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A new challenge
Hi all,
I hope you are all well. I was hoping to gather some advice from those of you living and working in the states (especially on the west coast). I’ve been a freelance Avid editor here in London for 10 years, working all that time in prime time broadcasting. I’ve got a great client base that leaves me booked up as much as I want to be, but I’m looking for a new challenge.
I know of a few British editors who have been cutting some of the big entertainment/reality shows made in LA and I’ve made enquiries into doing this myself, but I wanted to get some idea about rates first. What’s the average weekly freelance rate for an Avid cutter on these kind of shows? I have a young family and just wanted to check that wages are comparative to here in the UK, where my weekly average is about £1600 for offline work (based on a 50 hour week).
Any advice would be most welcome.
Kind regards,
Tom
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11 Replies
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Dunno what the pound to dollar conversion is, but the Union scale here is about $2500 a week for a 50 hour work week. $2564 to be exact (looking at my rate card). That is the base scale. It can go up or down based on the budged (yes, there are lower rates for some cable shows) and skill level…union or non-union. I have seen editors command $5,000 a week, and others getting $1500. But $2500 is the happy medium here in LA.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Thanks for the response. Dollar to Pound wise £1600 is about $2830, but living in London is very expensive so probably doesn’t go as far.
Anyway, good to know the ball park.
Tom
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Living in LA ain’t cheap either. Unless you go to the skeevy parts of town. But I wager cheaper than London any day.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Scale for series work in LA is 750 a day.
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I dont think I could support me and my family for less then 2500/ week as a freelancer… LA is expensive, and if you have kids, that means private schools, if you live in an LAUSD area.
Have tried doing a cost of living comparison for London to LA?moody glasgow
editing.compositing.design -
I’m not even sure how to go about a cost of living comparison between the two. Any suggestions? Still find it hard to believe it could be more than London though. Not sure there are many places more expensive than London.
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wow, you’re right.
at least according to this:
https://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities2.html
Good luck. I saw this recently – makes the whole process seem daunting.
https://www.reason.com/images/07cf533ddb1d06350cf1ddb5942ef5ad.jpg
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That blows. I could leave New York and move back to Sydney, which is still more than LA.
One advantage for yourself though is that New York would be a cheaper flight home.
RB
Rory Brennan
Editor
New York City -
Hey look, I would be twice as rich if I’ve lived in Delhi….
oh, wait… I just remembered it sucks there…. nevermind. 😛moody glasgow
editing.compositing.design -
One thing Im surprised no one has suggested is because you are new to the market you can go in and write your own ticket. Then, add 10%. You might be impressed what a cool accent and positive attitude might command.
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