hockley91 Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 I just finished an animation, that took several months to complete. it was an on again off again project. The cost was more than I thought it was going to be and I wanted to know if anyone else has encountered similar situations. How do you tell the client in a nice way that it was much more than they were expecting? They wanted a budget of around $5,000. But the reality came to around $9,000. The animation is about almost 3 minutes and includes titles and transitions done in Premiere. hockley91 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbr Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 Good luck getting more than $5k out of your client. I stopped putting 'estimate' on my proposals. When they see a number, whether they like it or not, that's all they see. I am guessing your client is thinking $5000, not a dime more. If it was taking longer, ideally you should have approached him in the middle of it, once you knew. From there you could offer options to speed it up (like no editing or post stuff), then he'd know what he was paying extra for. But don't let me discourage you. You can try to get what you think is reasonable, or ask him to meet you at half way. Be prepared to explain it in simply terms, though, 'cause no one likes to hear they owe more. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 try to get more money, but bottom line, learn from your mistake. when drafting a proposal, have a clear and precise list of the space to model. is there a hall, is there a room, where does the animation start at, ect.. for example, i typically break it down into something like 3 rooms, 1 corridor, and an entrance. then i figure how long it is going to take me to model, texture and light each individual space. i put a price on each of those space, add then up, and then add a certain percentage for animation, compositing, compression, and any thing else involved. don't undercut this number, otherwise you will not be making what you need. if the client does not like the dollar figure you gave him, be very careful about lowering it. yes, you need bussiness to survive, but if he sees it is easy to talk you down, he will undercut you every time. that being said, i am guessing you have little chance of recopping you loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted July 7, 2004 Author Share Posted July 7, 2004 MBR: I guess it would have been common sense to see how much it was costing and tell them when the cost starting getting higher. Believe it or not, I was gritting my teeth with the invoice, but the client came through and with my reasoning, I think they understood the time involved and they paid the full amount. They are a church organization, and I hope they didn't think I was trying to get more money out of them. I think they saw my honesty. Thanks! Crazy Homeless Guy: Oh, I keep learning from my mistakes. Sometimes I get a good deal, and sometimes I don't. I am a horrible estimator. I'm always thinking if I'm charging too much, or charging too little, whether I'm being accurate or not. I don't want to rip off the client, yet I need to make a living doing this stuff. Most of my clients hardly ever know exactly what they want. That then makes it all the more difficult to estimate a project. I offer them some ideas, and sometimes they still can't visualize what I'm talking about. I recently bought a laptop. In fact, I use it for my 3D work. It works great. I use it now to show the clients some of my other stills and animations to help them see what their options are. It's been a great tool to use. Anyway, thank you guys for contributing and offering your advice. It's very much appreciated. Hockley91 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Erstad Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Thought I would chime in... Our studio typically tries to qualify a cost based upon the duration=time relationship. Once they are in agreement, I feel it is important to open the process with storyboards, and to include in the discussion all the items mentioned above, as well as level of finish, activity, and so forth. If a client can be made to understand the value of what they are asking for, the value of your time and skill, what the product could do for them in the market place, it helps. Good luck, Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockley91 Posted July 8, 2004 Author Share Posted July 8, 2004 Scotty, Thanks for your insight. Very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopesade Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 After completion ur animation ur right to get some 3d animation institute in punjab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 great how much for 4 external renders of a 4 bed development with a dog and cat in the foreground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Sanchez Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 geesh..... this thread is from 2004! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Erstad Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'm reading thinking, wow, this seems really familiar. It is on the "todays post" on the front page ya know. Then, as Jonathon has astutely noted, ITS FROM 2004. wHAT/WHERE WAS i IN 04'? I had even replied to this post THEN. Maybe a dormant post should be closed, maybe after, oh, I don't know, HALF A DECADE OR SO. Talk about a flash back. My 6 1/2 year old son was to be born a week after this post. Just absolutely wild. Don't know what else to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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