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LA day rate for AE Motion Graphics Artist?
Can anyone please tell me the going day rate for AE Motion Graphics Artist in Los Angeles? I’m from Austin, Texas and new to LA…. In Austin I charged $50.00 per hour, so I was thinking a 10hr day would be around $500.00, but not sure what to charge in LA??
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!!!
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2 Replies
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Wow… That’s a great rate in Austin. In LA, I can find really accomplished AE compositors at $35 an hour. There are SO many of them, that for me to bump up to a $50 p/hr person, that compositor has got to also be really expert in some peripheral skills like using roto tools, intense tracking stuff, or having deep experience with plugs like Particular or the RE: vision stuff, or 3rd party DI tools and such. Plus killer design sense, and an ability to help ride herd on a bunch of other folks.
Now the situation, I think, changes if you are sort of doing all in one shop kind of approach. If you’re going to produce, cut, composite, and master whole projects as a freelancer, than your rate can go way up… But at that point people start wanting to lock you in at some all in figure for the project as well.
I know there are some rarified strata of people working for a bunch more than what I am talking about, but I spend most of my time producing major music industry and music video projects, and I can pick any of a dozen killer AE jedi’s at the rate I’m talking about.
Ultimately anybody can make as much as they can manage a client to pay of course…
Bob
MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader -
The issue of pay rates is tricky. It doesn’t make sense to say “what is the pay rate in X city” because it almost always depends on your skill set and experience. Like Bob says, if you are a great artist with other skills, can manage a group of artists etc. your rate will go way up. If you are fresh out of school, you will need to take what you can get. Experience and skill determine everything.
Up here in San Francisco, $50/hr. seems to be the prevailing average for a good artist who is self directed and can get the job done right. The range overall seems to be somewhere between $40/hr – $80/hr.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com
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