rate for a 30 min narrative?

I'm a long time DP just getting started as a colorist . I've been doing it for awhile but mostly for friends and my own pieces and work out of my house, but i think i do a good job, have a good DPs eyes, know Resolve pretty well and use a Flanders for color accuracy. However I also know I'm slow and haven't even put together a reel yet .

I've been asked to bid on a 30 min narrative short that was shot in sLog3 on an FX9 ( I assume UHD) . It looks shot well, and is a lovely piece, but I know the production was/is on a shoe string so they won't be able to afford the typical local guys. . I would very much like to do it, but really have no idea what to bid. I also know that at this stage of my "career" I can't charge the going rate and don't want to charge by the hour because I know I'm slow so I just want to give them a flat rate. Can you guys give me any idea what a typical independent colorist might charge for a 30 min short? Thanks

I don't know what is the typical charge in your country for that service.
But I'd like to give one advice on behalf of giving a flat rate to a production with on a shoe string:

Don't do that unless you've already worked with them and know their ethics. I guess I am not alone with once falling into that trap of a client relationship where they have little money but huge ambitions and just did not stop trying to get things changed over and over and eating away my time although not paying for it. But I wanted to deliver quality and not getting bad hearsay - so gave in. This can be very toxic and you need to prevent this happening to you right from the start. Make it clear in written words what you are willing to give and what will cost extra.

Yes I understand that but thanks for the warning. I do know these people and like them but I will need to be clear about changes.

I'm in the US BTW .

I worked in film biz as grip iatse 52 and am retired 73 old. I grew up in film and it went digital.
with panaflex 35mm 1000 foot magazines ( 11 min at 24fps ? ) takes were slated fast and cuts made fast.
"roll sound, speed, roll camera, mark it, slate, background action, ACTION"..." CUT !" soon as scence part was over ( master and coverage), and then print it back to one or check the gate...very factory like. And fast. With digital you can roll camera forever in comparison. Some jobs ( as editor) require you sync sound with the slates, save the clips in a folder system that requires some serious planning, usually by sc number. You got the script so you can edit without guessing how to put the puzzle together.
Most post houses have lots of people working on this stuff ( motion pics and episodic TV ).

So your post boils down to a few things you can find out from your friends. How much source material do they have ( all the takes and do-overs (pick ups)).

Is it already sync'd ( sound to camera directly and not mixed on set with slates)

Once you know what you have to slog through in TIME to load and organize and start edit the END PRODUCT IS 30 MIN .... not necessarily what you have to slog through to whittle it down to the best parts. As mentioned you already know about the potential for interference for changes. If they trust you to want you and you like them there's no need to go into that.

Figure out how many hours roughly it will take you to go through the material to get 30 min out of it and charge them $25.00 per hour.

If it's already completely edited to 30min with sound and music etc the $25.00 as only doing color work is fair too.

Competitive rate/terms for quality color (not Fiverr or Upwork):

$3,000 Flat for the 30 min short
1 week initial turnaround
2 rounds of revisions
Copy of file (which most people don't send)

Add 3 days if needing to conform/do a lot of sizing/stabilization

If they clap back on price, say you can do it for half price if they send you the timeline already conformed into resolve, no revisions once initial look is decided (send them a frame or two), and to not expect any sizing or stabilization to be done, and no copy of the file; and that it will take twice as long (iron triangle: speed, cost, quality—you can pick only two); and that screen credit is REQUIRED

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Thanks Bryant, Very helpful information . Out of curiosity - where are you located? I wonder if rates around the US differ by location.

Lenny

i've not worked on a one-off 30 min show ever..

some series tho = 13 x 30 min, i budgeted 2x shows / day, first show took much longer, like a full day to sort the variables, find out where the bodies are burried - once we knew where we were going the last 6 shows flew through, a day and half for all six 30 min shows, was a lot of cut-n-paste grades from earlier shows

i had the show arrive conformed to cam orig, handed back a roundtrip folder
end game = an invoice for 7 days at full book worked at my end, and their end

now to figure out what a day rate is that works for you....

Thanks Bryant, Very helpful information . Out of curiosity - where are you located? I wonder if rates around the US differ by location.

Lenny

Right, factor in SE tax, and $25hr is a only couple bucks over minimum wage in SF. Factor in GL insurance, and some other basic coverage, SDI/UI, and you may as well be working at Subway. I’d say $40-60 is probably more realistic. Consider that guys pushing boxes for IA Local 16 are probably making ~$50 hr, full benefits, 5hr minnies, etc., In my Local out in BFE it’s half that.

Good Luck

I work remotely out of Treasure Coast, Florida (in between Orlando and Miami).

I'm married with a 1-yr old, and to survive I need $6K/month. If I want to do more than survive, I need more than $6K/month.

Figure out your, "to survive" number, and if something takes you a month to do, charge that amount. If you want to do more than survive, either charge more than that amount, or do it faster. For example, sometimes I quote a week, but in my head I know it's going to only take two days of non-stop work if nothing goes wrong. If they say they need it faster, I make it more expensive, but still do the same work.

I'm non-union. I only charge flat rates, and that's how I price in my head. The case for not charging hourly is that it doesn't incentivize speed, and if you're good and fast at what you do, you get penalized for not being able to "bill more hours" (look up Chris Do). And I always leave wiggle room to take on multiple jobs in the same month.

That's my "recipe", for jobs that take 1/4 a month, I divide my numbers by 4, and so on and so on.

So, to recap, you need to figure two numbers and go from there: your "to survive" number, and knowing how fast YOU can do a certain task at a certain quality.


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I'm 75 and so in the twilight of my career as a DP and work has slowed enormously this year - partly as people I've worked for many years have gotten out of the business or sadly died and I'm not hustling though I still am in good shape and love to shoot. . Fortunately though I have Social Security and some rental income so I no longer need $6K a month to survive. Far less but I still need income. I always though of color as a career I would pursue as i got older and still needed income so I have been steadily doing things for people I know, working cheap for now and building a reel and a reputation . I still make far far more shooting/hour though - no comparison. Fortunately I do love color work. Eventually i plan to charge more when I feel ready. You haver to pay your dues though.

Lenny

I'm 75 and so in the twilight of my career as a DP and work has slowed enormously this year - partly as people I've worked for many years have gotten out of the business or sadly died and I'm not hustling though I still am in good shape and love to shoot. . Fortunately though I have Social Security and some rental income so I no longer need $6K a month to survive. Far less but I still need income. I always though of color as a career I would pursue as i got older and still needed income so I have been steadily doing things for people I know, working cheap for now and building a reel and a reputation . I still make far far more shooting/hour though - no comparison. Fortunately I do love color work. Eventually i plan to charge more when I feel ready. You haver to pay your dues though.

Lenny

Seems like you're in a good position!

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