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How much to charge for DVD slideshow

J

jeshepard

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 23, 2006
53
0
I spent the last weekend putting together a slideshow for person's graduation (ie, pictures of them as kids, with friends, growing up, etc.). This one was for a friend of the family so I'm not charging them, but I'm wondering if anyone has done anything similar and what they have charged.

Breakdown of what I did (for around 250 pictures):
Scan in the pictures
Clean them up (just enhance in iPhoto, nothing grand)
Add a different motion to each one in iMovie (Ken Burns effect)
Put it onto a DVD

As you can imagine the bulk of the time was spent scanning or in iMovie setting the Ken Burns effect.

So what is your estimate?

Thanks in advance.
 
jeshepard said:
I spent the last weekend putting together a slideshow for person's graduation (ie, pictures of them as kids, with friends, growing up, etc.). This one was for a friend of the family so I'm not charging them, but I'm wondering if anyone has done anything similar and what they have charged.

Breakdown of what I did (for around 250 pictures):
Scan in the pictures
Clean them up (just enhance in iPhoto, nothing grand)
Add a different motion to each one in iMovie (Ken Burns effect)
Put it onto a DVD

As you can imagine the bulk of the time was spent scanning or in iMovie setting the Ken Burns effect.

So what is your estimate?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

How much do you think your parents would pay for one of these?
 
$70.
If you go by hours spent scanning vs price you'll be asking way too much.
$70 would be my price point.
 
jeshepard said:
I spent the last weekend putting together a slideshow for person's graduation (ie, pictures of them as kids, with friends, growing up, etc.). This one was for a friend of the family so I'm not charging them, but I'm wondering if anyone has done anything similar and what they have charged.

Breakdown of what I did (for around 250 pictures):
Scan in the pictures
Clean them up (just enhance in iPhoto, nothing grand)
Add a different motion to each one in iMovie (Ken Burns effect)
Put it onto a DVD

As you can imagine the bulk of the time was spent scanning or in iMovie setting the Ken Burns effect.

So what is your estimate?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Why use the Ken Burns Effect in iMovie when you can just have it automated in iPhoto and export it as an MPEG? (unless you require absolute precision on each movement) Just a tip for you in the future, I almost did what you did a year ago for a project and then someone told me how to have the automated KB effect in iPhoto.
 
Yeah... use the automated thing in iPhoto to make the Ken Burns... it's a lot lot quicker and actually most people won't even care or notice a difference.
 
between $0.50 and $1.00 per photo

Generally, i end up charging between $0.50 and $1.00 per photo.

adds up the time to scan, time to edit and time to add into the slideshow and the addition of music.

rule of thumb: do not, for a second, undercut your time. value it. customers who value what you are doing, will be willing to pay without a question.
 
$1 per Photo!

I have done this, and I've had no problem getting $1/photo. Of course you have to tell them this up front. You might also want to try Roxio's "Motion Pictures" software, which in my opinion is a much easier and faster way to accomplish the same thing, compared to any Apple Ken Burns effect. In the final package I've always included a directory of full-resolution photo scans, with a copy of the Motion Pictures datafile and the full-resolution Quicktime movie included. And I use my Epson DVD Printer to make the final DVD itself look good, with a few photos printed right on the media. If they're hedging on the price, offer to give them additional copies of the DVD at no additional charge, but don't go below $1/photo.

Remember, the video technology that we Apple users take for granted everyday will amaze normal people, and even experienced PC users. What you're doing will be a treasured family keepsake and will be viewed for many, many years. Price it accordingly.
 
More on Pricing...

I just re-read your original posting and saw that you did 250!!!!! photos. Wow! Even at a nominal 6-seconds per photo, you've got a 25-minute DVD there. In my humble opinion one of these should never last longer than 12-15 minutes. At 12-minutes your audience will be awake, alert, and amazed; at 15-minutes they'll be starting to doze off; at 25-minutes they'd probably be comatose. If you do more of these in the future, maybe set a limit of 150 original photos. (150 photos = 15-minutes = $150.) And by all means, market the "free bonus stuff" you're including, such as the directory of original scanned photos on the DVD at no extra charge.

Like I said, I swear by Motion Pictures for this sort of thing... here's the link: http://www.roxio.com/en/products/mp/index.jhtml
 
Thanks for the input on price. The amount of pictures was set by the person who asked me to do this. She is going to have it running on repeat where the food is being served, so the idea is that you'll see bits of it at a time and eventually see most of it. About the Ken Burns effect in iPhoto, yes I know I could do this, but I like to have the control over each picture. I did one last year that was around 500 pictures, but that took numerous weeks of fiddling.

Another note, I found places online that would do this. The prices I found ranged from 250~550 for 250 scanned pictures. I think if I was going to charge them I would shoot towards 300.
 
My sisters sister-in-law did this type of thing on a PC, and she charged $100. She routinely gets this from customers. However, I did it on my Mac for my other sister for free for her wedding, and they were all so much more amazed at the higher level of quality. Point is, I would say anything less than $100 is cheating yourself.
 
SilentPanda said:
Yeah... use the automated thing in iPhoto to make the Ken Burns... it's a lot lot quicker and actually most people won't even care or notice a difference.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I find the auto-KB effect pans a picture the wrong way. Like only half of a person's face will show up on the screen. For my own personal movies this is usally okay, but if I was paying someone I would expect better.

eRondeau - I agree with you about being 'spoiled' by the video technology we have access to with Apple. I'm getting married later this year. When we were picking a photographer, most of them offered a DVD option for an (expensive) additonal fee. We decided not to do this though, because they all looked like crap compared to what we already do ourselves on our mac. I knew I could do better for free!
 
yeah I'm glad you didn't charge them since they are a family friend, though I hope they are kind enough to compensate you somehow without you even asking.

But for future clients I wouldn't ask for anything less than $100 especially if all those photos need to be scanned and retouched.
 
corywoolf said:
Why use the Ken Burns Effect in iMovie when you can just have it automated in iPhoto and export it as an MPEG?
Click to expand...
This is ok as a quick surrogate, but to do it right, you need to individually place motion for each picture. Otherwise you get weird zooms/pans that suggest something different than you want to convey (for instance, zoom towards one person in the picture who may be insignificant.) One thing you can do is just copy the Ken Burns effect for each shot in iMovie, then edit on the ones where you get a weird pan. Also, varying the pan makes for a much more riveting viewing experience.

As for what to charge, that's a tough one. For the amount of time you put in, you're not going to get very much per-hour. I'd say around $100 for a half-hour video - of course, you could do something like $100 plus $10 each additional DVD. And, of course, you have to worry about royalties if you've put any music in and now you're charging for it.

Dave
 
I'm all for hourly or per photo rates. Time is money. I like the $1 per photo or I'd say no less than $50 an hour. I've always regretted flat rates and will never do them again. It often leads to too much revision from the client adn can leave you working for peanuts. When they realize that any change is going to cost them, they'll come to the table more prepared.
 
I did one a few months ago for a 50th wedding anniversary (wifes parents).

Obviously I did not charge, but I spent quite a number of hours on that puppy....220 photos total. Most photos were old, and all had to be scanned and cleaned up considerably. I used iPhoto, with defualt Ken Burns on all slides, and then just tweaked what I wanted. It worked out pretty good. I rented audio/visual equipment (screen, projector, sound board, amplifier, house speakers, etc,), and had it playing in a loop during their get together in a hall. Everyone was blown away, and just loved it. It was my gift to them.

If I were to charge...I dont know. For sure, minimum of $1 per photo, maybe more, depending .....
 
eRondeau said:
At 12-minutes your audience will be awake, alert, and amazed; at 15-minutes they'll be starting to doze off; at 25-minutes they'd probably be comatose.
Click to expand...
While this is certainly true for any speech, it's not true for a video of a loved one. A well-done video can last a good 40 minutes and not drag, as long as you have elements that break it up - a video here and there, changing transitions, etc.

Dave
 
Yikes I'm expensive compared to you, a group of wedding planners/entertainment people have shows around here and I swear I charge $150 for 50 pictures and 1 song that loops. 1 transition, and they are happy. Of course I have DVDs that have a company logo on them (mine) and they generally think its a good deal. as do I ;)
 
Carl Spackler said:
I'm all for hourly or per photo rates. Time is money. I like the $1 per photo or I'd say no less than $50 an hour. I've always regretted flat rates and will never do them again. It often leads to too much revision from the client adn can leave you working for peanuts. When they realize that any change is going to cost them, they'll come to the table more prepared.
Click to expand...

Although presumably you could charge a flat per photo rate, but then tell them that you bill revisions hourly. Or you'll give them one free hour of revisions, but after that they pay.

Seems like 250 photos is a lot of work and you should charge $1 or so per photo.

Or you could specify price points, like 50c/photo if you use the exact digital image they give you, $1/photo if you scan, and $1.50 if you retouch as well.

On the film side, professional retouching etc. of photos is very expensive.

Also, so what if it's easy for you to do? You're adding value. Customers can decide whether they want to pay for that value or do it themselves.
 
good

this has been very informative! i did a thing for a friends graduation and was going to do a big video slidshow and i ended up just doing a collage because my laptop pc couldn't handle all the stress of doing video and photos all at the same time. but i probably scanned in about 150 photos...i would have never guessed to charge anywhere near that amount of money. i'm doing a wedding coming up here shortly... and i know i have been underchargeing for all the weddings i have done. i feel a bit bad charging more at this point because i have an ok camera but nothing grand that i'm working with. i'm charging $300 for a basic two camera taping of the wedding ceremony, recoding of audio from sound board (for latter enhancement for video), and an hour of the wedding reception. and that includes 3 copies on DVD for both the bride and grooms parents and the bride and groom themselves. plus i'm giving a friend $50 to just help tape during the reception cause he needs the money. i guess i'm just to much of a pushover. after this wedding though i plan on raising my price. what do you guys think i should charge for a basic wedding video? i want to upgrade my camera to two GL2 cameras but i'm not sure. i took a look at the new Panasonic AG-HVX200 so i can do short films with it and record in HD in the future but the price of one of those is almost worth 4 GL2s.
 
I did a video for my parents 25th anniversary, requiring over 70 pictures...boy that sucked scanning pictures (my mom wants me to make another video for her, which is going to suck and I don't get paid...I've done 100's of videos, I've never once been paid).

In your situation, I'd shoot for over 100 bucks, but don't shoot too high, because I wouldn't say your exactly a professional (iMovie?), not being a jerk, just telling the truth. Though 250 pictures is a hell of a lot of pictures to scan and edit and stuff.
 
Dave00 said:
And, of course, you have to worry about royalties if you've put any music in and now you're charging for it.

Dave
Click to expand...

so if i place a rolling stones track on a dvd (same situation as the OP), and i "know" the dvd will only be placed in a private setting (graduation party), do i need to fear the riaa knocking on my door or something?
 
Wow. This has actually been quite an interesting thread. I'm like Peyton...posted above...I'm apparently expensive. I do these for $200 for up to 100 pics + $1.00 each additional pic. Sure I get turned down sometimes; but to me, it's not worth getting out of bed for any less. Fact is it takes a couple hours to do this, and anything less than $100/hour is VERY reasonable. For 250 pics??? Jeez that's alot. I've never been asked to do that many (thank goodness.)
 
PegasusMedia said:
Wow. This has actually been quite an interesting thread. I'm like Peyton...posted above...I'm apparently expensive. I do these for $200 for up to 100 pics + $1.00 each additional pic. Sure I get turned down sometimes; but to me, it's not worth getting out of bed for any less. Fact is it takes a couple hours to do this, and anything less than $100/hour is VERY reasonable. For 250 pics??? Jeez that's alot. I've never been asked to do that many (thank goodness.)
Click to expand...

If you and Peyton are making money, then I think you're charging the right amount. You make an excellent point that at a certain price, it's just not worth it. No point in working for minimum wage. I've also found that charging too little can discourage potential clients just as quickly as charging too much.

jeshepard, you should also take a look at what others in your area are charging. It should give you a decent starting point.
 
redAPPLE said:
so if i place a rolling stones track on a dvd (same situation as the OP), and i "know" the dvd will only be placed in a private setting (graduation party), do i need to fear the riaa knocking on my door or something?
Click to expand...
It's actually a fairly good question, one I don't know the answer to. I don't think you can just rip songs from a CD and put them on a DVD and charge for it. Although your customer may not report you, if your business grows and it's obvious you're putting copyrighted songs onto a DVD and selling it, you might get some inquiries and potentially fined. (Look at what they did to some of the P2P people.)

I've thought one way to get around this would be to buy each track you put on the DVD from the iTMS; I'm not sure there's a way they can tell you you can't resell it.

Dave
 
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