Quote to do sound editing

[deardaddy]

Hi all,


I am asked to do the sound editing / sound design on a 26 minutes documentary on world war 1.
The film has a bunch of archives elements with no sound on which I will have to look for historic sounds (weapons, ...).
The producer wants me to give him a quote for the job.
Difficult thing to do for me as I have no idea how much time it will take me to find the appropriate sounds and edit them to the picture.

How can I make my quote ? is there any "rule" ?
Can you share your experiences ?
Should I charge the producer for my research time o just the sound editing time ?
Should I charge the producer if I have to buy specific sounds ?

Thanks for your time.

All the best from Belgium.

Pascal

[garnoil]

Originally Posted by deardaddy

Hi all,


I am asked to do the sound editing / sound design on a 26 minutes documentary on world war 1.
The film has a bunch of archives elements with no sound on which I will have to look for historic sounds (weapons, ...).
The producer wants me to give him a quote for the job.
Difficult thing to do for me as I have no idea how much time it will take me to find the appropriate sounds and edit them to the picture.

How can I make my quote ? is there any "rule" ?
Can you share your experiences ?
Should I charge the producer for my research time o just the sound editing time ?
Should I charge the producer if I have to buy specific sounds ?

Thanks for your time.

All the best from Belgium.

Pascal

I recently did a tv series that required extensive historical research. I would quote like this:

X number of days times your rate for actual sound studio work =X
X number of hours times the hourly rate of researchers (get 3 quotes from professional research people like professors at universities)=X
X amount for historical sound purchasing [if necessary], copyright clearance if any [lawyer's fees if needed] = X

Professional shows that require 'real professional historical sound' and accurate research, are very expensive to do. Accuracy to the facts is key to achieve historical validity to the show. For example, planes and guns have their own distinct sound, and if the show is documentary styled, you can not add sound where did not not exists.

If the show is not of historical or documentary value, I would still quote as above, but you probably don't have to worry about copyright clearances and lawyers or accuracy of sound facts as any suitable library sound that you buy will do.

[Frank Kruse]

For me very old film footage with war-sounds added always seem weird to me when I watch a documentary. Often feels fake since everyone knows that sound was never shot back then.

In that context "authentic sound" becomes a bit of a philosophical question. What would be an authentic sound for original WWI-footage? Sound effects recordings from 1915? Did they even record sound back then? An antique tank from WWI recorded now and then futzed to sound like optical sound that didn't even exists back then?
Not easy talking about authenticity in that context.

Frank.

[8dB.co.uk]

Let's not start the old creative license discussion. How many caterpillars actually make a crunching sound as they eat lettuce? Bears don't roar, especially when they're on their hind legs. Best literal use if post sound I've heard recently is the magnificent Gravity.

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

[deardaddy]

Thanks for the replies.
Good point Frank but the producer will decide at the end as always.

Thanks Garnoil for the quote examples, It helps me a lot.
What I did not realize before reading your post is that I am not supposed to have all the sounds needed, I can charge for the research.

I already did some research on WW1 sounds, not easy to find.
Any idea of libraries is welcome (I might start another thread on that).

Thanks all for your time.

Anyone else opinion is welcome.

Pascal

[nucelar]

+1 to the atrocity of recreating the sound. Fake is fake, no matter how good it may sound, it defeats the whole purpose of a documentary. Or you can tell the producer to add a text "Sound recreated for added dramatic effect" :)

[lafilmsound]

Originally Posted by nucelar

+1 to the atrocity of recreating the sound. Fake is fake, no matter how good it may sound, it defeats the whole purpose of a documentary. Or you can tell the producer to add a text "Sound recreated for added dramatic effect" :)

Then you are in the wrong business.

[Kasper]

Right on, lafilmsound.

nucelar, you must not work on any docs, or watch any for that matter. It's the sound designer's job to create the "reality."
And thank God for that ..... or I'd be out of a job

kasper

[Peter Cole]

Ask the producer how much money he has to spend. These days if you do a bid it's used to get a lower bid from someone else. Surely the producer can give you an idea of what he wants to spend. Why spend a ton of time getting numbers together only to find you are miles apart. Have him cough up a number first.

[philper]

Whether or not the archive footage (almost certainly shot MOS) gets sound treatment is a director call, as is how much sound, how clean etc etc. You need to find out their attitudes on this first, best with a spotting session for specific shots. This will tell you what level of detail they want, how accurate it is important to be, and what level of audio fidelity seems right to them. Armed with this info you can start to get an idea of the amount of work the job will entail.

philp