What do post guys charge?

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chessrock

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Just curious what the audio for video guys are charging out there in terms of rates.

Anyone know?
 
chessrock said:
Just curious what the audio for video guys are charging out there in terms of rates.

Anyone know?

Depends on the types of projects what jobs. Anywhere from $75-300 per HR is pretty common.

Most audio places also charge for music and sound effect licensing. I worked on one low budget movie and coordinated the post for an action scene we edited first so he could show it to potential investors. When he found out we were paying per punch sound he had a fit. That is the only scene in the movie with actual punch sounds. The rest of the fight scenes had stupid music cues whenever anyone punched, lol.

What kind of stuff are you going to be doing? I'd like to get back into film audio but the video playback setup is expensive and surround sound is still too expensive for me.

The big expense in doing audio for video was that you needed a Beta SP deck for video playback and those were around $20k. You can probably do it for cheaper now with digital non linear video but then you need a good video card and you can sometimes be dealing with 10-20hours of raw footage. That's a lot of transfer time and HD space.

I used to do scores with a simple VHS deck and a SMPTE audio track but to do sound effects, ADR and reprocess the location audio you need to have VTC so you can have sync while jog/shuttling and doing slow motion on the video. That requires Beta SP or non linear video.
 
This would be mostly for 30-60 second spots.

I think the trend with the smaller ad agencies here in Chi-town is growing more towards just sending out MPEGs (or downloading them off an ftp site), slapping the audio on it, and then uploading back up. I'm not hearing much in the way of tape or SMPTE, but maybe I'm not digging around in the right circles. A couple of years ago, everyone kept saying "Oh, you gotta' have all these video machines, VTC, and cards and lock everything to time code, etc. etc."

I'm not sure at all if this is the right time for me to look in to this yet. But it seems like it might be a natural progression. My background is in radio, and I used to produce all kinds of spots way back in the day. :D Plus, I suppose I could even put the 'ol advertising degree to work at the same time. I'm just trying to get all the info lined up. I don't even know yet what I don't know, and I realize that makes me pretty dangerous at this stage.
 
That could be a cool gig. You should probably check out some of the music licensing deals and the sound effects libraries unless you are going to create it all from scratch. Most commercials are generic peppy music and some 'swooshes' when the price for the new truck flys by the screen. You also need to have your delay skills ready for the 'sunday! sunday! sunday!'. :D
 
BTW- Low budget add work is hard to find because most radio and tv stations will produce the adds for free with the purchase of airtime packages. That leaves the big boys who want to sit behind you on a leather couch sipping latte's while they tell you what to do.
 
Not sure if that would necessarily have to be my market. With my ad agency experience and contacts (not to mention my location), I might be able to look at some larger-ticket stuff. That is, after I'm able to get my ducks in order. I do realize, though, that you gotta' start somewhere. But as far as the whole "Sunday, sunday, sunday! ! !" thing -- definitely been there already and done that more than I care to tell. :D

No one in Chicago ad agencies, by the way, is sipping lattes (and their leather couches have been swapped out or repossessed a long time ago). They're saving their pennies because no one knows if they're going to have a job or even a company next week. That's just the reality of an ad shop in a city like this and especially in an economy like this. And no on has time to sit behind you, because there's deadlines to meet.

What ad shops need is to get something out the door like today or tomorrow. They don't necessarily care about quality. Clients come to their Account Executives at the last minute for something that has to be done in a matter of seconds and oh, by the way, their budget's been sliced in half. I figure if I can market myself as "Mr. Speedy" and "Mr. Cheap," I've got a market without even having to introduce myself. You had me at JE-LL-O :D
 
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Chessrock,

If you do need a punch sound, I can come over and let you hit me in the gut a few times (for a small fee). I'm not too far from you.:cool:

rodvonbon
 
Chessrock,

Sure it will be royalty-free. The way I see it is you would be the artist and my gut would be the instrument, So no royalty's need be paid. Of course there is still the gut rental fee, which can be per punch or a flat rate. My body also makes tons of other noises (I've been told my knuckle crack is the "best" in the business). Maybe a package deal could be worked out.

later,
rodvonbon

Seriously though I would like to check out yer studio sometime. The ten hour block looks like a good deal.
 
Chessrock,

Is that an invite?
If so thanks man.
:cool:

My girlfriends band is playing at Lyons den that night . I think they play last, so I've got time to stop by.

send me an e-mail or PM me with the time.

rodvonbon@hotmail

thanks again,

rodvonbon
 
http://www.geocities.com/moonunitsl/contact.html

Should be a somewhat entertaining evening. Of course, you'd have the unique distinction of knowing absolutely no one there . . . :D :D But hell, if you and your lady can play some music, plug on in -- it's gonna' be pretty much open mic. And I could at least show you around the studio a bit.

Same goes for Buck62 or any 'a you other dudes. :D
 
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