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000196_owner-lightwave-l _Fri Jan 20 03:19:27 1995.msg
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From: Kenneth Jennings <kenneth@daffy.aatech.com>
X-Mailer: SCO System V Mail (version 3.2)
To: lightwave-l@netcom.com
Subject: re: prices?
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 95 23:03:25 EST
Message-ID: <9501192303.aa17772@daffy.aatech.com>
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"Erik C. Elvgren" <UCII@sysm.acs.virginia.edu>
wrote about prices?:
>I'm wondering what is the best way to charge for animation
>projects. Do you charge by finished second? Per hour
>charges for modelling and rendering? Do you have an
>established rate?
>I'd like to find out what you-all (ok I'm from Virginia)
>are doing so I can find the best way and amount to charge clients.
>Thanks and I'll compile the info if I get enough responses and post it.
>Erik C. Elvgren
>UCII@sysm.acs.Virginia.EDU
It's always best to charge a best guess for the entire project
after you've discussed quality and rendering considerations
(i.e. resolutions, playback/recording media, and how surface/
textures/ polygon count effect rendering time.
The advantage of a flat estimate for an entire project is that
one number is easier for you and the customer to deal with and
there's room in there to fudge extra time for object modeling,
etc.
If you try a per-finished second rate you'll always get customers
who say Such and Such only charge this much perframe or that
much per rendered second.
Per hour charges are also tough to deal with until you've discussed
and really thought about what you might have to model and how
much work it might take. If you estimate too low, the customer
gets irritated and/or you get hosed.
How much a project costs really depends on lots of variables:
Is the finished project going to be on SVHS or BetacamSP?
Will you have to grab several seconds of moving video as a
backdrop or moving image map? How many moving objects are there?
How many polygons and how long will it take to render? Are there
anf object morphs or other special video effects? Will several
layers of video and animations have to be composited together?
Does the client expect to get a copy of the project in digital
format (streaming tape or removable media).
For a measly 8 second flying logo with at most a lens flare, we'd
charge about $600 to $800. For another animation that had moving
video as a backdrop, a 3D rendered dolphin, rippling/morphing
text and a soundtrack for 12 seconds we asked (and got without
any client whining) $6000.
Another thing: always get 50% (perhaps 30% for very trustworthy
clients) up front! I've seen many an animator get shafted (mostly
by car dealers) by delivering the goods before payment. If
you can get another 15%-30% at mid-completion or client approval
of a rough draft that would be good, too. The balance must be
in your hands at completion! Don't let them take a tape without
paying for everything.
+-------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------+
| Kenneth Jennings, Amiga Advocate | | ====== Equine Video Studios ====== |
| "Happy I'm not a PC/Mac lemming." | | ====== & SyntheToonz, Inc. ====== |
| kenneth@daffy.aatech.com | | >>>>>>>> Lynn, Video Maven <<<<<<<< |
| Applied Automation Techniques, Inc. | | > Ken, Computer Animation Artiste < |
| Obviously not the opinions of AAT. | | >>>>>>> Bruno The Wonder Dog <<<<<< |
+-------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------+
"You'd think that PC and Mac users willing to gut their systems to achieve the
Amiga's level of performance would just save themselves the trouble and buy
Amigas in the first place. But they don't know any better -- they read BYTE."