The Shut Up and Shoot Freelance Video Guide

CALCULATING YOUR CREW’S RATE

Now that you’ve figured what you need to make to make the job worthwhile, you need to figure out how much you need to pay your crew. Crew rates will vary widely depending on your local market, the nature of the project, experience level, and your personal relationships to crew members. Some quick examples of situations that will affect how much you pay for any given job: (a) Your film school friend who’s an experienced sound mixer is more likely to cut you a break if she owes you a favor from the last time you worked below your rate when she was directing a project. (b) That whiz kid D.P. fresh out of film school is happy to work on a project of this stature for half of what an experienced pro would charge just to ...