Ultimate Pricing Guide for Freelance Filmmakers and Videographers in 2024
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2024
- I want to share everything I’ve learned about pricing in the last 15 years or so, working both as a freelancer and hiring hundreds of freelancers through my production company.
And I want to be as transparent as possible, because I felt like I was confused for a long time about pricing and no one would share this information with me.
First, let’s talk about how to actually charge for what we do.
In this business, people invoice based on “half day” and “full day” rates. Almost no one charges hourly for production. Hourly rates are common in pre-production and post-production. But I’ll keep this video mainly to production or shoot days.
The number of hours in full day depends on the type of product. For corporate and commercial type projects, it’s usually 10 hours from call time to wrap.
And for more narrative type projects and some commercials, it can be a 12 hour standard.
Half Day is 5 or 6 hours, depending on the project.
Typically, more seasoned people never offer any half day rates. They only have full day rate. They may have a half day rate for travel or maybe a location scout.
A big thing that I’ve noticed with newer freelance filmmakers is that they don’t separate their gear they bring from the labor. This is critical. You have to charge separately for your time and for your gear. Even if you don’t show the producer or production company the breakout, you have to keep track internally.
What I did was I just didn’t take jobs that provided the gear. I came with the gear. But I still charged separately for the two. Here is my labor rate and here is the cost of my gear rental. I’ll talk about gear rental a little later.
So how time is tracked and how labor and gear is invoiced separately has been the norm for as long as I’ve been doing this. And when I ask guys that are still doing this in their 70s, they tell me pretty much nothing has changed in that.
If you are doing it differently, it’s ok. Just know that it’s not the industry standard.
Now let’s get to the numbers. I’ve hired people in close to 25 states and have a little experience in Europe. So I’m using that as the baseline. And keep in mind, my experience is in corporate shoots and commercial work that is non union. For union work, the rates are usually higher and for indie film, it’s usually lower.
Your rate is first based on your roll and then your experience.
I’ll cover 7 common roles in any production for a 2 person to a 20 person crew.
If you are a solo filmmaker and you do the entire production on your own, I’ll share something for you in a few.
Here are the roles:
Production Assistant - Day Rate $250-$300
Grip - $600-$700
Gaffer - $750-$800
Audio Tech - $800-$900
Camera Operator - $600-$900
Director of Photography / Cinematographer $750-$1500
Director - $900-$1500 (Most directors have a project rate that includes pre-production and post-production)
For gear, it depends on the role. Some roles like audio tech won’t agree to work without gear. They usually charge a based line of $400 for a basic package.
Some DPs won’t work without gear. They charge based on what is required. A camera like FX9 package can be $400 per day.
Gaffers may want to use their own grip truck. That can be $400 per day just for the grip truck and gear and they charge for each light they add to the package.
So as a gaffer, you can make closer to 2k a day depending on how much gear your bring. Audio tech can make $1200-$2000 a day. DP can make closer to $2500-$3000 per day if they have a high-end camera package and bring in additional accessories like wireless video package.
If you are a one person crew and do everything on a shoot, you shouldn’t charge this way at all. You should charge as a video production company. That works entirely different and I made a video showing exactly how to price things if you do the entire production and are not a freelancer. Even if you are a freelancer but want to learn how production company price things, I recommend you watch that video next.
If you want to turn your freelance business into a video production company, check out my free online training. www.filmmakingmentor.com/Vide...
This gentleman is my go to for video production knowledge. No shucking and jiving just straight business!
Very helpful! My freelance (and now production company) has grown over the past year and your videos have been extremely helpful in my journey. Thank you for this
Thanks for this - keep the videos coming!
This one really helped, thanks for this!
Very accurate! I should finally set up a internal pricing method
First video I’ve seen that accurately displays standard rates and procedures. This would have been perfect when I was just getting started. Definitely took some trial and error.
Also, talking with other crew folks above and below you is a great gauge for standard rates in your market.
I’m in Portland Oregon and i can say that your pricing breakdown is on par with commercial rates in my city. For a Gaffer and a Grip tho you’re most likely getting a sprinter package and that gear estimate seems a little high. I own a sprinter package and my gear budgets are usually 600-1000. I know there’s a lot of factors at play here but this has been my experience. Thanks for the great video. I think more people need to be open about rates and finances.
Hello,
it will be nice to see a video on how to price jobs for solo filmmakers in different levels
Thought the same thing. Was waiting after the 4:42 mark but was never brought up again... Hopefully a new video is coming out to cover the Solo film maker.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks
Great info! Only thing I'd push back on is owner-operator day rates. For owner-operators it can be easier for clients to simply see one price including basic camera rig, mic, and a light or two.
Yea this video is definitely not for owner operators. I would price that differently
I know you literally just posted this and worked hard on it, but I'm looking for a video about the administrative aspects of directing a film. I'm working on a short that's near feature length and I'm wondering what kind of releases and NDAs to use, recommendations for organizing and categorizing certain information - you know - workflow outside of the video workflow. I know what I want to do on set and how, but I want to make sure I'm properly organized.
Thanks! And thank you for making this pricing guide!
hey. I honestly always hire a line producer to take care of that side of things. So i'm not too familiar with the paperwork involved with it. If you can hire a line producer to help you, it will probably save you a ton of time.
@Filmmakingmentor thanks! If "hire someone else for that" is the answer, that works for me! I have enough on my plate lol. Thank you for your answer ❤️
Yea line producers have great experience with this type of paperwork and I personally hate doing paperwork like this. I’ve hired SAG actors and it’s even more paperwork
Great video. Which one is the one you mention at the end that explains the same process but for a one man band production?
This one How to Price Video Production Services
ua-cam.com/video/gRwbTJkC6iI/v-deo.html
@@Filmmakingmentor thanks!
Thank you Saj, Is there any way to contact you ?
So something is very off here.
If you're a studio that rents out equipment and staff for shooting then Yes, have a price racket.
BUT if you're actually creating the project from start to finish then youre supposed to charge based on value that you're giving the client and not the labor.
Hey where can I find some examples of your work
www.newslatefilms.com/
Hey Saj, i'm a Content Manager that works in esports. Currently, I work for the #1 Madden Player in the world. I do all his BTS, UA-cam, and social media. If you were in my position, what are the big questions you would consider? Would love to chat about this or have a discussion around this.
I would try to systemize what you do for him and try to bring in someone to help you, so you can get another similar client. Do you charge him a flat monthly fee or do you charge hourly or per project?
I charge him $45 per hour right now. He's made over $900k playing Madden and is ranked #1 all time. He's playing for $250k this Friday in Vegas and I am creating a documentary on him@@Filmmakingmentor
I would try to go to a monthly retainer type contract with him if you can. That way, you have a set income from this gig and then you can work on getting another similar client using his name. I really don’t have experience working with individuals, but without a consistent monthly revenue you can count on, it will be hard to hire help and expand this. Sounds like a pretty cool gig though
@@Filmmakingmentor Thanks brother. His YT has made $4k in the first 2 months. I pitched him to allow me to use that ad rev as a "creative budget" to pay out editors and designers, and I can keep the remaining income as profit. He's not sweating that income stream right now, as he makes over 100k-200k each year playing in tournaments, and a cool 25k/year selling ebooks. Thanks for your feedack, these videos give me energy!
If your day rate is at 1500$ and you say that the day rate starts when you arrive on location and ends when you leave. So what if you have to drive 3h to the location and another 3h to go back to your office? How do you charge those hours? And what about gear preparation. If you need half day for the preparation of your gear, do you charge anything for it and if yes how?
so production time is from call time to wrap. If it's 3 hours to get there, I would considered that an out of town shoot and charge half day rate for travel in addition. And for prep, depends on the size of the project. Most producers won't pay for prep if it's a simple one day shoot. For longer shoots, you can charge a prep day or half day too. I do for bigger projects.
@@Filmmakingmentor thanks a lot! Would you still charge half day rate if you have to travel total 2-3 hours? And in those 10h day rate is a lunch break included and also the dismantling of the set?
In most productions, lunch is off the clock. So the day can be 10.5 hours in total. Wrap is included in that time.
And yes anything under 5 hours is half day. 3 hour travel is half day. But if someone wanted to charge me that, I would push back or try to hire a local. So depends on your client
Let’s not forget INSURANCE on gear…