot, higher the guy who is just starting out.

other than that you can't get more than a very very rough ballpark of the average rates. i don't charge the same just based on how much time they need me for. what camera do they want? how far away is the shoot? am i bringing a jib? slider? dolly? these things should never be included in a generic rate, they are extra costs because they certainly weren't free for me to buy

if there is anything i try to instill in those just starting out is to NEVER, EVER, work for less than your equipment rents for per DAY. no rental house does half day or hourly rates, and no one should be working for less than it would cost them to rent the equipment to bring to the gig. the fact that you own the equipment is no reason for a producer to expect it just comes free with the human.

i've long since ditched per hour rates, i do half and full day. and i don't divide it in any way. i've had too many jokers try to get me to cut the hours and $$ in half. and it's not worth your time to work for an hour if your only charging 50/hr

im also in the range of 500/day with basic equipment, camera, sticks, on cam light and shotgun. and then anything on top of that is extra. half day would be in the starting range of 350

then there's the responsibility curve. take for instance a union shoot. everyone has 1 responsibility, camera ops operate the camera, electric manage electric, gaffers manage the lights, etc... many people assume that you pay for a filmmaker/dp/human/whathaveyou for a $ per day and that includes anything you want them to do. well...no. i've long since put my foot down on expected responsibility. if you higher a worker, and then ask them to do more jobs on a set, you need to pay them for those roles. real world example: you have a budget of 500, you find a great DP for 500, but realize you need 4 channels of audio, but you can't afford and audio tech, though you do have a friend who can lend you a mixer and all the mics. aside from the obvious bad idea of asking the camera person to monitor 4 channels of audio on top of watching the image, you're trying to subsidize a paying position by having your camera person doing it. and if i were that camera person, i would make clear that it is a bad idea, and state what extra costs that responsibility would entail should they want me to perform the extra task.

a for instance comes to mind, and is the only time i've had to take a client to small claims court for nonpayment. the client thought he shouldn't have to pay because he didn't find any value in the video i made for him. i shall preface by saying that i had already done one video for him, and he LOVED it. the only variables that changed between making the two videos were in his hands, not mine. it was marketing videos for venture capital events, which focused on interviews of people at the events. in our first conversation we had on the phone, he asked if i could do interviews, and i responded that while i could initiate them, my job is to operate the camera, and if he wanted quality interviews, he needed to have someone else perform them. sure enough, the first event he conducted the interviews and got what he wanted out of them, and it was a large, happy event. the second event he was not even present at, and it was a fraction of the size of the prior event and in a dark dreary basement. and despite my efforts, and the efforts of several of his employees, no one gave spirited interviews, if at all. and when he saw the video, he directly complained about the lack of good interviews and refused payment. the lacking of the quality of the event aside, he expected the role of interviewer to magically appear out of nowhere, but not even that could help the fact that the two events were entirely polar, and he demanded videos of similar quality for both.

end rant,

cheerios

 

[Brian_Rice]

wait a tick, put aside that the 100/day "cinematographer" and all those details, you're forgetting a big part of what you get for your money, and that's knowledge and experience, and there is no way a 19 year old charging minimum wage per day has the knowledge or ability to work around challenges/issues that get thrown at you on any sort of set. if it's a small gig, by all means give him a shot, but it's a risk. i've had countless clients tell me stories of camera people they had to suffer through. if you want/need it done right, spend money. if you can afford the risk of a reshoot, higher the guy who is just starting out. other than that you can't get more than a very very rough ballpark of the average rates. i don't charge the same just based on how much time they need me for. what camera do they want? how far away is the shoot? am i bringing a jib? slider? dolly? these things should never be included in a generic rate, they are extra costs because they certainly weren't free for me to buyif there is anything i try to instill in those just starting out is to NEVER, EVER, work for less than your equipment rents for per DAY. no rental house does half day or hourly rates, and no one should be working for less than it would cost them to rent the equipment to bring to the gig. the fact that you own the equipment is no reason for a producer to expect it just comes free with the human.i've long since ditched per hour rates, i do half and full day. and i don't divide it in any way. i've had too many jokers try to get me to cut the hours and $$ in half. and it's not worth your time to work for an hour if your only charging 50/hrim also in the range of 500/day with basic equipment, camera, sticks, on cam light and shotgun. and then anything on top of that is extra. half day would be in the starting range of 350 then there's the responsibility curve. take for instance a union shoot. everyone has 1 responsibility, camera ops operate the camera, electric manage electric, gaffers manage the lights, etc... many people assume that you pay for a filmmaker/dp/human/whathaveyou for a $ per day and that includes anything you want them to do. well...no. i've long since put my foot down on expected responsibility. if you higher a worker, and then ask them to do more jobs on a set, you need to pay them for those roles. real world example: you have a budget of 500, you find a great DP for 500, but realize you need 4 channels of audio, but you can't afford and audio tech, though you do have a friend who can lend you a mixer and all the mics. aside from the obvious bad idea of asking the camera person to monitor 4 channels of audio on top of watching the image, you're trying to subsidize a paying position by having your camera person doing it. and if i were that camera person, i would make clear that it is a bad idea, and state what extra costs that responsibility would entail should they want me to perform the extra task.a for instance comes to mind, and is the only time i've had to take a client to small claims court for nonpayment. the client thought he shouldn't have to pay because he didn't find any value in the video i made for him. i shall preface by saying that i had already done one video for him, and he LOVED it. the only variables that changed between making the two videos were in his hands, not mine. it was marketing videos for venture capital events, which focused on interviews of people at the events. in our first conversation we had on the phone, he asked if i could do interviews, and i responded that while i could initiate them, my job is to operate the camera, and if he wanted quality interviews, he needed to have someone else perform them. sure enough, the first event he conducted the interviews and got what he wanted out of them, and it was a large, happy event. the second event he was not even present at, and it was a fraction of the size of the prior event and in a dark dreary basement. and despite my efforts, and the efforts of several of his employees, no one gave spirited interviews, if at all. and when he saw the video, he directly complained about the lack of good interviews and refused payment. the lacking of the quality of the event aside, he expected the role of interviewer to magically appear out of nowhere, but not even that could help the fact that the two events were entirely polar, and he demanded videos of similar quality for both.end rant,cheerios

Good rant. I think as I progress as a company things will become more and more structured. But for instance, the first promo (exclusively for the web) I'm doing is basically a girl being chased through the woods by a monster. I could physically shoot it myself on my camcorder (HF20), but I'm really wanting to start to build something that goes beyond just me and my close friends. I also have a cut scene from my upcoming animated series that I'm out sourcing. It's only a 15 second scene, and I could do it myself, but again I want to start building something, and some of that will be in a mentoring capacity. I'm not as concerned with out of the box talent as I am for someone with lots of energy, a good attitude and who wants to get his/her hands dirty. Because of what I'm willing to spend and the types of people I want on my team, there will be some pitfalls and bumps along the way, but I feel confident in my abilIty to project manage. So I'm going to start things slow, and hopefully by the time we reach the first short film there's a synergy happening. If we do the first shoot and I'm unhappy with the experience then I'll move on to someone else, but I feel confident that he'll be fine.

 

[Noel Evans]

Brian I think theres a distinction also between short film / narrative and commercial work. On a commercial job you know how much the client has in budget. What do you need to get the job done and after all that what are you going to pay yourself. Youll need to clearly determine how much you want to spend on the DP or lighting/camera guy. You take that budget and go out and find the best you can find willing to do it for the amount you can. On a commercial job Ill always want what Im used to being paid so if your budget was $500 a day I wont be taking it on.

Short film will probably work a bit differently. You may have a phenomenal script ( I dont know but it could be the case), where even a seasoned DP given the right environment might do it cheaply. For example, a writer/director approaches me with a great script and great locations, tells me theres a pro dedicated sound recordist with gear, offers me a $300 per day and food, shows me he/she has some talented actors on board - I would seriously consider the project.

Lets reverse that a little. A writer/director approaches me says Ill pay $300 per day plus food has prepped none of the above. Ill say thats great, and you'll never hear from me again.

Another point, if someone says no because the pay/conditions aren't what they want, its not a personal thing either. So don't be afraid to ask.

Not giving any exact figures I know, but just offering some food for thought in approach.