Shooting for employer

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dmcgill

Active member
Any suggestions on how I should quote a rate for shooting on company time? My company wants to produce some DVD's and some Podcasts of our factory. I offered my time and rig, but I want to recover the wear and time on the equipment. I really can't charge for my time, since it will be 'On The Clock'. What would be a reasonable rental rate for Camera and Audio?

Thanx
 
I would get "off the clock" and charge normal production rates. This is NOT part of your daily job tasks, and your boss should be willing to pay you a higher rate for video than he does for factory work. Otherwise you have set a really bad precedent for your relationship that can not be changed without quitting. It also means when he gives you referrals for other work, they will expect to pay you the same factory wages, etc...

Don't be a chump. If you want to work for free, go find a good charity to support.
 
dmcgill said:
Any suggestions on how I should quote a rate for shooting on company time? My company wants to produce some DVD's and some Podcasts of our factory. I offered my time and rig, but I want to recover the wear and time on the equipment. I really can't charge for my time, since it will be 'On The Clock'. What would be a reasonable rental rate for Camera and Audio?

Thanx
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There's another option too: get the company to purchase gear that you can use for the production, but you keep as payment, i.e. if you needed a crane, they buy it for you, you use it to produce the company video, and keep it in the end.
 
galt said:
I would get "off the clock" and charge normal production rates. This is NOT part of your daily job tasks, and your boss should be willing to pay you a higher rate for video than he does for factory work..
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I don't stand in the factory and 'turn the crank' all day. I am a manager in the IT/Marketing/Graphics area. So the factory floor wage is not the issue. I would even be willing to be farmed out by my employer for my current salary. But providing my tools is not part of the plan. That's something they would need to pay for.
 
Well, if you feel that your pay scale is a fair rate, equipment rentals can be determined by calling a rental company. I would not charge less than market in this situation, you need to make some money somewhere. I might not charge them for every piece, but camera, tripod, mics, and lighting would be charged. I would throw in cables, extra batteries, filters, cables, and stuff like that.... DOn't forget about tape costs... As far as editing (on your ocmputer at your home on your own time, standard (discounted) rates should apply.
 
Yeah, only the '9 to 5' time is covered by them. Any after hours slicing and dicing would be billable. They may just want me to turn over the raw footage. If that's the case, it's purely an equipment rental/ expendables thing.
 
I am (and have been) in a similar situation. The company I work for (as press photographer) uses equipment owned by my wife's consulting company (with video production sideline created partly just for this) and we charge market rental rates. If and when I shoot video myself I charge overtime, which means I get 50-150% extra on top of my normal salary.

I try not to shoot video during my normal working hours as that is not on my contract.
 
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