PROJECT NUMBER 1:

I have a doctor client that develops health products. He wants to add a short video clip Bio of himself to his website. This we can film at his office.

He also wants to add a video clip on each of his health products (approximately 7-10 products). The clips would be testimonials from his clients, tell the benefits of the products, etc. I would like to have the person in the testimonial sitting down talking about the products, how it helped them, etc. and edit in footage of them doing tasks/activities that they like to do to make the clips more interesting. Show the benefits of the products and not just a talking-head type of project.

I don't want to under price myself because it's going to be alot of work. On the other hand I don't want to over price it either.

If he wanted talking-heads on the testimonials then that would not be so difficult to complete but boring and cheaper for him. Videotaping the testimonials to make them more interesting will cost him more upfront but I believe it would keep a website visitor's interest, and hopefully in the long run sell more products

Anyway, I'm just not sure what to charge for this project. I know it can be very beneficial to his website. In addition, he is interested in having the videos available on his site in different languages. This of course takes the price another step up. Right now I have to quote him a basic price for the project, without the language translations and then I can do this part on the next stage of the project.

PROJECT 2:
The 2nd client wants me to make them a dvd to market their company. They do ultrasounds with the latest equipment. I thought it would be nice to show their office as a friendly atmosphere and follow a patient from coming in, then to the procedure and until they are done so that new patients will know just what to expect. This is just one idea. The client said they want to have a patient in the video and then use the dvd to for marketing purposes.

If you have some tips on quoting out these 2 projects, let me know. I'm curious to know the approximate price range to compare my prices.

Thank you
Lisa

Lisa,
The answer to "what to charge?" is as variable as the number of people on this site. A "rule of thumb" for good quality production is $1,500/finished minute of video. A lot will depend on your experience, effeciency setting up shots, speed at editing, ability to make interviews look and sound interesting etc. If you are just getting started with paid gigs, a few words of advice...

1) DETAILED shot list, story flow and working script will help both you and your client understand the amount of work in the project.

2) Estimate your time to set-up, shoot, tear down, travel, digitize footage, rough edit, finish edit and output to master. Factor in time to meet with the client, make the zillion phone calls to set up interviews, locations, get directions, check facts with the client etc. After you figure all that - add 20-30% because you won't have found it all! Multiply that by how much per hour you wish to pay yourself.

3) Figure your out-of-pocket costs, tapes, DVDs, rental of lights etc. Add a bit to those costs to cover yourself also. Factor in the last minute purchases (stingers, water for the talent, roll of gaffers tape etc.)

4) Keep very accurate track of all the time you spend on the project - even if you don't actuallly bill the client for that time. This will help with future estimating.

Good luck

Sent you an email

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info.

I'm definitely planning out the project with shot lists and all details. The more planning the smoother it will go. I was curious as to what others were charging for projects to see if I was in the ball park.

Thanks for the help.
Lisa

I sent you an email too :)

I'd love to get those e-mails too! I wish I had read this thread.. oh, 2 months ago. Drat. But thank goodness for good hearted souls on DV Info!

Good luck Lisa!

I can send you an email if you want? :)

..and a cookie. ;)

Thanks for the emails. Also, was good to hear from some FL people.
Lisa

Is it possible to get the info that's in those emails as well.

Lisa, can you let us know what you ended up charging. I'm running in to the exact same questions.

One problem I'm facing is that some people don't put as much value on internet content as oppossed to a training video or a commercial spot.
Maybe because it's "smaller" or because the internet is practically free, I'm not sure.

But I hear "gosh, that's a lot for just something I'm going to throw up on my web site". I don't know why they think it would cost me less to produce. Granted, things like color correction aren't as critical as they would be for a national broadcast spot, but work is work...

Lisa

I charge $1,400 per day to shoot, $500 to travel, plus expenses. That includes all equipment, Sony XDCam, Z1, lights, 4 wireless mics, boom,......etc. $800 per day to edit.

Hope that helps.

Jim

Is there work in Vero? Ugg, I lived there for 2 months, it felt like a ghost town. :)

Is your day rate for 1 person? And is the travel separate from the day rate? Where does the travel fee get you to (car, plane, hotel, etc)?

Eric

Actually I am still waiting for the clients products to come in and him to make a decision on what he wants to do...web video or an infomercial.

For the FL guys in this thread, if renting equipment, where do you rent your lights from?

Lisa

Lisa

Get your own. Home Depot/Lowes has those dual work lights on a stand for around $50 I think.

Hi Jim,

I've been looking into the worklights to use temporarily. I'm needing 2 - 500 watt, 1 - 200 watt and a 1-2 k softlight. If I recall the work lights are 500 watt and might fit the bill for the 2 that I need. I was going to go this past weekend to Lowes to get some ideas and put my own kit together. Hopefully they will balance ok for video.

Thanks,
Lisa

You'll just need to make sure they're all 3200k, or at least all match each other, and then white balance to them without using any additional light. :)

You can probably get replacement 3200k's at a lighting outlet somewhere if the bulbs aren't quite right.

I've seen worklights up to 750 watts. A pair with a stand runs $80 or $100.

I use the Lowel DV Creator 44 kit (designed by Josh from dvcreators.net) and that seems to work well for most my stuff. I could always use a bit more of a variety, but it was a great package to start out with, because it covers just about everything.

Eric

I'd love to get the info in those emails too, if it's still available! Thanks very much. =)

I can send you an email if you want? :)

..and a cookie. ;)



Can I get A cookie tooooooo

id like to receive those emails too....had a similar situation a few months back and ended up way underpaid for a lot more work than I anticipated. san antonio wont let you charge very much or is it just me...

well gee...since everyone else is asking....can I have those cookies too?



...oh yeah...and the emails would be nice..

thanks
jeremiah