Adobe After Effects

Author

Pricing

Brian_Fitzpatrick@adobeforums.com

2005-06-02, 4:40 am

Hey Everybody-

Quick question I have and was wondering if anybody could give me an idea. I was recently approached by a company to do some video bumpers for a DVD music release. There would be about 10 bumpers and they would be about 30 sec. each. They would all be crea
ted in After Effects. They all involve historical elements and video clips that would need some rotoscoping. My question is about pricing on a job like this. I was thinking in the realm of $5000-$7500 for each 30 second piece. Does that sound about right
to most of you professionals out there? If anyone has any suggestions and experience in this arena it would certainly be appreciated. The intersection where art and commerce meet is always a bit tricky for me. Thanks!

David_Wigforss@adobeforums.com

2005-06-02, 4:40 am

You need to answer a couple of questions before tackelling this. Do you have a full time job, or will this be your fulltime job. How's the deadline? How complex is each piece going to be?

If this is your fulltime job, I would come up with 2 numbers.. How much money you need to make to sustain yourself (per hour) = BASE salary. How much money you would like to make (per hour) = GOAL

Next you need to figure out how long it's gonna take.

Lastly, other things to add to your goal amount should be plugins that might be necessary for this (perfect time to purchase new software=build it into the bill), whether it's a rushed job, etc.
Unless it's a rushed job, I don't charge for render time, esp when you can let it go overnite.

The better you document your bill, the better. Suggest the goal amount. If they balk, only go down to your base. Only time I'd go less than base would be if it's a great client that is actually worth more than money, or if you REALLY need work...

To me, your price seems kinda high, but I'm not sure who it's for, deadlines, or how involved each piece will be...

Brian_Fitzpatrick@adobeforums.com

2005-06-02, 4:40 am

Thanks David!

It is my full time job. I am an emmy award winning television designer, so I am kinda using that to my advantage. As I said previously it is a job for a music company involving a very, very, big name artist. The pieces would be pretty involved as they are
30 seconds long and encompass historical elements (news reel footage, headlines, etc.). There would be rotoscoping involved which as you know is time consuming. the deadline is also kind of tight. I only have about six weeks to finish the project. I have
to make each piece flow with an underlying soundbed.I f that price seems high to you, what kind of price seems more reasonable? My business has mostly involved print work up to this point and I don't want to price myself out on the job. Thanks so much fo
r your help and insight, it is appreciated!

silversurfer@adobeforums.com

2005-06-02, 4:40 am

Fitz,

You have an Emmy for TV Design? What did you charge them? So many things depend on your client, the project (high profile or not), broadcast medium (TV, Film, DVD). Find out what the budget is for your portion of the project if you can.

The price you have there is high (you're talking $150,000 to $225,000). I don't know where reasonable lives from those numbers ;) Then again... I haven't done any projects for big name music talent / record labels either.

I hope you get what you want - good luck.

- Joey

Brian_Fitzpatrick@adobeforums.com

2005-06-02, 8:18 am

Joey-

Thanks! Won three emmys as part of a four person graphics team working for a number one market TV station, but the three of us were on staff at the time. Me and one of the other guys recently branched off to start our own company and this is our first maj
or motion job. No offense, but I am not sure how you came up with your math. Ten 30 second pieces at a price of $5000-$7500 each equals a total of $50,000-$75,000. Do those numbers seem more reasonable to you? Given the same job description what would you
go per piece? What would you consider to be on the light side? Thanks a ton for your responses and input! I appreciate it dearly!

Brian Fitz

Andrew_Yoole@adobeforums.com

2005-06-02, 7:37 pm

Brian, most of my clients are major record companies, but in Australia, not the US. I'll be honest, in the market over here I'd be laughed at if I quoted anywhere near that kind of price. I could probably only charge 10K for the whole job - IF it was a ve
ry big-name band with an expectation of large sales. For a lesser name, 5K for producing the whole DVD might be realistic.

Having said that, the average music clip budget here (in a market only 10% the size of the US) is probably only $15-20K, so only about 20% of what is spent on a name act in the US.

I have no idea if that helps at all...?

Chris_Poisson@adobeforums.com

2005-06-02, 7:37 pm

Brian,

Assuming your math is spot on, that's $12,500 per week for you and your partner. Assuming a 40 hour week for each, that's $156.25 per hour, just about double what I charge most clients. So in my world, which a large but not major market, your math is infl
ated by 2.

Hope you get the job, and BTW look into Silhouette FX Roto before you start. It can significantly increase your margins with the time it saves. Or it'll give you extra time to count all that cash.

ChrisGannon

2005-06-02, 7:37 pm

We work on approx. £850 a day - we then work out how long it will take in
days and then do the maths - without knowing the brief or seeing the footage
I couldn't accurately say but I'd estimate each 30 sec clip might take
anywhere from 2 to 5 days each - say 3 as an average. So 3 x 10 = 30 * 850 =
£25,500.

Bear in mind, this is a really rough estimate.

silversurfer@adobeforums.com

2005-06-03, 4:44 am

Brian,

I misread your post (oops - feeling kinda stupid)... I thought you said 30 - 30 second bumbers (DOH!).

Still think it's very high.... but I never worked with "a music company involving a very, very, big name artist". If it was me, I might just be thinking cha-CHING...like you! But I only have a bunch of Telly's & Addy's - no Emmy's ;)

What the hell - $7500 a pop!

- Joey