Typical Hourly Rate For Production & Editing?
6 Comments
Question: I charge $43.00 an hour for basic editing, and $63.00 an hour plus expenses, for specialty services. (Such as needing voice mics and audio equipment which I need to rent.) There is also things I will not do, or am unable to do. There is a wide range of professionals out there that will work for more or less depending on what needs to be done- what is typically the standard hourly rate? Am I charging too much? too little? I don’t want to shut out clients either way.
The short answer:
There is no such thing as a “standard rate” in this industry and what you should be charging all depends on your experience.
The long answer:
Great article and really getting to the bare bones of the subject. Usually when I get asked for a quote, there are several questions that need to be answered before I can give them an estimate and I let them know that. Plus, I also give breaks to non-profits and church based organizations so that they get a fair return on what they can invest. So it’s all relative…
We are a mid-sized production company in the mid-west. Our rate is $125/hour. It’s been a competitive advantage for us since it’s much lower than the large companies in town but reasonably higher than freelancers.
I think this is a good article, so is Nashville “East Coast?” I guess it’s hard to come up with a reasonable rate chart for all the regions, though. I’ve always had a non-profit and a commercial rate, don’t know if that’s good or bad! But I’ve never had anyone come back and tell me that my rate was too high, I charge $65/hr. for non-profits and $85 for commercial. I also setup a minimum rate a few years ago. For what it’s worth I know most production houses in the “mid-south” seem to run between $180-$300/hr. depending on what you want.
Great article. It’s too bad the location has such an impact on how much to charge/people are willing to pay. I still charge what I want.
This is really a market/location related question. I work primarily in two markets, one does mostly regional and local spots and corporate video, the other is Los Angeles. I charge more than twice as much in L.A. and have no problem getting that rate. However, I could never get a rate that high in the smaller market. Budgets don’t allow for it and the local talent has priced itself extremely low for years causing the “normal” to be comparatively low. Based on my reputation and years experience I am able to command a higher rate than most but it is still half of what a major market provides. In fact I have turned down local jobs because I felt the rate was too low for the amount and type of work.
It depends on where you are located and the type of system you are looking to work on. A post house could charge $125-$200 or more per hour (with an editor).
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