Inazuma Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 HiI was wondering what you guys think is a reasonable hourly charge for cinematography work? That is, I bring my own equipment (inc. lights), I take all the shots as directed or directing myself, and go home. I don't have professional equipment, just budget stuff (small DSLR's, lenses etc). I've had about two years of building up experience with various projects. I was thinking £40 an hour plus a cost per mile of travel. It would be work for small businesses. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chris Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Some go hourly, some do half/full day + extras + edit time. I started hourly and since have gone the half/full day route + an hourly charge for editing because many times we ignore things like time spent packing your gear, getting to the shoot, scouting locations, setup and breakdown time and so on. To me its more relaxed than clock watching and any confusion about when your paid time starts. Google what photographers charge and you'll get some good breakdowns on figuring costs and such. Most starting out seem to really sell themselves short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hughes Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I generally prefer a flat day rate for anything under 12 hours. For me, there's not a whole lot of difference between a 3 hour or 8 hour shoot, since my day is already booked and I can't take other gigs. When clients are watching the clock trying to save a few dollars, the shoots tend to get rushed, which usually means more time in the edit trying to fix problems that could have been solved on set by taking your time. With clients that really want an hourly rate, I'll charge a fee just for showing up, then bill hourly. Sebv, Xavier Plagaro Mussard, IronFilm and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agolex Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 You can't talk about money, that's OUTRAGEOUS! I once asked a colleague who pretended to be my friend how much he earned on the job and no wonders got a very vague answer. If people tell how much they make, it gets comparable and decent people start realizing that they do more work for half the money or something like that.Dunno bout the UK, but in Germany the going rate for a freelance writer slave starts at around 30–40 €, so 40 pounds for filming seems to be quite low. Especially if you factor in how much you have to spend for equipment and software (if you want to have everything legit and legal). I'd change prices according to the client. Corporate people probably won't respect you unless they have to pay decent money anyway – if they CAN respect anything at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronChicago Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Day rate is the way to go with location production. Hourly for post. Just my opinion. Xavier Plagaro Mussard and JazzBox 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugela Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 HiI was wondering what you guys think is a reasonable hourly charge for cinematography work? That is, I bring my own equipment (inc. lights), I take all the shots as directed or directing myself, and go home. I don't have professional equipment, just budget stuff (small DSLR's, lenses etc). I've had about two years of building up experience with various projects. I was thinking £40 an hour plus a cost per mile of travel. It would be work for small businesses. What do you think?Whatever minimum wage is where you live. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristoferman Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Benching 300 one time is still impressive though. Max days are a thing. Gregormannschaft, Jonesy Jones and Sekhar 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Jones Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 If there are no 'above the line' components to your job description then you may get away with hourly. But as soon as they say 'we'd like to see what you would do here', hourly is going to bite you in the ass. There's no way to measure with time and money the value of experience, research, development, brainstorming, etc that goes into creating something new, custom or original. Day rates or project rates work best for that. Never quote someone on the spot. Ask for an email and tell them you'll send them a proposal/quote very soon (that's more for projects and may not apply to hired gun projects). Find a rate that seems to work (there'll be some trial and error here) and then slowly experiment with inching that rate up, but eventually you'll plateau. That's where I'm at. I couldn't tell you how to get further except just... persistence. You guys sound like some of the guys I've met in the weight room who bench press 300 pounds one time, brag, and leave.What were you doing at the weight room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Plagaro Mussard Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 What were you doing at the weight room?He lifts 300 times a 1 pound weight! ;-DDIt won't be your first and last job, so ask what you would like to get. If they ask for a discount accept it. The better you get, the more you can charge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inazuma Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Reason I ask about hourly rates is because I'm working for a friend who is creating a long-term documentary for someone else and only needs me for 1-3 hours every so often. And filming isn't my full time job so I have no problem doing these little things on the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaylee Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 an abstract point:never be afraid to say"Whats your budget?"just look em right in the eye, and say that, and smilenext one who talks loses lol Xavier Plagaro Mussard and Inazuma 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Simon says...Decent enough of a strategy, I'd say. Do you know what your friend asks for himself? I would ask to get nearly the same rate (else it's like: wait, that much cheaper: he must suck, or the other way: wait, that much cheaper, forget about your expensive friend then, you do the whole thing!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Policar Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 $600/day or $400/half day seems pretty standard for low end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Plagaro Mussard Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 never be afraid to say"Whats your budget?"It has worked for me a lot of times!!! $600/day or $400/half day seems pretty standard for low end.Those are good prices for commercial work. Inazuma told us that he is helping a friend who is working on a long term documentary... kaylee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Policar Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 It has worked for me a lot of times!!! Those are good prices for commercial work. Inazuma told us that he is helping a friend who is working on a long term documentary...In that case free isn't uncommon. Or $100-$150/day if there's a bit of budget, whatever covers the cost of gear. I thought it was corporate videos for small businesses, in which case $600/$400 is a low rate if you're the vendor, a pretty normal mid/low end rate if you're a wet hire working for someone else. Xavier Plagaro Mussard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 $600/day or $400/half day seems pretty standard for low end.Wish I'm on that "low end".... ! Xavier Plagaro Mussard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inazuma Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm also now wondering what your limit is on a days work? 8 hours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Daniel Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I do my costs on day rate, whether it's only 3 hours or 10 hours. Pre-Production: estimated days to complete pre-shoot work. (treatment, references, locations, talent, equipment, shot lists etc). Production: days to complete shooting schedule. Post Production: estimated days to complete post work. Within these costs, I add a 25% margin to cover the cost of business and a bit more for cushioning. I will also add an extra 2 days for post production amendments and advise the client that should they request anything above what was agreed, then that would be charged at day rate too. The amount that you charge really depends on the value/quality of your service, the expense of operating business and the project type Lintelfilm and jgharding 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronChicago Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm also now wondering what your limit is on a days work? 8 hours?For shooting days I say 10 which includes setup times, and lunch break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm also now wondering what your limit is on a days work? 8 hours?I've done a 27hr and 25hr day in the past week, though in each case it was because of two separate jobs being done in the same day back to back (a normal day work from pre dawn, plus afterwards an all night shoot! x2) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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