archkre Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 Working as a Project Arch. for a very large Home builder firm for several years, I use to do Arch. renderings once in a while, all of them single family residences and for the firm I work for. Long time I don't make one as free lancer, and got a phone call from a colleague who needed a very quick (over the phone) estimate for a CG rendering for a 45 stories Miami Hi-rise building. I told him It was impossible to do that without studying the project, blah, blah, blah....! He told me he uses to receive quick estimates over the web from people from China, Russia, etc. Questions: What system do you use to give approximate "quick estimates"? What amount would you told the client for that specific case? Consider this formula: "not quick estimates"= "lost clients" Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbr Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 Well, first, you won't be able to come anywhere near competing with the overseas guys. They can give a simple number because it's so low here, but they can easily cover their end. I'd ask your colleague if he's really interested in you doing the work or if he just wants to know what the project's worth (possibly to bill his clients appropriately and make more $$ for himself) for US labor. I'd question why he's even interested you since he obviously has connections overseas (he's sending things overseas because it's cheap). Other than that, I never give quotes without seeing all the cad work, especially on a large building. But you could simply ask him how much he can afford. If he tells you a ridiculously low #, then you didn't waste your time. If you really want his work, then low ball what you think is reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 you could probably ask a series of questions to get a general idea of what they have. - how many of the 45 floors are the same - how complicated is the footprint - what are the materials (glass is the only real concern here) - how final are the drawings (level of detail, accuracy) - is the design subject to change - what are the site conditions (hilly, flat, city, rural, water) ...ect. then you need to have an idea how long it will take you to do this, and what you bill. that comes through experience. but you absolutely must make sure that he understands that this is in no way a contract, just an estimate without seeing the actual files. once you see the actual files, your fee may be adjusted up or down accordingly. most professions will give ball park quotes over the phone, that may be adjusted later. call your mechanic, and ask him how much to install a new clutch in your car. he will tell you a certain dollar figure for parts, and a certain dollar figure for labor. the labor figure may be adjusted (usually only up) if they get under there, and discover new problems.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archkre Posted August 7, 2005 Author Share Posted August 7, 2005 And could you suggest any amount for that particular case (a range) of $$$ and how you quickly get to that get , please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexg Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 archkre i replied to your pm cheers alxg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archkre Posted August 8, 2005 Author Share Posted August 8, 2005 Regarding the overseas question there is a much frightening approach: In my particular case I have colleagues from Russia residing in Florida and working locally, but offering CG renderings, Architectural Drawings and many more to be done by their large crew in Moscow! They act as Agents/Liaisons/ and give the operation "a face" trying to solve the problems over the web among clients-professional. Of course all the software involved in this activity is illegal, but the clients don't give a damn about that! The prices are impossible to compete with. So I don't see a brighter future for this activity unfortunately, or am I wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexg Posted August 9, 2005 Share Posted August 9, 2005 I agree this price is going to hit hard on us, but fortunately our business is not all about pricing. It is all about trust, reliability and service. Not all clients are running off for cheaper price. It is hard for developers to keep changing and risk miscommunication with new renderers. Using previously commisioned firm is usually a better option for them, so better keep your clients well. Don't forget there is also personal style issue. Everybody is different. Maybe not much, but still different. Another issue is your personal way of dealing with the projects. How you deal with frustrating revisions, very tight deadline, deadline changes, overnight service, etc. If you can't meet the market price, you need to compensate, either with quality, details or service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbarc Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I agree with Alexg. None of our clients, the majority uk-based would contemplate going abroad for something so key to their marketing. They could get things considerably cheaper - but compared to project value, they don't get a bad deal paying uk prices. Also it's psychological. We advertise nationally but even so the vast majority of our clients are based within an hour's drive - despite the fact most of our communication is phone/email based. I have yet to see good results from locally based companies that farm out work to operatives abroad. Maybe they will improve in the future but from what I've seen there are many regional nuances to an image which are missed when the work is done elsewhere -the difference between images coming from asia, america, europe can often be striking- and its points like that which we need to communicate to our clients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Denby Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I agree with Alexg. None of our clients, the majority uk-based would contemplate going abroad for something so key to their marketing. They could get things considerably cheaper - but compared to project value, they don't get a bad deal paying uk prices. Also it's psychological. We advertise nationally but even so the vast majority of our clients are based within an hour's drive - despite the fact most of our communication is phone/email based. I have yet to see good results from locally based companies that farm out work to operatives abroad. Maybe they will improve in the future but from what I've seen there are many regional nuances to an image which are missed when the work is done elsewhere -the difference between images coming from asia, america, europe can often be striking- and its points like that which we need to communicate to our clients. I agree with all of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 Also to mention, who really knows what the quality of work is like. I don't remember if was this forum or a different forum, but some of those overseas websites have been using other artists renderings on their web pages. My old 3D boss whom I caught up with a year ago tried to have some 3D work done overseas because of the price and he will not do it again. He had a lot of problems getting information from them and they had problems using his files. It was a lot of time coordinating stuff with them. A lot of headaches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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