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How much a sequence costs?


dominguesg

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Hi dear friends! I was searched in my city to make a sequence of a tunnel of lights. I have always done my own sequences and I have no idea how much to charge to make such sequence. The client wants a sequence similar to the video below. I would like the opinion of you guys about the value. Thank you very much.

 

Video:

 

 

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"Free" that is what I and a few others charge.

Most business have a set price. Anything is only worth as much as the client or customer will pay for it. Create something to expensive and nobody will buy it.

JR

Edited by dibblejr
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6 hours ago, dominguesg said:

 

Hi dear friends! I was searched in my city to make a sequence of a tunnel of lights. I have always done my own sequences and I have no idea how much to charge to make such sequence. The client wants a sequence similar to the video below. I would like the opinion of you guys about the value. Thank you very much.

 

Video:

 

 

Enviado do meu iPhone usando Tapatalk

 

 

2 hours ago, dibblejr said:

"Free" that is what I and a few others charge.

Most business have a set price. Anything is only worth as much as the client or customer will pay for it. Create something to expensive and nobody will buy it.

JR

Most of the time this site and many other offer to share free of charge, mostly in the spirit of giving is the reason we dont ask for money etc, only that the sequence being shared is in turn shared with others. Like Djr said if its too costly no one is gonna buy it, If it were my town I would do it free of charge if it were in my capabilities to do it. JMO

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Most of the time this site and many other offer to share free of charge, mostly in the spirit of giving is the reason we dont ask for money etc, only that the sequence being shared is in turn shared with others. Like Djr said if its too costly no one is gonna buy it, If it were my town I would do it free of charge if it were in my capabilities to do it. JMO

Actually it's not to the town. It's an company in my state that looked for me.


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First question to ask yourself...are you up to the challenge as far a time committment and sequencing expertise.  Just because someone ask, you can say no-thanks. 

 

Instead of pricing it out as "total hours x hourerly reate", decide what price you feel it's work your time..$50, $100, $200 and then present to client to either say yes or no. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If the company is a reseller and you are that good you should seek royalties for the work along with a hefty upfront fee. But as I mentioned earlier I do not sell, I just do it out of Holiday/ community spirit.

JR

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Most of us don't charge but we are sharing amongst each other.  Commercial applications are different in that you may have copyright issues to deal with on the music (most musicians are ok with us using their work for our home displays but may charge for commercial uses).  Most home applications are only 10-12 controllers but commercial applications may be much more than that, more controllers/props then the difficulty in sequencing increases.  I would recommend $20 per hour or more just to make sure they are interested in paying for your services.

If they think you will do it for free you will find them wanting 50-60 songs/sequences.  When you add a dollar amount then their request are a lot more reasonable.

 

Edited by caniac
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That is one complex (lots of channels) looking show.

If you charge, there are 'expectations' (OK, there are still some if done for free, but they don't get to withhold payment)

Who is installing the Lights and controllers and all the interconnects) ?

Who supplies all the power outlets where needed?

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IMO you'd be nuts to even think about doing it for free.  Assuming they're a for-profit company, you should be too. 

From a sequencing perspective, they're currently on the lower end of the scale.  If they want as much cut and paste as they currently have, your time will be less.  If they're looking for a bit more creativity and a higher quality job, tell them the price will depend on just how much better they want it to look.  They can relate to that.  Make sure to ask them how much they paid for what they already have.  Don't be afraid to start at the top of the price range and let them demonstrate to you how much or how little they're willing to pay.

If you really want to do it right, get the specs of their setup and create a Visualizer.  Then, sequence a short section of a song YOU know and like, and present it to them as a demo.

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George

I got the impression from the first post that they have nothing and want to create something that LOOKS similar in their city. :o

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I appreciate the shared seuqnces I get from this site, I have also purchase manyof singing faces from commercial sites and ebaayers who I assume are "hobbyist" and don't gegrud them for making a little income.

 

While it's generally considered bad taste to try and sell  hobbyist sequences on this forums, I see no issues in charging "clients".  It really doesn't matter if the client is  commercial, non-profit or homeowner. 

 

In reality, hollidaysequences and those that did Holidaycoro's sequences started out as hobbyist who found that their sequences had value. 

 

 

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25 minutes ago, mpageler said:

I appreciate the shared seuqnces I get from this site, I have also purchase manyof singing faces from commercial sites and ebaayers who I assume are "hobbyist" and don't gegrud them for making a little income.

 

While it's generally considered bad taste to try and sell  hobbyist sequences on this forums, I see no issues in charging "clients".  It really doesn't matter if the client is  commercial, non-profit or homeowner. 

 

In reality, hollidaysequences and those that did Holidaycoro's sequences started out as hobbyist who found that their sequences had value. 

 

 

Going back and looking at a lot of the older sequences and a lot of the shared sequences here I have determined and some will support this. There is no comparison to custom sequences that an individual can produce.

i have scrapped many singing face sequences and redone them. They start out fine and then get so out of sync that I cannot even repair them so scrapping even after paying good $ is the only way. Yes, most myself included have improved the quality however mine will always remain free. IMO once it becomes a job I'm done. Creating free sequences by request is done in my time whenever I feel like it , normally 10 hours a day unless I am busy. I took this week off for my sons graduation.

Even my original sequences using Papagayo will be redone with the software. I have thrown it out the window. It is a great starting point for beginners. Just looking at the papagayo created sequence and comparing to non papagayo anyone can tell the difference.

JR

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IMO you'd be nuts to even think about doing it for free.  Assuming they're a for-profit company, you should be too. 

From a sequencing perspective, they're currently on the lower end of the scale.  If they want as much cut and paste as they currently have, your time will be less.  If they're looking for a bit more creativity and a higher quality job, tell them the price will depend on just how much better they want it to look.  They can relate to that.  Make sure to ask them how much they paid for what they already have.  Don't be afraid to start at the top of the price range and let them demonstrate to you how much or how little they're willing to pay.

If you really want to do it right, get the specs of their setup and create a Visualizer.  Then, sequence a short section of a song YOU know and like, and present it to them as a demo.

I liked your idea of a demo George. I'll try this. Actually, this company is responsible for decorate malls in Rio de Janeiro/BR. They make a lot of money with that. It's not fair not to charge them. After all, I'm an electric engineer and I have a job so my time is pretty occupied. But thanks for your idea. I still don't have idea of the amount of time I will spend to do this sequence.

 

 

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3 hours ago, dominguesg said:

I liked your idea of a demo George. I'll try this. Actually, this company is responsible for decorate malls in Rio de Janeiro/BR. They make a lot of money with that. It's not fair not to charge them. After all, I'm an electric engineer and I have a job so my time is pretty occupied. But thanks for your idea. I still don't have idea of the amount of time I will spend to do this sequence.

 

 

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Better get to working, music rights could take a very long time. (as mentioned previously) If you sell them a sequence that is attached to music and they are playing over loudspeaker ect. there could be major implications pointing back at you. (you now went commercial)  In other words, they could throw you under the bus.

Best of luck in your endeavor.

JR

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Better get to working, music rights could take a very long time. (as mentioned previously) If you sell them a sequence that is attached to music and they are playing over loudspeaker ect. there could be major implications pointing back at you. (you now went commercial)  In other words, they could throw you under the bus.
Best of luck in your endeavor.
JR

Thanks dibblejr! Thank you all!


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