How I work
You've already got the client and the creative. You just need somebody to make the shoot actually happen.
That's me. Here's how it works, what it costs, and what you'd be signing up for. Four minutes and you'll know if this is a good idea.
Two ways to structure it
I'm your production company
You stay on the creative and the client. I contract the crew, wrangle permits and insurance, hold the budget, and take on the risk. One contact, one invoice, and your client never touches a vendor. As far as they know, you made it happen.
Most studios pick this one.
Usually $15,000 to $20,000 for a one or two day shoot. It covers the crew, the gear, the insurance, the locations, and me running all of it, and you are kept in the loop the entire time.
Smaller projects than that and I'm probably not your guy. I'll say so on the call instead of wasting your week.
I'm your producer
You stay the production company. You hold the contract, the insurance, and the budget. I come in as your line producer, crew the shoot, book gear and locations, build the schedule, and run the day.
Nothing changes about how you already work. You just stop doing the part you don't want to do.
Mostly remote, at $950 a day, plus your production costs. A two-day shoot usually runs 3-6 producer days. Crew, gear, insurance and locations are contracted and paid by you.
Where does the budget go?
Most of what you pay isn't my fee. It's crew, gear, and locations at cost.
If a cinematographer costs $2,500, that's what you pay. No markup.
A one-day, two-camera shoot usually lands around $15,000 all in. Roughly $9,000 of that is the production itself. Crew, gear, insurance, locations, permits, parking, and lunch. Every dollar of it leaves my account and lands on your call sheet, and you get the line items.
The rest is our producing and management fee. It's what makes the day come out the way you pitched it.
You see all of it before you approve anything, and what it actually cost after wrap. Come in under budget and the difference goes back to you. I get your approval before an overage happens, never after.
Want your number? Price your shoot in 2 minutes.
What the day is actually like
The shoot day should be boring. Boring means the call sheet was right, the crew got fed, and nobody's improvising at 6am.
I answer the phone. I tell you what something really costs before you ask twice. I don't make a shoot day feel like an emergency, and I don't make the client feel dumb for asking a question.
The whole job is keeping the train on the tracks. Everything else is decoration.
Whose name is on it?
Yours. White label is the default and it's what most studios want. Your client sees your brand, your deck, your invoice. No one has to know it's me. No one has to know it's my company.
Staying invisible is part of the service.
Whatever crew we put together, they're the face of your company that day. Your client is putting their founder in front of a camera, which is a big moment for them. I take that seriously.
If you'd rather introduce me as your producer, great, I'll shake hands and answer questions. You decide before we start and I'll follow it.
What actually happens?
A call, about twenty minutes. Give me the city, the dates, what we're making, and a budget range.
2-3 business days later you get a crew list, a schedule, and a number. Not a range. A number.
You approve it. I book crew, gear, locations, and insurance, and the call sheet shows up before you think to ask for it.
On the day, I run it. You can be on set, or somewhere else entirely. Plenty of clients pick somewhere else.
After wrap, footage goes to your editors.
Give me too much context
Dates, even rough ones. The city. What we're making and where it runs. A budget range. And who has final say on creative, because the fastest way to blow a shoot day is two people with equal authority.
Past that, I'm always craving context on the front end. Talk at me for five minutes and send me the recording. The thing that wrecks a budget is never the script. It's the detail nobody mentioned. Eleven people on camera instead of one. Six shirt changes.
What I don't need: a finished script or a shot list. Send them if you have them.
What is included, and what is extra?
Producer days get scoped in days. You see the day count in the quote before you approve it.
A two-day production usually runs 3-6 prep days plus the shoot days. Prep is the real work. Crew sourcing, vendor booking, budgeting, deal memos, insurance certificates, schedules, call sheets.
Anything added after approval gets quoted as a change. I won't quietly absorb a second location, a third deliverable, or an extra week of coordination and then hand you a surprise at wrap.
What it costs
Remote producing: $950 a day. This is the default and it is most of what I do. Prep, crew sourcing, vendor booking, budgeting, paperwork, and running the day from wherever I am, with a local lead on set.
On set: $1,250 a day, plus travel. Right for complex days, large crews, or when you need a producer physically in the room. For most one and two day shoots it is not necessary, and I will tell you when it is not.
Producing and directing: $2,000 a day.
Managed production: typically $15,000 to $20,000 for a one to two day shoot. Production management is 20 percent of managed cost with a $2,000 minimum.
Rush. Inside seven business days is plus 20 percent. Inside 72 hours, weekends or holidays is plus 25 percent.
The "standard shoot". One shoot day, two cameras, sound, remote producing, delivered. $15,000 all in. This covers most launch films and founder films.
Multi-day, multi-city, or anything with casting, art department or heavy post gets scoped. That one I quote, because a two-person founder film and a twelve-person launch shoot are not the same product.
Payment. The production budget clears before I book crew or gear. I do not finance productions, and you never pay for work I have not scheduled.
Straight answers
Do you have to be on set?
Usually no. Remote is $950 a day with a local lead running the floor, and it covers most shoots. If yours genuinely needs me in the room, that's $1,250 plus travel, and I'll tell you which one it is.
How fast can you turn a quote?
Two to three business days from the call. A crew list, a schedule, and a firm number.
What if we need it sooner?
Rush inside seven business days is plus 20 percent. Inside 72 hours, weekends, or holidays is plus 25 percent. I will tell you the number before you commit.
Can you direct, or just produce?
Both. I also host on camera. Most of the time clients want the producing, so that is what I lead with.
Who owns the footage?
You do. Once the production budget clears and the work is delivered, the footage belongs to you. I don't retain rights, and I don't post the work without asking first.
What do you not do?
Weddings, events for their own sake, and high-volume social content at low margin. Saying so up front saves us both a call.
Ready to talk?
First thing I ask on a call is what you want to walk away with. So bring me that, plus the city, the dates, what we're making, and a budget range.
Two to three business days later you'll have a crew list, a schedule, and a firm number. If I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you in the first ten minutes.