Day Rate???

[Ron Lindeboom]

[beenyweenies] “The problem is, those rate squeezes are coming form the top, as in the paying clients, not from the studios themselves. For any artist to attack a studio for these things is to completely ignore the realities and dynamics of the very industry they claim to have a such a handle on. “

The proliferation of low-priced tools has guaranteed that the market has been irrevocably shifted away from the kinds of dollar levels that were once the case in this industry. The problem is exacerbated by low-priced tools that hold today’s high feature-to-cost ratio. It is compounded again by the internet’s ability to tie together productions across disparate continents, and thereby draw lower-paid creators into the equation.

Few artists that I know are making the kinds of money that they once did long ago when all of this was considered an arcane “black art” practiced by wizards in dark studios. Nowadays, many studios and corporations look at this as a commodity item and price it accordingly. I am not saying that I agree with the perception but it is clearly the trend.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom

[Steve Roberts]

That’s just the way it is.

The path to better money as an artist lies in the ability to produce amazing *creative* and find someone willing to pay for it. Anybody can use AE, but what can you do with a one-sentence brief?

… and the path to the *best* money (in the business) is to *run* a busy studio with employees, then sell it.

Face it kids, it’s not a high-paying profession.

[Virtual Light]

No argument here at all. I can attest first hand to the pressure being applied by the top of the food chain. The salad days are over and anyone who doesn’t recognize and react to it will be very lonely.

This kind of stress on the market has and will continue to create a significant shake out. Studio budgets have caused many places to shutter and others to cut margins to the point where extinction is virtually a monthly concern. At the same time, demands for quality, reaction time and creative control have increased exponetially. This way of doing business permeates corporate America. To expect anything less from the creative sector is naive.

I must argue though that extrapolating an hourly rate to a yearly income for a freelance employee is inappropriate. It’s a convenient but innacurate device which makes it appear that your contribution to his/her salary is higher than you’re actually paying. Remember freelancers don’t receive any benefits and must depend entirely on their work, wits and networking to keep the jobs coming. I doubt many freelancers are working 40 hour weeks for an entire year. Add in the cost of living and not many of us will be left after the carnage.

At the very real risk of introducing even a particle of politics here, I encourage everyone who doesn’t own a large corporation to closely read the “Guest Worker” provision of the current emigration bill. I can assure you that anyone who does own or run one is already familiar with It and cheering for its passage. It will make competition even more pointless.

Jim

[Brendan Coots]

“extrapolating an hourly rate to a yearly income for a freelance employee is inappropriate. It’s a convenient but innacurate device which makes it appear that your contribution to his/her salary is higher than you’re actually paying.”

That’s mostly true, especially once self-employment taxes and insurance are factored in. But the point remains that to keep my After Effects seats filled, that’s how much I pay per year.

I insist on paying artists well because I respect and value good artists, but the term “good pay” is highly subjective as this thread has revealed.