Re: 1st paying gig...how much to charge?

Just want to add to Lee's great response to your question. I tried doing the hourly thing before and always got burned. Now we shoot with a 1/2 day rate and a whole day rate. A day in the video world is usally 10 hours, this time includes setup, lunch and strike times.If the client wants more that one can do in 10 hours , they pay overtime. Watch out for the hidden. When people start a video project both the client and producer want to make the best production and change things, kinda like building a house, better windows, upgrades here and there. Don't get caught in that trap with your video. Make sure your contract specifies everything, we have a change form that must be agreed upon and signed by both parties showing the price increase for extras.
Hope we are helping you and not sounding negative, but you have make sure you get paid for what you do and your skills, if you low ball on your first job, raising the price for the next one will be harder.
Good luck
Tom