iammagicmike
Member
I hope that I'm posting this in the correct spot, if not please let me know and I can try a different thread.
My friend and I are fairly new to lighting, but have learned a lot between both of us we have enough (indoor) gear to light 2 to 3 small stages for DJs/Bands/etc. The experiences we've gained have given us some decent confidence and we understand that we are fully capable of providing a quality lighting show for an event like this.
This past August (2014) we volunteered our gear and time to set up lights at a small, local outdoor festival for 2 nights (on 1 stage only, sound active lights). We did it for free becuase we had some personal connections with the event coordinator and we wanted to dive into the scene and show them that we can provide the service that they need. Our efforts were very well received and the coordinator has already started planning for next August's (2015) event.
We were asked to provide an estimate to include our labor and equipment rental fees for the weekend on 2 to 3 stages. Please note that NONE of our gear is meant for outdoor use (in fact one of our moving lights broke from some of the dust last year).
We certainly would have to plan to rent some gear to supplement our own personal gear, but I was planning on quoting 3% of the replacement value of each light for the daily rental fee for any of our equipment that we would plan to rent.
So here's where I need some guidance. We want to have DMX control on one stage and sound/auto mode the other 2 stages. This would be at minimum 2 x 12 hour days (fri and sat) plus a 6 hour day sunday just for running the lights. I would estimate set up at 2 more full 12 hour days.
So just ball parking the sum estimate for labor hours between the two of us, we're looking at over 100 hours labor for the weekend.
Does $15/hour seem like a reasonable labor rate? Does the 3% daily rental fee seem high or low? I'd appreciate any input.
Thanks
Mike
My friend and I are fairly new to lighting, but have learned a lot between both of us we have enough (indoor) gear to light 2 to 3 small stages for DJs/Bands/etc. The experiences we've gained have given us some decent confidence and we understand that we are fully capable of providing a quality lighting show for an event like this.
This past August (2014) we volunteered our gear and time to set up lights at a small, local outdoor festival for 2 nights (on 1 stage only, sound active lights). We did it for free becuase we had some personal connections with the event coordinator and we wanted to dive into the scene and show them that we can provide the service that they need. Our efforts were very well received and the coordinator has already started planning for next August's (2015) event.
We were asked to provide an estimate to include our labor and equipment rental fees for the weekend on 2 to 3 stages. Please note that NONE of our gear is meant for outdoor use (in fact one of our moving lights broke from some of the dust last year).
We certainly would have to plan to rent some gear to supplement our own personal gear, but I was planning on quoting 3% of the replacement value of each light for the daily rental fee for any of our equipment that we would plan to rent.
So here's where I need some guidance. We want to have DMX control on one stage and sound/auto mode the other 2 stages. This would be at minimum 2 x 12 hour days (fri and sat) plus a 6 hour day sunday just for running the lights. I would estimate set up at 2 more full 12 hour days.
So just ball parking the sum estimate for labor hours between the two of us, we're looking at over 100 hours labor for the weekend.
Does $15/hour seem like a reasonable labor rate? Does the 3% daily rental fee seem high or low? I'd appreciate any input.
Thanks
Mike