VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Jason Huggins]

Hey there good people! I have a client that I have "tweaked" his script for him in the past, but that is a far as I've gone with script writing. He just approached me and said that his current script writer (the one who's scripts I have to tweak) is demanding a massive amount of cash for the rights on all of the stuff he's written for my client. I'm not gonna get into the battle of it, that's his thing, but he wants me to basically rewrite his stuff (he has a bunch of training videos) from scratch so that he doesn't have to pay this guy the crazy amount of money he is talking about (it is really only a couple of proprietary web explainer videos).

Any thoughts on what is an appropriate rate for writing his scripts? I am a relatively proficient writer, so it won't take me very long to put the scripts together, I just don't know what would be an appropriate rate. Thanks!

[Bish]

Writing rates are almost as difficult as VO rates

I'd start by getting a good handle on what your client has deemed "the crazy amount of money"... this should give you a good starting point. You don't give much info as to the enormity of the task, but I get the impression you're talking about 2~3 minute explainer videos. My knee-jerk call is to charge the VO rate for the script... so if its a (say) $300 VO, then the writing has got to be the same again. If it's going to take you an hour to nail the script, then that's not a bad hourly rate.

I am guessing, but that's where I'd start... knowing your client's perception of the value here is important as it's what sparked the request.
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[heyguido]

I'm with Bish on the writing being equal to the performance. I'd go for it.

One thought, though....

If you do take this on, be extremely careful about plagiarizing the previous work. Make sure your end product is your own, and not derivative. If there's a dispute over ownership rights, with damages attached, you don't want to place yourself in a vulnerable position.

Just a thought from one who occasionally writes copy for pay.
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Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

[Jason Huggins]

Thanks guys. This client is probably the most stingy client that I have allowed myself to hang on to, and it doesn't matter what I quote him, he will try to haggle with me.

Great info about the rewrite. He did want me to just take what the other guy wrote, and reword it. I will tell him that I have to take it from concept to finished script, rather than just rewording his other script, to avoid the liability.

Thanks again!

[Bruce]

Every job I've done is usually quite different from the others. Especially with narration, but it can be so with commercials too. How much research do you need to do? How complex is it? Do you have to call the end client or read through reams of material to learn what you need to know? Or is all the information handed to you? How fast do you write? I'm quite fast usually, but I never tell the agency that! I usually go for $50 to $150 per finished minute of narration which usually works out to a rate of $200 to $400 per hour for my time.

Commercials I charge more for per minute because there's so much language crafting involved, and :30's are about at tough as :60's to write. In fact, to write a :30 I usually write close to a :60 and trim and trim till I get what I want. I knew a freelance gent several years ago who charged ad agencies $1,500 per commercial to write, direct, and produce them....and he was a busy fellow. Considering the meetings, approvals, rewrites, more approvals, and production time, that was about right back then.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .