the million dollar question :)

@vicharris LOL Yes it is a touch one i dont wanna sell myself short and i don't wanna scare em away either. I don't have million dollar camera equipment and am kind of a beginner in the professional field. Wo whadya think my hourly rate should be?

No idea man. I screw myself all the time. I see you're doing animation too. That's way out of my league. Also depends on your market but regardless, someone will underbid you so try to get that out of your head.

Nobody else can tell you what your time is worth or how valued your expertise is. If you are also producing, you, personally, have to determine the team required, the amount of time required, rates and other associated costs for each individual project. Some one-man-bands could charge as low as $250 a day or a project rate of $500-$750 for this type of work (or even lower - which is a very dangerous game), others won't engage for any less that $1000+ a day or projects with $10,000+ budgets minimum. Unfortunately there is no rule here, it's a sliding scale that is determined by your clients desires and standards, and your expertise and experience. If this is the type of work you plan on doing, you'll no doubt under estimate at certain times and over estimate for others, all the while, your rates/costs will likely slide around greatly depending on a number of individual project and personal factors - unless you're so busy that you are turning down more than half the jobs offered to you (in which case you'll have determined your rate for projects that you WANT and you'll have another rate for projects you would more reluctantly consider). Sorry there isn't a metric for you to figure this out, you're going to have to either jump in with both feet and learn to swim or pack up your trunks and leave the pool.

@JuMo Thanks for all the info!

No problem, I can only offer what I have learned over the past 15 years of doing paid creative work, hopefully it helps a little. It's not easy making a living off of creative work: you have to have a good head on your shoulders and know how to use it - you're always 'job hunting', which can be exhausting for some people - be well prepared, but be flexible and ready to diversify if required - have contractual agreements with clients (and team) - be ready to make mistakes (it will happen), take responsibility and fix them - try to be pleasant and understanding with clients (sometimes it will feel like half of your job is teaching them or correcting misconceptions) but also know when to say 'no', as some people will take advantage. Oh, and have a set of standards for your work that you always strive to achieve, that's how your rates will grow. Without a set of standards, you'll fall into the poverty-project trap. Good luck with the bid!

If it is a nonprofit or worthy cause I will consider a flate rate. If I have time. Right now I would pay myself to stop working.

Lots of red flags in the project's description, but I'll just point out that "students and college grads prefered" is code for we don't care about quality, we care about cheap. It also means they'll likely squeeze as much work out of you for as little money as possible.

Also, a client that actually prefers an hourly rate for a full-service vendor is not likely to have much experience themself. As @JuMo mentioned, per-project fees are much better for all parties involved.

In any case, if you're really interested in this "opportunity", there are a few things to help you determine your rate:

• Your level of experience -- if this is your first rodeo, you'll need to price lower because it will take you longer to complete the work than someone with more real-world production experience.
• Size of the market -- Hawaii is a small market and not very savvy, so average rates are not as high as larger markets
• Your operating costs -- what is your break even price for the operation and maintenance of your equipment/facilities?

Another way to calculate an hourly rate is to work backwards from your desired annual income. You can use one of the many online calculators to do this. As a freelancer, you will also want to account for time when you have no active projects.

"students and college grads preferred " +1 for cheap client.

@DrDave @TATZU I agree: "If there is no money in the bank, my time is worth less."

Since they are looking for students and recent grads, this might be a client that it is not possible to build a long term working relationship with. If they feel that from you, they may also exploit it. This is where knowing when to say "no" becomes important.

I think a lot of un-informed (& informed) clients, just want to know how much? "How much for a 5 minute youtube". It's then on you to ask the right questions, so you don't screw yourself. "What are you looking for, is the live action work studio/location, indoors/outdoors, daytime/night time, production valve/content," etc. If they want an event covered and just a 5 minute clip of it, are they going to put in the time to help you find the best moments in THEIR subject matter, clips of their important people, talking heads, sound bites?. Here it can get tricky, you may end up having to re-edit, if they aren't involved.

In your case I think it would be prudent to give a separate price for each of the 3 formats (live action, animation, screen capture).

For each format you could:

1) Roughly estimate your time.

-Plug in a typical hourly wage, you'd be content to earn. Build in a contingency for time overages. Ex: Know yourself. Do you tend to underestimate on time?

If I shoot 2 hours of material on 2 cameras (4 hours to deal with) and the client wants DVDs to proof it, I can guestimate 4 hours of material x3 = proofing DVDs (that's archiving the cards, copying to a scratch drive, laying it in a timeline, adding an ID/cleaning it up, encoding, burning & printing on the discs). If they want an edit, since it's multi cam (easier, more to not use), maybe a factor of x4. Then another factor of 1 (x5) for authored (menus) and printed DVDs to deliver and so on, so 4 x5=20 hours of post.

Separately, If I think a project I shot will take me 5 hours of editing, it might actually take me 10, until I am satisfied with my work (I tend to like perfection). If I am editing someone else's footage, I should think about my doubled estimate as the new baseline (10 hours), AND, if it is poorly shot, double that, it's now a salvage job where errors have to be hidden with effects and music (now 20 hours). If encounter something new I need to learn, that estimate will go out the window. I am not a seasoned editor, but, getting better on every job.

2) Estimate the cost of equipment involved to upgrade/repair/replace for the period of use on the jobs.

3) Figure in insurance costs to replace the equipment. If it disappears on the job and you aren't making much money on the job & aren't covered, you won't be working their low ball job anymore either (next stop working at McDonald's?). You have shot yourself in the foot.

Add it up. If it seems too high and you really want the job, the only variable you should compromise on is unfortunately (I hate to say it): your hourly wage. "If there is no money in the bank, my time is worth less." You might make more working at McDonalds or Starbucks. Would you rather go do that? EDIT: as @DrDave pointed out, take all 3 of these factors and come up with one price. Your insurance (and your base gear kit) can be combined into one price.

As a freelancer you have to charge more, since you will have work days without work, but, they expect the flexibility to take a meeting, schedule a shoot, almost anytime they need you to.

Compromising on #2 or#3 will only hurt you in the long run.

4) Project Scope at this price. This is the most important point to avoid screwing yourself. Set some parameters for each of the formats:

-Number of preproduction meetings. -Length of a typical shoot day. Gear & crew included, gear/crew not included. -Number of revisions/iterations in the edit. -Finished running time of the final edit.

Include a rate for overages. This can be hourly, or flat ($100 per additional minute of finished work, $200 per additional iteration of an edit, etc.) This way, if they don't know what they want and keep changing their mind, you don't pay for it. It will force them to think it through or PAY for it.

Is it complicated? Yes. Will it protect you: YES!

IF they don't like it or call it too complicated, they aren't serious and you may not want to work for them anyway, after learning that. They may also recognize you're professional and serious about doing good work and staying in business. They may like that even better.

Another problem with low ball work is, if the client didn't invest much for it, they might not put much thought or energy into it either, and that leaves even more on you. Even more reason to define the project scope. It's the "Scope Creep" that'll sour a project in the long run, if some parameters aren't set in the beginning. You can also call it 'suggested project scope' and negotiate it when you get more specifics on the job.

Payments:

• Big jobs: 33% for pre pro, 33% for production, 33% after satisfactory delivery.
• Small jobs: half up front, half when finished and accepted, if a short job.
• Jobs under $1000 USD (according to a web designer's blog): Full payment up front. (The client knows you won't come after a small amount of money if they don't pay, so don't give them the opportunity).

Good luck PVer!

If required to give an estimate, I do it by rounds. You have your rough cut, second edit, and then your final. However, if the client wishes additional rounds of editing, that costs more. Some ppl are happy with two rounds, the rough cut and then the requested changes. If they want a colorist from outside and so on and so on. Insurance: your company should carry insurance at all times, so I never put that in the estimate, but either way.

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!!! YOU HAVE ALL BEEN A GREAT HELP! (It's better than yahoo answers up in here lol) thanks again. You made me one happy guy!

Get the decision makers to sign off on the concept and script before you shoot. Otherwise they'll be like "Can you change this scene and instead use one with a cat?" Seriously, they will run you into the ground in the edit and pick ups. Just like producers do to new writers with endless unpaid re-writes.