Yet one more question about pricing.

[the Rev.]

Hey everyone. Need a little help here.

I know this has been dealt in depth in this forum, though I still need some expert advice.

 

I'm dealing with a great client I've done several job for in the past. It's an architectural firm that doesn't have a 3D guy on staff. Most of the jobs I've done for them are 1 or 2 exterior renders of commercial buildings (shopping mall, Fire house, Retirement community, etc.) . My rate is per project: average of $900 per render. If the client asks for a second render of the same building from a different angle, I will normally throw that one in for free unless it is urgent. If urgent, I'll add $200 to the original pricing.

 

A bit about me... I've been doing this for a few years (4 or 5) and only as a freelancer (I have a day job in a completely different industry). Before that, my 3D experience is as a hobbyist only. My render quality is not top notch, but it is definitely better than my competition in the immediate area.

 

The client I mentioned above, wants something I've never done before. They are asking for a 2 minute interior walk though inside the FireHouse I've already rendered. They want it to be a POV animation as a firefighter makes his way from the top quarters in the second floor, down to the garage where the truck is parked. You never see the firefighter, so no need for character animation. The only thing that moves is the camera, and the garage gate at the end. I'll know more in a few days, but so far it's looking like the camera will have to go through 6 modeled and rendered spaces. None of the interior was done in the previous project, so it will all be modeling, texturing and lighting from scratch.

 

I don't have access to a render farm, so I'm thinking of doing this via REBUS Render Farm Service. I sent them a demo file to use the free credits and it worked like a charm.

 

My challenge is that I have absolutely no idea how much to charge. The project should be delivered 4 weeks from acceptance. And if it makes any difference, my software of choice is Cinema4D with VRAY as a renderer.

 

so.. help? Any info is very much appreciated. There is no one else in this area who provides this service (no one else local to compare pricing with).

 

-Greg

[M V]

I just got an email this AM from a 'sweatshop' rendering company out of China. "$75 per second for animation". 75x120 = $9K

 

Now, you could explore something like Lumion and charge the client half that and start a new part of your business. Depends on the quality that the client is looking for.

[Scott Schroeder]

If you want POV, you might really want to check out Luminon.

 

POV animations look gimmicky. Perhaps an alternate approach would be a Ken Burns treatment on several stills in sequential order that have start an end points that suggest movement through the space. Add in some voice narration and you got yourself a neat little tour all without the POV view of looking like you will smack your head on every door frame.

 

Essentially break down the project into each shot. Add up what you think it will cost for each, add in at least 20-25% contingency, and tack on a small % for render time, and you have your final bill.

[numerobis]

i think Lumion and interior is no good combination so far... check out their interior renderings (no GI, very basic materials, reflections and lights)

 

My rate is per project: average of $900 per render. If the client asks for a second render of the same building from a different angle, I will normally throw that one in for free unless it is urgent. If urgent, I'll add $200 to the original pricing.

 

Price dumping? I mean, i don't know the projects and your work, but especially the "for free" part sounds not good...

Edited October 2, 2014 by numerobis

[Tommy L]

The movie will probably end up being alot shorter than 2 mins. For one, thats a long animation for a single camera track, no matter how big the firehouse. And secondly, if it takes the fireman 2 minutes to get out of the firehouse they should either hire new firemen or re-think the fireman's user experience of the firehouse.

[harryhirsch]

well, it depends on what the client wants, is it a pure simulation of a fireman in action or is it about the house and the camera slows down sometimes so the client can explain the building to the city/investor... 2 minutes is indeed too much to get out of the firehouse, here in Germany the fire brigade has to exit the building (by law) in fire trucks in less then a minute and they check that every time.

[philippelamoureux]

Unless your client want hyper-realism, why not try unreal engine, or cry engine? I'm doing a kind of similar project about a marina on ue4. You can record everything in real time with the built-in matinee editor (very easy). You could even offer them real-time visualization as a bonus.

 

What's cool is that render times are non-existant or very small (light building). So you don't need to pay for a render-farm, you do everything yourself.

 

A bit a pain in the ass concerning the lightning but i'm confident the LPV (dynamic G.I) will improve. Only downside for realistic shadows is baking uv lightmap on each of your assets. Time consuming yes, but it's better than spending thousands of dollars on rendering costs!

[naveedsaber]

A bit about me... I've been doing this for a few years (4 or 5) and only as a freelancer (I have a day job in a completely different industry). Before that, my 3D experience is as a hobbyist only. My render quality is not top notch, but it is definitely better than my competition in the immediate area.

 

 

 

NAT