Charges?

Hey guys,

not sure if im posting this in the correct place, if not could a mod please move it?

Basically I shoot a lot of short films, however a friend of mine who works for a large local company has approached me and asked about me shooting a corporate/pr video of an event they have coming up in a couple of weeks, Im wondering if you guys have any experience of what to charge for these sorts of things? The guy who has asked me to do it, is a good friend of mine so I don't want to rip him off, however as he is just the person who has been asked to organise it, he is happy for me to make some good money out of it, as far as i can tell the rest of the event seems pretty much money no object. So Yeah basically do you guys have any advice?

Specs:

3 day event (although main part of the event is the last day, Saturday)
I will probably have to rent a camera, as my dslr will be used for stills (also maybe doesn't look so professional for a run and gun corporate event)
I will definitely have to rent some wireless lapel mics.


Also they have said I can just give them the raw footage, however if i want they will pay me to cut it, which quickly turns a 3 day shoot into a 2 week job.

anyway some advice would be amazing haha, as this is not my usual sort of gig!
 
Well, since we're talking event videography lets look at a comparable job. For example a wedding photographer will start at 700 for a short day. That usually includes some photo editing, and takes into account that they will probably make more money from friends and family ordering prints.

If you're not sure what to charge, approach them with three different 'packages.' One very expensive, one moderately priced, and one very cheap. Be sure that you are specific about what they will be getting with each service.

Start with your cost for renting cameras/mics and paying an assistant a nice day rate like $2-300 (which I would highly recommend, you'll thank yourself) and then add on from there what you think your time is worth, but don't sell yourself short. If this is a corporation they are used to paying people for work (unlike the indie producers you may or may not be used to dealing with, no offense or judgement intended, btw.)

That's how I would approach it but, grain of salt, I don't do this for a living so others on here may be able to give more insight from experience.
 
Cheers for the advice dreadylocks, the 3 price plans idea is perfect . I've priced up some cameras and mic rental so whatever I charge that is going to be added in, and I will definitely be taking an assistant.

Your right about the corporation bit, I think that's what I have been struggling with, I usually work on small budget shorts, where I have to push hard for anything on the budget, then all of a sudden I'm down to do a big corporate event, and trying to work out how much I can realistically charge, I'm gonna do some planning tonight for my meeting tomorrow and work out 3 price plans that I can go in with tomorrow. Brilliant advice thank you
 
Well, since we're talking event videography lets look at a comparable job. For example a wedding photographer will start at 700 for a short day...

A wedding photographer and corporate event videographer are not comparable jobs and $700 is stupid cheap for a wedding photographer if you are in a real market.

If you're not sure what to charge, approach them with three different 'packages.' One very expensive, one moderately priced, and one very cheap. Be sure that you are specific about what they will be getting with each service.

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever do this.

A. They will almost always chose the low option, but they will start to ask for 'small things' to be added on as the job progresses and you will have a hard time adding to the price because work has started and its not enough to jump up to the next package. Also Clients tend not to understand things like licensing or how much work editing is, ect.

B. You want the most money so you can make a better creative product and get a higher profit. Talk to them and ask questions find out their expectations and try to get an idea of their budget. Know what you need budget wise in order to make the highest quality work and a good profit, know what you'll have to compromise if the budget is lower, know your minimum to do the job at a level you can respect.

C. The first person to say a number in a negotiation loses. If you get them to go first and they are like we can pay $X for a fully edited video and that is more the budget you need to make a good profit at a high production value say 'Ok, I can do amazing things for that, lets do this I need 50% upfront, 30% on the first day of shooting and the last payment on delivery'

If $X is below your ideal number but is workable say something like 'I can work with that but, if we can get up to $y I can do something truly amazing'. If they want to stick with $X take it, but maybe you can bump them up.

If $X is close to or below your minimum say 'I'm sorry I can't produce something of the right caliber for that budget, I'd need to get closer to $Y (where $y is your minimum+ 20%) and try to negotiate for something above the minimum but don't eat your profit margin by going below it.

Start with your cost for renting cameras/mics and paying an assistant a nice day rate like $2-300 (which I would highly recommend, you'll thank yourself) and then add on from there what you think your time is worth, but don't sell yourself short. If this is a corporation they are used to paying people for work (unlike the indie producers you may or may not be used to dealing with, no offense or judgement intended, btw.)

Again this is a very low rate for an assistant. But some solid advice here, you need to set your rate in stone and know all of your costs. Profit (what you pocket) should be about 30-50% of the total budget.

Corporations are used to paying people for work, but they also are not used to the value of the skills that go into creative productions. They are also in the biz of making money and negotiating.

Don't worry about your friend, coming off as professional who knows their 'ish will reflect well on him/her weather they work with you or not. If you do get the job get that friend drunk/ take them out to dinner (and factor this expense into the cost of the shoot).
 
It's supply and demand. How much are they in love with your location? What are others gonna charge?
Big movies have big budgets. For example a liquor store might rent out to a big Hollywood film company for $5,000 a day whereas an indie film might not pay more than $500 for a night of shooting.
 
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