How much does talent cost?

[jon erwin]

Music video directing is NOT a ticket to riches... but my mortgage is paid so I shouldn't be complaining

 

[GlennChan]

Music videos are tightening up. The biggest budget I've directed this year is $95k. The biggest one I've written on is $130k. But my bread and butter is $30k Christian / Country / Rock videos. (better to work a lot I say than wait on the big ones)

I get 10% to direct but that includes the treatment. I typically write three or four treatments a week and only one out of every five or so hits so that's a lot of unpaid time.

That's much better paying than some of the lower-budget videoFACT funded music videos that are shot in Canada.

e.g. VideoFACT (government funding) chips in $10k or $20k. The band and/or record label may chip in some money on top of that.
Directors write something like 15-30 treatments for every video they get.
*My numbers may not be accurate. But certainly that end of the business isn't really that profitable... supposing the budget is $20k, the director is getting paid less and is doing a lot more work (e.g. they're also doing their own editing, spending a lot of time being resourceful to lower the budget, etc.).

Though I suppose that there is low budget work everywhere...

 

[NateWeaver]

Directors write something like 15-30 treatments for every video they get.

That's maybe a little much. I suppose there's some guys writing that much, but if you're writing that much and not getting them...well...it wouldn't last long, if you knowwhatimean.

supposing the budget is $20k, the director is getting paid less and is doing a lot more work

That's my life. My crew only feels the pain for a day, maybe 2. For me, it's a month, end-to-end.

 

[GlennChan]

Eck... my numbers are likely a little off. For directors starting out it would be that tough.

It seems to be around 9:1.

Q4: Please describe the process that is undertaken during the decision-making process.

VideoFACT has six deadlines a year and each deadline we receive between around 330 to 390 applications. After applications are screened for eligibility they are reviewed over a two-day period by a nine person board of directors. The board is made up of representatives from the Much stations, and six independent members appointed by the Chairman and voted in by the board. Special care is taken to make sure that various genres of music and regions of Canada are represented on the board. The board judges applications based on the strength of the track, the strength of the visual treatment, the viability of the budget, the marketing impact a video will have on the artists career, the likelihood of the Much stations being able to play the video, the success of past videos in terms of rotation and audience reaction, and buzz surrounding the act, in that order. However, the single most important element is the strength of the track.

Q5: On a yearly basis how much money is invested in the Canadian music industry through VideoFACT?

The number changes each year. VideoFACT's entire budget comes from a percentage of annual revenue from MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic and MusiquePlus. When I started in 1997, the budget was about $1.5 million, and since then it has grown to $4.5 million. VideoFACT supports both new and established artists, so the process is very competitive. We receive roughly $6.5 million worth of requests each deadline and our budget each deadline is about $800,000.00.

http://www.umacunited.com/10withbev.html

 

[NateWeaver]

I suppose that might have something to do with the MV business in Canada, but has nothing to do with the process on the label end.

 

[Harva Raj]

found this in one of the threads.

Here's a rough breakdown for standard professional rates for a 1 day shoot for a top notch crew (it gets cheaper if you pay by the week). Local rates may vary.

Insurance: 500,-

Location Fee Castle: 5000,-

D.P.: 2000,-
1st A.C.: 550,-
Data Wrangler: 500,-
Camera Rentals: 2000,-

Local Line Producer: 500/day for 3 days prep, 1 day shoot, 1 day wrap
Production Coordinator: 350/day for 2 days prep, 1 day shoot
1st A.D.: 800,-
3 P.A.'s: 175,- each
Walkies: 300,-

Gaffer: 550,-
Best Boy Electric: 525,-
Electric: 500 each (1-3)
Lighting Truck: 2000,-
Generator: 300,-

Key Grip: 550,- (if you're shooting in Europe it will be your camera/dolly grip, in the U.S. it will be the head of its own department with wider responsibilities)
Best Boy Grip: 525,-
Grip: 500 each (1-3)
Grip Truck: 400,-

Sound Man: 500,-
Boom Operator: 350,-
Sound Equipment: 300,-

Wardrobe Stylist/Designer: 800,-
Wardrobe Rentals: 1000,-

Make-up/Hair: 500,-

Art Director: 900,-
Art Crew: 350,- each
Materials: 1200,-

Prop Master: 600,-
Prop rentals: 400,-

Catering/Craft services: 25,-/head

Transportation: check with your local Line Producer
-Mobile Home: 200,-
-Gas: 300,-

Prep day for all Key positions.

All this can be done much more involved or simply of course depending on your needs:

Owner Operator who is desperate:
-2000,- including camera, lenses and all accessories and his work, including prep
-His brother as assistant/download tech: 400,-
-His uncle doing boom &sound & Equipment: 450,- (He is grumpy)
-Grip with some shiny boards/C-Stands/Lights in his Pickup: 500,-
-Sandwich for everybody at lunch and water/snacks on set: 120,-

Location: you make friends with the owner of the castle and don't pay anything. Therefore you won't need insurance and you make the desperate owner/operator include it in the deal since you ride a hard bargain...

 

[Tom Visser]

what's up with productions breaking the day rate down to an hourly rate? Is this something new - sort of a tightening of the screws with these lower budgets? (also increasing the work day base pay above 10 hours) With these hourly rates, is it then justified to bill for proceed (travel time / expenses) even if not "out of town" work?

From a sound perspective, I more or less agree with the rates posted above, although I would typically get more as a boom op, more often than not, even without negotiation. 300 equipment sounds right, unless you have special requirements, like more than basic wireless, redundant backup recorders. multi-cam mixes, etc... It's more of an a la carte thing.