opening Titles , end credits : $$$$ ?

[Randall_Oelerich]

What do feature films typically budget for fancy titles and end credits? I am talking about titles beyond what the average indie Robert Rodriguez might try on their own. Titling with motion graphics, layers, like in Final Destination, Return to House on Haunted Hill, etc.. For say a $1M indie and also a $20M+ studio film?

I am mentoring someone learning film titling (motion graphics, animated, layers, funky effects like in big budget films), wondering what he might be able to charge / make doing it as a career (for films, the business world, really any form of video/film, fiction, nonfiction documentary, advertising, educational film, etc). Seems to me if I was doing a $1M+ indie and it was a serious film I and I wanted really nice titles and end credits I would budget something like $5k for that (since motion graphics VFX artists make an average of $100k/yr and good titling+credits as a project could take 2 weeks time), but I honestly have no idea. I am into the screenwriting these days, so am asking you filmmakers here, opinions and knowledge on this greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
~randall

 

[mainstreetcm]

I know of a guy here locally who charges $80/hour to literally throw together something very basic. I always joke he has to pay for that big Power Mac to run his Motion/Shake & AE programs. lol. I think it really depends on how fancy the titles are. I would assume his rate goes up the more fancy you want to get.

I could come up with about a billion different places to spend $5k of a million dollar budget (especially if it meant securing the "perfect" location over fancy titles.) But thats just me.

 

[dougspice]

$5000 is not going to get you very far in terms of graphics or titles, unless you luck out and find some freelancer who agrees to do it on that flat rate. Obviously it varies tremendously based on the intricateness of the concept, but a GOOD opening title sequence would generally take significantly more than 2 man-weeks of time (probably closer to three or four times that), not counting overhead, computer, production costs if needed, profit, delivery costs, etc. etc. That's unless you already had the perfect idea ready to execute, with everyone agreed on what needed to be done. The discovery costs of creative work like this add up very quickly. The titles we recently did for OUR OWN MOVIE took weeks of back and forth between producers and director to agree on a concept, probably several days worth of actual billable hours including storyboards, animatics, etc. Once we finally sorted we out it still took 4-5 days of actual dedicated design work to get it done. And we were intimately familiar with the concept and material!

Just for reference: a truly high-end motion graphics freelancer is pulling down $500+ per day. The market is a little saturated with people desperate for work right now, so you could probably find someone very capable for $300 or $400. Depends on how much you need a proven track record.

 

[craigbowman]

The opening shot of my feature grabs the audience and throws them into pure action, taking them on a short roller coaster ride. The opening credits don't even begin until a full minute into the picture when the audience finds out what they're seeing isn't what they thought they were seeing and the sequence for the opening credits ends once again by weaving what the audience thinks is separate back into the story in a way which ties back into the opening sequence.

Yet the credits themselves, what needs to go with them and how they end was described in only a couple of lines in the script.

For me, every single detail must move the story forward and trying to keep the audience immersed from the first second is important. Nothing is just kludged in as an add on, including the opening credits and the rear crawl.

However, other people are more than welcome to treat their titles as a commodity or anything else they choose.

 

[dougspice]

My favorite recent example of opening credits is Zombieland. Fun, fit to the theme, establishes and builds upon the style of the film itself, gets some of the exposition out of the way so we don't have to worry about it in the film, and just beautifully executed.

 

[atomick]

Your cost will primarily be driven by scope and the experience of the motion designer.

If you want something quite finessed - say "Se7en," "Zombieland," the otherwise awful remake of "Island of Dr. Moreau," or any Saul-Bass-animated joint - then that'll simply take more time. Simpler stuff will take less time.

Then, call around to assess day rates of local pro's. In my market this ranges from $500 to $1200 per day for pro freelancers depending on their experience, skill set, and software they're using (lots of VFX peeps here in the SF Bay Area). This will vary based on the market you're in. Students and junior folks with less experience will clearly work for less. Finding someone with solid typography skills is something that's pretty important, IMHO, and often overlooked, from my own PoV as a professional mogrfx and creative director guy.

This two variables are the most important. There are more, but assessing those two things will yield you a good sense of cost.