How much to charge?

[Jason Bowers]

I have recently made a short film which is creating some buzz and have a couple industries wanting to buy it in order to show it to the masses that they control ie: a school board to all its schools. How much would I charge for the copyright to let them show it as many times to as many people affiliated with them. The film is 8min in duration. I was previously told the industry standard is $1000 per finished minute. Any thoughts.

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Jason Bowers

I have recently made a short film which is creating some buzz and have a couple industries wanting to buy it in order to show it to the masses that they control ie: a school board to all its schools. How much would I charge for the copyright to let them show it as many times to as many people affiliated with them. The film is 8min in duration. I was previously told the industry standard is $1000 per finished minute. Any thoughts.

I've never been in your position, and I don't know your process for making the film, so don't take these comments as being condescending. I just know that when dealing with government, it is best to be completely documented.

Before you sell it, make sure your ducks are in a row. Clearance for all music, waivers for all participants, etc. Also, was someone else paying for the production of the film in its current form? If so, make sure you own the rights to resell the finished product.

[Jason Bowers]

Hi Jason
Thanks for the help. The film was funded through myself and all the necessary paperwork is in order. The music is original and written specifically for the film. Really I just need to know what the proper charge is for this kind of transaction.

Thanks again

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Jason Bowers

Hi Jason
Thanks for the help. The film was funded through myself and all the necessary paperwork is in order. The music is original and written specifically for the film. Really I just need to know what the proper charge is for this kind of transaction.

Thanks again

In that case, why not ask another film company to make a film for you, describing that you are going to be selling it to school systems and see what they would charge? Barring that, do you know what the school system's budget is? Usually these things are a matter of public record so you can figure out how much they have the the specific budget line for where your film would be purchased.

[Paul R Johnson]

As has been said, if they really need it, what can they afford. If you want to keep your options, then why not simply license it to them for a limited period of time, and specify the locations, so they will pay you for the rights to play it as many times as they like, within say a year, in a schools under their control. If the programme is general interest, and you can use it again - then you don't need to recoup all the costs. The trouble with schools (speaking from a UK perspective) is that they have big budgets for things planned in advance, but tiny ones for unexpected expenses. So you could ask for $2000, and they say yes straight away (damn, should have asked for more) or you could ask for $500 and find it too much for the budget. What I do is work out what it really cost me - materials, comsumables, your time, travel - the real figures, and then look realistically at the future income from the programme.

I'm doing a job next week for less than cost because I want the foottage for another project, so it's a kind of loss leader, and the client will get a great deal and be very happy. I have another very similar project that is being costed out at 4 time the price, because I don't need it, and the chances of repeat business are unlikely.


This probably doesn't help much, but I'd just advise to be as gently nosey as you can be and find out what is in the pot, and see if it is 'enough'?

[Brian Drysdale]

There are rates for sales for productions per minute for various TV territories. They don't cover the cost of a production and they're a lot less an $1000 per minute unless it's a large territory, especially for shorts. A sale to a school would be a lot less than that, from memory my distributor sold a 8 min short I made for £350 to the BBC for online screening. To be honest I can't really see a school paying any more.

[Jason Bowers]

Hi guys,
The theme of the movie deals with high school bullying which I know in Canada is receiving top billing and a lot of funds are being driven to bring awareness to the issue. I contacted some local filmmakers in the Toronto area and was given the $1000 per minute price as they will be able to show it as many times within their district which could have up to 300 schools. I just wanted to check within Canada and the US.

[Shaun Roemich]

My 2 cents: at $1000 a finished minute as a ROUGH figure, the "license fee" you propose would be very nearly the cost of producing the video from scratch, given "current" industry cost figures for budget discussion (ie. a rough budget figure before working out the actual fine details).

[Jason Bowers]

Hi Shaun,
So am I safe to assume that $1000 per minute is acceptable then? I didn't get a real understanding from your post.

Thanks

[Shaun Roemich]

Sorry Jason if I wasn't clear. If you can GET $1000 a finished minute, good for you. A lot of producers (in training, promotion and documentary work) toss around a $1000 per finished minute rate as a starting point for PRODUCING a long form (several minutes) video from scratch. This of course does not take into consideration custom musical compositions, travel or actors fees, but is a good STARTING point for costs associated with a professional level video production. Depending on market conditions, producer reputation, HD vs. SD vs. HDV vs. DV, these rates will vary.

Only you know what quality your video has. If it is particularly well shot, well produced, well acted and well edited, I'm sure it's worth $8000 in licensing. If you shot it with your kids and Uncle Bob in your backyard in a weekend on a one chip camera that cost you $600... well...

The great thing is that finally there is a response from community that bullying is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The timeliness of your topic will help with it's value.

Disclaimer: The preceding is not intended to begin to make a judgement call on licensing fees, production budgets OR Jason's production. This is a sight-unseen discussion around production based on MY experience in MY market. Hope I have not offended anyone or rustled any feathers.