JGarcia 0 #1 September 24, 2002 Hey, I'm shooting a series of commercials for a communications company. The thoughts right now are 3 or 4 commercials over the span of a year. Jumps, of course, are paid for. But when asked what kind of compensation I was looking for, I had to tell them that I'd have to get back to them on the subject. Should I charge by the jump? By the day? I'll mainly be filming the same guy (different variations on a theme) who happens to work for the company and is a friend of mine. Any suggestions? Approaches. Right now I'm leaning towards just chalking it up to experience and a good opportunity to build my resume...but should I be thinking of more? ($$$) Any suggestions appreciated. I'm not particularly greedy, so I won't be trying to "milk them." --JairoLow Profile, snag free helmet mount for your Sony X3000 action cam! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #2 September 24, 2002 Jairo, what a dillemna. A decision involving friends, a job that you love, and money. Yick. I'd ask for the compensation you're losing by not doing tandems or AFF that day. About $150-250 plus the jump tickets? Subtract the revenue the exposure will bring you. If you will be doing many, many more paid jumps as a result of the commercials, comp it. If they put a tag line on like "aerial photography by jairo.com, call 1888 luv camera, you should pay them Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JGarcia 0 #3 September 24, 2002 Thanks, John....they did say that they would have the aerial photography credits on the commercials . That's why I was leaning towards just having them pay for jumps, packs, & film. I won't be losing any money because they want to shoot during the week, so I'll just take off from my weekday job for the day. But, especially since there's a friend involved (he's actually the person who convinced me to make my 1st jump 7 yrs ago), I don't want to be greedy about things. Thanks for the feedback. --JairoLow Profile, snag free helmet mount for your Sony X3000 action cam! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #4 September 24, 2002 Y'all -gotta- be kidding! Cool gig. Ok, is this a National or Regional commercial? One that will play in the entire country or just a tiny part of it? If it's only a regional spot, you -might- want to do a little research in what ground pounding camera people in your local area are getting for shooting these types of commercials. Call up a local production company, the bigger the better, and ask them what rates they're paying to camera people for shooting commercials for local grocery stores and used car lots. I -don't- know what the rates would be in your local area, but a camera person out in my area of the country -should- be able to get about $500 to $700 per day. AND that's for staying on the -ground-. Have this sort of research done -before- you go into negotiations with the agency. You need to make this point clear to the ad agency you're working with -- you're doing more than just pointing and shooting the camera like the ground pounders! If, on the other hand, this is a National spot, then you -should- be able to command a MUCH higher fee. Do NOT believe them when they say they do not have any money. If it's a commercial that will run across the entire U.S., then they have -plenty- of money. Several thousand dollars for one day of your unique camera skills would not be out of line. If it's a National spot, call up Joe Jennings and Carl Nespoli -IMMEDIATELY- for their rates and any other advice you can weasel out of them.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #5 September 24, 2002 You see, J, eager young beavers like us screw things up for the big dogs. If it's gonna be a Joe Jennings duck drinking coke thingie, you gotta hammer 'em and get residuals. Frankly you need an agent. Q's right. Dude always is. I guess it would be like somebody replacing us on the rotation to shoot tandems with somebody who'd do it for free, or just for the jumps. Thanks to Sangiro, we have access to the group to keep us from stepping on it. Keep us posted, I'm curious how it works out for you. Maybe you can get your SAG card and stuff. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JGarcia 0 #6 September 24, 2002 You have some very good points, Paul. It's going to be regional...North and Central Forida. Guess that I hadn't really thought about the fact that this isn't your normal "camera man/ground pounder" gig...I'm actually risking my life to shoot this commercial for them! I better get moving on my research, they want to start shooting this Friday. I guess it makes sense to charge a daily rate, as opposed to by the jump because if it rains (with 3 storms sorrounding FL currently) I won't get anything for my time. Thanks Quade. --JairoLow Profile, snag free helmet mount for your Sony X3000 action cam! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brentfinley 0 #7 September 25, 2002 I agree with Paul. If they were going to just buy a stock "Clip" in a footage library somewhere, they would be paying $500-800 for a 10 second clip. For a dedicated shoot while shooting what they direct you to get... this is totally different. With a miniDV camera... it's reasonable to charge $300-400 per day. If you were shooting film... it'd be a little different. Consider yourself lucky... It's hard to find that work... better when it finds you. Find out how long they anticipate the commercial to run. If they are going to use this for a long time... the "buyout price" could go up a couple more hundred. Of course... when you start asking for $$$, expect them to say ..."but our budget is only $1000 for the whole thing..." but don't budge. And it's very fortuitous that they would even consider putting a photo credit on a commercial... they are there to sell their product... not your skydiving. That is not a reasonable demand for ANY commercial shoot. If they say OK... I'd question that they mean it. Producers don't want to take the attention off their product for even a second. Since you're getting the big bucks... put out something spectacular... Buy the most expensive DV Tape Sony makes and clean the heads on your camera. Make sure the lenses are spotless Brentwww.brentfinley.com brent@brentfinley.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #8 September 25, 2002 Paul and Brent are dead on with the prep needed for a job, or any, like that. If they see that you take yourself and them seriously as well as turn a good product you will go far. Just don't bend over too far. I know a going rate for production work in market #47 is about $200/hr (including equipment rental/use). So to be on the nice side, but not short yourself for all the practice shooting, packs, rides, tape, etc... $500 - $600 a day? Make it a point to show them the product after each jump if you can so any suggestions they have can be worked out in the next jump. And even though your friend is involved get it all in writing and have your lawyer look it over to be on the safe side. pax, matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
konradptr 0 #9 September 25, 2002 I agree, don't be ashamed to ask for what you deserve. If you figure out how much they are going to pay for one run of the commercial, the cost that they are going to pay you for the time/video/skills/experience/packs/jump tickets/etc, is negligible.... Peter ------------------------------------------ Getting banned isn't that bad...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #10 September 25, 2002 one other thing... just to make yourself feel better about asking for a bit of $$. Call up your local TV station's advertising sales department and ask what the airtime would cost for the commercial. It will certainly make nearly any amount you ask for or get look very tiny. matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herv 0 #11 September 25, 2002 You know this is funny, I was just telling my girlfriend the other night that I should get a hold of the "You hear me now?" cell company (whoever it is) and have them do a tandem with the the one guy sying his now famous line. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #12 September 25, 2002 Quote . . . work in market #47 is . . . Can ya tell this guy lives by the ratings book? Nielsen Marketsquade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #13 September 27, 2002 Quade - I should have looked at that site before I posted. Buffalo is back up to #44 again after a couple seasons at #47. (they took a couple counties away from us and gave them to Rochester a while back) I appreciate the humor... TV news can be far to serious! thanks. matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
