[Tenille Susan]

Thanks Mike,

When I asked the client how much they’re willing to allocate to me for the three months, their words were, “quote me how much you would charge, and we’ll see if it’s in the budget”.

I understand you don’t know my specific costs, or standard of living, but my hope was that I would receive some ballpark figures based on your own broadcast experiences.

Please do not assume that I am going to get ‘ripped off’. Based on the hard demands of this project, I am willing to price myself comfortably for dedicating 3 months of my life to a TV show. But the question still remains how comfortable should I consider pricing myself.

Cheers,
Tenille

[Tenille Susan]

Thanks Mark,

Along with my quote I will be “spelling out, in writing” what I’ll be doing, (I.E. ANY required editing duties for 40 hours a week, for 3 months.)

I’m not asking you to suggest $20 / hour rates. I’m wondering what you would say, if someone told you to drop everything, and come to their town for three months to provide editing assistance on a broadcast television show.

My hope is, that one of the experts here, may know the type of budget that new producers have when creating a TV show, and the type of resources they can allocate to an ‘extra’ editor.

Based on 40 hours a week for 3 months, would $55 / hour be fair? or the $125+ / hour range more reasonable. (The sound editor has been approved at a flat rate of $1200 per episode [with a cap on hours outlined in invoice, which works out to $40/hour, but he won’t be required to relocate.])

I don’t see myself getting taken advantage of by charging a flat rate of $26,400+ for three months on my first broadcast series and if that’s what I have to charge because the producers don’t yet know exactly what they need and require a fixed rate, so be it. The question is, is $55/hour enough or am I undervaluing myself?

Thanks,
Tenille

P.S. By the way, I will be using my own equipment and licenses.

[Tenille Susan]

Thanks all; such a plethora of information here.

The problem is, the ‘first time’ producers I’m working with are (like me) new to broadcast, and thus have limited idea of what exactly will be required. The problem is that they have a strict budget, and that is why they have asked me to provide a flat rate.

I had a meeting with the Producers today, and they have cleared some of my uncertainties. I will in fact be traveling to the new destination in housing provided by the client.

All in all, It is looking like I will be spending 3-4 months working 10-12 hour days on this project. The actual duration could vary, so I’m wondering if anyone here has billing suggestions.

I’m considering providing a fixed rate for a fixed time (i.e. 40 hours a week for 3 months), with overtime billed at my hourly rate. I suppose my main concern is, how much does one charge for this type of production? and how much would the relocation affect the bill?

There are 13 total episodes, and despite my (assistant editor title) I expect I will be doing 50% of the actual editing.

Thank you Ron, Mike and Mark for your suggestions, after I arrive at a billing structure my client and I are comfortable with, I will get everything in writing.