The more information a client gives you, the more accurately you can estimate your ticket prices. Don’t fall into the trap of “This is a simple project with just one easy character. How much will it cost for a 30-second spot?” Unless you have a script and boards, there is no way to estimate a cost. Spots are almost never as simple as clients lead us to believe. Once you give an estimate, clients don’t want to hear anything about higher rates regardless of what the final storyboards show. You also don’t want to give a ballpark figure so high, in order to cover all possibilities, that the clients think you are far too expensive to deal with.

The best game plan is to get on the practice field together and work out the storyboards together with a budget range in mind. That way, the production can be designed by the experts to fit the clients’ needs.

As you finalize the budget, make sure both teams know the rules, a.k.a., a list of assumptions. Clear dialogue is the best sportsmanship.

Negotiating is a sport where both teams can win. Then every home run counts for everyone.

Mark Simon is an award-winning animation producer and lecturer who is also the author of Facial Expressions, Producing Independent 2D Character Animation and Storyboards: Motion in Art. He can be found lurking around at www.FunnyToons.tv and may be reached at Mark@FunnyToons.tv. Mark’s books may be found and purchased at www.MarkSimonBooks.com.