FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Some videographers charge by the finished length of the project--up to $1000 a minute. Hire them and a 3-minute PSA or promo could cost you $3000. I charge $50 an hour, instead. For a two-camera, 2-hour shoot, adding an hour for set-up and breakdown of softbox lights, tripods, and mic stands, my charge is $150. But reviewing and editing (importing, trimming, titling, compositing, color-correcting, adding music) those same 4 hours (2 cameras for 2 hours) of footage will take 10-15 hours. So the final cost for a master DVD or Blu-ray of any length, plus an online version, might be 13-18 hours of my time x $50, or $650-$800.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I like to meet the client at some neutral and mutually convenient location (a Starbuck's, typically) to discuss his/her/their project's purpose, and get a better idea of the scope of the work. Following Craig's List do's and don'ts, I will not meet the client at his or her address unless it is an established business or organization. At the meeting, we discuss whether the job will involve pre-production (writing or editing script, location scouting, talent auditions and rehearsals)? Or just production (lighting, sound, cameras on a location already arranged, with just a single run-through rehearsal)? Or, perhaps, just post-production (reformatting video for posting online, burning DVDs or Blu-ray discs; or dubbing voice-over sound, adding music, color correcting; or even just transferring tape to DVDs)? I explain that, if the actual 'shoot' is 2 hours, the post-production editing will be 5 x 2 hours, and if any pre-production tasks are necessary, that can be days or even weeks of both the client's and my time. As examples: a wedding is almost all production plus an average amount of time (5x) in post-production. A music video (I've done some but tend to avoid them) can require a lot of pre-production in addition to complicated multi-cam production and special effects in post-production. Considering they're so much shorter than a wedding DVD when finished, clients are shocked at how much more they can cost.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I studied at workshops conducted by the Hollywood Film School and the American Film Institute, took the year-long online course offered by Avid Technology, took 2 semesters of videography and 2 semesters of video editing in the digital film program at CPCC, took computer graphics and photography courses at Gaston College; have taught film courses and intro to videography at several colleges.