Price to film video interview/portflio

T

tampawolf

Well-known member
I was asked to contact an artist to film a video to update the Artist's portfolio. I am still gaining my footing in the field, and actually would probably do it for free just for experience, referrals, adding it to my portfolio, however that doesn't seem very professional. I need to buy a lighting kit, but otherwise I think I have it covered (have the camera, GH2 and the sound, Zoom h4n, h41, and a Shotgun mic on camera). It is a bit of a drive, 3 hours, and like I said, I will buy a lighting kit, and probably secondary memory card (Sandisk Extreme 95mbs). I am guessing, recording her painting will take at least a few hours, and add on the interview itself.

So. What would be a good figure to ask for?

I'm also ok with any other tips you can provide, like, good interview questions, or for example any particular lighting kit that works great for you guys, or if I for sure need to get a second GH2 as a backup camera/ b-roll. This is what I want to do for a living, so I don't mind investing, but I'm not rich, so I'll spend what needs to be spent to get the job done right, but don't want anything extra fancy.
 
How many days do you anticipate to shoot for? 2 days, maybe more? How speed are you as an editor - thus how long you think you will edit for? 3-5 days?

Then find out how much it cost in your are to rent lights, audio, camera for 2 days.

Shooting days + editing days + rental fee = your fee.
 
I'm a quick editor, and would hope to cover it in 1 day since it is a far drive, and not looking to get a Hotel. Thanks for the reply.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Shooting days + editing days + rental fee = your fee.
Click to expand...

For the OP: If you desire to be a professional, that means you need to support yourself doing video work. That means you need to understand your cost of doing business.

That includes: auto, auto insurance, health insurance, business insuranace, amortization of your equipment, salary, etc. etc. Most beginners become "low ballers" because they don't have a clue about business, and what running a profitable & sustainable business means.

http://www.burnsautoparts.com/BAPsite/Manuals_files/CODB.pdf


It is also true that once you establish a price, you will never be able to raise it with that client. Youy will get pigeonhol;ed as the "free" guy, and the client will act insulted of you ask for pay. Aren't they doing you a favor by letting you shoot for your portfolio?


How many hours can you shoot per year? What about learning, marketing, pitching, handling contracts/consults/phone/cleaning equipment, etc.?

You will quickly find that $50 an hour is a pretty reasonable or even low rate, especially given the "opportunity cost" - what you could make doing something else. (Argument: Why not get a "real" job, and shoot narrative & creative on weekends, rather than do stupid BS crap to at $15 an hour to scratch out (barely) a living and have no creative juice left for anything artistic?)

Realistically, you will be lucky to bill 500 hours a year of actual filiming/editing time. You won't get paid for travel, meetings, delivery of product, etc.

If you can get a base salary of $10 an hour somehwere else, but work 2,200 hours a year, you need to make about $44 an hour actually worked for that 500 hours just to "equal" that $10 an hour. Plus the depreciation/cost of your equipment, etc.

You should spend a week figuring out what you need to ake at video to supposrt yourself. Use that as a base rate, then give your client a "discount" if needed to make the project reasonable. But at least be professional about it.

Unfortunately, there is an endless stream of folks who lose thier butt working for nothing, but there are enough of them that keep coming that the pros can no longer make a living (at least the entry level pros ... and how do we sustain an industry if there is no way to support yourself while you become a more experienced pro? What a mess!)

Good luck,
Michael
 
To reiterate what unadog said:
At least you are a skilled technician so you should be charging "skilled technician rates" - say - $25/h - but skilled technician works 8h/day 5 days/week = 40h/week. While you will be working much less. So "skilled technician" is making de factor $1000/week or $4000/month. Can you find enough jobs at "skilled technician's" hourly wage to equal his salary? Most likely not yet so your rate needs to reflect infrequency of the jobs. So if you can get only - say - 4 days of work per month then to just scrape by at skilled technician's rates you would need to charge around $100+/h or $1000+/day.
 
I would also suggest renting the light kit instead of buying one - you probably would only need a softbox & a rim light that you should be able to rent for $50-$75.
 
DIY the lights :P
Couple of clamp lights (those tin round lamps found in almost any hardware store) and a $12 Multi reflector kit (Those 5 in 1)... some come with a large translucent white reflector.
You can simple clamp that in front of a lamp and your all set, instant softbox. (Probably like $20 total)

As for the other "billing" costs, i echo what the others have said. Some good wisdom there. Nothing like be pigeon holed to get you sour about your job.
 
Somethings to consider...

- What can your client afford? ( busy, successful, commercial clients can to pay a good wage for good quality work, smaller clients might need an "affordable" price )

- What are your client's goals with this video? ( to produce a successful video, you have to be 100 percent certain you understand your client's goals )

- If you are still establishing yourself, then I think you have to price yourself accordingly. ( I've taken on low-paying projects because I knew it would be good for my portfolio and for the business connections. It has to be a win-win for both of you, or it's just not worth doing )
 
TheDingo said:
Somethings to consider...

- What can your client afford? ( busy, successful, commercial clients can to pay a good wage for good quality work, smaller clients might need an "affordable" price )
Click to expand...


I agree about the client - unless this client is a pretty successful artist, they may not have much of a budget for video. You have to adjust your "billing" accordingly. Artists, students, people just starting out tend to help each other out a lot. What can they barter in addition to pay (to cover your hard expenses.)

But if they are successfully selling their work, there is no reason you should not get paid just like they do.

Everybody gets paid today except the photographer/videographer/graphic artist/etc. Then there is "no budget." :angry: But we will let you use it in your portfolio!

Of course you "discount" your rate because you have less experience and can't "guarantee"/sell the product. But it is good to let them know what the true cost is for next time, and for other professionals.

None of this is meant negatively! It is great that you are doing the research and learning. We also need to educate the client on the costs of the business.

The industry is just such a mess now that everyone has a digital camera (video isn't quite as bad as photo yet.)

Good luck!

Best,
Michael
 
I found this rather nice quick calculator for figuring your rates. http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/ The posts above are possibly a bit more thorough but it sure gave me a better idea of how easy it is to get to $50 an hour. You also mentioned a 2nd camera. I am one of those folks that thinks about how things can go wrong. Of course you may be perfectly OK with just one camera, but its not unusual to have something go wrong (especially with a 3 hour drive each way). So the financial aspects of "insurance" with back-up gear could also be discussed with a client if the price is very low. Few artists have much in the way of finances so this might be kept in mind. I know I would be nervous without spares of anything which was mission critical.
 
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