What to Charge?

Eraserhead2416

Eraserhead2416

Active member
Hey, I've got a gig coming around June, and another in October- they're my first paying as a videographer/editor.

The first video will be a corporate video for, I believe, a cement company. The 2nd is for the 75th anniversary of a building in a local nature center.

For this, I'm shooting some bits and pieces, with the main meat being some interviews to set up. I'll then edit and burn DVDs for their various uses.

I'm just starting as a "professional", and this will be my first time being paid, and they're wanting to know what my price is.

So... what is my price? Are there any percentage guidelines in accordance with their budgets? I'm not expecting to ask a heck of a lot, as I'm not a huge operation, and these are in the realm of 10-20 minute videos.

I would suppose I'd include any equipment rentals (microphone, for the most part). And I have to make sure that I can make rent if I take a few days off from work (not salary).

Any guidelines to recommend? That would be great! Thank you very much!
 
It's hard to say... i charge 80.00/hour for these kind of jobs, both production and post production, with a 2 hour minimum for production hours. I know a lot of people charge by days/half days, for example 500.00/half day, 900.00/full day. But where you live and work is a factor too, and I see that you live in IA. You might call some other companies in your town and do a little pretense-style price checking to get an idea. Then factor in the quality of the work you will be able to turn out for the clientele.

It's important you're honest with them and you understand their needs VERY well; you don't want to lose their business or a future reccomendation. If you plan to do this all by yourself- dont expect to charge what a small crew would charge. Make sure you are well acquainted with your equipment and how to use it to best effect for your client. I did a lot of "learning" on my first project and luckily the worst thing was that I shot a lot more video than i needed to/should have. But I could have ruined key sequences, etc. by not knowing what i was doing. so make sure you are prepared, know your equipment, have a plan, and one more piece of advice is this: always overestimate the time you think you'll need, and the money you think it'll cost, because in my experience it invariably takes more time and costs more $$$ than you originally think. but sweeten the deal for the client so they dont feel like they're being taken by an amateur or a sheister.

good luck

jerry
 
$500/half day and $900/full day? Man... I gotta' move to San Diego! Locally here in STL a lot depends on the gear you're using... some people on the boards don't break down these issues, but we consider gear on everything... take a look at your nearest rental house rates for the equipment you will use... and make sure that you don't go under that total.

This is just for a starting point. Then, if possible, you should factor your own pay into the end total. You won't always get full rental on everything AND a full day rate on everything, but for a one-man band mini-DV shooter WITH experience and guaranteed results... in the midwest you should be able to get around $500/day (10 hours with lunch and any driving)

Again, the lighting package, sound package, and anything else extra adds to the cost... a backdrop, for instance, is usually a fee also... about $50 for a 12x24 in our kit.

Basically you gotta' consider the gear investment when you set the fee.

Now that said... depending on your local market... $500/day might be hard to get continuously. Back in the days of the Montel Williams show we had some shooters in STL that would do a day's work for them for about $400... but most experienced industry guys will not do that unless they are in some kind of dry spell.

The thing about this industry that everyone needs to be aware of is that a handful of hacks in an otherwise decent market can ruin it for everybody... don't give your work away.
 
Ok, sounds good so far.
There are a couple businesses in the area, and I hadn't thought about contacting them. I can definitely gauge off their rates, although they're not rinky-dink operations by any means.

I doubt I'll be asking for $400 a day. I work at the CBS station for 8/hour so something like $100 a day would feel quite nice. I'll have to check out rentals on equipment, especially lighting.

Okay! Thanks for the advice! I'm sure I'll be posting some more questions down the line!
 
Don't go 100 bucks a day. You'd be ripping yourself off. I'd say do at least 250. And make sure you don't have an image of your avatar on a business card or anything. lol
 
If you are using a DVX ask for at least 300 for an 8 to 10 hour day.
For most areas to rent a dvx is between 100-250. So if you say to rent your camera is at least 100 then you are charging 200 for your labor at least.
Right now it might feel weird asking for these numbers but after you spend over 15 thousand on gear you start to realize that you're worth it
 
SilverWolf said:
Right now it might feel weird asking for these numbers but after you spend over 15 thousand on gear you start to realize that you're worth it
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The amount you spend on gear has NOTHING at all to do with your worth.
It is what you can do with the gear and your ability to provide a service that determines your worth.
There are DP's that get paid $15k in a week and haven't spent a dime on gear.
 
ozduc said:
The amount you spend on gear has NOTHING at all to do with your worth.
It is what you can do with the gear and your ability to provide a service that determines your worth.
There are DP's that get paid $15k in a week and haven't spent a dime on gear.
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Agreed- but I think the point Silver was making is that as an operator or a particular skill level, you are within your rights to charge more because you use high-quality equipment. You use high quality equipment because it is one of many factors in producing a high-quality product. Using a DVX (or HVX) as opposed to a Canon Elura will get you closer to that.
 
ozduc said:
The amount you spend on gear has NOTHING at all to do with your worth.
It is what you can do with the gear and your ability to provide a service that determines your worth.
There are DP's that get paid $15k in a week and haven't spent a dime on gear.
Click to expand...


If you will examine my post I didn't say that just because you spend lots of money on gear that your worth is determined by it.
If you look you will realize that I stated that after you have spent that amount of money you will "Realize" that you are worth the price that you are asking. If the original poster knew how much he or she were worth they wouldn't have created the thread.

When you first start out looking a client in the face and saying that I charge 600 per day isn't an easy thing to do especially if you currently work a day job making 12 per hour. In reality your skill level doesn't really have anything to do with what you charge. People charge what they think they can get people to pay. Why do you think that peanuts cost 8 dollars in the airport but a lot lower in the gas station down the street ? If you look at all of the other what should I charge threads and examine the posts you will notice that finding out what other people are charging in your area is always a large factor in what you can charge regardless of your skill level.

Also while i'm sure that there are DP's making 15k a week without spending any money on gear I don't think the thread creator is one of them. Of course I also don't believe that that DP making all that money has never spent money on gear he however just might be at a point where he doesn't need to spend money on gear because the company that is hiring him is footing the bill.
 
Hi Eraserhead

Please don't react to this statement: you are not a professional, you are a guy with some gear who wants to learn and work his way up. If you were a professional, you wouldn't be asking what to charge on a public thread. With this in mind, develop relationships with people who want to work with you and whom you like. You'll be glad you did.

From your post it sounds like you're nervous that you are in over your head and you are so ask for help and don't be afraid to say you can't be their 'do everything man' on all things. some folks have touched upon this as well.

And in my opinion, equipment is worth nothing in the hands of someone who doesn't know their stuff. When I interview editors, DoPs, and other crew it means nothing to me that they have their own gear other than they are stuck with it and I'm screwed if something goes wrong.

I actually think these kinds of boards are really always talking around a big topic which is this emergence of the amateur filmmaker. Similar to when the 8mm film camera came out decades ago, there's a lot of folks who are making films as a hobby and that gets confused with making films/video for a living. Kind of like not going to film school but learning piece by piece in real life scenarios (without the padding of making mistakes in the classroom when few else can judge). This is all another topic.

Either way, good luck. I'm sure you'll be smarter and more experienced after these few jobs and that's worth a lot.
 
I don't know if this will help you decide on a price, but..... I just DP'd for a day and half shoot (half of the episode) of a tv show (that is based far away from where I'm at) that was shot in the midwest. I was paid $500 for the full day and $250 for the half day (10hr and 5hr) plus $50 in per diem. I provided my DVX100a and coordinated the lighting and tripod rental (they paid for both). I was a replacement for their usual DP, so I doubt I was paid as much as the normal guy. Also, other than a short pick up shoot I did for them for another episode a month ago, this was my first "real" production experience as far as TV is concerned. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into and am confident that what I shot is at the same quality that they are used to. All that being said, unless you are truly a beginner and are not sure that you can deliver a quality product, I wouldn't charge anything less than what I was paid. Trust me, after 10-11 hours on location (with only an hour break for lunch) you will realize how much work you are actually doing and that you are definitely not overcharging.

Also, I'm just now getting to the point in my young career that I am getting comfortable with telling people my price and accepting the fact that people that truly appreciate what I am doing will pay and those that don't won't. I can't stress how important it is to get to that point quickly in your career, because if you are constantly selling yourself short because you don't think your worth it, you WILL get burnt out. Trust me, I speak from experience, I probably did 80% of my beginning work for people I knew and I wanted to help them out by doing things for cheap in the name of helping friends and expanding my experience. If you need a confidence boost grab your local phone book and look up local companies and see how much they charge and then look at their work if you can, you'll be surprised to see at least a few companies charging way more than you and doing half the quality.
 
chris f said:
I probably did 80% of my beginning work for people I knew and I wanted to help them out by doing things for cheap in the name of helping friends and expanding my experience..
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Yeah, check out craigslist. You'll find a ton of jobs with unreal demands and no pay. These unscrupulous producers count on young people with low self esteem willing to do the work for free. Unfortunately the planet seems to be populated with kids that have no sense of self worth. Sooner or later they get burned out and change careers or learn to charge for their services. By that time there's a hundred more kids waiting in line to work for the vultures for free. Begin endless loop.
 
I am not a 'vulture'.

When you have very little money to make a feature-length movie with, then you have no choice but to ask people to work for deferred pay -- which is not the same is asking them to work for 'free', though in the end it may work out that way. When the day comes when I can pull in decent investment money for a film project, I will certainly pay a decent wage from the budget. But for now, this is all I can do.

That doesn't mean there aren't vultures out there. But not everyone who asks people to work for free or for deferred pay is one.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
I am not a 'vulture'.

When you have very little money to make a feature-length movie with, then you have no choice but to ask people to work for deferred pay -- which is not the same is asking them to work for 'free', though in the end it may work out that way. When the day comes when I can pull in decent investment money for a film project, I will certainly pay a decent wage from the budget. But for now, this is all I can do.

That doesn't mean there aren't vultures out there. But not everyone who asks people to work for free or for deferred pay is one.
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I agree buddy. Most just have an idea they want to see turn into something watchable/profitable.
 
Mind you, I have known a 'vulture'. A director in my employ (who shall remain nameless) and I were discussing whether or not to pay actors (and others) out of our $40,000 budget. My position was that since we had the money, and since I as producer certainly intended to profit from the finished movie, that we should pay cast and crew out of the budget. The director actually said to me, "If they're willing to work for free, then I say let 'em!"

To me, that's a 'vulture'. But most of the folks I know trying to get movies made simply don't have the funds to pay cast and crew up-front -- though they would love to if they could.
 
I did my first shoot a few weeks ago. I got $595.00 for a 5 hour shoot. For a guy like me with gear but no "real" experience, I thought the rate was pretty good. Plus I got vacation pay from my real job.

I'll still do low cost projects until I have more experience under my belt. However, if I see an opportunity to charge appropriately, I won't be shy about it.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
Mind you, I have known a 'vulture'. A director in my employ (who shall remain nameless) and I were discussing whether or not to pay actors (and others) out of our $40,000 budget. My position was that since we had the money, and since I as producer certainly intended to profit from the finished movie, that we should pay cast and crew out of the budget. The director actually said to me, "If they're willing to work for free, then I say let 'em!"

To me, that's a 'vulture'. But most of the folks I know trying to get movies made simply don't have the funds to pay cast and crew up-front -- though they would love to if they could.
Click to expand...

I am more apt to work for free or deffered pay on a feature film. The reason being is feature films take a large amount of money and time and if I see that whomever is creating the movie is putting all of their efforts and resources into making a better product then I can understand that. Now for the people out there that want dp's for lets say music videos or live events and don't want to pay then I don't respond to those jobs because they are just trying to make a profit at my expense
 
I'm based in Wellington New Zealand. At the moment I am working with fixed price costs. Lately I finished a marketing film for my school at 3mins something. There was around 1 1/2 days shooting with 1 day of editing and composing, then I published it on DVD and labelled everything.

$650 was not worth this as I am aware now of the time and experience I have recieved. But I still think that you need to do it once to find out how it works. I charge a very cheap fee compared to you guys/girls in the states but instead of being the "vulture" I am constantly upping my price and charging by the day more and more.

Anyone know of companies renting xh-a1's? How much do they charge (there are none in NZ for me to look at rental pricing).

Cheers
 
Given that the hvx kits up here at rocket go for $300 per day, I would doubt an xl-h1 would rent for more than that, unless it came with a real lense...( i.e not the stock one) Also factor in a discount for not being a proper rental house. Be aware you need to provide extra batteries, and a decent hard case, as a minimum...
 
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