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My first proper gig! – How much to CHARGE?
  • kujinakujina

    Hi

    I’ve potentially secured some corporate work but I’m not sure how much to charge! (I'm in the UK)

    Please check out the following video links as examples (not my work) of the kind thing I would be asked to produce.

    I’d appreciate any feedback and thoughts on how to charge for this type of work.

    P.s I will be using the GH2!

    …Thanks…

  • 13 Replies sorted by
  • GabelGabel

    Are you doing any editing? Besides the GH2, what other equipment do you use?

    I charge at least £400 with equipment for a day, plus extra money for post (around £20/hour or around £150 per day). Not super much, but something. But as you're fairly green, I'd go for somewhere around £150-200 for just the shoot, plus possibly as much for post. I did some of my first corporate stuff for £400 for the whole thing, which was decent, not too much, but not too little either!

  • kujinakujina

    Thanks for the response, I will be doing all of it including the editing, as far as equipment goes I will probably use

    3 x 650w fresnel (might buy this)

    Suction Cup car Mount

    Lavalier mic & one of the zoom recorders

    Green screen (for talking head interview)

  • GabelGabel

    Ah, that means there seems to be some extra work done (greenscreen and car-shots), so then you might be able to charge £600, as it's a bit more complicated.

  • fatpigfatpig

    There are regional standards for 1 day of camerawork- in my area it is around 250 to 300 euros. then you research what it would cost to rent your equipment that you bring and put that (or a variation that you think is reasonable) on the bill aswell. in my area a GH2 is 60 euros per day. same goes for the lighting. never charge a customer with the whole cost of something you buy, unless renting it would be more expensive.

    Also , customers like to see where the money goes to. not only "1 day camera 400 pounds etc." but divide it up into travel cost, maybe hotel cost, then of course -your- daily charge which might be the largest of all, and then equipment (if its too much, make groups like light, sound, video)

    and lastly, editing days are more or less the same price. i tend to charge a little less than for camerawork, because I usually need a day or two more than for shooting and the customer feels better when that price is a little lower.

  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp

    @all Good suggestions. Having worked in a corporate (and with / for them, as a service provider), good communication can go a long way to ensuring your time isn't wasted. I know that's not totally what you asked, but it's really useful to have a lead / other project contacts and to share where you are, if it's a complex edit, so that the thing stays on track with minimal loss of time / effort on your part. And yes, I'm in the UK too - and £200 / day sounds about right, with (as fatpig says) less of a daily rate for editing / post. Think also about having an hourly rate for any final tidying / changes. It's also what I've been charging for creating music / audio media.

    And the more of the job you can do (graphics, interviewing, uploading), the more valuable you become, because unless your client has the internal capability, they quite often value a 1-stop solution. That's not to say you can charge more, but you are more likely to get used!

  • andyharrisandyharris

    I would say that £1200 per minute of finished product is about right. If you're using a crane and slide along with proper audio recording you'll be needing two people onsite.

    You'll need insurance, this'll be around £300 and remember you may be using a pile of clips from elsewhere that all need paying for.

    You'll probably be back and to a fair number of times as the video gets honed towards its target.

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    I'm not sure of how much your client wants to spend, but use a real budget. Make sure you take EVERYTHING into account - Meals, transpo, equipment, drives. I've produced a LOT of corporate and commercials- there's always something to consider. Break everything out. That way, your client knows you take this seriously and they see what they are getting. I can't speak to the labor that you should charge because I'm in the NY area, but I can speak to equip... Someone mentioned a GH2 rents for $60. I doubt that includes everything you need. I have and extensive camera package that includes 2 GH2s, 8 lenses, MB, filters, tripod, 7" monitor/ etc and I usually rent it for $350. Price out lighting packages. Include a separate number for grip/audio... everything. Include money for meals in post production- web uploads, music, deliverable media -dvds etc Let me know if you'd like a budget template- it's in $, but it lays everything out in front of you and will give you a buttoned up appearance. Not saying you aren't buttoned up, either because you got the gig! ;)

  • CFreakCFreak

    @rockroadpix I would really appreciate a budget templete. Thanks!

  • chazzmoechazzmoe

    My advice is not to do the corporate gigs, do rap videos, more ass and patron in my opinion.

  • kujinakujina

    @Gabel @fatpig @Mark_the_Harp @andyharris @rockroadpix thanks for the responses and rockroadpix if its not too much trouble, myself as well as others would appreciate a look at your budget template example. @chazzmoe I'm going to suprise the client and deliver their massage via a rap themed video. I'm off to hire a fresh bentley and seek out some talent with a lota junk in her trunk!

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    @kujina - CFreak found my version here- http://lineproducing.com/index.php/file-cabinet/viewcategory/2-budgets

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @rockroadpix Thanks for linking to the template. :)

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    Hot Budget is all the rage these days.

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