Teedox
Member
I have a question and I don't know if I'm in the right spot for it but here goes:
When charging a client per hour for editing their video, is there any form of proof? I mean, how can I assure the client that I did indeed spend (X) amount of hours editing their footage and I didn't make it up?
Thanks!
grinner
Member
by them signing the work order, sitting there with you, and/or trust. When editing unsupervised, you'll often want to just quote a flat bid so they have no budget surprises. Proof though? Man if they don't trust you, they would not have booked you in the first place. They know how long it takes. They know what they'd pay down the street. They come to you because you are the best, not the cheapest.
Teedox
Member
Yea- that's about what I had assumed. In terms of quoting a flat bid... that's still based on what I assume it will take in terms of hours, and it may or may not fluctuate... depending on the situation, correct?
grinner
Member
Correct... but it will always fluctuate. You'll bid planning on revisions, ect. It's simple multiplication of your hourly rate by how long you forsee working on the project. The natl ave for post in the US is around 185 per hour, depending on market, level of services, ect. I'm just a one man band so my math is pretty simple. I try to keep my billing at about a grand a day. When bidding on tur-key projects, I don't look at hours at all... I just add the days I'll spend shooting, travelling and editing and add some zeros to that number.
Teedox
Member
Great, thanks for the info.
I hate to sound further ignorant but what in the name of god are tur-key projects? Sound delicious.
EarlC
Moderator
Turn-Key, the "n" was dropped, or it is simply more of Grinner's special way of saying/writing. Bein' from Taxes an ALL thet. ;-)
I'm pretty sure you know what what turn-key is.
Grinner's spot on with your concerns. I go flat fee and hourly, but after 20 years in the business, and figuring for all the stuff a client is capable of throwing at you during the process, I've gotten fairly accurate in my bids for flat fee, based on the hours I think it will take.
In fact, most of my clients would come out with a smaller bill if they went hourly because I build a LOT of contingencies into my flat bids - just in case, and add another 10 percent on top of that.
composite1
Moderator
Tee,
My co' charges a flat-rate post fee pmv (per minute of video) plus an hourly rate for the editor based on a 5 day 8hr per day work-week. Keeps everything neat and predictable for the client. On invoices, hours spent on post work are clearly notated so again no surprises. Only when changes or add-ons outside of the initial proposal are requested and approved by the client are extra hours and services added in. Still though, no surprises for the client.
Simplest way to keep up with your hours doing post work is to keep a log. Long as you stay within your proposed budget and make the client aware of potential cost overruns in a timely manner, you should be just fine. If your client is kept informed, it makes all the difference.
adobe advice audio AVCHD beginner business camcorder camera canon Capture computer contest Documentary DSLR DVD edit editing FCP film final cut Final Cut Pro Footage green screen HD HDV HELP JVC lighting Mac marketing mic microphone movie music music video New panasonic premiere pro Production quality software Sony Sony Vegas sound vegas video video editing wedding Youtube
