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Deirdre
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Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 13023
Location: Camp Cooper
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 Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:44 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | One of the things that always bugged me about the AFTRA non-broadcast rate scale is that is was based on the length of the session rather than on the length of the narration. Thus a narrator who can get into the studio, read the script with few mistakes and get out...is actually penalized for his/her efficiency. |
That's one of the reasons the first hour is billed high, and then the subsequent time is billed out in 1/2 hour increments.
http://www.aftra.com/contract/nonbroadcast.htm
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Deirdre
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Joined: 10 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:49 am Post subject: |
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| jasbart wrote: |
What do you mean by "block a page"?
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When I get a script, I reblock the text parts to that I end up with 12-point type, double spaced text.
I just delete the header info and file naming protocol stuff and compact the text so there's not acres of space in between paragraphs.
Takes a few minutes, but gives me the info I need to quote a job.
It'd take a bit less time to pull the headers and filenames and do a word count.
I'll be doing that more often so I can speak to this issue with some authority— right now I'mm on the outside of the Word-Count World.
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BIG VOICE
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:56 am Post subject: |
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Glenn,
Your question is one I've heard (and wrestled with myself) many times before.
Experience is a great teacher and mine has taught me to seek the counsel of others first before you open your mouth and possibly shoot too low. So when asked by the client to quote a rate resist the temptation to blurt out an answer. Rather you should answer their question with a question. In your case the question you reply with is: "I'd be happy to give you a quote, but could you first give me an idea of how many pages in the script"
Of course, you want to have a minimum rate already set and that's based on what your time is worth; what others in the industry charge; and term of usage i.e. is it for a one-time use, short term or unlimited? You may also consider market size and will you be the voice only or doing some producing/editing?
Personally I charge by the page at $75 per.
Hope that helps,
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jasbart
Been Here Awhile
Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 293
Location: Gilbertsville, KY
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 10:27 am Post subject: |
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| BIG VOICE wrote: | In your case the question you reply with is: "I'd be happy to give you a quote, but could you first give me an idea of how many pages in the script"
Of course, you want to have a minimum rate already set and that's based on what your time is worth; what others in the industry charge; and term of usage i.e. is it for a one-time use, short term or unlimited? |
The main reason why quoting by the page is a bad idea is that there is no constant from job to job.
Example: in the past I received a script described to me as 5 pages long. Indeed it was 5 pages long, but the margins were almost at the edge of the page, and the font (I'm not kidding) was a 6!!!
Get hold of the script and do a word count, then divide the word count by 150 words/minute. At that pace, the rate is going to be on the client's side anyway, because a good narration pace is going to be more like 130-140 words per minute.
By the way, market size/location should have no bearing on narration rates. A five minute narration should be billed the same everywhere. If you want to give a client a break because they're a small company, that's your prerogative.
Also a narration that is supposedly only going to be used on the internet could justify a lower rate. But that's awfully hard to police. Once that non-broadcast narration is out of your hands, the client's going to proceed as if it belongs to him/her.
Jim |
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jasbart
Been Here Awhile
Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 293
Location: Gilbertsville, KY
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Deirdre wrote: | | Quote: | | One of the things that always bugged me about the AFTRA non-broadcast rate scale is that is was based on the length of the session rather than on the length of the narration. Thus a narrator who can get into the studio, read the script with few mistakes and get out...is actually penalized for his/her efficiency. |
That's one of the reasons the first hour is billed high, and then the subsequent time is billed out in 1/2 hour increments.
http://www.aftra.com/contract/nonbroadcast.htm |
No, the first hour isn't billed "high". That's scale. The 1/2 hour increments are for the benefit of the client. Otherwise the client would be paying $720 for a two hour session instead of $570.
As long as we're on the subject of fast narrations, the narrator who gets the job done quickest is not necessarily the one who gets hired back. Producers of high-tech, long form narrations are looking for steady voiceover people, with a lot of stamina, who take direction well, don't get flustered, and simply make sense. |
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Deirdre
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Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 13023
Location: Camp Cooper
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| jasbart wrote: | The main reason why quoting by the page is a bad idea is that there is no constant from job to job.
Example: in the past I received a script described to me as 5 pages long. Indeed it was 5 pages long, but the margins were almost at the edge of the page, and the font (I'm not kidding) was a 6!!!
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That's why I reblock everything to a consistent 12-point type, double-spaced, one-inch-margins page. That is my standard "page".
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Last edited by Deirdre on Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dave
Lucky 700
Joined: 11 Nov 2004
Posts: 727
Location: Houston, Texas
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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Well...before the dust settles I suppose I should toss in my hybrid quote technique. Its based on just about every rate structure that's been mentioned so far...
My point is...one size doesn't fit all!
I use word count, page count (not per page rate), factor in for in-house or distribtuion use, and estimated recording time, to quote a project. Then, I add studio/editing charges (per hour), factor a discount for prime customers (cause they're good to me) add pain and suffering charges for those that are a pain in the &$%#... or slow pay.
Sometimes, I "almost" get embrassed when I send a quote/invoice that I think might be a little too rich...and other times (like today) I quoted a job to an existing client and when I gave them the number they said..."Oh, we thought it would be more than that...that's fantastic." My reply..."Oh did I say X$ ... in that case lets add X$$$. We both laughed and I stuck to my original number. (Note to self...you left money on the table dummy!)
Quoting voiceover projects is an art.... NOT a science. As long as we make a living doing what we love... the method we use to arrive at the worth of our services is just part of the territory so use what works for you. After all, the biggest hill to climb, and 90% of our effort... is to get enough people to use our voice in the first place.
Painful as it may seem at times...determining a rate is the fun part.
Dave
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Deirdre
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Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 13023
Location: Camp Cooper
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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| jasbart wrote: | | Producers of high-tech, long form narrations are looking for steady voiceover people, with a lot of stamina, who take direction well, don't get flustered, and simply make sense. |
A most eloquent way to say it.
Thank you.
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ConnieTerwilliger
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Joined: 07 Dec 2004
Posts: 3381
Location: San Diego - serving the world
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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Develop a standard "page" that works for you and store it somewhere so that you can cut and paste it into your bids. My page is slightly different than Deebs' page - but it probably works out the same...
For corporate scripts - paragraphs of copy the page is 12 point font, standard Word margins (which is 1" on top and bottom and 1.25" on the sides and 1.5 line spacing, or about 31 lines per page - 2.5 minutes approximately). I usually use Times Roman as the font, but it is a fact that Times 12 is smaller than Arial 12. Try it!
Actually, the basic page is the same for everything I do, but I charge differently depending on if I have to edit 31 separate prompts, or just send out huge chunks of stuff. And sometimes, as DB mentioned, when there is just so much stuff stuck in the script that isn't part of the narration, you just have to work around it and give the best estimate you can.
This is why I love it when my agent does this part of the process. Tell me when to do the job and how much I'm going to get!! Then they do the invoicing too - how wonderful is that!! I just spent hours yesterday doing my September Invoices. (I could probably have a better system that would be faster, but I don't have time to figure one out.)
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