CompuServe Messages

Jay, I am in the same boat. I started my company, Mindscape Animation Productions, in early Nov. 93 and have been working on setting my rates. I have read posts here on ASOFT, read articles, and called companies. There are basically two ways of charging: 1) by the hour, or 2) by the second of finished animation. I decided to charge by the hour for small projects (10 to 20 hrs). Some have posted hourly rates of about $50/hr. Yet, I have talked with companies that charge $75/hr for someone to use their setup-and doing all the actual work! Because of this, I am looking at about $100/hr for hourly jobs. I would add to this rendering and transfer costs — Usually $0.25 to $0.50 /frame. As for big jobs, I will charge by the project via a contract, probably for about half of my hourly rate. You probably will not get too many people telling you their rates like this over a forum. It seems to be one of those cyber culture taboos — like the way we never acknowledge the person in the car next to us at a stop light. But, since I am just getting started with Mindscape, I have flexibility and posting numbers will not impede my efforts. Good luck with your company!! — James —