HOW MUCH SHOULD I CHARGE FOR A MUSIC VIDEO

HOW MUCH SHOULD I CHARGE FOR A MUSIC VIDEO

How much can you get?

If I'm having trouble figuring out how much to quote someone for an event, I'll typically charge an hourly rate, which would be the same from preproduction all the way through post. For example, for one video I just did, I told the gentleman up front that we run $100/hr, with everything included, and I guessed it would be about 10 hours work (3 hours on location, 7 in post). It turned out to be about 9-1/2 hours work.

Just remember, if you give someone an hourly quote and you're way off the mark, they won't be happy. If you quote a project at 20 hours and it takes 40, you're almost better off explaining the extra time, and offering to compromise, than to try and demand all the extra. In fact, if your quote is in writing, some states have laws that will require you to honor your quote, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. To that measure, some video producers will write into their contracts that extra charges may be incurred above and beyond quotes, but I get really nervous about that stuff. If I tell someone that a project will cost them $500, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I wound up charging them $1000. But that's just me.

Well since youve done three, you should have a pretty good ideal on the time it will take to make one. Let the group view the three youve made and tell them that you should be able to do this with x hours of recording time and x hours of editing and getting a finished project out the door and quote them your hourly rate. As on a roll pointed out they will be fine with it unless it goes way over. Whats way over? Usually a 10% overage is acceptable. Since you are just starting out, I would not charge any overage just to keep getting your feet wet and more name recognition.