The “pro” in professional stands for profit. If you are not making money at what you do, you are not yet professional. Today, a color grading business has more competition, more responsibility, and lower rates than ever before. So here are a few tips, observations and lessons learned from a veteran.

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Employment – getting started
Equipment – setting yourself up
Finding work - getting jobs
Rates – setting your fees
Charging – getting paid

Employment

The first step to making real money is to get a real job. The options are employment, being self-employed (sole trader), or forming a limited company.

Starting out

Traditionally, most colorists would start out as assistants and work up to sitting in the colorist chair. This was necessary because hardware color grading suites at that time cost millions of dollars. It was beneficial because experience and knowledge were handed down from the senior colorist, engineers and other post professionals. It is still a great path but the opportunities are far less, since the rooms are now more affordable and there are more options to learn. The best way into an assist job is to start as a runner, or to offer some other skills and let everyone know that color is what you want to focus on. Don’t limit your options to postproduction facilities, there are some great jobs in the corporate sector with companies that have in-house productions.

Freelancing

Because things are more affordable, it is now very common to offer color grading services as a freelancer. There are two categories. First, offering colorist skills to companies that have their own equipment but need someone to run it. Companies will often need backup colorists to cover holidays, sickness or busy periods. The benefits are that they provide the clients and the work, you have no outlay on equipment and maintenance and usually they will take care of all the support services. The downside is you are not building your own client portfolio and the potential income is less. The second freelance category is for those that offer color grading services with their own equipment and I would also distinguish between those with their own equipment and those with equipment and premises for clients to attend. The latter group is more likely to employ others and offer a wider range of services. Either way, the benefits of being an owner/ user are that you build a solid client base and it is easier to offer a wider range of services. Indeed, some clients will expect a wider range of services. The potential to expand and make more profit is also higher. The disadvantages of investing in equipment are the cost involved, increased responsibilities, and additional administrative tasks including marketing.

Sole trader or Ltd?

In the UK there are two freelance routes: sole trader and limited company. There are similar options in other countries around the world – the names change but the rules are very similar. The most common and simplest approach is to operate as a sole trader. Sole traders have minimal paperwork obligations, more privacy, more flexibility and are easy to run. However, sole traders are fully liable financially for all debts, probably pay more tax, and may be unattractive to bigger clients. A Limited company on the other hand limits the liabilities of the shareholder, is more tax efficient, and gives the impression of being more established and more reliable.

My recommendation to all freelance professional colorists is to form a Limited Company, which is more tax efficient, and to find a good accountant - preferably one with some knowledge of our industry.* A decent accountant will easily recoup her own fees in what she will save you in tax, expenses, and - not least - your time saved. The accountant will also take care of the legal obligations of the Limited Company, which gives you more time to build the business. My accountant has also helped with mortgages, insurance, and dealing with international payments that need to deduct withholding taxes.

*Please note that I am not an accounting professional and am not giving financial advice.Staying Ahead

Equipment

Even if you are working on other people’s equipment, you will need something at home to practice on. If you are taking on jobs - even remotely - you will need to invest in reliable kit. The minimum requirements for a professional are a calibrated reference display, a computer with a good GPU and Video I/O, control panels, storage, and of course your choice of software.

Investing

Investing more has a minimal effect on rates, but it will increase efficiency and it will often increase the variety of jobs you can accommodate. 8k and HDR for example need more expensive gear, there is no way to avoid it.

You should budget for maintenance, replacement, and improvements each year so that as you grow, your abilities, your clients and your productivity do not fall behind. Your investment budget should also include some training every year, and handing over some related jobs to other professionals. If you need graphics, branding, or a website, consider employing a professional to do the work even if you could do it yourself. The professional will offer new ideas, and free your time to either work for profit or practice where it counts.

Finding Work

When it comes to finding work, focus on the big picture. Look after your clients and they will bring in the jobs. Think of everyone as a client, but do not imagine all clients are equal. Producers pay your bill, so ultimately, they have the last say. The cinematographer probably works on more jobs than an editor or director, so making the director of photography look good is likely to result in a lot of recommendations. The director is usually the one that works closest to the colorist, so establishing an understanding between the two of you will make jobs run smoother. Whoever you are dealing with, show an interest in the job and keep in touch before, during and after each job. Remember to get permission to use material to promote yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask for a credit.

Treat every job as the most important one you have ever done, because you are only as good as your last job. The best jobs come to you indirectly so keep up with any interests you have in forums and events. If you have an interest in cars, then be the car geek and focus on getting a reputation in that market. Similarly, if you favor fashion or sport, get involved and let people know of your interest. Anything that differentiates you from every other colorist is valuable to you and your business. Definitely join Colorist Society International and be recognized as a professional colorist that way. You have to be visible to get work.

The terms

Once you have the job, the first step is to define what you are going to do, how much, when you will be paid, and how changes will be handled. This can be in the form of an email or a contract. Contracts are useful but rarely effective. It costs money and takes time to force payment in court and usually you end up out of pocket unless the sum involved is very large. It is better to never let the amount outstanding get that large, and to work with the clients rather than against them. Sometimes naming and shaming works, but don’t expect to work with the client again.

Rates

The question of what to charge has always been difficult. As an employee you will get a salary. The salary is always less if you have been trained and promoted within the company, so usually to make big money you need to change companies. In fact, if it is an option, changing companies will typically get you more money than getting a raise.

Self employment

For the self-employed, setting rates is more complicated. Colorist fees vary according to country, genre, responsibility, and the equipment that you can provide. As a profession, we have not historically been transparent on salaries and rates. The German chapter of Colorist Society International started a survey and analysis of colorist rates in 2019 and this is the best resource currently available. Please contribute to the 2020 survey so that we can all benefit from more visibility.

There are two factors in setting rates: what do you need to earn to make a living and what are you worth? To understand what you need to earn, calculate your annual costs for accommodation, living, running the business, and add a contingency fund of at least 20% for emergencies, fun and holidays. Next, realistically estimate how many days a year you expect to get paying work. Divide your costs by the number of days and multiply by the rate of tax you expect to pay, but be conservative and include both corporation and personal tax if you are a limited company. The equation might look something like this

costs + 20%contingency x (100 + 30%tax).
days of work

= (£40,000 + £8,000) x 1.3
120 days a year

= £520 a day minimum rate

To figure out what you are worth, check the survey, check facility rates, and ask other colorists what they charge. Some will be secretive as you are their competition, but it is in all our interests to maintain a fair price for our skills. In some markets there may not be a reasonable number of colorists or facilities to compare to, or you may have special skills that make you unique. Always aim for the highest rate and look at your booking record. It is better to pitch high and offer a discount. Clients prefer that, some even expect it. If you are turning away work because you do not have the time or resources to take it all on, you are definitely charging too little! Aim for about 60-80% capacity and increase rates until you get down to that. You then have room to grow and are turning away work that will eat up your time but not reward you for it.

Exposure

Of course, there will always be those that want you to work for free. They will be creative in their reasons why you would do that – it will look good on your reel, it will get a lot of PR, it will do well at festivals, it has some big names involved, it’s for a good cause, you will get a credit, we have some big paying jobs coming - the list is endless. We have all done free jobs, but be practical. Professional means getting paid. Your accountant won’t work for free, your electricity is not free, and your meals are not free. Working for free does not guarantee paying work in the future – in fact, it often means that you are not treated as a professional and it usually attracts the worst kind of work.

If it is genuinely for a cause that you believe in, and others are also giving up their time, that can be justified. If you already have work from a client and they want help on a personal project, that’s good client relations. Just about everything else is exploitation and hurts you and every other colorist. Remember, if you are free or cheap, clients will expect that of you and likely go to a better, more expensive colorist when the budget allows. It is hard to make big increases to your rates.

Charging

Before each job begins, put in writing what services you are expecting to provide and define what you will deliver. Outline what you expect to receive in order to start the job and how you expect to get paid. It’s worth adding a clause that gives you the right to share the results for self-promotion and defines any extra benefits such as your credit details. Finally, add information about what services, deliverables and most importantly changes will cost so there are no surprises. If a job is open ended it will run on forever and will be difficult to charge for.

As a rule, I ask new clients to pay at least 50% up front on the first job. If there are up-front costs like travel, I will ask new clients to book those directly. Make sure that your rate is net and that it does not include withholding taxes if applicable. Generally, all fees are due on completion, but bigger organizations have their own terms. Sometimes the cost of working with a giant corporation is payment in 60 or even 90 days. That means you are loaning them money for 3 months so build that into your rate. Most importantly, ask if you need to be set up with their accounts system. Your first payment may be delayed weeks while your account is being setup, but after that payments should be more predictable.

Good Luck and Happy Coloring,

Kevin

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Download the PDF

Further Reading:

International Colorist Salary Survey

iColorist Webinar Make Money Color Grading

Colorist Society International

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