Shooting a news interview on location

Labor rates

Shooting:
One camera, one camera operator: $75/hour, two hour minimum. Two cameras, one operator, $85/hour, two hour minimum. Two operators, $95/hour. Day rate = $500 for one operator, add $200 for second operator.

Editing/post-production:
$50 per hour, all-day rate $400.

On-location Chromakey (greenscreen) shoot

Basic packages (include shooting, editing, titling, uploading and/or master DVD):

• Small business or organization promo video, one to three minutes – $399 & up
• Music videos, up to five minutes – $299 to $599 (depends on complexity)
• Live events/concerts – 3 hour shoot, edited to 2 hour video – $499 & up (2nd operator extra)

My “main” video camera is a Panasonic AG-HMC150P — 100% high-definition, 100% digital, 100% tapeless, 100% broadcast quality. I have Rode and Azden shotgun mikes, Shure handhelds, Nady stand mikes, Behringer  “matched set” stereo music mikes, and several  excellent Audio-Technica wireless lavalier sets. My “walkaround” (B-roll) camera is a high-definition, tapeless Pansonic TM-300. Both are 1080i (if you’re not a video expert, this means “higher definition than you get from your cable company”) and can shoot for up to four hours non-stop. And if a third camera is required, I have a tiny (but also tapeless high-definition) Canon Vixia HF-10 — and appropriate tripods and/or monopods for all of them, of course.

My primary editing platform is Sony Vegas Pro, with all necessary plug-ins, including Sony’s Cinescore music generator.

I also have a good light kit, portable Chromakey backdrops (green, blue, and white) and a jury-rigged boom setup for overhead shooting. Please note that while I don’t raise my hourly rate when using these additional pieces of equipment, they do add to setup and breakdown time, and that Chromakey work adds significantly to editing time — and, therefore, to the total cost of your project.