Freelance Sound Designer/ Mixer rates

[MIKEROPHONICS]

We have virtually no unions in the UK since Mrs Thatcher smashed them..
Average London rates for post sound £40 per hour for good mixers, the fluffier ones get 30-35. The good people are busy. I would add some equipment charge on top too. Remember, the production are saving a ton in using you compared to Soho rates of £120 an hour minimum.
Charge too little and you will find it hard to ever charge more and will be pigeon holed as cheap. It's a game of poker..... Raise you.?

[Charles D. Ballard]

Charge a cheap rate and people will see your work (and skills) as cheap - not up to par...

[HD2]

First and foremost, you need to find out why they want to hire you as a freelancer. Is it for your skills as a mixer or is it that they think they will get you a lot cheaper? I suggest you ask the producer what their budget is for the work you will be doing. It would seem by your post that you have done some work for the producer while at a facility. If that is the case then find out what they are paying the facility and then work out a comparable price from that. I would be inclined to ask for the same amount as they are already paying but maybe be a bit more flexible with OT rates. ie. just charge the same hourly amount up to 12 hrs. If it is really your skills they want then they shouldn't mind paying.

[Nemosonic]

Many thanks for the tips all. I'll do my thinking and see how it goes!

[bashville]

Originally Posted by HD2

First and foremost, you need to find out why they want to hire you as a freelancer. Is it for your skills as a mixer or is it that they think they will get you a lot cheaper? I suggest you ask the producer what their budget is for the work you will be doing. It would seem by your post that you have done some work for the producer while at a facility. If that is the case then find out what they are paying the facility and then work out a comparable price from that. I would be inclined to ask for the same amount as they are already paying but maybe be a bit more flexible with OT rates. ie. just charge the same hourly amount up to 12 hrs. If it is really your skills they want then they shouldn't mind paying.

I'd also say take the "less than union" argument with a grain of salt. Not sure about UK, but in the US, union typically meant you were also paid for rebroadcasts. So TYPICALLY for a non-union gig, you'd ask more to make up for that! Plus don't forget then you're sacrificing other aspects that we love about union gigs, which is like pension, insurance possibilities. Of course a lot of that has been going to hell recently, but that's still the theory comparing union to non-union....

The best thing is hinted at by HD2 above--ask around through people at the places you've already worked.

[dr sound]

Originally Posted by bashville

I'd also say take the "less than union" argument with a grain of salt. Not sure about UK, but in the US, union typically meant you were also paid for rebroadcasts.

Rebroadcasts... Paid HA! What Union are you talking about?
If I got residuals I'd be a rich guy. You don't get paid residuals
for mixing, EVER! Who told you that? Actors do, and even ADR Groups
do (what a joke- we mix for weeks and they work a day and get residuals).

[lexaudio]

Originally Posted by dr sound

Rebroadcasts... Paid HA! What Union are you talking about?
If I got residuals I'd be a rich guy. You don't get paid residuals
for mixing, EVER! Who told you that? Actors do, and even ADR Groups
do (what a joke- we mix for weeks and they work a day and get residuals).

I want join that union too.

[eccles291]

Originally Posted by MIKEROPHONICS

We have virtually no unions in the UK since Mrs Thatcher smashed them..

There's still BECTU though, isn't there? Are they able to give accurate figures for pay rates?

Originally Posted by MIKEROPHONICS

Average London rates for post sound £40 per hour for good mixers, the fluffier ones get 30-35. The good people are busy.

Out of interest, would you say ADR/foley mixer rates are around the same? Or are those figures above primarily for dubbing mixers? If so, what would the going rate be for ADR/foley mixing?

[MIKEROPHONICS]

don't know of any freelance adr/foley mixers so can't comment.
this tends to be a staff role in a facility.

Personally I think it is highly under rated as a skill and I am VERY fussy about who I let record my foley or ADR. I like to do it myself if I have the time.

A good jobbing dubbing mixer should be able to cope with anything thrown at him - hence the rate. Less experienced people get less and work less.

Economics really.

BECTU? When I was at the BBC in the late 80's/early90's there were hardly any BECTU members in the 150 strong sound dept. Most people felt they were not in their interest and were weak and ineffective. Sad but true. Thatcher's legacy lives on.....

[eccles291]

Originally Posted by MIKEROPHONICS

don't know of any freelance adr/foley mixers so can't comment.
this tends to be a staff role in a facility.

Exactly. I've had staff roles as an ADR mixer for a number of years but have been in the freelance world a while now, although almost all of it has been as a sound editor. It's probably about 5 or 6 years since I did any ADR mixing and I've just been asked to quote for some, hence the question about the current going rates.

Originally Posted by MIKEROPHONICS

Personally I think it is highly under rated as a skill and I am VERY fussy about who I let record my foley or ADR.

That's good to hear. From my experience, good results are difficult to achieve in both of these disciplines, especially if people just 'have a go at it'. I've seen very good dubbing mixers make a hash of ADR (and foleys) because they thought "...it's just pushing faders..." and they already know how to do that in a dub. It's really not as simple as it looks and you definitely need plenty of previous experience to get quality results.