VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Bruce · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:59 am Post subject:

This is why per word or per finished minute are more popular ways of charging and paying for this. There's no guessing as to how long it will take or how much it will be.

B
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 9:12 am Post subject:

I completely agree, Bruce. I usually use one of those two methods.

Lee, as much as I'd like to, I don't think I can use your suggestion because the client has a fixed hourly rate for VO and one for editing. There's no working backwards because the actual charges will be based how much time was spent performing each function for each script; broken down into the types of decimal figures in my example.

If they pay $200/hr for recording, and one script takes .35 hours, another takes .65 hours, and another takes .50 hours, those figures added together is what will be paid. Similarly for editing. This is what they are expecting.

So my question is: is tracking time down to hundredths of hours reasonable, or is tracking it by the quarter-hour more reasonable?

If there's something I'm not understanding, PLEASE say so.
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Male Voice Over Talent
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Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 9:44 am Post subject:

Gregory Best · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 9:45 am Post subject:

In my day job time is tracked to the tenth of an hour or six minute increments. It was the same when I worked in a law firm. I like quarter hours better. Hundredths of an hour as in your example is absurd. Remember to include time for time keeping. Maybe they will get the message.

In my day job the County use Kronos enterprise software for labor tracking and payroll. It has a category to enter your time spent on labor tracking.

Lee Gordon · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 10:38 am Post subject:

Mike Harrison · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 10:54 am Post subject:

Thanks, Scott, Greg and Lee

I certainly wouldn't have chosen to work this way. The client asked if I'd be interested in doing a series of scripts (I guess 15 or so) and stated the hourly rates for recording and editing. Assuming he meant the record rate was a minimum session fee, I committed to doing the series. I found out only after invoicing that way for the first several scripts that they wanted time broken down in the way I described.
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 1:47 pm Post subject:

Bish · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 2:01 pm Post subject:

I'm OK with per hour if parameters are clearly established. I just quoted hour, half-day and full-day rates to a client... but I clearly specified the fact that I would be charging at a rate of 6:1 against per finished hour. I gave a very clear breakdown that included the time taken for recording editing, (requested) de-breathing and splitting re-naming smaller deliverable files... soup to nuts. It also gives him the option of backing out the (say) splitting and renaming and requesting one single file for a reduced cost.

Doing it this way effectively gives them a fixed price for the job and leaves all the time-management under my control while not imposing efficiencies (or inefficiencies) into the billing. One hour finished costs him six hours of my time... now we can discuss hourly rate if you want. (this also gives me the option of outsourcing the editing if I want). Yes, it's manipulative... but if the client wants to pay on a time-based system... let 'em.
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