Initial Contact
Deciding whether or not to take a job can be difficult and a number of different factors should be considered before agreeing to come onto a project.
Common First Questions
Here are some questions you might get in your initial contact and the best way to respond to them.
"Are you available on these dates?"
Yes I'm available, could you send over details regarding rate, crew, and creative before I put these days on hold?
Or try to postpone your answer while asking for more information. If you are a gaffer the creative is ultimately not as important and might not be necessary to ask about unless you are trying to avoid certain types of job.
I have to check my calendar and get back to you on this, could you send over information about rate, crew, and creative in the meantime?
The issue with this question is it will ultimately trap you into doing a job that is low paid, creatively unfulfilling, with only your 1st AC to help you, all because you were available those dates. More information is always needed to make a decision.
"Whats your rate?"
Most people will want to respond with "Do you have a rate budgeted for your DP?", but oftentimes if they are asking this question they are trying to get you to lowball yourself and are not really interested in telling you the rate they actually have budgeted. For this reason, it's best to just say the highest number you are comfortable with and be direct. As a DP rates will vary wildly, but a respectable rate is 1500/10. Gaffer or Key Grip would be 750/10, Best Boy 725/10, Grip or Electric 700/10. Usually, it will be a 25 dollar increment between positions, but can be as much as 50 dollars.
"My day rate for commercial work is X, but that is flexible and I'm always willing to negotiate for corporate, branded content, non-profit work. Do you have a rate currently budgeted for your DP?"
"Would you like to do this project with me sometime in the future"
You will find this happens more on passion projects. Someone will tell you they'd like to do a short, tell you a bit about it, and ask if you have any time in the next few months to do it with them. This can be very painful as there is not an easy out without being direct and telling them you are not interested in the project. Ultimately you have to set boundaries and not take work that will not help you.
"Can you do a half day rate?"
This one is up to you, but know that most people will not accept a half day rate since they cannot be paid for a full day elsewhere. A good compromise is to offer an 8 hour rate, so that they are still incentivized to do shorter days and the math will add up nicely back to your 10 hour rate or 12 hour rate when they end up going over. You can absolutely say I only do full days and you will end up getting your full rate with some producers.
Minimum Information Needed
- Shooting Dates, Prep Days
- Location
- Creative (Script or Concept)
- Rate
- Budget or Crew Size
Deciding on a Job
The 5 things to look at are:
- Creative
Is the script or creative good and interesting? Is there something you can do that will be creatively fulfilling within this project? A script can be amazing, but take place completely inside of a car and be very difficult visually. Don't just look at the story, but what you personally can add to it.
- Money
Is the rate good? This could include working long hours for the same amount of pay that you would normally make doing shorter days. Budget is also an important part of this thought, as the rate might be good, but you have a slim crew as a result. May need both to make it worth it.
- Reel
Will you be proud of what you've shot and happy to show it to other people? Can you use this to get more work that is what you'd like to do?
- Relationships
Do you like working with this production company? Director? It can be worth it sometimes to take a job with a lower rate because the director is someone you believe in. This can also be relationships of the crew you're working with, if there is something difficult about the project, like an unrealistic schedule, will you hurt relationships with your crew as a result?
- Beliefs
Does the project align with beliefs you have? Could be a political candidate or an idea you don't agree with. This is the one where it may make sense to pass on the job even if everything else lines up for you. It also could be the one where it makes sense to take the job even without other things being positive because it could have a good political or social influence on the world.
- Work/Life Balance
Will this job negatively affect your relationships with people outside of work? Will it take you away from home or make you miss out on important life events?
Use these 5 points to weigh whether or not a job is worthwhile to take.
If a project is not hitting enough of the 5 points, ask yourself if there is some negotiation that you can do that will make the project worth it. If you don't want to commit to the project because you feel like the crew is too small off the bat for what they're asking for, ask them if they are flexible on the crew size or if there is something that makes you feel like you will not be proud of what you ultimately shoot, is there something you can ask for that will make the project worth it? The good thing with this is you can turn a job that previously was not worth doing into something that is worthwhile. If they can't provide you with what you need to make it worth it for yourself, then you can say you're not interested and not much is lost.
Negotiating
If they dont want to tell you what they want you can tell them that you just want to make a proposal and if you dont know what they want then you are forced to move to a more ideal situation for you which will just make this take longer. Want to incentivize them to share information, tell them it wont hurt them.
Persuading, haggling, giving in, imposing your solution, these are not negotiating. Unless you are trading something you are not negotiating. People negotiate for their own interests, if you dont know what they want or dont want, can be difficult to negotiate. Haggling can errode the relationship because no one is happy.
Negotiating could be a number of things besides your rate, but it usually revolves around financial decisions. If any of the things you need to negotiate are deal breakers for you, it may be best to negotiate them before you take the job, but sometimes more leverage is needed to force a decision and telling them you are not a good fit for the project if they cannot come up with something is sometimes a powerful motivator.
Negotiating
Must realize that the situation is the adversary, and that the person across the table is actually your negotiating partner—a partner who is to be worked with, not against, in pursuit of a mutually beneficial outcome. In short, effective negotiation is collaborative. You should be:
- Doing all you can to show the other side that you are negotiating in good faith. Adding tons of gear and labor that you don't need is not helpful, just be honest, straight forward, up front.
- Becoming genuinely interested in what drives the other side. Understanding their goals, motivations, wants, and fears will help you navigate the negotiation effectively. An authentic connection with your negotiating partner will help lead to an optimal outcome for both parties.
- Building trust-based influence. By appealing to your counterpart’s emotions, you can build rapport, mutual understanding, influence, and—ultimately—deals.
Here are some pointers for taking emotions into account when negotiating:
- Work to deactivate negative feelings—fear, suspicion, anger, aggression, and distrust.
- Aim to magnify positive emotions. People are actually smarter when they’re in a positive frame of mind. Building trust, comfort, and rapport will help you accomplish your goals.
It will also benefit you to abandon the whole notion that “they’re crazy.” Know that the other side has a rationale, motivations,and some strong feelings for wanting what they want—even though their goals may be diametrically opposed to yours.
Another crucial element in negotiation is the existence of black swans—those seemingly innocuous pieces of information that, once revealed, can change the entire negotiation process. Ex. Knowing that they just cut 4 days from the schedule when you are trying to add an additional piece of equipment. You know the issue can be pressed because a lot of space has recently opened in the budget.
Relationship Issues
- Admit fault
- Then begin asking questions
- Make a proposal, continue as normal.
Arguing
defending your position will errode the value of it.
- it becomes about winning, not understanding
- harms the relationship
- principles and opinions cannot be negotiated, only argued
- a proposal beats an argument
instead of going back and forth arguing, make a proposal about what is needed and what you can provide.
Making Proposals
Give conditions before offers, if you do this, I can do this.
Even things that are easy to offer, maybe you can find something that is easy to get. An example is speaking for free over zoom at an event, you could ask for 3 warm referrals in exchange for speaking for free.
The goal is to take control of the situation.
Once proposed, ask for a response. "what is your response?"
Receiving a proposal
- Ask questions to seek understanding
- Is there anything very important
- Where is their flexibility
- Take a break
- Then make a considered counter proposal or accept.
Try to give them what they want, but on your terms.
How to Put a Price on Demands
know what you want before you start
Can write down what do they want, what do they want to avoid. Same thing with you.
Get curious about their demands
- Why this
- Why now
- What if I could do that, what could you do?
Setting Precedent
By giving in without negotiating you can be setting up a precedent for the future.
Mirroring
Mirroring, or the repetition of key words used by your negotiating partner, is another essential negotiating tool. In most situations, you should identify one to three key terms for mirroring (but never use more than five). The technique can be especially effective when you’re repeating words that your counterpart has just spoken. Mirroring lets the other side know you’re paying attention to what they’re saying and treating their views with the close consideration they believe they deserve. An example of mirroring might look something like this:
- Your negotiating partner: “I’ve had a really difficult year, and it seems like you’re discounting all of the financial and personal stress I’ve been under.”
- You: “Financial and personal stress?”
Mirroring is a rapport-building technique with wide applicability. It works as well at parties as it does when negotiating rates. When you combine it with inquisitive inflection, mirroring can be an effective means of quelling the often-reflexive hostility of confrontational people.
Mirroring can also be used to gather intel. Using it with the inquisitive inflection will lead your counterpart to not only repeat themselves but to elaborate and offer additional details. This expands what you know about them and their position.
Labeling
Labeling is used to give voice to the other side’s feelings. Good labels take the form of:
- “It seems like...”
- “It looks like...”
- “You look like...”
To label effectively, do not use the word I, it shows you are your priority and everyone else in the room is an afterthought. At its core, labeling is designed to let the other side know that you understand their feelings, to help build relationships, and to gather information.
An example: Imagine you’re on the phone with an airline customer service agent who’s helping you with a reservation in the thick of the hectic holiday travel season. Surely they’ve been under enormous pressure all day, and locating that one open seat for you is no easy task. They likely feel as though they’re being generous with their time by assisting you, so you verbally communicating that they’re being generous with their time will reinforce that positive emotion. Showing them how much you appreciate the efforts they’re making on your behalf may well improve their frame of mind and motivate them to go that extra mile to get you that last available seat.
Likewise, labeling can help you overcome negative emotions. Labels are cumulative—often, you may need to use several of them to deactivate a single bad feeling. Labeling a negative emotion that isn’t there yet can help you inoculate against it.
The counterpart of labeling is mislabeling, or the intentional misidentification of your counterpart’s feelings. Why would you ever do that? Because mislabeling gives the other side the opportunity to correct you. People love to feel like they’re in the right, and they love it even more when you readily admit your own misunderstanding of an issue they’re highly invested in. When the other side corrects you, you can receive new and sometimes critical information.
Here’s an example of a simple mislabel:
- You: “It seems like you disagree with these terms.”
- Your negotiating partner: “I don’t disagree with the terms. I’m concerned
with the resources needed to execute them.”
By mislabeling, you’ve gleaned that your negotiating partner has no issue with the terms of your deal; rather, he or she has issues with carrying them out. You can also use this with silence to magnify the impact of your mirrors and labels. By taking a beat after you mislabel, for example, you give the other side the opportunity to set you straight, potentially revealing more information than you could have gotten by asking direct questions.
Calibrated Questions
Calibrated questions are how and what questions structured for maximum effect. They are designed to change the power dynamic of the negotiation and force consideration of your position into the equation. In other words, they allow the other side to see things from your side of the table. Calibrated questions often sound like this:
- “How am I supposed to do that?”
- “What’s going to happen if I do that?”
These questions also help cultivate the illusion of control in your counterpart. They can serve the same purpose as why questions while sounding less accusatory. Why questions tend to trigger a defensive posture. Think about how you’ve felt in the past when someone has asked, “Why did you do that?” By changing “why” to “what” (as in, “What are you trying to accomplish by doing that?” instead of "why are you doing it like that?"), you can remove the sting of accusation.
Accusations Audit
An accusations audit is where you create a comprehensive list of all the negative assumptions, thoughts, and feelings you think the other side may be harboring against you.
Accusation audits require you to be bold. They demand fearless and creative brain-storming as you assemble your list. Be exhaustive. Your goal is to list all the possible negative emotions and get out ahead of them. You want the other side to come back and say, “Hold on, you’re being too hard on yourself.”
If you’re concerned about performing and employing the accusations audit, give it a try in low-stakes negotiations.
Yes and No Questions
When it comes to a line of questioning, there are three types of yes answers:
- Yes as a commitment (used to agree)
- Yes as a confirmation (used to affirm commitment)
- Yes as counterfeit (used tactically by someone who doesn’t trust you, feels trapped, or wants you to go away)
Often, a no can be much more valuable than a yes. In certain circumstances, people feel safe and protected by a no. So, a question like “Is this a good idea?” may be better phrased as “Is this a ridiculous idea?” ; “Can you agree to do it this way?” could be better presented as “Do you think it’s unreasonable if we can both agree to take things in this direction?” When answering a yes question, people are going to feel that every piece of information they provide is another commitment to be made.
By contrast, a no relieves them of the sense that they may have just surrendered their entire negotiating position.
Avoiding yes in favor of no helps ease the other side’s fear of commitment. Here again, a negative emotion is being deactivated. And don’t forget that no is equally valuable to your own cause. After saying no, use dynamic silence to let it sink in, demonstrating to your partner that you stand by your word.
Negotiating Rate
When negotiating your rate, realize that you do not have much leverage unless you know people on the crew personally or have something else going for you. (Must-hire from the agency, previous experience that is applicable, etc.) For DP's an agent can be very helpful for these negotiations as you can just focus purely on the creative and let your agent negotiate the details. If you are not represented you can find agents to negotiate one off deals for you. Often times the best way to handle negotiations for rate are just to say the highest number you are comfortable with saying and accept their counter offer if it is within reason. Just keep in mind the rate you get will affect the rates of the additional crew members, so don't place yourself too low.