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What Am I Worth?
Hello fellow cow members,
I was contacted about a couple of job offers in LA recently and need some quoting advice. I’ve done alot of charitable work in the past and would work for less because I wanted to help the various causes. However I need to get a better idea of what I’m worth in the freelance arena. Here’s my portfolio. https://www.organicpixels.net. I’ve been in the biz for 6 years now and know my stuff pretty well. The freelance jobs are for a television show and a live event production house. I’ve also done some documentaries, commercials, corporate, and political stuff on the side.What should I make hourly and daily?
I don’t want to overbid and loose work as I need it now. However I don’t want to be totally taken advantage of either.
Thanks,
Jason“An unexamined life is not worth living” ~ Socrates
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25 Replies
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Jason,
No one is going to give you a specific rate here because they vary so much. Economy, market, your particular experience, and who you know will affect that number. Rates tend to be higher in heavy unionized area (SF Bay Area in our case). The easiest way to find out what to charge is to call competitors in your area and find out what they would charge.
Vince Becquiot
Kaptis Studios
San Francisco – Bay Area -
Vince, thanks for the input. Perhaps it would of been better if I worded my question like this – “What’s the average going rate for someone of my skill set and experience in the LA area?”
“An unexamined life is not worth living” ~ Socrates
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Your worth what you can get someone to pay you.
I know that’s not the answer your looking for, but it’s the truth.
Dosen’t matter what your skill set is. If you can get some to pay you $60/hour than thats what your worth. If you only manage to find
jobs for $15/hour than thats what your worth.If you want $50/hour than ask for $50/hour. If clients walkaway laughing than your not worth it or you have to find new clients
who think you are.Scott Cumbo
Editor
Broadway Video, NYC -
Thanks Grin. Hopefully I look like a million though ;P
“An unexamined life is not worth living” ~ Socrates
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Your question should be “What will someone pay me for my skills as X?”.
The value of any commodity is the amount that someone is willing to pay for it. Outside of union wages, it’s pretty much a crapshoot. See today’s housing market for an example.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .Ask me how to Market Yourself using Send Out Cards
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What are you trying to get a job for? Motion graphics? You need to ask “what is the AVERAGE rate for motion graphics work at this level in the Los Angeles area.”
Too bad I don’t do motion graphics.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Actually, I’d be doing both. Editing and probably logo treatments/thirds etc… When dealing with short commercials, There would be more Motion Graphics work so that would be a factor as well.
“An unexamined life is not worth living” ~ Socrates
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Some would say then that you are doing two jobs and so should get paid as if you were working two jobs. OTOH, I’m one of those people that considers “editing” to include all those things that some of you pros are lucky enough to make good money specializing in. I don’t get to charge more for compositing, for color correction, for Foley, for motion graphics, for composing music and voicing spots. It all fits under one umbrella where I work, and whether I call myself an Editor, Producer, Director, Animator, Sound Designer, Colorist, etc. is based more on which app is open on my screen at the moment:-) I kind of like it that way since I like variety, but I only get paid for ONE job, no matter how many I actually do.
To take it ’round back to your original question, I think the trend is to expect all these other functions to be part of a good editor’s bag of tricks anyway, as “added value”. And when you pitch your rate to these folks, you frame it like that: “If you think this number seems high, its becasue you’re not just getting an editor for that amount of money, you’re getting someone who is doing multiple tasks, which is SAVING you money.
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Good Points. I’ll keep that in my pocket when discussing my rates. However. Does anyone know what the average going rate is in LA for what I do?
“An unexamined life is not worth living” ~ Socrates
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