Our rate for location recording is made up of three components: labor, equipment, and recording. A rate quote, tailored to the job, is provided when the job is booked.
Labor is based on an 8 hour full day, although other options are available (e.g., 10 hour days, portal-to-portal rates for work done outside the immediate DC area and, occasionally, half days for regular customers). Overtime is charged at 1.5 times the normal hourly rate.
The equipment charge covers a typical field production package, including mixer(s), boom microphone, body microphones, and the first 2 wireless systems. Additional wireless are available a la carte, as is a large inventory of specialized audio gear such as Comteks.
There is no recording charge for jobs where the audio is recorded only on the camera (single system sound). Recordings can be made in WAV and/or MP3 formats, with or without time-code reference. Also, up to 12 individual tracks can be recorded. The charge for recording varies depending on the type selected.
The cost of a conference or event is made up of two components: labor and equipment. The labor rate is higher than that for location recording in order to cover the cost of pre-production planning, preparation of the equipment package, and re-stocking of the equipment after the job. Overtime is charged at the same rate as for location recording. More complicated jobs will frequently have a half day of set up prior to the first day of the event.
The equipment portion of the job cost is driven by the specifications for the event. For example, an event requiring 12 wireless microphones, sound reinforcement and a 12 track audio recording will cost substantially more than a 6 person panel discussion for which there is no audience, and the audio mix is recorded to a single camera.
Once the timing of the event is known, and the specifications are understood, a budget is provided. This budget is the final price of the job, unless there are major changes to the scope of work before, or during, the event.
There are two types of audio editing: audio only and mix-to-pix. There are different labor rates for each.
While the tools and techniques employed to do forensic audio are similar to those used for the type of audio sweetening done in mix-to-pix editing, the work is much more tedious. This is because the source material is usually of very poor quality. Therefore, the labor rate is higher than for mix-to-pix audio editing.
There are 3 types of charges for audio measurement projects:
Each of these charges are based on a different labor rate.