Need help negotiating

Re: Need help negotiating

The Producer sounds like he has experience, in getting what he wants, anyway. That's part of his job description- an ability to communicate persuasively.

That's not, however, your experise. There are a lot of elements of his production that can 'get by' - however, a good DP is not optional. You would be filling two roles here- acting as DP and Editor; that's a double bonus! The show needs to be on solid footing from the get-go to succeed, and needs a solid professional to anchor it.

I think you get what you pay for. Having said that, you really are not sure of what it's going to take to bring it in. I think you charge a flat fee- with a cap on your time, for the first show. Half up front-the balance on completion. Then you negotiate from there once you know what's involved. That's fair to all parties.

Don't put yourself in the position of negotiating orally with him. Give him a proposal and if he wants to negotiate it- ask him to put it in writing and you'll get back to him. Once you tell him what you need to roll- he will spend the rest of his time working you down from there. You need to decide what you want from a business point of view and not get emotionally involved in the project.

Finally, be firm on half down to roll and the other half before you turn over the show- otherwise all bets are off no matter what you're told.
 
I'd like to see how this turned out. My assumption is the same as Barry's - people like this never pay up. A year down the road the show won't be on the air, the investors won't have magically appeared... but I'd like to hear the story of how it actually happened in this case.
 
if they are going to pay you nothing !
and you are going to work for nothing
then IMO it should be ALLOT of nothing.
if your normal editing rate is 300 day then you should be asking for 3X you normal rate when the $$ rolls in because the odds/chances are at least 95% chance you will get NOTHING so if there is a pay off it should be BIG ..
it all comes down to RISK vs. REWARD.

when i was in LA i use to hear at least 2-3 of these pitches a day ...
 
Barry_Green said:
I never take *any* job without at least 1/3 down, usually half down up front. *And they *never* get the final tape without the final check in hand.

A very wise man Barry.
This has been my policy since 1982. I remember back in the 90's when I was working on a project for a local company called Holly Farms. (Later purchased by Tyson Food) The chicken folks .

The project was in the beginning stage, mostly meetings on the final script. which was provided by the local Community College. 3 weeks later the shoot was to begin on monday, and on friday the personell director called and says. put the shoot on hold. They never finished the project.

This was a $6000.00 project
The check $2.000 1/3 down was already in my account

So did I feel guilty...... no. what if I had shot 16 to 20 hours of footage and then hours of editing, and then they call and say the project is off.

I still do work for Tyson. In fact I payed for my FX1 by going into a farm where they grow the chickens. The personel mgr called and said they needed me to go film the chicken catchers. They had lost their video tape on this project and it is required to show for new hire employees.. So I go out and wade thru a foot of chicken poo poo to get the footage.
Then edit and have a finished product in 3 days

"Its Dark Dirty And Damp Down There, But Somebody's Got To Do It

Hey you guys get all the good jobs

Mule Ferguson
Pumpkin Creek Video
Click to expand...
 
Interesting Dialogue on this thread......Would like the know the turn-out. I see its been over 6 months since the last reply.

Wonder if the guy worked for free and is now making $16,000 / month and defied everyones advice.
 
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