Premium Members Dan Coplan Posted December 13, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 > What about the jobs where they ask you to work hourly, when I said hourly I mean literally 2 hours. I have no problem with this so long as it's negotiated fairly. I quote full day rates and half day and hourly rates IF they push me to negotiate as such. And if that's the case, fine - I think we all understand that there are legitimate low budget productions out there, but if they want Steadicam, they have to be smart as to how they spend their money. I'll give them a break off a full corporate rate but it still has to be equitable. I take my full day rate and divide it by 10, giving it a bump because even 2 hrs. means your whole day is done so it should be a premium. And my time starts when I arrive and ends when my gear is in my car and I'm ready to drive away. Period. > Steadicam job on Craiglslist for $175 a day feature film - gigs-953131603@craigslist.org This guy heard an earful from me, oh yes he did. You can't put a blanket rate towards every production because every production and circumstance is different. Example: someone I know recently got a call to do a gig for a low rate. It wasn't absurdly low, but well off the mark for full pay. The production and referral appeared to be legit and respectful. The deal that was struck ended up being a tax-free deal - that's worth a couple hundred or so. Look at it that way and it's at least reasonable. In other words, there are ways to make things work for both sides. Not always, as in the case of the craigslist ad above (although for that rate I would agree to unload my gear, open the cases, and then put them back in my car with payment up front), but often with creativity and consideration. I will also sometimes say, "Ok, you only have x amount of money? I'll give you 6 hours from the time I show up to the time my gear is packed." or something along those lines. And all that being said, unless it's a known referral, negotiate your pay wisely to insure you GET PAID! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members denis moran Posted December 19, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 This hourly rate thing happened for a while in the late 90s at Roger Corman's (and other non-union houses) company. If you agreed to work for 5 hours... let them know that your rate reverts 1.5 times your "Normal rate" at 5.1 hours. They end up using you for Steadicam shots and then you are on your way. Denis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Grammatikos Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 normally the 2-3 hours rate is full day rate (as you cannotwork in an other production the same day ),but if the producer is friendly and good client and its this 2-3 hours shooting its only 1-2 times the year then you can work for half rate or for free (so the producer now own to you),thats my deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanh Nguyen Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 man it an honor to learn from the pro. I own a glidecam the pro one not the bingycord and i havn't got any job yet im still learning with my A1 on it( i know it too light). I don't have a chance to run with my HD110u yet (no free time yet). After reading through 2 pages i learn that our time are expensive, so in the future if i have to take a job offer i know what to tell them. Please any advice will gladly appreciated very much thank you for your time and experience work that you post on here thank you. May be this is a stupid question but what is the procedure to take a job i mean what do you require or ask the producer to make sure you can take the job beside how much they going to pay you. I don't want to sound stupid when offer knocking on my doors.Thank agains Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Thompson Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Just wanted to inform the masses. I was recently asked to camera op with the hvx200 for a concert in ATL. Being a flyer owner I told "the guy" that I was steadicam owner/op as well. He was interested asked for a rate and I told him $500 rig rental $50/hr. Now I think we can all agree this is a fair rate. He tells me "no thats ok brandon, i cant afford to pay that much for it, especially when its more than the LA rate for a steadicam" I ask him what is the LA rate and am told: i can get a steadicam op for $400-900/day depending on experience. but no hourly cost after that. its usually a flat. He also gave me the name of an his friend that is an operator, who looks to be experienced after looking at his imdb page, and owns a big rig. Now I'm not one to throw anyone under the bus, but I am tempted to give this operator a call and ask for rates. Any thoughts??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike McGowan SOC Posted February 18, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I know nothing about your specific situation but I do know producers are fond of saying things like, "I can get so and so for xyz much money" just to see if they can talk you down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alfeo Dixon SOC Posted February 18, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Call him, ask if this is true and let him know he's been quoted as the now going rate by the guy that called you. I wouldn't worry, with the rates on baggage now with airlines, its going to cost double that just to fly him out of LA to ATL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Sydney Seeber Posted February 18, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 i can get a steadicam op for $400-900/day depending on experience. but no hourly cost after that. its usually a flat. I suppose if you replaced the word "Steadicam" with the word "AcmeEconoCam" and then replaced that word with "Lincoln logs and rubber bands" he might be on to something... I'm at the low end of the spectrum, and I don't know anyone who'd work for $400, if considering the job isn't for a friend or "Reel building" material, but not as a standard rate... I have a Smooth Shooter I can blow the dust off for that rate, though... It's a little jiggly, and hopefully someone's got some duct tape lying around to hold on some extra washers I use as weights... Bubblicious will do in a pinch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Sydney Seeber Posted February 18, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I wouldn't worry, with the rates on baggage now with airlines, its going to cost double that just to fly him out of LA to ATL. I did a shoot in the Bahamas not long ago, and the extra baggage fee for three of us was in excess of $3000.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Rob Vuona SOC Posted February 20, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Just wanted to inform the masses. I was recently asked to camera op with the hvx200 for a concert in ATL. Being a flyer owner I told "the guy" that I was steadicam owner/op as well. He was interested asked for a rate and I told him $500 rig rental $50/hr. Now I think we can all agree this is a fair rate. He tells me "no thats ok brandon, i cant afford to pay that much for it, especially when its more than the LA rate for a steadicam" I ask him what is the LA rate and am told: i can get a steadicam op for $400-900/day depending on experience. but no hourly cost after that. its usually a flat. He also gave me the name of an his friend that is an operator, who looks to be experienced after looking at his imdb page, and owns a big rig. Now I'm not one to throw anyone under the bus, but I am tempted to give this operator a call and ask for rates. Any thoughts??? Brandon, Call the op and educate him , personally I don't know anyone here in LA who would do steadicam let alone Hand held camera for $50 hr. also I call bullshit on the production company because those rates are surely not LA rates, tell the producers go ahead use that guy, because its bullshit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Thompson Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I think I will definately give the op a call and see what he is charging. The production wasn't saying they were going to use the LA guy, they were just saying that my quote was higher than the "LA" rate so they weren't even going to think about using me. I figure it was bull shit, I just thought I would throw it up here. The shoot is the 28th, so I will let you know how these guys pan out. If they are crap I will post their info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Afton Grant Posted February 20, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I've gotten the "If I were in LA.." line before too. My response was simply, "Well, you're not in LA." I'm sure eventually they found an op here in NY that would work for what they were paying, but I'm glad I made it slightly more difficult. Communication is so key. Our Steadicam community is a bit smaller than what it is in LA, so I'm sure it's a bit easier to keep up with everything that is going on. I can't tell you the number of times that I've been called for jobs that some of my friends have been called for as well. Often times, we'll be in touch with each other about the jobs before the producers get to us. That's been an invaluable tool that has either kept up my rate, or kept up the rate of my fellow op which, in the long run, is just as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Robert Starling SOC Posted February 20, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 It's not uncommon for Production to flat out lie to you and tell you an op has offered a lower rate when maybe they did or didn't. My answer is to advise them to take that rate if they can get it. If they continue to discuss it beyond that you know they're not telling you the whole story. One way to tell if Production is lying to you is if their mouth is moving. There are a lot of really great Production companies and Producers out there but there are a growing number who will say and do anything to gain an unfair advantage. Most veteran ops have been very forthcoming when it comes to discussing rates / kit rental but some are not. Maybe it's a private matter to them which I respect but still the more we communicate the better off we are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.