How much to charge?

sparky10

Hi all,

I've recently been asked to film rugby & football matches on my video camera, so the club can analyse their matches to see any mistakes etc.

I was just wondering how much I should charge (per game) the clubs for doing this?

I'll be filming the full matches (with my own camera) and then burning them onto a DVD to give to the club the next day.

I'll probably be doing this for much, if not all of the season and the games will be once a week.

Not sure if this matters but my camera is a good quality, new Sony HDD, 25x zoom and I'll be using a tripod.

Also, I've filmed matches before when I was at school, so my work would be quite could quality. I've just never had to charge for it before!

Any help would be appreciated!

keefg

If they are expecting the footage the next day then I would be charging a decent (to me) rate because an hour or so of footage will take a fair while to render & burn to DVD.

Also take into account the other factors, if you are expected to stand at the side of a pitch in the pouring rain & cold to capture all the footage then you may want them to make it worth your while.

Even if you are a rugby fan, believe me, watching your favourite event as a spectator is a completely different experience when you have to watch it hunched over a 3.5 inch lcd screen (not as much fun).

You need to charge what you think they are happy to pay and what you are happy to receive.

If you think €50 per match is OK then there ya go.

Hugh_C

keefg wrote: »

If you think €50 per match is OK then there ya go.

way under ...

Travel to and from match
90 minutes of filming
tape stock
ingest
DVD stock
compression

I reckon it's at least 6 hours of travel/work/compression per match. 50 is way too low by at least half. I'd start negotiations at e200 and take it from there.

Hugh

Lump

It depends on how you're copying the DVD, if you're just filming then connecting the output of the camera directly to a DVD recorder then you need to rethink how much you charge as if the game is only 90 minutes to film then 90 to transfer it's a lot easier/quicker than digitising, converting & burning. Give us more info.

I'd charge about €20 an hour and travel costs ontop. So about €100 IMHO

tiir

A professional camera op could charge up to and around 400 euro for a job like that. If you are a true fan 20 euro an hour plus expenses is very very fair. I know this sounds a bit odd, but perhaps you should bring the DVD recorder and a monitor to the match. Record to the camera and also record the composite output of the camera to DVD. The monitor will prevent you getting a stiff neck from using only the small camera viewfinder. Also the team can have the DVD right after the match and the extra time and possible travel and telephone calls to the team the following day will be avoided.:)

Lump

Good Idea tiir. If you have a full DVD recorder that's be the way to do it. If they've asked you for editing etc, or you're using more than one camera and have to edit, then you'd have to charge more. It's difficult to tell with the limited info you've given

John

sparky10

Hey all,

Cheers for the replies.

Just an answer to some of the Qs you've asked.

Yeah one of the clubs wants the DVD by the next day (for the Sunday), while another of the clubs just wants it within 48 hours of the game. And yeah it also seems there won't be much cover for me (or the camera!!) for the games, so will probably for the most part be stuck in the pouring rain filming the games (can't wait for that!).

In terms of the burning, I don't have a DVD recorder, so will be transferring the footage onto my laptop and then burning it off onto a DVD from that. I had to do that before when I filmed a match and it took a good few hours for the game to burn onto the DVD, with the converting taking the most time. Saying that though, my laptop is fairly ****e anyway, so that probably slows things down...

By the way, how much would a decent DVD recorder cost if I was to get one?

And no I don't have to edit the games. It's just the one camera and they want the full 80/90 mins of the game on the DVD (ie the camera is recording non stop for the duration of the game, including breaks in play).

Cheers again for the replies!

marksass

When I shoot on a canon xh a1, tripod etc and edit it to dvd with a menu and chapters I charge €350 which is a very good price for a professional service. If you think about the hiring of a guy and his equipment for the day, then the use of your laptop to compress and burn there's no way you could charge less than €300, I know we're in a recession but a man's got to eat!

tiir

You will pick up a DVD recorder, similar in function to a standard VHS recorder (insert disc and press record, no converting) for around 120 euro.

m83

marksass wrote: »

When I shoot on a canon xh a1, tripod etc and edit it to dvd with a menu and chapters I charge €350 which is a very good price for a professional service. If you think about the hiring of a guy and his equipment for the day, then the use of your laptop to compress and burn there's no way you could charge less than €300, I know we're in a recession but a man's got to eat!

You could ask for 300 but fact is, you wouldn't get the job.

I'd charge €150 max.