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What are the standard rates for a Broadcast Designer in 2005 ect…..?
What are the standard rates for a Broadcast Designer in 2005 ? How do you invoice? Where do I get the standard contracts? How do I bill if a client wants to make changes beyond the scope of the project? What form should I use for the client to sign off on each faze of the project ?
Thank You,
Steven Koch
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8 Replies
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I assume that you mean from your own studio? In the states? From a home studio, you won’t survive unless you charge at least $750 a day. That was the going rate 10 years ago, so it’s low. You’ll be tempted to charge less because of all the kids working on inadequate equipment, pirated software, living off their parents. But you won’t survive lowballing. When you charge correctly, you are respected as a professional, get a better quality client and get treated better. Obviously, if you aren’t up to speed you can’t penalize the client, but keep your rate up on paper and reduce the number of billing days to what would be reasonable.
The most important thing when you work as a business, is to get a 50% deposit up front. You’ll get eaten alive if you don’t.
As far as contracts, every case is different. I never worked with clients who required more than a two or three sentence friendly deal memo – What is expected of you; all instructions from client must be in writing, one set of changes, Extras and 2nd changes that go over will be charged at an hourly or half day rate. Interest for late payment. Double time for all-nighters.
A dilemma I’ve always had is what to do about approval dead-time. Your producer has to get an OK from his client who is usually out of town. This can cause excruciating waits 2 or 3 times during the project. And you’re sitting there, not getting paid, waiting. The larger the company, the longer the wait. Dealing with this is something that I’ve never seen discussed in forums. Maybe a statement saying that approval must be made within two days or whatever.
Hopeflly someone else knows where you can find templates. I avoided contracts that look legal.
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I was told this anecdote recently. Travelers (the people that use the red umbrella logo) and Citibank merged. They called in a designer to create a new logo for the merged identities. They met in the offices and talked for a long time, the designer listened to everything, cogitated for two minutes, and created, freehand, on the spot,the red hemispheric slash that is their new logo. Then the designer gives them the bill, and the client is outraged:
“This is a ridiculous amount of money to charge, it took you like two minutes to come up with that logo”.
“No, it took two minutes plus SIXTEEN YEARS”.
I don’t care if the story is accurate, it is, in the most important sense, true. One must figure in all the true costs of a job before naming a rate. I knew a guy who said he wouldn’t turn his computer ON for less than a grand; he wasn’t being an egomaniac, he was being realistic about all his sunken costs and expenses, and the other profit-making opportunities you have to turn down while doing a job, when he figured a rate. It WOULD have profited him more to go network on the phone or go out and meet people to drum up business than work for too low a rate on a lowball job.
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That antecdote is classic. It’s going on my wall.
Staying in this field is seriously expensive – on the surface, it looks like you just load up a cheap computer with pirated software. Hidden expenses are enormous.
Way back, I used to charge around $1,500 per animation because it seemed like a fortune, yet we were going into the hole. At an MGLA meeting, Belief gave a talk and mentioned that they had a $5,000 minimum.
At that point, we raised the minimum and lost most of our base, but interestingly, picked up new clients who not only expected to pay professional rates, but were tremendously more considerate. I
would not have gotten these clients if I had given the old rate, because to a good producer, a cheapie rate instantly telegraphs that you’re B string or a neophyte. -
[jean hauptman] “a cheapie rate instantly telegraphs that you’re B string or a neophyte.”
True in all phases of the business.
I worked for an owner that would come in and say “So and So across town just started a special rate $100 less per hour than ours.”
I replied, “SO?”
He said “shouldn’t we drop our rates?” I replied “nope. They can’t get clients even at that rate, we get them with no problem at our rate.”Nuff said.
Charlie
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Thanks for your responce,
Yes ,we are own studio, just me and another guy. We are tired of getting shafted, by someone who does stuff for cheap here in Miami $250.00 a day, the rates here are so low!! all people want here in Miami is cheap and fast, but in the long run it always comes back to them. I get so frustrated when I have spent tens of thousands of dollars in educating my self in my trades and some smuck comes along and low balls. My parntner is working on a project know for a set fee and the client keeps changing things, what does he do? The fee was set, he wants to know how he should charge?
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Don’t try to break out in Orlando then…the day rate here is probably (ok it is) even less than Miami…
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The designer in question is Paula Scher of Pentagram. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak several years ago, truly inspiring. I seem to remember her telling the same story, but can’t say for sure.
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Don’t try Tampa either. Low ballers everywhere.
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