Charging on Video Creation Projects

Summersond wrote on 4/12/2002, 1:03 PM

I have a question on billing the client. How do you bill the client in your business for a production? In this case, I do only video and not audio production. In the beginning, it was easy with linear editing, as you didn't have near the options to play with on video clips (at least in my case, so I billed by the song. But now with non-linear editing, if they want to get fancy, I can really wrap up a lot more time per song. Possibilities are charging per minute, by the song, by the hour, etc. I am curious you you guys out there handle this.

thanks
dave

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 4/12/2002, 1:15 PM

I charge by the job. What i will do is try to come up with as reasonable estimate of the necessary time involved as possible. This requires a pretty good understanding of the job and what the client expects, as well as a realistic idea of how long it takes you to accomplish the various tasks. I multiply this time estimate by the hourly rate i wish to make and quote this as a complete charge to the customer (adding in extras like blank tapes, etc. if necessary). I also inform the customer that if they make changes along the way that they will be subject to a revised billing. This method allows the customer to decide up front if the project is worth the expense for them, and also encourages me to finish in a timely fashion.

Also, i never charge based on render time. For one thing, most renders take place while i'm sleeping or out to dinner. For another, it's almost like penalizing the customer because i didn't spend more money on a faster computer.