Specific help about charges...

[ramiel]

Hi all,
I have a serious question for you all, and I need an answer (or some advice) quite soon...

I've already red the sticky about pricing, rates, etc... But I'm searching for a really "personal" advice (if anyone wants to, of course).

I've been contacted by an art director of a movie soon to be filmed in Romania (it is a Hollywood production, but they will shoot in Romania, because it's cheaper...).
Now, the art director likes my style and want me to join his team. I have to go there for a month or so, and I should leave at the end of February. He asked me how much I take for each piece I do, and I haven't answered yet.

What I'm asking is: Since this is just my second "big" job, I want to keep my rates relatively "honest" (not too high an not too low). This movie is a mid-budget movie (around $20.000.000), so I wanna ask if you have a "ready-to-use" list of charges for this kind of job (I have to do concept art, of course. From enviros, to costumes and weapons, from pencil sketches to finished illustartions and so on...)

So... How much do YOU usually charge for:

rough sketches?
refined sketch?
shaded pencils?
ink lineart?
shaded lineart?
colored piece?
etc...

I know that there isn't ONE SINGLE aswer for this question, and I also know that I haven't give you much info about me (how I work, how much time I spend on a single piece, etc...) or about the project, but I keep this info "vague" so I could have a wide range of answers... Or I hope so...

This is really important, so if you have had a job experience like this before, please tell me your charges.

Thanks in advance!

Best Regards
-George

[Qitsune]

The problem with personnal price lists is they are personnal. Not the "super confidential" type of personnal, more the "it considers how fast I work and the cost of living where I am" personnal. So if you want a fast formula and you are kinda new and it's not a high budjet project, how about number_of_hours_estimated X twice_the_hourly_pay_of_a_retail_job and you check if it sounds about right to you? They also have to cover your cost of living there. But honestly, I don't know where you are traveling from, but the experience of working in Romania might be cool enough (if they have a good per diem) to lower your rates a little.

[ramiel]

Thank you very much for your reply Quitsune.

(and I don't know why I haven't received an e-mail about it, since I suscribed this thread... Oh well...)

By the way...

I'm from Italy, so the cost of the travel isn't really a problem (2 hours of flight), and the room+food (at least 2 meal every day) are paid, and there is a per-diem that should cover the other costs...

This is not my first movie experience, but I've always worked in Italy, and this would be my first "hollywood movie". And since my charges are in Euros, they could be a little too high, if you consider the actual exchange rate (both with Dollar and Lei -the Romanian currency-).
Now, they will pay on a weekly basis (here is usually on a monthly basis), and the work should be, more or less, of 4 weeks.
Here in Italy (when the producers pay you...:rolleyes: ), the amount of money a concept artist should earn, is around 3.000 and 5.000€, so if I keep (and adapt) these rates I should ask for $800/1000 per week... Does it sound right for me?
Hmmm, probably yes... Especially if I consider the great experience it could be... Maybe it's a little on the low side, but...

Thanks again for the reply, if anyone else have other suggestions or could point me in a good direction, is more than welcome!

Cheers

[PETz]

By the way, where is the movie filmed? In what region? As Quitsune said, it can be a pretty nice experience.

[ramiel]

It should be filmed in Muntenia, near Bucharest. :)

[Randomavatar]

Sorry to but into your thread Ramiel, but I thought it better than making a seperate one or clutting up the advice page.

I'm in the UK, currently at uni and I'm meeting an employer (a small wargames company) next week to go through ideas and show my portfolio but I'm still not sure what to charge, my art style isnt very refined so I dont want to quote too high and risk losing the opportunity, but I'm getting this job through a friend who is the model-maker so working together and easy communication means I'm ideally placed (he's excited about modelling some of my designs so it should be a safe job).

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=115386 My sketchbook for reference, the mech on post 5 is the kind of thing I'll be doing, I already have a good range of concepts ready to show, most pencil A4 sketches)

Any help would be appreciated, will have to discuss IP rights/copyrights too, but I'll save that for the meeting.

[PETz]

It should be filmed in Muntenia, near Bucharest. :)
This could be cool, however try to avoid Bucharest :D

[J Wilson]

I have NO experience with Hollywood or projects of that size, so take this for what it's worth, but $800-$1000 a week sounds very low to me. I know people doing game cards for that kind of money for a single illustration. In my opinion, any production that realizes they need a concept artist should be willing to pay well for one, because you are visualizing the entire movie. If you don't visualize it first, it doesn't get done.

If no one here can answer your question I'd check around other places on the internet and find people that deal more often with films.

[PETz]

1000$ / week = 4000$ month and that seems pretty ok, expecialy for a low budget movie.

Yes they are guys who get 1000$ per ilustration but they have "NAMES". Look at Samwise, or Shean O'Daniels (http://www.seanodaniels.com/).

[ramiel]

This could be cool, however try to avoid Bucharest :D
I know I will regret this, but... Why?

I have NO experience with Hollywood or projects of that size, so take this for what it's worth, but $800-$1000 a week sounds very low to me. I know people doing game cards for that kind of money for a single illustration. In my opinion, any production that realizes they need a concept artist should be willing to pay well for one, because you are visualizing the entire movie. If you don't visualize it first, it doesn't get done.

If no one here can answer your question I'd check around other places on the internet and find people that deal more often with films.

Thanks for the reply (and sorry for the delay on mine), I've found an answer to my question already, and, in fact, you are quite right... Thanks anyway for taking the time to post here, I really appreciate!