Salary range for an AE pro

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Debe

New member
Just wondering what the salary range is for an After Effects pro in Los Angeles? Hourly? Daily? Trying to get a feel for the market I'm about to enter.

Thanks for any input . . .

Debe
 
Debe said:
Just wondering what the salary range is for an After Effects pro in Los Angeles? Hourly? Daily? Trying to get a feel for the market I'm about to enter.

Thanks for any input . . .

Debe
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Don't know about LA -

But from friends I've known - 35, 000 for a skilled pro (even if out of college) has been the range for Philadelphia and North Carolina.

Honestly, I'm not sure how to interpret that for LA. You might think LA will make more because there's more work, however, there is no shortage of supply of workers either. Then again, I'm sure the cleintel is wealthier, which may equate to more cash.

Do they even use After Effects in LA, or is it more Shake/Discreet products for motion pictures? I know it was hard finding a place in Philadelphia because, as popular as After Effects and FCP are, a large majority of the bigger post-production houses here in Philly are PC based discreet suites - which I have no experience with = pita finding a job. There are a few home video business that use AE and FCP in the region though - see how LAs demographic is programs, PC/Mac, Adobe vs. Discreet, etc. Here in Philly, the film office prints a production guide listing all the post-houses and what programs and services they have - check that out if LA has anything like that - big help shaping your reelsume.
 
That is peanuts. Salary is based on how good you are, and who knows it. After Effects is used in LA, it's used everywhere (as is Flame, Flint, Smoke, Shake, etc). 35k is pretty low though. I'm in Tulsa, and making a WHOLE lot more than that.
 
I suspect the real range is 35k-80k+ depending on where you work and your level of expertise.
Also a question if they pay overtime, health care, etc.
 
Thanks, this is all very helpful information. I've just begun After Effects 7 Pro (from 6.5 Pro). Please keep it coming! :)

Debe
 
yeah, for an After Effects ninja, the base should be at least in the 60-70K range--based what I've seen in the NYC area.
 
Kai I was just watching your clip for the ESPN snowmobiling tour. Amazing job.
I just wanted to pick your brain for a second. Do they leave pretty much all of the creative work up to you or are you working with an art director and producer closely on the piece? Also, did they give you stock footage and images for it or did you have to go out and get some yourself? The whole thing is exciting to watch..I love it.
Did you get training for AE or are you self taught? Thanks.

Also wondering..how much time was allocated to you to complete that project from start to finish?
 
Cool thanks for the compliments! That project was about 2 weeks start to finish, factoring in wait time for client approvals, etc. On opens and packages like this, they pretty much leave it up to me, so i'll serve as the art director/producer/designer on the package. They still have to approve everything, so you can't get TOO wild and off the wall, but they're pretty cool and open to new ideas. The footage, assets, etc were all shot and created just for this package.

As far as AE, I learned the basics in college, but then just jammed on it for years learning and experimenting with new things all along the way. It's a deep program, once you get the basics down you've only just begun :)
 
visual effects artists make a good chunk of cash a year. get with a good studio/production company and work with Adobe and discreet software programs and youll be make bank.
 
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