money Questions - Social Sound Design

The Boring Stuff - Bookkeeping: Do you do it? Which program do you use?

2011-11-14T12:58:59Z

Hi Folks,

Due to a recent change in philosophy, and the realisation that I am making a living only doing sound, I realised that I needed to do some proper bookkeeping to get a handle on when, where, how much etc.

I don't want to add work that I don't need, but I suppose spending 1 to 2 hours a week sorting out my books will aenable me to see where I'm going ('When will I be able to by that 744T?') Or how I'm doing("How much do I need to put away to pay for renewing my AppleCare and replacing a mic if it goes down?") etc.

Ya dig?

What do you guys use to do the accounting. Ledger books? Or software? how do you split up expenses, e.g. batteries for a shoot, buying lunch when out recording sounds for work and the like?

Im looking at something FREE asn in beer or not more than 100 USD/EUR

Any hints (i.t.o. software and accounting process) would be appreciated

Kurt

How to make money with sound design.

2010-03-02T15:24:07Z

I've enjoyed recording samples and playing with audio as a hobby for quite a while now. Recently I purchased a zoom h2 and the quality of the recordings are just great. What I'm curious about, is how to get my foot in the door for making money with sound design / field recordings?

I don't mean on the scale of making a career out of sound design, but how can someone get started with making money on the side -- turning a hobby into something slightly economical. What avenues of income exist? Where / who do you sell your services to? Etc.

Edit: Some great suggestions on sampling / letting the files sit there for passive income (soundsnap / audio jungle / etc). Is there any notion similar to contract work for web / code design? Sites like FossFactory allow bounties to be placed on programming requests. Do any sites host requests for sample packs?

Who knows the ins & outs of licensing music?

2011-07-27T17:29:50Z

Hey,

I'm working on a 3 X 15s ad campaign at the moment, for which I'm doing the sound design. The producer has asked me to find out about licensing some uplifting, dreamy orchestral music for a the dream sequence in the ad(s). The ads are all the same, in that they start outh in the same way and then a magical transformation takes place whereby the character's environment becomes one of threee places. However, the music required for the transformation is the same. They will run on TV and online for a maximum of 2 (not necessarily continuous) years.

I've looked at Audiojungle, but they don't seem to mention anything about TV licensing.. I've also looked at Killer Tracks but it seems really comlicated ;(

To be honest, i'm jumping the gun a bit be asking you guys, but any help/info/links would be a big help...

Cheers, and thanks for now

Kurt

Deals Deals Deals

2011-06-08T22:28:51Z

Hi boys and girls,

I've got a meeting with the owner of an indie SFX label next week. The idea is that I'll do some recording for him while I'm travelling around. In the email he mentioned a "contract/flat rate/buyout" agreement.

I understand how that works for say, lawyers and graphic designers, but I was wondering how it would apply to SFX recording specifically.

Is he going to offer a rate for a set number of sounds?
Will he give me a list of things he wants and only pay when I've delivered in full?
Will he leave me to my own devices and approve/disapprove when I deliver?
Will I be able to retain the rights to at least use the samples when I've handed them over? or will i have to wait a specified period before I can?
What kind of rate should I expect/ask for?
How up front should I be about my n00b status as far as this part of the industry goes?
What kind of margin is he likely to get if he manages to sell them? i.e. Am I likely to end up with a major label record deal where I make pennies and he walks away with the dollars?
Have I told you guys that you're awesome?

Sorry for all the questions, but I like to know as much as possible before I go into situations like this. Nothing worse than coming up wrongfooted when there's money involved. I remember watching a Dan Ariely talk (probably at TED) where he talked about how bad people are at critical thinking when put on the spot. I'd like to get the best deal I can out of this.

XoxoX
GaH
XoxoX

Professional Sound Designers - Do you make a comfortable living?

2010-07-08T17:53:38Z

Money is definitely not the main reason I am here, but it is on my mind. When I get established as an in-house designer, would you say that it's enough to cover your bills and have a little left on the side, or do you find yourself in financial trouble?

If you find this question distasteful, I apologize. I just want to know everything I can about this job so that I know what I'm getting myself into.

So you found $3000 under your couch. What do you buy?

2011-01-05T19:53:31Z

And you have to spend it. Because the couch-demons will come after it if you don't. And you have to spend it on audio stuff.

If it were me, I'd get either get a decent stereo shotgun (am undecided on what model... haven't tested yet) or a Paca (Kyma)

foley prop needed: a stack of cash

2011-04-11T20:37:16Z

need a prop for the handling of cash about yeah big:

Since, you know, I don't have a stack of cash that size on me. on screen this cash is pulled out of a counting machine, patted flat and placed on a table.

I'm cutting up an old book now, but any other thoughts would be appreciated.

(UK) Sidestepping into film sound... a possibility?

2011-02-08T21:01:53Z

I've been working in audiobooks for a little over ten years and, to be frank, I've had my fill. There's also the matter of cash flow. The family pot seems to have a hole in it and my career is going nowhere!

Back when I was still green, I earned a City and Guilds diploma. This eventually led me into my current job as an audiobook editor. Apart from that, I have no other training or experience (apart from work experience in TV and a few short film shoots, and a little experience of film editing).

I would like to get into film sound but have no idea where to go. I'm not London based. In that respect, I live in a fairly remote part of the country. I can't afford to live on a yearly income of less than £30,000 -- £27,000 at a push -- as there are bills to pay and mouths to feed (and yet more bills to pay).

I'm not exactly over the hill yet but it seems that to enter this game you have to be fresh faced with plenty of time to sacrifice. Am I wrong?

Okay, enough with the sprawling preamble. I'm not entirely sure what my question is. I guess I'm asking for someone to suggest the best direction. Thirty something audio guy with little professional experience other than audiobooks wants to earn £30k plus in the film industry, doesn't live near London (neither can he relocate) has he got his head in the clouds?

Pro Tools 9, Should I go for it?

2011-01-11T16:56:52Z

Hello

I'm a student at the moment so moneys a bit tight. I'm currently running Pro tools 7.4 with a M-Box.

I was wondering what peoples experience with Pro tools 9 is and whether it's worth spending the cash and upgrading.

I'm mostly using it for mixing and editing sounds rather then creating new sounds.

Thanks for your help

Urgent Question about rates in the UK

2010-12-02T10:24:34Z

Hey Friends of Sound in Great Britain.

I've picked up a job from London based animation studio doing a 5 minute film and I've budgeted 5 days for recording, editing, tracklay, revisions and mix. The question is now, what should I charge?

I've looked around on the net and it seems that quite a number of London based studios are charging between £250 to £300 per day for a edit suite with operator. Bearing in mind that the majority of these studios have really top-notch facilities, PT HD, super networked FX libraries etc and my setup is little more humble, do you think that £1000, i.e. £200 per day is reasonable?

I live in Switzerland and that translates to a less than what a sound editor would charge here...but then again everything costs more here.

Your advice is much appreciated,

Kurt

How do you bill for video game sound effects?

2010-09-01T03:15:13Z

To this point in my career, I've dealt with billing in one of two ways: 1) by the completed minute, which works great for music and full cinematic sound design 2) by the individual sound effect.

With that in mind, I have no idea how to bill for a larger project that will require more than a handful of sounds. Do I count up all the sound effects and bill them by number, or do I take a total time on the effects and bill them that way, or is there a better solution for this?

How do I charge for sound design?

2010-06-09T09:58:03Z

Hey All,

We've had variations of this question before, but here goes:

Let's say I've been hired to do the sound design for a company ident 20 secs long. The job requires a bit of composition, sound design and then of course, final mix is on my time too. I estimate that I sound have 2 or 3 demos for the client by the next day. We will then have a meeting, I will make tweaks and deliver the next morning.

How do I charge for this? Per day? Per hour? Flat rate? Per second :)? [ My little sound experience comes from location sound in South Africa. Let's say that I charged ZAR2000 per day for a TV shoot with full gear(that I get from a rental company) ]

Kurt