VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Rognog]

This week I've been asked by two production companies what my video game rates are and I'm STILL not sure what to charge! The union rates are way out of the budgets of small companies like these looking to independently produce low-end games. What do you think is a fair middle ground per voice and per hour?
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Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[Philip Banks]

Cost of an Aston Martin DBS to a big company making big end products - $250,000.

Cost of an Aston Martin DBS to a small business making "small end" products $250,000.

Union or non-union the rate was set at a particular level (like the price of an Aston Martin DBS) for a very good reason.

Discount for volume is good but a one day session with no royalties is not volume.

[Jeffrey Kafer]

You gave them your rates, I assume, Tom. They came back and complained that they were too high.

Ball's in their court. How much of a budget do they have and are you willing to work for it?

Mod Moment: Split this thread from the old one, so as not to rehash the threadjack from 2 years ago.
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Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

[Rognog]

Yeah, Jeff, it happened twice last week. I took the recommended "education" route and showed them union rates, my rates, and why I charge that way and it's still too high for them. One of them asked for $9 per minute! It's a bit frustrating...
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[Jeffrey Kafer]

just walk away, man. This is no different than if someone were offering you $10 for a 30 second spot.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

[Deirdre]

$9 a minute? for a game?

I don't know anyone who does that.
Jeff is right, head for the exit.

You can work up a fee— it will depend on if they're with you on the phone directing or are letting you do it on your own.

Directed session always take longer, but you don't usually have to do pickups.
Self-directed sessions can be done in your own time, but you run the risk of needing do-overs unless you go over the session beforehand.

Here's how you figure:
How many lines?
Are there exertions?
Will you be sending the session raw?

If you are self-directed:
Do they want multiple reads of each line?

The cost is directly related to the scope of the project if you're not charging a minimum session fee.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Rognog]

DB, do you charge per word, per line, per minute, or does it depend on the project? Do you charge a minimum fee? I'm not asking for numbers, just an idea of your structure...
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[Deirdre]

Union jobs are per session so it's a minimum fee which depends on the director's needs. I heard a LOT about 2-hour sessions at the GDC this time.
The "classic" rate includes 3 voices/4 hours, but the way things are written these days, lots of characters won't even get thru their lines in 4 hours.

A non-union game is a "project". You make a fee for that, not per line or per minute.

Like with imaging stuff, consider 20 lines to a page, and then think about how long it will take to read that page in epic voice and edit the files.
If you have to split all the files and follow some kind of naming protocol, make sure you charge for that time, too.

Make sure you arrange in advance about retakes or 2nd sessions.

You don't get to charge for how long it takes you to vocally invent the character— that's your ongoing job.


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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Rognog]

Thanks!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com