watch The Last Frame

[VPTurner]

That's just too much math involved for me. Interesting info though, I never would have guessed someone charges per frame. But I think I'll stick with an hourly rate for simplicity reasons

It's just simple multiplication.

Framerate in seconds (30fps NTSC, 25fps PAL, 24fps film (35mm and 16mm - 18fps for 8mm)) * 60 (1 minute of frames) * cost per frame (.50) = what to charge per minute of footage.

Where F = Framerate and C = Charges per minute of footage:

(F*60)0.50 = $C



EDIT: Clarified minute of footage, not minute of editing time...

 

[EvsFX08]

It's just simple multiplication.

Framerate in seconds (30fps NTSC, 25fps PAL, 24fps film (35mm and 16mm - 18fps for 8mm)) * 60 (1 minute of frames) * cost per frame (.50) = what to charge per minute.

Where F = Framerate and C = Charges per minute:

(F*60)0.50 = $C

OK, see, math was never my strong suite. However, this does seem like a more accurate way to charge, but, here's the math I come up with the formula you gave.

(30fps*60).50= $900. You said this was per minute, so obviously, I'm missing something because I can't imagine someone paying $900 per minute or even an hour, so, like I said, I'm probably missing a large piece of this equation. Now I can see this being the final price for a project, but then I'm missing the length of the project, is it a 5 minutes piece, 15 minutes, an hour....etc? I just don't understand how this formula works, can someone help me on this one?

 

[VPTurner]

OK, see, math was never my strong suite. However, this does seem like a more accurate way to charge, but, here's the math I come up with the formula you gave.

(30fps*60).50= $900. You said this was per minute, so obviously, I'm missing something because I can't imagine someone paying $900 per minute or even an hour, so, like I said, I'm probably missing a large piece of this equation. Now I can see this being the final price for a project, but then I'm missing the length of the project, is it a 5 minutes piece, 15 minutes, an hour....etc? I just don't understand how this formula works, can someone help me on this one?

That's a minute of footage, not a minute of your time. If you are dong SFX work (like rotoscoping, compositing, etc.) that minute of footage can take hours or days to perfect for a professional project. There are 1,800 frames (30*60) in a minute of video, and if you had to draw and tweak each frame, how long would that take you? With that in mind, $0.50 per frame could be a bargain if it took you a week to produce the final rendering.

 

[Will Vincent]

That's a minute of footage, not a minute of your time. If you are dong SFX work (like rotoscoping, compositing, etc.) that minute of footage can take hours or days to perfect for a professional project. There are 1,800 frames (30*60) in a minute of video, and if you had to had draw and tweak each frame, how long would that take you? With that in mind, $0.50 per frame could be a bargain if it took you a week to produce the final rendering.

Yeah, I doubt $.50/frame would work for more complex tasks than rotoscoping.. because it simply wouldn't be a high enough rate based on the product being offered.. Something like 3D matchmoving and rendering would have to be higher.

 

[EvsFX08]

OK, so I was confusing the length of footage versus the labor time of VFX, which like you said, can take a very long time. So, ok, now it makes sense. It really doesn't matter how long I spend on a project with this formula , instead of being based on manhours, it's based simply on framerate/length of footage. That's a unique way to think about charging fees. I appreciate the clarification.

 

[knightly]

I would venture a guess it's done per frame to allow for easier budgeting up front. If the producer can look at the script and figure out approximately how much of the footage will need to be effected in post, s/he can put a solid number in based on the rate/frame (hehe, the frame rate ). Rather than hoping to estimate the number of actual manhours on the FX in post. If one track ends up being really tricky, that number could blow the budget.

 

[EvsFX08]

Will,
Coming back to this thread, do you use a mouse to rotoscope, or a stylus pad? Just curious. A friend of mine suggested I use a stylus for my work,but I've never used one, he says it's a "must have"......what's your opinion?