what to charge

stairwaystudios

stairwaystudios

Active member
Hey Guys,

What is the average rate to charge to someone who wants to hire you for 4 days as a cameraman for a festival shooting interviews etc?


thanks
 
there are a few great post here regarding that, I suggest you run a search, specially in the business section, I wish I had those threads bookmarked so I can guide you to them, but basically everybody here including myslef recommends setting up a half and full day rate for work, clients hire you on a half to full day's rate, editing is charged by the hour mostly, or you can make a package deal, a few fellas around here do coorporate videos for a living and I've seen examples where a 5 min video will run aprox 5k tp 10k in cost, it all depends how good you are and where you live, the golden rule is to always charge what you are worth, its ok to work for nothing or for cheap when starting out but once you get going you gotta bring home that cheese :) if you dont apreciate what you do, nobody else will
hope this helps
 
What kind of gear will you be using?

Take into consideration YOUR experience. I have over 10 years of FULL TIME experience. Many people will say "I have 20 years experience" or something, but they do it as a hobby once a month or took long breaks doing other things. This means I can get things done quickly, efficiently, with fast delivery and not much for mistakes (or I know how to correct mistakes quickly). It also means that a year of one person's sparse experience is really only equivalent to 12 days of a full timer's.

My average rate is usually around $1000/day (8 hour), which includes myself, HPX500 Camera with tripod, lens & 3 point lighting, depending on the situation, light sound (lapel and/or shotgun mic on camera). Travel extra, Per Diem Extra (meaning a cash allowance for food / drinks, misc. incidentals), but most of the time I will try and charge for a sound person, maybe another $250 - $500 / day to take care of sound. That way they can monitor it properly, ride levels, set things up, etc. It will usually save the client set-up time.

For a 4 day shoot, I would definitely cut them a break, especially if it's all at the same location and you don't have anything else going on.

Don't let people undercut you. I get it all the time, people want me to come do a training or film for $200/day, I tell them NO! I understand that it's $200 and that's still a good chunk of change, but not enough to put towards replacing a $15k+ camera setup if something goes wrong. You would have to work a lot of days at $200 for a mishap. If no equipment of yours is involved, $200-$500/day for being just an operator or utility may not be a bad thing.

I also find that the people offering you $200/day for a full camera package usually don't have much experience in this industry, and they usually don't understand that you get what you pay for. The low paying jobs are usually the ones that are the headaches. Charge what you believe you're worth and stick to it. Cut deals only for longer term projects or less equipment/time. If you do good work and you can show value in your work, people will pay your rate. And don't let people say "this person will do it for $300". Great! Use them then! But there is a reason that they didn't go with them and they are calling you...remember that!
 
Kit - I have my own HVX200, Have a Boom Mic, going to be editing and have my own 3 point lighting. Basically I am being hired for 4 days to shoot interviews at a Fashion Show.
 
You're welcome. But what kind of experience do you have? That's the big one. Having the right tools is only a small part of the equation. Knowing how to use them is essential.
 
Kit Hannah said:
Don't let people undercut you. I get it all the time, people want me to come do a training or film for $200/day, I tell them NO!
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Well said Kit. As soon as you drop your rate, you might be working 24-7, but you won't be paying for that gear or your time and you'll ruin the market.
Kit is about where we are. For a 2 many crew we charge $1,800 per day. That includes all the gear we have. If they want a jib, teleprompter etc, it takes time on the clock to set it up. So we don't keep adding for more tools other than the time.

As he also stated, those clients that try and cut your rate are usually the ones who aren't organized when you arrive, want changes without pay and tend to be the worst at paying you on time.

You MUST watch this video to see what I mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY

Especially this year we have been bombarded with people coming to us to FIX their video because they wnet with the "Cheaper" person. Now they ended up paying a lot more along with the frustrations.

There are a lot of variables on what to charge. Just be sure you don't get taken advantage of and you'll be helping the industry and yourself in the long run.
 
Kit Hannah said:
What kind of gear will you be using?
and they usually don't understand that you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

Hi Kit,
I know of a guy using this "Sales Pitch to clients" (you get what you pay for) and then giving a sub standard product shot on a little cam for broadcast usage, then charging the broadcast rate , in my opinion it undermines the expectations to clients, that our industry should have a quality level we all aspire to achieve and maintain. (usally at great cost to ourselves).

(you get what you pay for) can be used in the reverse, sadly by some.

cheers
Tom K
olinevideo.com.au
 
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$400 (industrial) / $500 (broadcast) for you as camera operator, $100 for the camera kit rental, $100 for the lights. Per day... that said, cut them a deal on the equipment (because you want to use your own equipment, not theirs), but don't cut your rate... they'll respect you more. Stand firm. Its okay to charge for a travel day if you're not shooting that day or use travel days as a bargaining chip.. charge $200 for travel days.

if they say well, "we only want you to shoot for an hour, why do we have to pay for a full day", make them recognize that a) you could have booked something else for the whole day b) all prep and travel involved, so charge them a "half a day" rate if you want to make a concession.. which is 1/4 less, not 1/2 less... stand firm.
 
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