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Would you sacrifice your rate for a life experience.


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So here it is- I was contacted by someone-who is looking to do a documentary shoot early next year in the Himalayas. I've never worked with her before, but she is connected to people I know so I believe that they are legitimate, and I have ways to check.

It will be a small crew- the Producer is also going to operate camera, The director and a sound guy, possibly a PA. We will mostly spending time with Sherpas and their families. The day rate is very low- $150/ day and that would also include gear. Normally I'd politely say no to such a low rate, but this is a place I've always wanted to go to. Not only that in making the film we will be doing all kinds of activities- Horseback riding, One of the sherpas knows someone who works on the search and rescue helicopter and so we'll get a free helicopter tour of the mountains which of course will be used to shoot B-Roll, and well trekking in the most majestic mountains. On our days off production will cover activities such as river rafting or whatever else there is to do.

Such an experience through a tour company would cost $1000s if I were to pay for it as a vacation and this would be more than a vacation as we will be spending time with local people. I'm very tempted to do this for the experience alone. Of course I would rather be making something closer to my rate too, but this does seem like something too difficult to pass up.

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Making a full day rate AND traveling to cool locations is, of course, the best way to go. However, there are trade-offs when both criteria are not met. At that point it really is a decision only you can make.

I did a month-long trip to Thailand and a couple trips around Mexico with very similar circumstances (cool locationa but low pay).

I would highly advise making sure the production has insurance that would cover all the bad things. Loss of gear, injury to yourself, travel and health expenses in case of injury, etc. What may start off as a cool experience can potentially become a complete nightmare very quickly.

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I would gladly accept that. I did similar with a shoot at the Le Mans 24 hours last year, i'd always wanted to go, and the chance to do it and be recording sounds was incredible, even though the rate was not. Turned out to be a fantastic 10 days. I just wish I'd known half of what I know now in order to make the most of it and do a better job.

~Mark.

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I agree. Ordinarily I would absolutely say no to this gig. But since it is a free, all expenses paid trip to a place you want to visit, you should probably consider it. If it were me I would make sure they left time in the schedule for me to do the things that I wanted to do. Consider personal time on their dime as part of your compensation.

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Mark,

I grew up working at Watkins Glen .. Next time you have a race gig-- Call me :)

MK,

An all expenses paid trip to the top of the world -- plus a paycheck sounds like a pretty good time... I second checking out insurance coverage though. A bad day without insurance over there could be the life experience you really weren't looking for.

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Several years ago I had a then-well-known local production company offer me a production gig on what sounded like a really neat trip. They offered no money, just the experience. I turned them down flat. Not too long after, the production company went out of business.

If they had made an offer that showed more respect for what I would be contributing to the production, I might have considered it. As it was, the offer spoke loudly to where they were at as a company.

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Once I got going as a freelance post guy, I rarely took on a low paying or freebie job UNLESS I was gaining more in the long run, be it a great contact, great experience, or just a fun job to work on. I ended up getting my gig at Technicolor because I did a freebie job for Charles Maynes who is friends with the audio lead there.

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I have done heaps of travel / work, a lot of the shine disappears when you are on someone else's timeframe, you can't stop and see or do stuff YOU would like to do. (Along with getting a flogging with the hours..)

Seen lots of places I would like to go back to and really experience.

But... been places that you can't buy tickets to.

It's a gamble.

Good luck!

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I suppose if you can afford to work at $150/day, then why not. But really, I don't see the difference. If a documentary producer came on this site asking for a sound guy for $150/day including gear, nobody would ask "Would I get to travel somewhere cool?" You would all rip them to shreds for undervaluing our jobs.

Every job is a "life experience", be it good or bad, and the project is important to someone, for one reason or another. So if we're comfortable with this rate for a good life experience, then stop slamming the newbies for taking rates like this for getting a new life experience of their own.

Robert

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I suppose if you can afford to work at $150/day, then why not. But really, I don't see the difference. If a documentary producer came on this site asking for a sound guy for $150/day including gear, nobody would ask "Would I get to travel somewhere cool?" You would all rip them to shreds for undervaluing our jobs.

Every job is a "life experience", be it good or bad, and the project is important to someone, for one reason or another. So if we're comfortable with this rate for a good life experience, then stop slamming the newbies for taking rates like this for getting a new life experience of their own.

Robert

+9999999999999999999

Well said.

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I agree with Robert.

You're not going on holiday, you're going there to work. You won't see as much as you want of the things you'd pay to see, shoots don't work out like that. I travel a lot, often to places people are jealous of (Mountain trekking with Lowland Gorillas is the trip most people say 'I wish I could have done that!') and just as often to places no one wants to go. Foreign jobs all have a few things in common, they're hard work, and never a holiday'

I wouldn't sacrifice my rate, everything else on the trip will have compromises too, from the slightly less important stuff like accommodation, food, flights etc, to the important stuff, like insurance, training for crew members who haven't been places like that before, safety provisions etc etc.

If you need $150 a day, and you need another 'life experience' Do it, and hope it goes well. I would charge my higher tariff for a shoot like that, based on the physical difficulties of working in environments like that, and the increased likelihood of damage to self and kit.. Of course that'll be harder for me to do once people start lowballing this kind of job, jobs like this have always been the preserve of the pro, not the lowballer, it would be nice to keep it that way.

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The fact that the shoot is in a great location shouldn't be merit for them to cut the rates. Next job they do, they will call you or some other guy and offer the same rate, but no 'experience' this time.

Rates are there for a reason. I agree with Predrag, work and then travel, this won't be a holiday.

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