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Likely Time and Cost on…
Hi,
Can anyone give me an idea from your experience on the following. (in time and cost to end client)Outcome needed: 2 x 20 minute DVDs (5 copies of each)
Client Provides: 55+ hours of Video on 30 tapes (comprising VHS-C in NTSC, VHS in NTSC, DVD and miniDV)
**VHS-C x 6 (in Arabic language) recording in LP, so approx 12 hours
**VHS x 6 (in Chinese) also recorded in LP, so approx 14 hours, but audio level so low will need significant increase
**DVD x 3 (in Spanish) recorded in LP, so approx 8 hours.
**DVD x 6 (in English) recorded in LP, so about 14 hours
**miniDV x 7 (in English) recorded SP, so about 7 hoursNo time codes (effective anyway) for any of the tapes, and rough translations give only a guide, (“between 5 and 10 minutes from start”)
Need to capture all the VHS-C, VHS and DVD (47 hours worth) and convert to DV, then print to miniDV tapes so that correct time codes can be recorded.
Once miniDV tapes have had time codes determined (accuratly due to 4 different languages), client will need to go through a rough draft that will comprise about 5 hours of edited, sub-titled clips to determine which clips they wnat in the final DVDs.
1. Would you attempt to provide an accurate quote? or just one based on an hourly rate?
2. What time would you anticipate the above process may take, as well as the final editing, subtitling, noise reduction, or audio enhancement, addition of PowerPoint slides, and then finally producing the 2 x 20 minute DVDs.?I originally quoted them for a much smaller job, in English, with all miniDV tapes, no time breaks, and accurate time-codes (In and Out), but now that has escalated into a box full of 4 different format tapes, 2 different TV standards and 4 different languages, and they seem to have no idea at this stage what they want the end result to look like!!!) I feel I am about to eneter the twilight zone for many many hours.
Oh, and they want it all completed in two weeks.
Any advice, information, likely time, would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Roy
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4 Replies
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Charge them hourly since you cannot be expected to give away your time based on the client’s lack of expectations.
Better yet turn down this nightmare job.
Tony Salgado
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[Roy Stanton] “Oh, and they want it all completed in two weeks.
Any advice, information, likely time, would be greatly, greatly appreciated.”
Hope you have some help on this one. As Tony suggested, charge them your hourly rate and inform them that there will be overtime plus additional help coming in to work on this. I don’t think I would take on that job with that deadline.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Run away! Run away NOW!!!
Tom -
I wouldn’t necessarily run away but I would make it painfully clear that it can not be done in 2 weeks and it is going to cost them dearly for delivering sloppy materials to work with. Just decide what your time is really worth and don’t count on working on this more than 8 hours a day.
It is very easy to get sucked into a project but this mismash of formats and no timecode will kill your creativity if it becomes the big thing to sort this out.
Kinda why assistant editors exist.
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