Videographer Pricing

[fiftybucks]

Is there some kind of "usual price" standards for professional video services? Pref in the $/hr format?

The charges fluctuate like crazy with mediacorp moonlighters on cheap and ploy students even willing to do free... but I a bit scared of this cheap or "free" type as I kenna jialat before.


Corporate Event coverage $/hr
Wedding Event coverage $/hr
corporate productions $/hr

 

[JRC]

Nobody knows the market rate ?
Is there a market consumer rate (charge to final customers) and a market OEM rate (sub-contracted work) ?

I think probably not charged by per hr but rather per day.

For weddings and events, is below considered market rate ?
$350 - Full day, DVX102 class of videocam, tripod, lights, 5 tapes.

I know people will say depends on the person's experience blah blah....
So let's just use an average figure.

 

[dreamerz]

Nobody knows the market rate ?
Is there a market consumer rate (charge to final customers) and a market OEM rate (sub-contracted work) ?

I think probably not charged by per hr but rather per day.

For weddings and events, is below considered market rate ?
$350 - Full day, DVX102 class of videocam, tripod, lights, 5 tapes.

I know people will say depends on the person's experience blah blah....
So let's just use an average figure.

lol...

i charge $288 for a ROM Ceremony...last for ard 3-4hr with lunch buffet...:sweat:
roughly ard 70-80/hr
using sony FX1, no light,no tripod,took 2hr worth of video, including editing n CD Cover...

 

[DXNMedia]

For weddings and events, is below considered market rate ?
$350 - Full day, DVX102 class of videocam, tripod, lights, 5 tapes.

I would say depending on job & gear requirement.
$500 on the avg if you are including tapes....I know DV tapes are cheap....but if you're talking about DVCAM tapes....you charge $350 can bearly cover cost for 5 DVCAM40 tapes.. :bsmilie:

 

[DXNMedia]

lol...

i charge $288 for a ROM Ceremony...last for ard 3-4hr with lunch buffet...:sweat:
roughly ard 70-80/hr
using sony FX1, no light,no tripod,took 2hr worth of video, including editing n CD Cover...

If I am to hire you to produce videos for me, I think I can make lots of money exploiting you... ;p

Try increasing your price if you think you're up to the job.
Market rate, especially WITH EDITING! should be a lot higher! But if you think your time is only worth that much, why not you consider teaching some kids in english, chinese or maths? You do lesser work for more money....

Try changing your profession... you might earn more....

 

[dreamerz]

If I am to hire you to produce videos for me, I think I can make lots of money exploiting you... ;p

Try increasing your price if you think you're up to the job.
Market rate, especially WITH EDITING! should be a lot higher! But if you think your time is only worth that much, why not you consider teaching some kids in english, chinese or maths? You do lesser work for more money....

Try changing your profession... you might earn more....

lol...consider low ar...hmm...wat the market price for this kind with editing ar?:sweat:


i is do freelance only lar....n this is my first ROM wedding i took...so din 1 to charge sky high...

 

[DXNMedia]

Filming for half-day vs. full day, you still need your camera.....if in a full day you charge $500 for your services, and on the same day, you are requested for a half-day job.....which one would you choose to work?
How much do you think your time is worth, and how much do you think you are worth for providing your services?


Professional broadcast rates for editing/compositing is at the average of $100~1000 per hour depending on facility. Professional editors/compositor rate ranges between $40~400/hr.

Sure you get people undercutting professional rates just to break into the market, get yourself recognised, etc...but if you go low, the rates will just keep lowering and lowering until you ask yourself what's the point of doing this business.

Prices of equipment have indeed went down...professional gears have come down in pricing when consumer devices start to catch up, bridging the gap between pro & prosumer devices. Computer speed have increased, rendering times have went down.

However, if it takes 1 hour to light a scene properly in the 80s, it'll still take about the same time to light a scene now. If it takes 4 hours to cover an event, it will still take 4 hours to bloody shoot the event.

In post production, if it takes 10 hours to rough cut a 30mins program without fancy effects, it will STILL take bloody 10 hours to rough cut a 30mins program now, be it you're using linear editing system or a super high end, fastest & the latest and greatest editing system......technology have changed & improved, but the bulk of the workflow still remains the same in any video/TV/broadcast/film production.

my 2 cents worth of ranting for all you guys/gals out there in the business..

 

[dreamerz]

Filming for half-day vs. full day, you still need your camera.....if in a full day you charge $500 for your services, and on the same day, you are requested for a half-day job.....which one would you choose to work?
How much do you think your time is worth, and how much do you think you are worth for providing your services?


Professional broadcast rates for editing/compositing is at the average of $100~1000 per hour depending on facility. Professional editors/compositor rate ranges between $40~400/hr.

Sure you get people undercutting professional rates just to break into the market, get yourself recognised, etc...but if you go low, the rates will just keep lowering and lowering until you ask yourself what's the point of doing this business.

Prices of equipment have indeed went down...professional gears have come down in pricing when consumer devices start to catch up, bridging the gap between pro & prosumer devices. Computer speed have increased, rendering times have went down.

However, if it takes 1 hour to light a scene properly in the 80s, it'll still take about the same time to light a scene now. If it takes 4 hours to cover an event, it will still take 4 hours to bloody shoot the event.

In post production, if it takes 10 hours to rough cut a 30mins program without fancy effects, it will STILL take bloody 10 hours to rough cut a 30mins program now, be it you're using linear editing system or a super high end, fastest & the latest and greatest editing system......technology have changed & improved, but the bulk of the workflow still remains the same in any video/TV/broadcast/film production.

my 2 cents worth of ranting for all you guys/gals out there in the business..

haha...i understand tat...i din noe the market rate was so high...

next time i gt to charge higher liao...

im no pro oso anyway...:bsmilie: when compare to u....

 

[sundazz]

I would say depending on job & gear requirement.
$500 on the avg if you are including tapes....I know DV tapes are cheap....but if you're talking about DVCAM tapes....you charge $350 can bearly cover cost for 5 DVCAM40 tapes.. :bsmilie:

agree with u but for wedding usually use just mini Dv tapes instead lor..

for wedding, i charge $350 to $500 just for the whole day shoot.. well i sometimes depends on the client too la.. if got "click" client "qin cai" i oso 'qin cai" n give slight discount.. but if client fussy types.. i hv to prepare for ammendment, want this want tat.. i will charge them on the higher side.. but some time difficult to tell by jus see them 1 or 2 times. wedding and event editing will charge client abt $300 to $600...

As for corporate sturf.. it goes by hours.. depending on the suite.. rate rather similar to DXNMedia.. but again, sometimes depends on the project budget (usually always say no budget ).. and if know the producer too well.. give discount lor!

but if "Associate" or "partners" like u guys tat engage me covering, I of cos will lower my rate so tat u guys can earn abit even passing me jobs lor.. .. well believe tis is 2 ways thingy lor.

well, know your own value and charge accordingly.

 

[DXNMedia]

Yeah...we should all work together towards a standard rate.

If everyone/every producer everytime say NO budget, then why pitch for low $$ projects leh? If no money, then dun do video lor....
Why should production/post facilities be the one suffering from them trying to do a job for a low rate?

When these producers managed to get a good pricing for a job, then they come to you, will they say I am willing to pay you more per hour for the work? No.... they will either still try to bargain you down or tell you since u are able to give me this rate previously, why this time you cannot? :nono:
Dun worry, I've seen it all.... been there, done there, experienced all this crap... ;p

I heard of a lot of stories where producers complain that after 1 month of working so hard on a project, they end up not earning....blah,blah..it's not that i don't sympathise with them, but it their own fault that they've misquoted...it shows that they don;t understand how long it takes to cut a video, how much work needs to be done, and how 'expensive' it is.......so what's the point? Doing business is to earn money....so it kinda teaches them not to under quote...

I always believe in you pay for what you get.....if we all don't budge on the pricing, surely they can find someone desperate and willing to do for a low price, but they may suffer a bad reputation if they cannot deliver.....that's why some of the companies I know always come and go.....but instead, those higher end companies that charges real money for real pro work are the ones who sustain in the industry.

Perhaps I sound like I'm complainer, but this is a serious issue that I am seeing in our industry.....ignore me or tell me I'm wrong if any of you think otherwise... :thumbsup:
I'm very open to opinions & criticism. ;p

 

[dreamerz]

Yeah...we should all work together towards a standard rate.

If everyone/every producer everytime say NO budget, then why pitch for low $$ projects leh? If no money, then dun do video lor....
Why should production/post facilities be the one suffering from them trying to do a job for a low rate?

When these producers managed to get a good pricing for a job, then they come to you, will they say I am willing to pay you more per hour for the work? No.... they will either still try to bargain you down or tell you since u are able to give me this rate previously, why this time you cannot? :nono:
Dun worry, I've seen it all.... been there, done there, experienced all this crap... ;p

I heard of a lot of stories where producers complain that after 1 month of working so hard on a project, they end up not earning....blah,blah..it's not that i don't sympathise with them, but it their own fault that they've misquoted...it shows that they don;t understand how long it takes to cut a video, how much work needs to be done, and how 'expensive' it is.......so what's the point? Doing business is to earn money....so it kinda teaches them not to under quote...

I always believe in you pay for what you get.....if we all don't budge on the pricing, surely they can find someone desperate and willing to do for a low price, but they may suffer a bad reputation if they cannot deliver.....that's why some of the companies I know always come and go.....but instead, those higher end companies that charges real money for real pro work are the ones who sustain in the industry.

Perhaps I sound like I'm complainer, but this is a serious issue that I am seeing in our industry.....ignore me or tell me I'm wrong if any of you think otherwise... :thumbsup:
I'm very open to opinions & criticism. ;p

u are rite....y nt u start a thread? so tat we can take it as a ref?

 

[sundazz]

well, we will give abit discount.. but really abit lor, discount to certain extend la.. of cos we will have to know our value and worth for the job.. many cases we turn producer off for not accepting their job b'cos budget too low which not engh cover our time and effort spend.. but once u have been working with these group of prducer, u will know which producer always say no budget no budget. but some we believe is real and will help them abit lor, and when they have budget they will pay accordingly.. so it sometime depends on which producer lor.

oh yes.. sometimes we quote them a price rather then the qoute us thiers.
want take.. dont want find others.

 

[DXNMedia]

well, we will give abit discount.. but really abit lor, discount to certain extend la.. of cos we will have to know our value and worth for the job.. many cases we turn producer off for not accepting their job b'cos budget too low which not engh cover our time and effort spend.. but once u have been working with these group of prducer, u will know which producer always say no budget no budget. but some we believe is real and will help them abit lor, and when they have budget they will pay accordingly.. so it sometime depends on which producer lor.

oh yes.. sometimes we quote them a price rather then the qoute us thiers.
want take.. dont want find others.

Yeah..sometimes so low until it's not's worth doing....as a broadcast editor, I have my own reputation to keep also.....if I keep doing low end stuff, then forever I'd be swamped with low end stuff.....at some point, even if low end stuff are the main bread and butter jobs, we gotta learn to say no...coz if you're swamped by a low end project, when opportunity comes, you have no choice but to let it pass.........happened to me lots of time....had to give up working on some bigger name projects just because i commited to working on other projects...

 

[tommon]

There are no hard and fast rule in charges. For our regular clients, we usually charge a little lower than others. This is encourage them to stick to us. While equipment is one thing but the pro approach is what corperate clients wants.

Until you try the services of the real pros you cannot make comparison with those freelancers and students. The pros give you the camplete package from shooting, post and delivery with 100% confidence and satisfaction.

 

[JRC]

There are no hard and fast rule in charges. For our regular clients, we usually charge a little lower than others. This is encourage them to stick to us. While equipment is one thing but the pro approach is what corperate clients wants.

Until you try the services of the real pros you cannot make comparison with those freelancers and students. The pros give you the camplete package from shooting, post and delivery with 100% confidence and satisfaction.

Erh....u mean parttime freelancers ?
cos i think there are many full-time freelancers who are 'real pros' out there.

 

[dreamerz]

There are no hard and fast rule in charges. For our regular clients, we usually charge a little lower than others. This is encourage them to stick to us. While equipment is one thing but the pro approach is what corperate clients wants.

Until you try the services of the real pros you cannot make comparison with those freelancers and students. The pros give you the camplete package from shooting, post and delivery with 100% confidence and satisfaction.

hmm...let say a "standard" charge tat we take use it as ref?
going higher or lower will b up to u....

 

[dinxcarin]

this is a good thread. Im learning.. thanks guys and keep on posting

 

[hellrock]

thank for the info... learned much from this thread.

Filming for half-day vs. full day, you still need your camera.....if in a full day you charge $500 for your services, and on the same day, you are requested for a half-day job.....which one would you choose to work?
How much do you think your time is worth, and how much do you think you are worth for providing your services?


Professional broadcast rates for editing/compositing is at the average of $100~1000 per hour depending on facility. Professional editors/compositor rate ranges between $40~400/hr.

Sure you get people undercutting professional rates just to break into the market, get yourself recognised, etc...but if you go low, the rates will just keep lowering and lowering until you ask yourself what's the point of doing this business.

Prices of equipment have indeed went down...professional gears have come down in pricing when consumer devices start to catch up, bridging the gap between pro & prosumer devices. Computer speed have increased, rendering times have went down.

However, if it takes 1 hour to light a scene properly in the 80s, it'll still take about the same time to light a scene now. If it takes 4 hours to cover an event, it will still take 4 hours to bloody shoot the event.

In post production, if it takes 10 hours to rough cut a 30mins program without fancy effects, it will STILL take bloody 10 hours to rough cut a 30mins program now, be it you're using linear editing system or a super high end, fastest & the latest and greatest editing system......technology have changed & improved, but the bulk of the workflow still remains the same in any video/TV/broadcast/film production.

my 2 cents worth of ranting for all you guys/gals out there in the business..

 

[DXNMedia]

Always glad to create some sparks into our industry for a wake-up call....
DO NOT UNDERCUT because at the end of the day, it affects your livelihood if you are a pro in the business.

Even if you're a part-timer doing videos for fun in the industry, do you think it's worth it burning midnight oil churning out stuff to deliver the work? Do you think it's worth burning your weekends where you can rather spend quality time with your kids/family? Do you think you want to go to work on monday mornings being tired because you've spent your whole sunday running around with a camera, risking your boss/superiors saying that you're not fully dedicated to your work, which will put you next in line for the golden handshake in today's competitive environment? :nono:

Do you think it'll even cover your cost of a harddisc in the event of it crashing due to the high data rate you're putting thru it? The MTBF for a typical single HDD for DV work is very very high if you are doing video work daily....What about your batteries, they will be worn out. Have you thought about how much it is to replace your video head drums in the event of it being worned out because you playback from your camera for capturing?

Think about it....it is worth it undercutting your rates?

 

[dreamerz]

Always glad to create some sparks into our industry for a wake-up call....
DO NOT UNDERCUT because at the end of the day, it affects your livelihood if you are a pro in the business.

Even if you're a part-timer doing videos for fun in the industry, do you think it's worth it burning midnight oil churning out stuff to deliver the work? Do you think it's worth burning your weekends where you can rather spend quality time with your kids/family? Do you think you want to go to work on monday mornings being tired because you've spent your whole sunday running around with a camera, risking your boss/superiors saying that you're not fully dedicated to your work, which will put you next in line for the golden handshake in today's competitive environment? :nono:

Do you think it'll even cover your cost of a harddisc in the event of it crashing due to the high data rate you're putting thru it? The MTBF for a typical single HDD for DV work is very very high if you are doing video work daily....What about your batteries, they will be worn out. Have you thought about how much it is to replace your video head drums in the event of it being worned out because you playback from your camera for capturing?

Think about it....it is worth it undercutting your rates?

charge higher next time wif editing liao....:devil:


:bsmilie: :bsmilie: :bsmilie: