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Freelance Editing + non competition agreement
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I definitely see your point. And yes, this was my very first long-form of anything to do with broadcast. My producer gave me an opportunity to work for her…. NOT PBS. I was hired via my producer through her company. And yes, I was on a learning curve and it probably took me longer than seasoned television editors. (but no more than a 40 hour learning curve)
With all that being said. I have to tell you that I’m 40 years old with a family to feed. I’m no student and although you say many people would have done this gig for free, you may be referring to students just out of college. My producer wanted to work with me because she knows I’ll stay up 24 hours straight to finish something, If I don’t know how to composite something in Motion or After Effects, I’ll do whatever it takes to figure it out. I’m diligent, responsible and she knew this about me. This is why she asked if I would work on the project.
I also believe she asked me to work on the project because she knew she’d get the most bang for her buck. And yes, I feel sore and I feel taken advantage of, but that’s my fault not hers. It doesn’t really matter what I feel, it is what it is. I have to “suck it up” as they say.
I do not feel like I owe her anything beyond what I’ve already given her. The project is completed, PBS is happy. They contacted me for this little 5 minute piece. I probably should have called my producer (not to ask permission, but just out of courtesy) I realize this now. This is where the feelings got in the way and at the time, I felt like she didn’t own me. I am a freelancer. I had already agreed to give her a finders/agent fee, and I told her I’d sign an agreement stating that I would not actively seek past clients up to a certain time period (from what I’ve been seeing online, some contracts state a period of 6 months up to 2 years).
I have a problem signing an agreement that I cannot accept a job from a past client even if they contact me. The ten years I’ve known her, I have only edited one or two projects a year. Most of them being 30-second commercials and one – 12 minute promotional video. It’s not like I earned a set salary from her and worked for her full-time. I work for several people.
She’s a producer and director. I am an editor. She has very little technical skill and does no editing herself on ANYTHING. I don’t see where the competition thing comes into play in this situation.
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Scott Sheriff,
The situations you’re listing off don’t compare well to Walter’s situation.
In his situation, he is the employer and the freelancer is the ’employee.’ They want to avoid competing over common clients.
In the situations you listed, you made Walter the client – the client of his plumber, his mechanic, his carpenter, his barber, his electrician. He’s the CLIENT is all of those, so your examples aren’t applicable.
The resume example you provided is more along the lines of what he was talking about though. And I’m assuming Walter would have no problem with his freelancers sending out resumes as long as they weren’t going to his clients.
…just saying
Rob Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com -
Okay,
wait…. lolEasy way of looking at it perhaps. My producer produces commercials for our local Ford car dealership.She calls them her client (as they are) PBS is not only a network, but a production company as well. They are in a different category than local mom and pop businesses who have nothing to do with television production. I don’t believe even my producer can classify PBS as her “client”. It’s not the same.
Example: We both share the same camera guy. I introduced my cam guy to my producer. I can’t say to my camera guy… “hey look, you got to sign a contract stating that you wont work with any other production company other than me” It wouldn’t even be right to ask him for a 10-15% commission on all the gigs he gets with her. I cannot dictate what production company he works for just as this woman cannot make me sign a contract stating that I cannot work for PBS without consent. Doesn’t make sense.
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Well it seems that your story got attention from lots of us production people – so i think you did us a favor by sharing it.
The Doc Tank, inc for documentaries
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Thanks, It’s worth a discussion. And debate I think. I hate the business side of it.. I just want to edit and be creative.
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Bob,
“The situations you’re listing off don’t compare well to Walter’s situation.In his situation, he is the employer and the freelancer is the ’employee.’ They want to avoid competing over common clients.
In the situations you listed, you made Walter the client – the client of his plumber, his mechanic, his carpenter, his barber, his electrician. He’s the CLIENT is all of those, so your examples aren’t applicable.
The resume example you provided is more along the lines of what he was talking about though. And I’m assuming Walter would have no problem with his freelancers sending out resumes as long as they weren’t going to his clients.”
I see what your saying, but I was using Walter as a vehicle for a rhetorical statement. It was aimed at those trying to assert the right to control the market because they occasionally hire someone. They are probably worried about loosing work to a lower priced competitor. Welcome to the free market.
According to Merriam-Webster
Definition of FREELANCE
1
a usually free lance : a mercenary soldier especially of the Middle Ages : condottiere b : a person who acts independently without being affiliated with or authorized by an organization
2
: a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer
I believe that those who assert the notion that they own the client and/or the freelance worker are just wrong. My comments about other trades, were simply food for thought along those lines.
It seems those most in favor of this ownership really want this to work like a one way valve. They want to control the clients choices, and relieve themselves of the obligation to keep the sub-contractor employed if it suits them. This attitude seems to be unique, and very self-serving. Normally when someone wants to enter into a relationship like this with a worker, they back it up with full time employment, or some other incentive. Not by ‘blacklisting’ them, which is what this is.
Another way is by mutual agreement such as a contract. Unless you are acting as an agent, those type of non-compete contracts are often with the client, not the sub-contractor. Why? Because the sub isn’t under any obligation (real, or implied) to ask permission to work. I wanted to show how many other common trades we all use day to day operate this way.
And it’s not just them. Live TV, sports, non-union gigs like that don’t work like this. In towns where there are all the major sports franchises it is not uncommon to have multiple events on the same day. This is all handled on a first come/first served basis. Often people try to hire the same crew all season, but if your booked first by someone else, you don’t get blacklisted for not asking permission to freelance for someone else. So unless you are a staff employee, ESPN doesn’t care if you work for Fox tomorrow, and will hire you for the next gig without a second thought.Should there be some common sense and etiquette? Sure. Freelancers shouldn’t solicit work while I’m paying them. But other than that, no. What they do on their own time is not my business. If I want to make it my business, I need to pay for that privileged by hiring them. Or I can just make sure my prices and service can’t be beat by any subs I hire. Problem solved.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.comI have a system, it has stuff in it, and stuff hooked to it. I have a camera, it can record stuff. I read the manuals, and know how to use this stuff and lots of other stuff too.
You should be suitably impressed… -
A reminder of what the stickie at the top says: this is a public forum and is indexed by Google, etc. If there is anything you don’t want your producer/friend to read, you shouldn’t post it here.
(but it has been interesting to read…)
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[lisa serman] “Thanks for your insight. Makes sense. I should have probably called her. Let me ask you one other question. What in your area is a fare wage to pay freelance editors? Do you pay per project or per hour? Thanks!”
Editors in Atlanta make between $35 to $75/hour freelance depending on how much experience they have, the project, how good they are and the length of the contract.
For documentaries we pay strictly by the hour. There’s no reasonable way to know how long a documentary will take to edit so I bill my clients by the hour, thus, the editor gets paid by the hour.
For regular series / episodic work, it’s per project since we have a set amount of days for each edit so we can plan that way.
My full-time employees are paid hourly. We have four full time employees and a roster of 20 or so freelancers we work with on a regular basis.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative MediaRegister now for our Open House March 5
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[walter biscardi] “Editors in Atlanta make between $35 to $75/hour freelance depending on how much experience they have, the project, how good they are and the length of the contract.”
I should clarify, that’s the editor only working on my equipment. What editors charge with their own gear varies wildly. It’s extremely rare that I hire an editor with their own equipment.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative MediaRegister now for our Open House March 5
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Okay, so 40-$45 p/h is reasonable. Is that for straight up editing or do editors usually include use of Photoshop, AE and Motion to create graphics? I have an advance knowledge of Photoshop, but only a basic knowledge of motion and AE. I can create 3D titling that move and spins, but beyond that, I need to use templates for most other things. Do most editors charge extra for the creation of customized motion graphics?
Thanks
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