LAFCPUG: Misc Stuff

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Latest revision as of 02:16, 20 June 2008

Wages, Payment, Contracts & Copyright

We often get asked '"How much should I charge?" Well there are many factors, but mainly its down to experience and talent.

• Are you on a salary or freelance?

• An owner of an offline suite?

• Maybe you have a full Broadcast HD or 2K Online setup?

Check around your local market and if the rates are reasonable for the services then thats the best place to start.

However for your time as an editor, there are various Unions and organisations which provide recommended pay scales for the various genres of the industry.

The Motion Pictures Editors Guild

US Department of Labour Statistics : Occupational Employment and Wages [currently details from May 2006]

PayScale.com is also a good site to check for various salaries. Here are some country specific links for Film/TV editors average salaries:

US: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Film_%2f_Video_Editor/Salary

UK: http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Film_%2f_Video_Editor/Salary

Canada: http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Film_%2f_Video_Editor/Salary

Australia: http://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job=Film_%2f_Video_Editor/Salary

MINIMUM WAGE LAWS

If you are employed by a company, you should never work for less than minimum wage (if your country has a legal lower limit).

Report any profit-making companies advertising for "unpaid" or "work experience" workers or offering less than minimum wage to the relevant authorities. This does not count if you are freelance/self-employed as you set your own rate. However minimum wage limits are there for a reason, so when agreeing to do ultra-low-budget work, look at the minimum wage as a baseline rate.

Likewise, if you are an employer, be sure to keep updated on the minimum wage requirements of your country (and State), as ignorance of the law cannot be used as a defense if you are taken to court.

Links to minimum wage:

US: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm

UK: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nmw/

Canada: http://canadaonline.about.com/library/bl/blminwage.htm

Australia: http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/LabourRelations/Content/Wages%20and%20Leave/Minimum%20wages%20and%20conditions/Minimum_wage_rates.html

CONTRACTS

Whenever possible get a written copy or at the very least a reliable witness. Read carefully BEFORE YOU SIGN and ask about anything you are unsure of. Never be pressured to sign without reading the contract through in full. When writing a contract for a client be sure you don't break any laws! If in doubt - ask a lawyer.

For freelancers and business owners here is good introduction article on writing a contract by Hal Landen : Protect Yourself with a Smart Business Video Contract

COPYRIGHT

When doing work with copyrighted material (audio/visual) make sure you have clearance before you use it. You are liable even if the client or employer asks for it. Even if you get them to sign that they take responsibility. This only makes them party to the infringement.

Copyright laws are different for each country so do some research as its your responsibility for anything that goes into the edit.

Here's a comprehensive article by Douglas Spotted Eagle : Copyright For Video Producers

Some other copyright links:

The Copyright Law of the United States

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

The Publishing Law Center

Parody: Fair Use or Copyright Infringement

Additional:

Unpaid work experience - your questions answered

Please note that the information in this FAQ and the links provided are intended as an informal informative guide only and cannot and should not take the place of proper legal council.

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DPI: (and when to use it)

From Ben King

Ok guys and gals. Many people still get very confused about DPI or Dots Per Inch and its use in the world of video. This is a long FAQ but I feel it's necessary to understand completely.

Firstly a couple of real world examples

A 720x480 image displayed in Photoshop at 72dpi

• Has a 1012.5K Raw filesize

• Would print out as a 10" x 6.667" image on paper.

The same 720x480 image displayed in Photoshop at 300dpi

• Has a 1012.5K Raw filesize

• Would print out as a 2.4" x 1.6" image on paper.

Both have exactly the same impact on FCP, After Effects & Motion, irrespective of the DPI setting. What often happens is that people get mixed up between DPI, PPI and Pixel Dimensions.

To reiterate: The DPI does NOT matter for video. If the Pixel Dimensions are 720x480 that is all FCP cares about (and what Aspect Ratio to display it).

• The file is exactly 720x480

• It is exactly the same 345,600 pixels

• It is the same 1012.5KB and does not increase processing requirements.

For some bizarre reason people imagine that a 300 dpi image is this huge massive file consisting of thousand of pixels by thousands of pixels. Wrong. DPI is a reference as to how many pixels of the image are printed out per one inch on (for example) paper, or how many pixels are scanned in for 1 inch of source picture.

Some more examples and some very important rules for you all to follow:

Example 1:

If you scan a 2"x 2" Graphic in at 72dpi, then the resulting file will be 144x144px. A tiny files size and not really good enough for video.

Example 2:

The same 2"x 2" Graphic scanned in at 400dpi gives a 800 x 800 pixel image which you COULD use for Standard Definition Video.

Example 3:

Let's say we take a 5"x4" Photo, scan at 300 dpi. You will get a 1500x1200 pixel image. This is fine for Standard Definition Video and 720 High Deinition Video plus you can pan around it on SD. The file size will be relatively small too - around 5MB uncompressed and FCP can handle much bigger than this.

Example 4:

Now if you scanned in a 27"x 20" at 300dpi, the pixel size would be something like 8000 x 6000 pixels. It would be about 130MB file - way too big for FCP or After Effects - in fact you would have to use Shake if I am not mistaken. This is the monster that "300dpi" creates in your head isn't it!!!

Fear not! I have 3 rules for you so you can sleep sound at night whilst your suite is a rendering...

Rule Number 1:

DPI should only be taken into account on acquiring images via scanners or when you are outputting a print.

Rule Number 2:

When scanning images always work in Square pixels then convert to the video pixel aspect ratio you need - eg: D1

Rule Number 3:

For talking about video sizes you should only work with the pixel dimensions (horizontal x vertical number of pixels) and aspect ratio.

A couple of tips for scanning in images for use in video:

Scan in at a resolution good enough to get a file with the pixel dimensions you require. I usually ask for/scan a minimum picture size as follows:

• 800 x 600 px for Standard Def 4:3

• 1100 x 600 px for SD Widescreen 16:9

• 1400 x 780 px for 720 HD

• 2000 x 1200 px for 1080 HD

This way you have a small leeway to move the pictures around in FCP - but if you want to do major moves then you will have to get them in larger pixel dimensions. If you feel the need to - you can then crop and scale these images to the exact size of the Video in the FCP project you are using them in.

CALCULATIONS

To work out your scan size in pixels:

Image size (width in inches) x dpi setting = horizontal pixel size

Image size (height in inches) x dpi setting = vertical pixel size

To work out what dpi setting you need for a particular image size:

Horizontal pixel size you require (Square pixels) / Image size (width in inches) = dpi setting

Vertical pixel size require (Square pixels) / Image size (width in inches) = dpi setting

Aaaaaaand relax....

I do hope this is comprehensive enough for you all!

From Loren Miller:

Here's a related approach worked into a system: Intelligent photo scanning

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