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What would my work have been worth at first glance?
Hello,
I didn’t quite find the answer I was looking for in the FAQ, so I’m asking here. I apologize if this isn’t the appropriate place to ask.I recently bartered some video production for fitness training for my mother, but I was wondering what should I have charged if I didn’t barter.
Some background: I am a student studying video production and wanted to get some experience outside of class projects. Of course, on Craigslist there was the usual “no pay, but great experience,” but I was able to barter free fitness training for my mom. The project consisted mostly of creative 10-20 second snippets of workouts, a few 5-10 minute workout videos, and 2 testimonials.
Here are a few examples (warning: explicit language. I did not choose the music)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H773S-ytmDk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvGTmkkwVfU -
1 Reply
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I think your moms should start out with slightly smaller weights, and watch the potty mouth:-)
More seriously, you need to work out what your day rate is. It takes a lot of calculation, it’s not just a number you pick out of the…air. Do a keyword search here on the COW for a million words about how to do that. Meanwhile, depending on your area, the competition, etc. if you shot all these scenes in one day, it would be between 200 and 500 bucks, give or take. But you can’t just take that figure to the bank and take out a loan against it. There are a lot more factors to consider. The scenes could have been steadier, lit better, show the lifting form a little more, but maybe the more theatrical approach was what the client wanted, I don’t know from here.
You can’t obsess about what some goof on Craig’s would have charged for this. You’ve gotta figure out what it costs *you* in time and money to get the shots, then add a markup to that, or you might as well hang up the camera and put on an apron and nametag. Once you know your real dya rate and hourly rate, that’s the number you don’t dare charge below, because it means you could be making more at McDonald’s.
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