hardrock
Novice
Feb 10, 2006, 3:36 PM
Post #1 of 5
(1310 views)
Shortcut
|
|
general pricing question
|
Can't Post
|
|
something i have gone around and around on is pricing, which i'm sure many of you have as well. basically, with video it is rough, unlike a recording studio where the artist comes in and sings or plays an instrument. they always come to you and at the end of the session you say....that will be $300 for today, etc. with video you're in the field then you're capturing at home, then editing, then some post production, then dvd authoring, etc.
so my question is, if someone calls you today and asks, i want to shoot a music video, 2-3 cams, how much? what would you say? i want to charge enough where i feel like i'm a professional but i also don't want to freak people out. finding a balance for me is rough. and let's face it...most musicians have no money. i find myself tailoring to their needs a lot. for me, it is better to make some money than to lose a client. i do this on the side..evenings and weekends.
i have it based as $70 per hour for shooting per cam...GL2's. i charge $30 an hour if they want to sit in with me while i edit. that price may go up. i see a lot of people saying minimum $45 per hour. my pc's are top of the line, 4 gigs ram, P4 3.8 processors, 800FSB, etc etc. flat panel monitors. etc.
i roughly say that it's $70 per hour per camera for filming. i ballpark the editing to be $150 per hour of footage i have to edit ($30 an hour for capture, and figuring 2 hours to edit each minidv tape and then exporting.)
so a 2-hour 2-cam shoot would be $280 and editing (if 2 tapes are filled) would be $300. that is $580 for a video on minidv tape. if they want their final on DVD i charge $100 for that encoding and burn (no menus)
so how does that sound. i'm thinking many people will say i'm too low. i realize that if you charge more then they think they are getting more but i also don't want to freak people out before getting a chance to reel them in (no pun intended on that one.)
also, i have the lighting and mobile green screen and reflectors. i'm thinking of charging additional if that stuff is needed. but then i thought, shouldn't you just showup to the shoot with ALL TOOLS needed? lighting, reflectors, etc.....or should you charge for that? a plumber wouldn't charge you more for each tool he needs to bring. this is just driving me mad. it isn't fair for someone shootingoutside in the light with no lighting pays the same as someone who is indoors and i need lighting and reflectors and setup time.
opinions are very welcome!
thanks!
steve
shop smart.....shop S-MART!
|
