[Tim Baker]

First of all…George…don’t ever bid on projects in my market…sheeesh…you are cheap!

You did not allow any time for editing…graphic/interface creation…dubs/burning of the “whole” thing…client changes…producer time wasted meeting with client…etc. If you are going to survive in the business…you have got to have a clear vision of what it is going to take to get it done and do as little for free as possible. And only do for free what will help you in the future as far as furthering your skills or business position.

I’ve done projects that were less than 20 minutes that took weeks…only you can make the time determination based on what the client has told you that they want. You will have to judge your time base on past experience(so you are going to come out in the whole alot until you figure out your own editing speed…I have worked with seasoned editors that were slower than malasses in February…simply because they were anal about the small things.) I am rather quick, but I try to have a very clear vision of my own/merged with the client’s desires before heading into it.

Here is the simple skinny “cat”:

I charge $1300.00 per day to edit…that includes me/editor/graphics creation/authoring/etc…or $130 per hour. I figure this price point keeps me busy if it just comes down to price…since most regional post houses charge $150.00 per hour and up. I have been doing start-to-finish production work for nearly 20 years and edit on a mobile, High Definition Final Cut Pro tower system with the Kona 2 and Kbox and Kona I/O for standard def. If you bid on an 8 or 10 hour day…bill for that…don’t give ’em anything…if you work…they pay for it.

I also leave myself open ended on my estimates/budget with a clause that says this is only an estimate and that actual price may be more/or less dependent upon final requirements to complete project(as clients are want to constantly change things after your initial meeting that will be expected to base your estimate off of)…I also include an “out of scope” clause that states any costs/delays/additional man hours/ and or expenses will be passed on in addition to the initial estimate.

I am a Christian and I have been where you are and it is an unusual situation. Unfortunately with this client and the religious implications…what they are doing is their “ministry” and in too many cases like this…they expect what you do to be a “ministry”, as well. They do not think…hey…this guy has to pay his bills…etc. So be upfront with what it is going to take and it up to you to educate your client as to what is involved and what the cost will be. In the process, you do two things…you give them an idea what they can realistically expect to pay…and you build worth in your skills and product because you hopefully have told them how long you are going to be sitting infront of your editor…blah…blah…blah.

I, unfortunately, have to say that the few jobs that I have walked away from feeling like I got the shaft…were for religious organizations. So be aware of the spiritual and emotional junk that can get tossed into the mix, as well.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully I have given you the information that you wanted and maybe some insight that you did/did not…the main thing is there are a lot of variables that we on the “Cow” cannot know, but I at least, I think, gave you an industry standard rate that is attributable to my geographic location…which is another consideration that you need to consider, as well. If you are in Vegas…it will support higher day rates than if you are in Small Town, USA.

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Tim Baker]

Did you try a free load in…without deck control?

[Tim Baker]

How seperate are the two partitions? I am wondering about the sharing of files between the two OS setups.

Like now…I get a lot of Powerpoint files that I have to save out on my PC desktop unit as Tiffs to use in Final Cut projects on my Mac Desktop…because I have two seperate systems.

Once both OS’s are on one machine…how much will the seperate OS’s “read” files and utilize them between themselves?

With what I do…I end up using the best of both worlds…once they are combined into one machine…will I have better utilization or more frustration?

[Tim Baker]

Thanks so much…gives me a lot to check out…hope this helps…this project is proving very frustrating for a Final Cut Editor.

Love the Cow

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Tim Baker]

Are you using the HD100 and did you change frame settings or camera settings at different points?

It will lag between camera setting changes…should not if you are just starting and stopping record.

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Tim Baker]

Another weird thing…when I scrub thru the timeline…it plays monitor out as fast as I scrub it…nearly/and faster than real time.

Hmmmmmmmmm!!!

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Tim Baker]

Well that brings up another issue…when I go to the Formats on the Control Panel…I do not get a selection for 720p30…it only gives the 720p50/59.94/60.

I am so confused now…what are your exact settings on all of the Control Panel Tabs if you don’t mind me bothering you for them?

I am using the “Video monitor out” component video of the Kbox direct into the back of my Samsung HD LCD.

Thanks so much…

Help!!!

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Tim Baker]

The 720p30 set up is present in the Easy Setups…but if I select that my project is fine, but when I go to set an output setting for monitor or to tape…the 720p30 setting is not in the list at all.

How can that be? I am really confused here…I will try to do the download of the new drivers/etc. from Kona…I just have to get my cable run to my new office location…Thanks all.

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Tim Baker]

Yeah…I had already checked the “all-frames”…I will try the re-download and see what happens.

Has anyone else seen this happen…seems wierd that the only presets that would dissappear are the 720p30 settings.

I know it worked at one time…even in a downconvert to a standard old NTSC monitor.

Thanks,

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”

[Tim Baker]

By the way…no matter what playback setting I use…I do not get motion video to the external monitor. It just stays in a start frame still and then changes to the end frame still when playback is stopped.

Thanks,

Tim Baker
Chameleon Mobile Video Productions
(239)849-3295
“It is not the light at the end of the tunnel that we should seek…it is the courage to take the next step in the dark that we must find.”