movin' the studio

grinner

grinner

Guest
I'm kind of stoked about this move.
A production company downtown has a very artsy building, a little too much space, and lots of overflow work. They've asked me to move in with em at a price I just can't beat. The company is not consuming mine and it's not a partnership... just a sub lease deal amongst friends with lots of potential and very few downsides.
It's always fun to find new spots for the lava lamps...
 
I have seen instances where this works out quite well.

There seems to be a higher level of energy'
wen you get a bunch of creative people all in one place!
 
Yeah. I've worked with these guys before and we all get along well. Laid back bunch of creative types. The mucho lower overhead will allow me to lower my hourly rate to $150. Not only will this increase volume, it'll actually allow me to bring more home per hour than when I was charging what I was in my building. We'll be able to keep each other busy when one of us isn't booked and always be able to lean on each other when double booked. Win/win.
 
grinner said:
. . . The mucho lower overhead will allow me to lower my hourly rate to $150. Not only will this increase volume, it'll actually allow me to bring more home per hour than when I was charging what I was in my building. . . .
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LOWER your rate to $150 an hour?! :eek: Does that include shooting with gear and editing as a package deal?
 
Yes. I find most of the time I make closer to my old rate or more when I quote a flat bid. It gives them peace of mind in having no budget surprises. It's a win/win and rapidly becoming the norm.
 
yes. I wear many hats but try to keep all of my services at or above 150/hr. Really, as long as I make a grand a day, I'm good. Doesn't matter if I'm producing, directing, hosting, shooting, editing, animating, or authoring. My time is what I bill for.
 
grinner said:
yes. I wear many hats but try to keep all of my services at or above 150/hr. Really, as long as I make a grand a day, I'm good. Doesn't matter if I'm producing, directing, hosting, shooting, editing, animating, or authoring. My time is what I bill for.
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Depending on how much you charge for labor, that sounds about right if each component is broken down to ONE 10 hour day. $30 / hour as a DP/shooter, $200 for camera/sound and $75 as an editor which leaves about $250 for a light kit and lite grip. However, anything over a day or after shooting, the client is still paying $150 / hour just for editing. How is that fair? But what is fair? If they're happy and it's all disclosed, then good for you because there are no set rules for rates. The other issue I see with the flat rate for everything is that a client is paying for everything even if they only need you as a shooter or only as an editor. I guess if they're aware of these facts and don't care . . . :rolleyes:
 
I dunno how you break it down where you are. I'm the fastest editor in my market and the average going rate here for an Avid suite here is $180/hour. That's a bargain, if charging by the hour. When I bid flat rates for entire productions, I make my gain because of me speed. I can turn around projects much faster than any of my competition can.
Rates do vary from maekret to market. Like I said, due to low overhead, I only have to bill a thousand bucks a day. Not hard to do in any market, as I'm sure you know.
 
grinner said:
I dunno how you break it down where you are. I'm the fastest editor in my market and the average going rate here for an Avid suite here is $180/hour. That's a bargain, if charging by the hour. When I bid flat rates for entire productions, I make my gain because of me speed. I can turn around projects much faster than any of my competition can.
Rates do vary from maekret to market. Like I said, due to low overhead, I only have to bill a thousand bucks a day. Not hard to do in any market, as I'm sure you know.
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I don't offer a flat rate because most of my work is shooting for those who have their own editors such as news, reality, etc.. When I produce a complete project all production and post is component based so they only pay for what they need. If it works for you and you can get it, more power to you. However, with a flat rate, depending on your work load the faster you are, the less money you make. Your quick turnarounds would "increase" your profits but only in your mind or on paper if you didn't have one or more additonal projects to also finish within that hour(s). Do you see what I mean? If you had a higher flat rate, let's say $250 / hour and finished three different projects in one hour or however many then you would come out way ahead. It's like a delivery person that only gets paid a set rate for each delivery. If he has five in a row on the same street and that scenerio happens quite a bit, he is going to be coming out ahead on expenses.
 
But you must know how it breaks down, how much is gear and how much is your time otherwise how do you work out the correct tax... or are you due for an unpleasant knock on the door from the tax dep??? ... is that the real reason for the move? :)
 
Grinner-

You sure do spend a lot of time on the forum during the day for a guy who is so "busy."

That is, unless you're surfing the web while on your clients' clock. But whatever, man....
 
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