Re: New to Motion Graphic Pricing -- Need Help

If you have a seasoned pro who could do the job fast and accurate, and a beginner, who kind of stumbles thru it but gets it done, either the beginner has to cut their rate to next to nothing, or the pro has to charge out the wazoo by comparison. They can't both work for the same rate, not without a markup for the pro or a discount for the beginner. Yet the beginner has a floor rate below which he dare not go as well.

The pro has spent a lot of time to get mastery which leads to efficiency and productivity. The pro can maybe do the job in one hour, the beginner, in eight. The pro can thus do eight jobs at the lower rate, (which though mathematically possible is practically unlikely), or the one job at the higher rate. Even at the higher rate he may still cost less than a cheaper guy that has to try, then abandon several approaches over an 8-hour day before he gets the one that's going to satisfy a client. So comparing rates is never just an objective exercise. The level of artistry and quality you get for the rate has to figure into it as well.

I see this when I use pro actors versus volunteers. The pro actors can memorize lines and deliver with consistency take after take, with few mistakes. That lets me shoot with just one camera over multiple takes for different angles and yet I know everything will cut together well. For nonpro talent, that single camera work becomes expensive because I have to do many more takes to get the same footage right. They'll also often wind up needing extra help like a teleprompter, and they likely won't be as believeable or smooth in any case. Because they can't do the same take the same way twice, I often find I have to backstop my continuity and cover shots by using two cameras, a closeup and a cover shot, instead of one, or I won't get enough good matches to edit with. And that extra shooting from a second cam and sorting thru lots more bad takes adds time in the editing suite. So you can see that one simple decision on pro versus nonpro talent could have ripple effects that lead to double or triple costs in gear, staff, quality and time. While the actor's were "free" they cost more in the long run than hiring "expensive" pro talent. And such it might be for editing and graphics comp services.

So back to the original question.

Know your hourly rate. Predict at least to yourself the hours it should take. If this will take more than a day, you might give the client a minimum and maximum HOURS estimate, with a cutoff if you go over that needs his approval. Figure how long this project will take and if it's more than a half day, but less than a full day, just quote a day rate, which is giving you some margin for trying a few different things that may work out or not. I think you should usually never tell clients the hourly rate if possible, only the day rate, where you can adjust any markups you need to make for the differences in each project's difficulty and time.

Billing half days usually is a money loser because of the blown opportunity costs of missing another gig. What happens if you run over a bit? Are you going to eat the overage and thus functionally cut your rate and profit, or try to add on to a bill that was already agreed, (bad for customer relations) or negotiate a new deal to finish? None of these are great situations to have to face, so don't.

I would agree that if you were learning an app the first time on a client's dime, you should not charge full rate for any "dead time" there, so if you are a scrupulously ethical person it might be good practice to keep a stopwatch nearby that you can start and stop to track productive versus nonproductive time. Don't tell the client that's what you're doing, this is for your own use. Then search your heart at the day's end when you're tallying the hours and efforts, and rebate accordingly. Don't cut rates or hours just to ingratiate yourself or encourage future work, that way lies madness and grinders.

Cut rates where you honestly messed-up and wasted time, where gear broke down, etc. Trying and failing may sometimes be billable, if what you're doing is pushing the limits of the creative process. Often I'll spend many hours off the clock thinking about upcoming projects, I don't get to bill for that, but it has an effect on how well and fast the product turns out.