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Craigslist Gig - Toronto - Business question : The rate offered vs. their requirements?


Dave

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Hi All,

 

I'm not located in a major center so I've been checking Craigslist regularly for networking opportunities and audio gigs.  Below is a description of a what I gather is an "indie"gig offered in a recent posting in Toronto. Rate appears to be "per day" -no mention of the hours involved.  What are your thoughts about the equipment and service requirements versus the rate offered? For a newbie trying to build a network from scratch, are these gigs reasonable in their labour and gear expectations? How close or far is this to being in line with current Toronto "indie"rates?  I realize the importance of upholding the collective rate standard for local sound mixers and would like to be further informed.

 

Thank you for your thoughts and professional advice.

 

Regards,

Dave

 

 

 

Job Type: Part-time
Salary: $250 /day depending on experience and own equipment
Requirements:
• Responsible for mixing sound on-set
• Responsible for recording all sound on set during a production
• Responsible for recording all sound on set during a production
• Must have previous live location sound recording experience
• Must have own all equipment required to bring high quality sound
• Responsible for mixing sound on-set
• Understanding of timecode and how it relates to syncing with video and post production.
• Able to collaborate with a movie director in developing an artistic vision for a film and then producing it.
Equipment:
Must have own pro level following kits -
• 3 Wireless Lav - (i.e Sennheiser EW-112-PG3 Wireless Lav)
• Sound mixer (Edirol Roland R44 Mixer Recorder),
• Wired microphones (i.e. Sennheiser MKH 8070, Scheops CMIT5U Shotgun Mic)
• Windshield - (i.e. Rycote Windshield Kit 4)
• Boom pole - at least 10 feet

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Hi Gentlemen,

 

Thanks for your helpful responses. You have confirmed what I had a feeling about.  I did my due diligence and called Trew Audio regarding a one day rental of a similar kit and with taxes and insurance it was in the $200-ish (Canadian $) range.  The request for a CMIT and 3 wireless rigs was definitely pushing it.

So minus off the $200 kit fee, if they rented the gear directly, I guess that leaves a whopping $50 for the whole day's labour - not a winning proposition.

 

On a more positive, proactive note, can you suggest any business models or strategies that help newer sound people build toward the tier where the rate is reasonable and fair for all? I certainly don't have a problem paying my dues, but the economics do need to make sense, as does the maintaining of an industry fee standard.

 

I appreciate any tips as I know this can be a delicate subject.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Best Regards,

Dave

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There is a great interview here posted by Dave Fisk with Whit Norris. Whit gives some excellent advice on how to break into the industry. One thing that helps is being a reasonable distance from work. I’ll let you watch the interview for the goodies but it will take some sacrifice but that doesn’t mean you can’t make any money. 

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Here’s that:

 

 

36 minutes ago, Dave said:

On a more positive, proactive note, can you suggest any business models or strategies that help newer sound people build toward the tier where the rate is reasonable and fair for all?

 

All I know: Be very selective about work offers from people you don’t know. Word of mouth gets a lot of work, so having a good attitude on-set is as important as the recordings. As this forum and other mixers have taught me, always defend your rate from clients who try to lower it to where it’s completely unsustainable for your career and living.

 

Price your kit rate based on what the rental houses and other mixers in your market are charging.

 

I’m in the same beginning stages as you, and I’m slowly learning it takes a lot of patience in addition to good work ethic to survive. We’ll get there!

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