How Much Do I Charge?

When someone wanted to hire me as a director of photography for a small shoot in DC, I literally had to call a seasoned veteran in LA to ask how much I charge. (Thanks Scott Anger!) I didn't even own a camera when I stopped working for the newspaper - and it turns out that was the least of it. I didn't know the first thing about business.

Fortunately, Scott took pity on me and talked me into coming up with a reasonable fee for my first real client. He also shared a blank budget spreadsheet with me that had more line items than I thought possible. I wasn't sure how I would ever find anybody who would pay for hair and makeup, or pre-production days. In fact, my first budget had exactly one line on it, and that was for me and my time alone.

What that first spreadsheet did was make me think bigger. It made me think about what it would actually take to make my future enterprise profitable. Four years later that same spreadsheet has all the lines filled in, and it’s been a process realizing the true cost of doing film.

The thing is, I'm no longer working for someone who carries my expenses and pays my salary. Now, every penny I make has to pay the bills. I have an office and equipment. I pay for marketing, a cell phone, my core staff,  insurance...the list goes on.The other thing I realized is that in order to up the quality for my clients, I have to bring more team members to the table. Every crew member is another line on that budget.

So how much do I charge now that I know all of this?

Well...it depends.

At this point, $20K seems to be the baseline for a spot, if it’s local and we keep most post-production work in house. $100K covers a fully developed digital campaign, with social media spots on top of a baseline product, but standard TV commercials filmed in LA cost about $1M. The point is - beyond the people I bring on set, costs are relative. Is there sound, narration, talent? Are we traveling, is it multiple days? Are we renting gear or using our studio gear? Etc. 

It’s honestly simplest to answer the money question when clients are forthcoming about their needs and budget. If you tell me you’ve got $5K or $500K to work with, I’ll tell you what I can do. While I guarantee you won’t get the same deliverables, I’m transparent about what’s possible. Interestingly, we usually end up with a figure somewhere in the middle. 

Learning about this equation has allowed us at Kepka House to be a little more choosy with the clients we work with. We always want to be able to give the client the best video possible, but if we can't agree on a doable budget that will only support mediocre content, I won't do it. It's my name and reputation on the line here and that, my friends, is more valuable than a quick buck.

We also don't want our clients to feel like they aren't happy with what they are getting. We want to work with again and again with the understanding that with the completion of each project comes a stronger relationship between us and our clients.