Hourly rate for Post Production (AE) work?

[Craig Russillroy]

Hi brian – in London we charge £250 per day for pre viz – online is £500 this is just the editor – hope this helps ….

[Michael Szalapski]

Depending on the complexity and quality of what the client wants – as well as the nearness of the deadline – are all factors you should consider.
Are they asking for something a newbie could do? You should probably not charge as much as if you’re doing something very complicated.

Also, it’s worth considering how much exposure the work is going to get. If you’re working on a national ad for Coca-Cola, you should probably expect to receive more money than doing a local ad for Big Bob’s Big Cars.

At this precise moment in time I in the midwest as well (thanks to the COW’s jobs forum I’m moving next week to my new job). I’ve charged anywhere from $30-50 an hour.

Occasionally a client may just want a graphic and pay a set fee. I did some graphics for a client – it matched their branding, it looked great, they were extremely happy with it and loved me forever and I made $160 for an hour’s work (an hour and a half, if you count rendering time [which you should]).

DO NOT FORGET to put into your contract with the client a stipulation about changes. I just did a job for a client that was supposed to be about 10 hours of work, but with the agreement that any changes beyond the original request would be more hours. They got a product that was better than their request, but they wanted a little change here and there that was different from what they originally requested. They ended up having 16 hours of changes because they couldn’t make up their mind. If I hadn’t put that into the contract, they might have gotten that work for free. I’ve seen it happen to our colleagues here on the forum before, and it’s not pretty.

– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble’)

No trees were harmed in the creation of this message, but several thousand electrons were mildly inconvenienced.

[Jason Brown]

I agree with Michael…the exposure of the piece elicits more $…as well as the complexity.

Your skills are on par with what I would term as an *advanced* after effects artist. I’m in the midwest as well, my skills are somewhat advanced and I charge 125/hr when I can. Obviously I can’t all the time, but that’s where I usually start. Charge for rendering time also…helps pay for those machines which cost so much!

Nice job on the video…stay away from the animation presets! But really nice ideas and flow from segment to segment…cool.

-Jason

[Scott Novasic]

$125hr for AE freelance work? I want your clients. I have 17 yrs experience both in the midwest and in LA. Be VERY careful trying to adjust your rate based on how large a client is. Do you want repeat business? Things can get sticky when you vary rates based on client size. AE artists are numerous.
If you have good 3d skills as well that will push you into a higher rate\bracket. Most clients in LA that I work with want my ‘day rate’ which is $700 but I am a generalist, 1 stop shop so to speak.
I offer incentives here and there, especially during this recession, but NEVER charge for rendering (during off hours) Only the biggest shops around tend to be able to include a render charge. Its all included
in your hourly rate.
…
You charge a rate that is based on HOW GOOD YOU ARE. NOT on how big the client you are working for is. (when a millionaire walks into mcdonalds, he pays the same price for fries as the high school kid. If Mcdonalds raised its price for the millionaire, he would not put up with it) You may get away with it, but it will eventually catch up with you.
……
Rates imho – do vary some based on region of the country — midwest AE — $300 day rate New York \ LA AE- $600 day rate — South AE $250 day rate Bigger cities tend to pay higher rates.

A day rate is the “deal” rate. When projects go long or over estimate, then, in my experience, I charge more of a premium hourly rate that is pre arranged.

Were all different in our experiences…..

SuperNova
Animation & Visual Effects
Scott Novasic
Los Angeles Ca
web:https://web.mac.com/finaleffects

[Scott Novasic]

just so I am clear, those were my FREELANCE estimates. NOT what a ‘Facility’ would charge for that same service….

SuperNova
Animation & Visual Effects
Scott Novasic
Los Angeles Ca
web:https://web.mac.com/finaleffects

[Jason Brown]

Good comments Scott. I guess we’re all different in our expectations. My charges are based on freelance. I work full time so my *free time* to do freelance is limited. That’s why I feel justified in charging 125/hr. I have clients pay it all the time. I’d never work freelance for 300/day. That’s not nearly enough to pay for your time/facility/healthcare/equipment/and about 30 other things I’m not thinking of.

I guess back to the initial question, figure out that you cost based on a 10 hour workday and figure out your day rate. Account for every expense you have running your own business.

Just my 2 cents…which took me 5 minutes to write…so 125/60 x 5 = 🙂

Take care guys.

[Brian Cody]

Thanks everyone for you input. There really is a lot to consider. I will probably end up charging $85/hr (no render fee). I can’t really do a day rate because I already have a full time job.

Thanks again for your valuable input.

Brian

[Sara Thomas]

Hey Brian,

I just tried sending you an email via your YouTube Channel but you have that function blocked. Any chance you could send me your email address so I can contact you about a job?

Sara Thomas
sthomas@oceanconservancy.org
Ocean Conservancy