[Bruce Bennett]

Todd always knows.

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration: Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

Hi Jean-François,

Bob, Grinner and Steve have very good input/advice on this subject. Here’s one thing I do that relates to Steve’s words, “what you might consider is charging the new rate but give them some free time based on their continued loyalty.”
When it comes to this kind of stuff (charging old rates for older/loyal clients, taking on annual projects with cut budgets because of the bad economy, delivering more than what is budgeted for, etc.) on the final invoices, I list my “normal rates” line items as if there was no discounts, and then at the bottom, I list a “negative 1” quantity line item with “Discount courtesy of BMMP” to bring the projects in on budget. Whenever I “give away my money,” I always document it on my invoices so the client can see that they are getting more than they are paying for, hopefully creating client loyalty.

Best of Luck!
Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration: Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

Hi Sam,

“How do I protect my idea?” was one of the questions that I asked veteran documentary filmmaker David Hoffman for my 90-min. CreativeInspiration.com documentary on him. David has won Emmys, Cannes, most major film fests, aired on History Channel, Discovery, HBO, TBS, PBS, etc. His bottom line answer… Sign the people that you want in your documentary first/before approaching others for funding and development.

Best of Luck!
Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative InspirationDocumentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

Hi johnsabbath d’urzo,

Many of us have already reached this point in our lives and careers. My advice…
If you feel this project will “take you to the next level” then give it 200% in order to learn and advance in your career. If the client is a grinder or somewhat stable client, then do what you can to help them out without sacrificing your business. My golden rule: “Always do what you are passionate about and the money will follow.”

Best of Luck,

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

I am amazed at the diverse and great responses on this one. It’s what the COW is all about.

Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

Hey Steve,

Glad to have you as a COW Leader!

Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

[Greg Ball] “By the way Todd, this isn’t for an add spot, it’s for a restaurant to play inside while customers eat. Not that it matters much.”

Wrong. Reproducing copyrighted material without permission is illegal regardless if it is used for broadcast or non-broadcast use. Some good lawyers will even define and convince courts that “playing in public places” is broadcast use.

Good Luck!
Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

Hi Brian,

For the past 9 years, I’ve subbed out 5-6 local crews per year (so about 45-54 crews total) in mid to large markets/cities.

Early in my career, I could get a well-seasoned, local 2-person crew for about $1,200. For about the past 3 years, I find that I need to budget at least $1,500 for a 2-person crew, plus tapes, plus mileage in some cases. Obviously SD is usually closer to the lower rate.

My local shooters here in Madison, Wisconsin (about 1/2 million population in the greater area) run about $1,100-$1,200 per day for a 1-person videographer. SD is usually slightly less than HD, but not by much. $300-$350/day for a grip and/or videographer without equipment.

Good Luck!
Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

Me too. Hey, ain’t King Crab season coming up soon?

Keep us posted.

Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.

[Bruce Bennett]

Hi Evan,

I’m very happy with my subcontracted Flash designers, but when I need to subcontract out-of-state location shooters, the first place I post a “help wanted” ad is at: https://forums.creativecow.net/cowjobboard
I’ve had excellent results with this.

Bruce

Bruce Bennett
Bennett Marketing & Media Production, LLC
Creative Inspiration
Documentaries for those who love to create … and to be inspired.