Fixed price videos

[Randy Wheeler]

I was trying to come up with a list of videos that could potentially be offered to bands at a fixed price. Package prices could be developed by combining videos.

These videos wouldn’t have as many variables as doing a music video and would be easier to control the time spent on them. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

1. General interview with the entire band
2. Individual band member interviews
3. Band or song writer discussing specific songs
4. In the studio with the band

Any other ideas?

Randy

[Michael Munkittrick]

Okay, if you’ve got a good reel put together, place it and a breakdown of a comparable estimate for a few projects that you have done. If they are looking for associative values, this would be the most effective way of showing a cost-per-shot layout without defining any rock-hard figures.

Also, you could certainly do preset prices for on-camera interviews with intercut footage so long as there are defined limitations to your agreement. However, even with that said, I wholeheartedly believe that putting the dollars and cents on the table make negotiations more complex than doing each job a per necessary with the cost being very closely relegated to the exact specifications that all parties expect.

Finally, there’s no shame in not being certain about the cost for a job without defined terms. The sad thing is that you, more often than not will not be in the position to define those terms after the point of pitching a “generic package”. While you may be very, very gifted and the artist may be incredibly easy to work with, the deal, as it were is between you and the promoter/CD-packager. That is a difficult place to be with the idea of predefined values.

Good luck with the project.

Michael Munkittrick
Gainesville, Florida USA

[Bob Cole]

Thanks for this thread — it raises important questions.

The most important thing to recognize about clients who require a fixed price is that money is often not the main issue for them. Their main goal is CONTROL. Making movies is a scary business, with thousands of details. Directors can order 20 takes for a scene; editors can “tweak” for just about ever.

If you want business from clients who require fixed pricing:

1. Respect their POV.
2. Provide consistent, clear communication on the ongoing charges for the project. (Law firms provide a good model for how to avoid disputes. They provide estimates of the final bill, and then give the client timely updates (as often as daily) on the hours and other charges that are incurred.)

If you do that, in my experience, many clients who start by requiring fixed pricing will wind up authorizing additional charges, because you will be respecting their need to feel in control.