how much would YOU charge?
 

ok, I know this doesn't really have anything to do with weddings, or even events in general, I didn't know what forum to post in, but I know a lot of you have a good idea of what to charge for events on an hourly, day or full project basis..keep in mind that I am just an amateur hobbyist and I'm not gonna charge any insane amount, just something reasonable, should be a fairly simple project...

here is the project description from the client:

I am a chiropractor and am updating my website. I would like
to have video clips of certain exercises for my site.

-I estimate there will be 15-20 exercises. (15 to 30 seconds a piece)
-I will need you to film all exercises.
-I would like a voice over describing the exercises. (he is doing the voice overdubs)
-Each exercise should be its own video for web use, but also made into 1
video (Chapters for each area of the body) for DVD to give to patients in
case they do not get online.

he doesn't want any crazy editing or anything, just basic cuts and transitions. I'm shooting with a Canon GL-1 on a Davis & Sanford provista tripod/F12 fluid head....tascam us122 audio interface and a Shure KSM27 studio condenser mic for voiceovers...i will most likely do the edits in iMovie, cuz it doesn't demand any complex editing

any advice on what i should charge for a project of this nature would be appreciated!!

~brendan

This is obviously a pretty tough question to answer.. but if it were me.. and I too am an "amateur" technically...

I would probably give him a flat rate per exercise and tell him that includes a set amount of time that includes filming, voice over work afterwards, and editing time. Call it $100/exercise. Tell him this includes everything provided you can complete the job with under 60 minutes of work per video. If more time is necessary, it comes at $50/hour.

The idea here is to give him a flat rate he can count on, but also put into his mind that he wants to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Let's say he does 20 exercises. His cost is $2000 for the entire project complete which frankly, I think is pretty reasonable considering he is getting equipment, a "professional" videographer, and an edit job. He'll need to provide the "talent" who will be performing the exercises. He can probably get one of his clients to do it either for free or for some free services by him.

You should be able to film all 20 exercises in one session that I wouldn't imagine should take longer than about 6 hours. That leaves you with 14 hours left to edit the footage (should be very easy at 30 seconds each) + incorporating voice over type work. Provided the two of you think your project through completely and push as much of it together as possible, you should be able to complete this under 20 hours which means you'll make $100/hour and again, he'll have put in some time (call it a full day) and $2000 and will have 20 professional video's on his website.

Jon

thanks for the feedback jon. That seems reasonable when you break it down like that i guess, i had originally had a lower price in mind. I sent the client an e-mail earlier asking what his "budget" is for this project...I would feel bad overcharging someone for my service, but i don't want to lose out on any $ at the same time. either way I'm going to request he sends me a script and rough "storyboard" and talk to him in detail about the project beforehand, so we can just knock all the shooting and voiceovers out in a timely fashion...
thanks again!!

Do it in FCP or anothe pro application, this gives a professional appearance, and you more control. This seems very much like a corporate training/sales video, and as such the pros in your market would charge him $150-300 per hour for shooting and editing depending on the size of your market. With that info in mind, you may want to think about pricing your service at no less than $75 per hour so that you dont look like a fly by night operation. If you give a flat fee to do it, you will spend way more time on it than you want to get it out the door, because the client will change his mind a lot. If they realize that they are paying for yout time they are more apt to let you apply the KISS principle, which is what it sounds like he is wanting anyway. This also covers your butt in the event that a shoot takes forever to get right, they decide at the last minute that they want motion titles etc. I would also advise a seperate charge for encoding in 2 formats as well for the final because it will take you and your system more time to complete.

sorry to post again so quick, but you should also never feel bad about your price. That was how I used to get screwed over by my clients, and it did take me a while to learn how to effectively price myself for the market. I am still learning this technique. I noticed you are in Nashville and I know how high priced that market is. You would not be overstepping price at all by charging 125-150 per hour ( I would figure that you would want to make between $200 and 300 per video) Remember this project will take a lot of your personal time to complete, and they are paying for your professional services that they could not do on their own macbook!

thanks for your perspective Timothy, I am new to this whole game, so I really appreciate any advice I can get from the more experienced folks..I looks like the hourly rate model is definitely the way to go...to account for any unforseen circumstances or issues..thanx Again!

~brendan

Since you already know what your client wants, put it on paper with a timeline for acquisition, equipment, time, production, etc. That will give you a rather good ballpark estimate of what it will take to produce all of the project requirements. Once you have a reasonably good idea of what is involved assigning a reasonable price is not all that difficult.
Take a look at Apple's iWork. Keynote can export a lot of what you will need without having to go to FCP ... but you will have to get FCP at some point. Talk to you in a week or so.

Quoting a guy by the hour when he/she has NO idea how long it's going to take doesn't give the client any confidence. To put the situation in reverse, the client thinks you are going to screw around on him because the slower you go, the more you make...

I think giving him a flat rate and telling him it includes X amount of time actually accomplishes both things.. If he jacks you around, once you pass that "20-Hour" mark (in my example above), you'll be compensated for your time which will have him thinking of keeping the project efficent and simple. Also, he'll know if he keeps it under that mark, he gets a flat rate that he can count on. You'll know that if you work faster, you'll make more per hour so that encourages you to work quickly and efficiently as well.

Jon

I charge 1100.00 per day to film, I dont care what it is. 750.00 a day to edit.

I am booked solid for 3 days a week all the way through the end of September at this price.

My days are limited to 5 hours of filming, and 9 hours of editing.