Short Trailer Music Composition Gig

abreu-canedo

abreu-canedo

Well-known member
Hello all,

Ive recently been solicited to compose/score music for a 2 minute trailer to a feature. It's a low budget thing.

ive never really done work for others, so I don't know how much to charge. It's not a wall to wall, music the whole time, type of thing. It would just have to be composed to the final trailer cut. I'm thinking only like two or three instruments.

The person who asked me is an acquaintance so I'm not trying to charge too much. Something like a discounted rate.

I've never asked anyone to compose for me, but I was thinking of charging around $200 or $300. Am I in the ballpark here?

In any case, I hope this is enough info that folks out there can help
 
David W. Jones said:
You might consider starting with...
What is your time worth x how much time it will take you to complete the project =
Click to expand...

great starting point, David. I have that down pretty well as a camera operator/editor and such, but that's because I have a grasp on that "landscape", if you will. For my video work, that's $50/hr. I'm just not sure what it would/should/could be for scoring/composing.

In any case, thanks for the feedback. I'll try to keep looking around to see if I can get a better grasp on the time/worth equation :)
 
I would think about what you would be willing to settle for and then ask what they have budgeted. For sound work that is almost always less than I would want but composition may well be a lot higher. It's low budget so you might also get the "it's good for your resume". It probably isn't.

IF the trailer is fantastic and you could put it in your reel and help land more work then you might consider it a "loss leader" and settle for less. If it looks like trash or for some reason is Not something you would show others then it's strictly a job for money and I wouldn't be terribly acomodating.
 
Thanks Scott,

Good points! Yeah, I'm not liking the visuals, but it's for a cause I think is good.

Ill ask them for their budget. I think there may be some composition involved. If so, I'll go from $300 to $500. I know those numbers sound terrible arbitrary...and I guess they kind of are. But all of the advice here has been really helpful!!
-Thank you, Rafael
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top