[BUSINESS] Basic principles for seeking video and photo content

[BlazeMaker]

How many times have you seen a content buyer reach out to a video and photo production company with "Send me your rates"?
A lot, right?
It happens all the time across different forums and discussion threads.

And here is why for a professional production company "Send me your rates" is meaningless:

"Send me your rates" gives the producer no idea if you are after
- 20 minutes of a drug addict masturbating in a cheap motel room, lighting provided by a ceiling fluorescent tube and shot on a cell phone, or
- a 60 minute video with a story, shot with professional 4K camera and crew, professional lighting rig, in different rooms of a glamorous mansion and including the swimming pool and gym, featuring a few healthy babes and athletic guys in all manner of acts, from straight to kink to fetish with associated wardrobe and props.

Unsurprisingly there is a huge difference in "rates", better known as production budgets, for these two scenarios.

So what answer do you expect a experienced producer to provide?

What is useful would be those wishing to purchase content provide a brief covering what they are looking for (scenes, clip duration(s), HD or UHD, number of photos in a photoset, production value such as lighting, locations, raw footage or edited, how it is delivered, the deadline etc. and maybe even a sample clip) and the budget range they usually work on.
This provides a really fast route to "yes we can provide that content for your budget", or "no we can't".

Requesting a quote based on a detailed production brief is a basic business principle in the mainstream film and TV industry but seems to be absent for the most part in adult
The norm in adult is insisting we go through an exchange of a few emails back and forth which often ends up no-where because the content buyer is too inhibited to actually provide details of what they are after, nominate a workable budget and negotiate.

Genuine question: Is there any good reason content buyers cannot let a potential content provider know the budget (or budget range depending on the nature of the clips) upfront?

[cimage]

If a person asks for rates they are a potential buyer of content, look at it this way, they gave you their email, communicate make the sale.

[DonMK]

You sound stresed out man

[Colmike7]

They might not say their budget since they want to see what is available and for what price. You don't want to be the first one to make an offer when trying to get a deal...

[FilmLatex]

I think its you I just sent a mail ... which might be one answer to the question lol - at least when I tried to calculate it turned out less obvious than youd think as we shoot different things at the same time, some people are there for some things, some things are based on them being ongoing and others are one-offs etc etc

[dom_trev]

My issue is people post sites for sale with no info or price, just "contact me" wtf is wrong with posting the asking price and site url.

[BlazeMaker]

If a person asks for rates they are a potential buyer of content, look at it this way, they gave you their email, communicate make the sale.

Yes, of course, but in my original post I refer to the email exchange.

[BlazeMaker]

You sound stresed out man

Not really stressed out as such, I just get a little frustrated at times over things that really do not need to be difficult.

[BlazeMaker]

I think its you I just sent a mail ... which might be one answer to the question lol - at least when I tried to calculate it turned out less obvious than youd think as we shoot different things at the same time, some people are there for some things, some things are based on them being ongoing and others are one-offs etc etc

Thanks, I just saw it. You make a very good point -"it is less obvious than you'd think".
Yes, YES, YES!
Rates are good for one person for a half day or per hour. Or hiring a camera kit for a day. But when a shoot has a combination of multiple crew, locations, wardobe, varying talent fees .... and shooting different scenes back-to-back for different sites thus amortizing all daily costs ... each different request needs to be a total quote.

I appreciate the info in your email, it is very comprehensive covering budget, crew size, camera equipment, wardrobe etc. Perfect!
I will definitely be responding soon.

[BlazeMaker]

My issue is people post sites for sale with no info or price, just "contact me" wtf is wrong with posting the asking price and site url.

Yes, a variation on the same problem. Why waste everyone's time by insisting on making a potential buyer go to the effort of requesting the most basic info that should be posted in the first place?

[koster]

So a seller or service provider promotes their business without offering the costs involved, buyers have to email the person ask for the prices but you do not want them asking you what the cost is. How can you make a deal without telling the buyer what it costs.

[BlazeMaker]

So a seller or service provider promotes their business without offering the costs involved, buyers have to email the person ask for the prices but you do not want them asking you what the cost is. How can you make a deal without telling the buyer what it costs.

Where did you get the notion "buyers have to email the person ask for the prices but you do not want them asking you what the cost is"?
"Rates" and "prices" are not the same as the total "cost" of producing a video which involves many elements.

I am more than happy to be asked what the cost is for a specific production for which I know exactly what must be delivered.
Which is why I put in my post:
"What is useful would be those wishing to purchase content provide a brief covering what they are looking for (scenes, clip duration(s), HD or UHD, number of photos in a photoset, production value such as lighting, locations, raw footage or edited, how it is delivered, the deadline etc. and maybe even a sample clip) and the budget range they usually work on."

You asked "How can you make a deal without telling the buyer what it costs. "
Flip that around, how can you make a deal when you don't know what the buyer wants?

As an example of the problem, lets say I go to a car yard and ask "how much for a car?"
Would they immediately give me a price for
- a 20-year-old Kia with bald tyres, smoking exhaust, a cracked windscreen and no registration, or
- a brand new Mercedes-Benz GLE 580 registered and with five years service,
or would they ask a range of questions to determine what sort of car I wanted, for what purpose and what is my budget?

It is just a matter of understanding that a "video" could be 1 minute of a guy having a wank self-shot on a cell-phone or "Pirates 2: Stagnetti’s Revenge" (which cost USD$8 million back in 2008)

That's why there is no one "rate".

[born2bewild]

Some one here is upset

[BlazeMaker]

Some one here is upset

Who?

[born2bewild]

Some one here is upset

Who?

You