Working w/AE Editors

[Mark Suszko]

You bill the client by the project, the editor bills you by the hour. You bill the client in three phases: a third down to start the work, a third at some agreed mid-point, the final third upon delivery. You should have a similar deal with the editor. It starts with a very detailed briefing to describe the actual deliverables and schedule. You have to see a script and storyboards to help gauge how much time will need to be spent in post. Those time estimates are calculated against your established internal hourly or day rate, to get to a ballpark figure for the project. But there’s a lot more to it than that, and typically AfterEffects is just one component of the many post production tasks involved.

[Mark Coger]

Thanks Mark. As an editor I typically have a general idea how long something will take to edit that doesn’t involve any type of heavy motion graphic effects. So before the producer gives the client an estimate, does he talk with an AE editor first to get a ballpark figure about how long the AE work will take? For example, say I get hired to do a 30-sec web commercial for a company. And they want there to be a five-second animated graphic w/company logo and text at the opening and closing of the video. Would the producer need to discuss the details with the AE editor first to get a proper estimate out to the client?

[Mark Suszko]

If you are farming out the AfterEffects work to a sub contractor, yeah, you’ll need to talk to them first and give them as much info about the job as possible, to get their estimate on time and cost. You also need to figure in that the AE person’s first try at it might come back with changes needed, either by you, or the client, so that time for changes needs to be figured into the overall bid as well.