Pricing « Videomaker Forums

Galin
Member

I have to come up with a proposal for a video promoting my town in all
four seasons, so it'll be a yearlong project. If hired I'll be working
with the town's creative agency which will provide scripting and a
suggested shot list. They expect a minimum of 15 days of shooting. I'd
be in charge of all the releases, and at the end of the project the
completed product and all raw footage will become property of the town.

They say they want a 3 minute video, but I took a look at their list of
suggested shots, and it would compile a video far longer than 3
minutes. So i think in my proposal I'll offer to produce a longer
promotional piece using a wider variety of footage, and then also a
shorter 3 minute piece with a select few shots. I'd probably end up
shooting more than 15 days anyways.

This would be my first big project, and i have no idea what to charge
for something like this. My past clients have said my work was very
professional and some of the best they've seen, but personally I
haven't really impressed myself with my work yet. But i guess I do do
quality work.

As for equipment, I'll be using an HVX200a with p2 set up, and if i get
the job I'll use some of the money to purchase a 35mm adapter. I have a
dolly and will most likely have use to a jib arm.

I've been talking to a photographer about pricing who does a lot of
work in this area. I know its really quite the same business, but he
still has a decent grasp on it and knows some people who do video work
so he's been asking around about pricing for me. He says $8000 is as
low as I should probably go.

What do you guys think about that price? Could i go higher? Keep in
mind that it's a bid for this deal, so I don't want to price myself out
of it. Then again, the photographer knows the guy in charge of this
project, and is going to put a really good word in for me, so he said
the job should be as good as mine.

Also, i just thought of this, but ... music licensing. Do i just factor this into my costs? Or do I set a cost, then say they have to pay an additional fee for music licensing. My plan is to try to track down a local group for the soundtrack, so licensing may not even be an issue as far as cost goes.

Thanks so much in advance,

Galin

Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM
Cville
Member

15 x 8 = 120 hours of just shooting. If you don't need a crew and you make all of the shots your self and charged $50 hr that would be $6000 just for the shooting. At $8000 that leaves $2000 to cover your editing as well as any addtional items you may need. Plus they own all that you have done. Just some food for thought.

Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM
grinner
Member

Just multiply your hourly or daily rate by how long you think it will take you. Add some pad for revisions, ect.

Posted 2 months ago # Login to Send PM
composite1
Moderator

Galin,

Your estimated rate should take into account:

Estimated production hours based on a 10-hour workday (1-hour setup, 8-hours work, 1-hour breakdown.) You also want to take into account how much traveling you may be required to do. If it exceeds 20 miles a day, you should look at charging for mileage. Don't forget to take into account the equipment you'll be bringing. The gear you use has to pay for itself so that $50 Cville mentioned is actually split between you and the gear. So if you are going to take pay, you get $25 and hour and the gear gets $25 an hour. I say that because whether you are a freelancer or have a company, the company has to be paid too. Now you can also charge 'half day' rates based on a 6-hour time period (1-hour setup, 4-hour work period, 1-hour breakdown.)

Estimated post-production hours based on an 8 hour day. Again you the editor must be paid and your equipment/software usage costs must be paid as well. It still costs you money to use editing gear whether you own it or not so you'll again be splitting your fee between yourself and your gear.

Now the tough part is figuring out a fair price to cover your time and expenses without being greedy and pricing yourself out of the gig. One thing you have to get a grip on is production costs money, but your clients generally have no clue about that. They know to make a Hollywood production costs big bucks, but most figure all you need is an 'Uncle Bob' special digital camera and expect huge production values for next to nothing.

To get a good idea of a baseline rate to charge, go to your state gov website and look up base wages under television/film/video production. That will give you the going rate in your state and you can base your calculations on that. When setting your pricing, don't go with arbitrary numbers. Figure out exactly how much it costs you to operate and adjust your estimates accordingly.

Posted 2 months ago # Login to Send PM