Shoot Concept: Testimonials, man-on-the-street interviews, and b-roll video of an annual corporate conference
Licensing: Web Collateral use of one 2:00-minute edited video
Location: Hotel conference center
Shoot Days: 1
Photographer: Portrait, Lifestyle, and Motion Specialist
Agency: N/A – Client Direct
Client: A Small Business Services Company
A few months ago, one of our California-based photographers asked me to help her pull together an estimate for a motion shoot. Although the photographer had a long-standing relationship with this particular client, they’d never asked her to provide motion coverage. The client asked her to shoot four testimonial interviews of the executive team, man-on-the-street interviews of the other attendees, and b-roll footage of the event in general. Ultimately, the client wanted to put together a 2:00 introduction/about a video for their corporate website to loop on a flat-screen at trade shows (within the context of the website). The client would be providing the shooting space, interviewers, and scheduling the executives. The client also reserved a room for the testimonials so that the photographer could work in a mostly controlled environment with plenty of available light.
Since we were working directly with the client and providing the editing services, this presented a great opportunity to limit the licensing to their very specific needs (it is not uncommon in the motion world to work under a work-for-hire agreement or grant unrestricted usage). We seized the opportunity and put together an estimate including limited usage of the final piece.
Based on the needs of the client, we decided to price this out as a two-camera shoot including the photographer/director who would run camera 1, and a DP to manage the minimal lighting and run camera 2. In this case, the DP would be working under the instruction of the photographer/director and sign a work-for-hire agreement (much like a second photographer on a still shoot), to streamline the licensing process for the client (and photographer).
To arrive at the licensing fee, I took into account the intended audience (trade), limited use (collateral only), shelf-life (this event takes place every year, and the finished piece would likely include footage of current clients, who may not be clients next year) and level production (the team really only needed to show up and shoot). I also considered how much a comparable day of still shooting would yield and what a comparable licensing fee would be for those stills. After weighing all of the factors, we landed at $5,500 for the photographer/director’s creative and licensing fee. Since the client understood relative licensing values on the still side, they were comfortable negotiating limited licensing terms on the motion side as well. Not all clients are as flexible with regard to motion, but it’s always worth the attempt.
Here’s the approved estimate (click to enlarge):
Grip: A grip is the motion world equivalent of a first assistant, though they are typically more specialized. They set up all the grip equipment and manage basic lighting under the direction of the director or the DP. Complex lighting or electrical work may require a gaffer. In this case, the photographer planned to shoot mostly available light and would only need a couple of fluorescent light banks for the testimonials, so a single grip would suffice.
Director of Photography: As I mentioned above, the DP would be running camera 2 and helping to manage the lighting. A DP is generally more experienced and has the expertise and wherewithal to operate independently of the director. Their rates vary based on the nature of the project and the level of involvement required. In this case, we got a quote from a colleague experienced in corporate motion work.
Audio Engineer: Like location scouts, audio engineers have pretty standard rates, regardless of where they’re based or the details of the shoot. $800 covers their day rate and basic recording equipment.
Equipment: $2200 covered costs for two DSLR camera systems, lenses, mounting and grip equipment, and two fluorescent light banks. The photographer and DP owned all of the equipment and would be renting to the production at the market rate.
Editing and Color Grading: We got an editing quote from an editor who the photographer had worked with in the past. $1000/minute is a good rule of thumb for editing costs, but that can fluctuate with the content available, the number of revisions, the quality of the footage, and the graphic elements required.
File Transfer: This covered the FTP and hard drive costs to share the content with the client for review throughout editing and delivery.
Groomer: We included a groomer to make sure the testimonial subjects (executives), who were supposed to arrive camera ready, looked their best. The groomer would handle basic hair and make-up styling and wardrobe finessing.
Miles, Parking, Shipping, etc: This covered out-of-pocket expenses the photographer and crew would accrue between mileage, parking, crew meals, shipping costs, and any other miscellaneous expenses that may be incurred.
Housekeeping (see the project description): I noted all of the production elements the client would be providing. In this case, we were relying on the client to provide the locations, subject scheduling, and necessary releases. The client also planned to guide the subjects through their interviews, which under normal circumstances could fall under the responsibility of the director.
The client reviewed our first estimate and asked for a revision excluding the man-on-the-street component. Although the team would be generating less content overall, the time on site wouldn’t change significantly (it would still be about a full day) and the deliverable, a 2:00 finished piece, wouldn’t be impacted, which meant the value of the licensing wouldn’t really be impacted either. If it were entirely up to me, I wouldn’t have adjusted the fees at all, however, the photographer felt a small decrease was reasonable. We presented an option with a $1000 lower bottom line, all of which came out of the creative/licensing fee. Seeing that the decrease was marginal, the client opted for the original approach.
Results, Hindsight, and Feedback: The photographer/director shot the project and the client has since come back asking to set up another shoot to capture similar content at their corporate headquarters.
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