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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

How much do you charge for a Red Music Video?

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Phillip R Lopez

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I know the range is going to be huge. But i am just going to try to get a good range of numbers, that those of you who have shot music videos on Red have charged. Please provide details to help explain the fluctuations, ie: days, did you just rent/operate, lenses, etc....

Phillip
 
just out of curiocity - what is the difference to other RED jobs?
 
Just a question a label asked me. They just wanted to know what the average music video cost that was shot on my camera (the red). I explained that the numbers would be across the board, they wanted to know exactly what the board was, and with examples....


Phillip
 
Evin Grant said:
Total production cost, $15,000 for one day single location, small but experienced crew,
5 ton G&E, no more than 10 hour day, in LA area.
This is the minimum for the kind of production I'd shoot/produce.
Click to expand...

5 ton? really? Do you really get use out of all that. We just shot a feature with a 3 ton and could have done it with 2 ton for sure... just saying 5 tons is tough to get full use of with a small crew.
 
5 ton makes sense, depending on the shoot. Imagine lots of people or several locations setup at once. Good base price to start Evin.
 
Depends on what you need. I'd say, for a music video, spend the money and make it look amazing, cuz 3 minutes is all you got. Pull out the 10k HMI if need be, dont short change. Its only 3 minutes, but its usually 3 minutes of beauty shots.
 
Joyfool said:
5 ton? really? Do you really get use out of all that. We just shot a feature with a 3 ton and could have done it with 2 ton for sure... just saying 5 tons is tough to get full use of with a small crew.
Click to expand...

It's not always about using all of the gear at once... it's about having gear for every contingency. It lets you and your crew work faster, safer and more effectively. If I need that thingy right there, I'll be able to do it with a few 10 tons or 48 footers... period.
 
"5 ton? really? Do you really get use out of all that. We just shot a feature with a 3 ton and could have done it with 2 ton for sure... just saying 5 tons is tough to get full use of with a small crew"

2,5,10 ton grip truck .. who needs G&E !! or for that matter crew ... and while we're at it lets get rid of the actors ( they eat too much=$$ and those per diems) ... just give us 25,000sq ft for the CGI dept.
 
Phillip, here's how it usually works:

1-Label decides how much they want to spend on a video, with vague notes on what they're looking for ("needs to be as ridiculous as the song is over the top. Wants to be less than a performance video than the last two and have a real theme")

2-Director usually gets 10%. Producer gets 5%. Production company usually gets 15%. What's left over is used for shoot/post, unless somebody's giving up their rate to build reel.

3-Given these parameters, there generally becomes a minimum budget where a $1000/day camera rental becomes practical. If the director or DP owns a Red, then that rate can go down.

4-All the above said, I would say the minimum budget I'd ever push for a Red on is somewhere around $7-$8k. It's always smarter to put your money in front of the camera. Spending 20% of your budget on cam rental is probably a disproportionate amount (say, a $5k budget)
 
Im directing, producing and shooting music Videos in Germany.
Although we are the second big Musicmarket solds got down and so the Budgets for music Videos. 8 yers ago I shot 150000€ Clips but now the highest you can normaly get is about 35000€. After doing those big productions I now like to do the low Budget stuff but in heighest quality. Production normaly gets 20% of the Budget, director 10% and an eyperienced Cinematographer gets about 1000,-€. Its not possible to shoot something where everyone gets paid under 10000,- for one day of shooting and about three days of edeting. But I also did clips for 7500 all by myself. Getting 5tonGE is something impossible for me with those Budgets. I need to be well prepared and have to rent just what I need. Camera rental with Red is about 1000,- Lighting no more than 350,- Dolly and Grip about 150. Here in Germany you get minimum 20% often up to 50% by the rentalhouses when shooting musicvideos.
 
philliprlopez@gmail.com said:
Just a question a label asked me. They just wanted to know what the average music video cost that was shot on my camera (the red). I explained that the numbers would be across the board, they wanted to know exactly what the board was, and with examples....
Click to expand...

The fact that the "label" is asking questions like this is a red flag. Generally that means they've made very few or zero videos before. Be careful with bids/quotations and obligations.

Maybe even tell them there's freelance video commissioners that can get videos made for them, that can manage the project expediently.
 
NateWeaver said:
Phillip, here's how it usually works:

1-Label decides how much they want to spend on a video, with vague notes on what they're looking for ("needs to be as ridiculous as the song is over the top. Wants to be less than a performance video than the last two and have a real theme")

2-Director usually gets 10%. Producer gets 5%. Production company usually gets 15%. What's left over is used for shoot/post, unless somebody's giving up their rate to build reel.

3-Given these parameters, there generally becomes a minimum budget where a $1000/day camera rental becomes practical. If the director or DP owns a Red, then that rate can go down.

4-All the above said, I would say the minimum budget I'd ever push for a Red on is somewhere around $7-$8k. It's always smarter to put your money in front of the camera. Spending 20% of your budget on cam rental is probably a disproportionate amount (say, a $5k budget)
Click to expand...

Funny to see that you wrote nearly the same like me.
Good to know that its the same in US...
 
Joyfool said:
5 ton? really? Do you really get use out of all that. We just shot a feature with a 3 ton and could have done it with 2 ton for sure... just saying 5 tons is tough to get full use of with a small crew.
Click to expand...

Better to have more than you need, than the alternative.
 
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