Bidding a commercial job

What a bid actually is

A bid is the document a client receives that says:

• What you'll deliver
• When you'll deliver it
• What it costs
• What's NOT included

The first three are obvious. The fourth — exclusions — is what separates an amateur bid from a professional one. A bid without explicit exclusions is a bid that will scope-creep to zero margin.

This lesson covers how to structure a bid for commercial video work (corporate, brand, event, advertising), how to price your time, and how to write the document so you actually get paid for what you do.

Two pricing models

There are essentially two ways to price video work:

Project-based bid. A fixed price for a defined scope. "I'll deliver X for $Y by date Z." Most commercial work works this way.

Day-rate / hourly. You bill time-and-materials. Common for ongoing relationships or open-ended projects.

For new clients on a defined project, project-based is almost always better. Day-rate works for established clients who trust you and don't need fixed-scope assurance.

The line items of a project bid

A complete commercial bid has line items in these categories:

1. Pre-production

• Concept development / treatment writing
• Location scouting
• Casting
• Storyboard / shot list creation
• Production meeting time
• Permits / location fees

2. Production

• Shoot days (typically 10–12 hours, with overtime billed separately)
• DP / director day rate
• Crew day rates (gaffer, sound op, PA, AC)
• Equipment rentals (camera, lenses, lighting, audio, grip)
• Talent fees and usage rights
• Stylist / wardrobe / makeup
• Location fees
• Catering
• Travel and lodging (if applicable)
• Production insurance

3. Post-production

• Editing days (typically 8 hours each)
• Color grading
• Sound design / mixing
• Music licensing
• Motion graphics / titles
• VFX / compositing
• Voiceover artist
• Revisions (typically 2 rounds included; additional billed)
• Delivery in specified formats

4. Markup / overhead

• Production company markup (typically 10–20% of total) — covers your time managing the project, overhead, insurance, taxes

5. Schedule / payment terms

• 50% deposit on signature
• 50% on final delivery (or net-30)

For corporate work, simpler structures work too. But every bid should at least specify pre-pro, production, post-pro, and a markup or fee.

Day rate math: what you're actually charging

The most common newcomer mistake is undercharging. Let's do the math.

You want to earn $80,000/year in take-home (a reasonable middle income).

Working backward, before taxes and overhead:

• $80k take-home → ~$110k pre-tax (with self-employment tax + state + federal)
• $110k / 220 billable days/year (assuming you work 4 days/week, 55 weeks) → $500/day

But you can't work 220 days. Reality:

• Sick days, vacation: subtract 40 days
• Pre-production / admin / marketing days that don't bill: another 40
• Slow weeks where no clients book: another 20

That's down to ~120 billable days/year.

$110k / 120 days = ~$920/day. Call it $1000/day. That's the day rate that, after taxes and overhead, leaves you at $80k take-home.

A producer or DP with 5+ years of experience charges $1500–$3000/day. An entry-level shoot day might bill $500–$800. Compare your rate to the market — but always include the full math, not just the day rate.

What to charge for what

Rough mid-market rates (2026 dollars, North America):

Equipment rentals vary wildly. A camera rental can be $200/day (basic mirrorless) to $5000/day (Alexa Mini LF with prime set).

Always check current market rates in your specific city. Major markets (LA, NYC, London) run 30–60% higher. Regional markets run lower.

Scope: the most-skipped section

Here's where bids go wrong: lack of scope clarity.

A bid that says "Produce a 60-second brand video" is a bid waiting to scope-creep. What does that include? How many shoot days? How many locations? How much talent? How many revisions?

Always specify:

• Shoot days: "Shoot will take 2 days (Mon and Tues, June 15–16, 2026)"
• Locations: "Locations include client office (1 day) and outdoor park (1 day)"
• Talent count: "Includes up to 4 on-camera talent (3 employees and 1 paid actor)"
• Final duration: "One 60-second video for web, with two 15-second cutdowns for social"
• Deliverables format: "1080p .mp4 master file, plus 9:16 and 1:1 social aspect ratios"
• Revision limit: "Includes 2 rounds of revisions; additional billed at $X/hour"
• Usage rights: "Video is for client's owned channels (website, social, internal). Broadcast or paid ad usage is an additional license fee."

This is the line that prevents a 2-day shoot from becoming 5 days, 3 deliverables from becoming 12, and 2 revisions from becoming 8.

Pre-production phase fees

Surprise: clients want pre-production work like treatments and shot lists for free. Don't.

Pre-production is genuine work that takes hours. Bill for it.

A treatment is typically a 2–4 page document with concept, mood references, key shots, and a director's vision. For a corporate video, this might be $500–$1500. For high-end commercial, $3000–$8000+.

If a client asks for a treatment before they've signed a bid, this is the "spec work" trap. Two options:

1. Charge for the treatment as part of a smaller pre-pro phase. "Pre-production is $X to develop the concept and treatment. Signing the full production bid is contingent on you approving that treatment."
2. Refuse to do spec work. "We don't do treatments before a deposit. We're happy to discuss our portfolio and approach, and we can develop a treatment as part of pre-production once we move forward."

For low-budget work, free treatments are common but unprofessional. For high-budget work, never give them away.

Usage rights and licensing

For most corporate work, the client owns the video and can use it anywhere. Standard buyout, no additional rights to worry about.

For commercial advertising work, talent and music usage is broken into:

• Owned media (client's website, social, internal use) — included
• Paid digital (paid social ads, YouTube preroll, programmatic) — separate license
• Broadcast TV — separate license, often substantial
• Out of home (billboards, transit) — separate license

A 30-second TV commercial may bill the talent at $5000–$15000+ for broadcast usage, additional to the day rate. The music license likewise.

If you're producing for a major brand, get clarity early on what usage is intended. Quote with appropriate licensing built in.

Deposit and payment terms

Standard for most freelancers:

• 50% deposit on contract signature
• 50% on final delivery

OR

• Thirds: 1/3 deposit, 1/3 at the start of production, 1/3 on delivery.

For large jobs ($30k+), thirds spreads cash flow more evenly.

For long-term clients with established trust, net-30 (full payment 30 days after delivery) becomes possible. For new clients, always require a deposit. No exceptions. A client who won't pay a deposit is a client who won't pay at all.

Writing the bid document

Format the bid as a PDF, ideally 2–4 pages. Sections:

1. Cover page — client name, project title, date, your company name and logo
2. Project overview — 1–2 paragraph summary of what you're producing
3. Deliverables — exactly what they'll receive, in what format, by what date
4. Scope — what's included (locations, days, talent, etc.) and what's not (usage rights, etc.)
5. Schedule — pre-production timeline, shoot dates, post-production timeline, final delivery date
6. Cost breakdown — line items grouped by phase
7. Total cost — clearly stated
8. Payment terms — deposit %, due dates, late fees
9. Approval / signature — space for client to sign and date

Avoid: industry jargon, dense font, complex spreadsheet exports. The client should be able to scan it in 60 seconds and understand cost and value.

Common mistakes

• No exclusions section. Scope creeps to zero margin.
• Undercharging. Most beginners charge half what they should.
• No deposit. Eat the loss when client doesn't pay.
• Unclear deliverables. "A video" — but how long? What format? How many aspect ratios?
• No revision limit. Endless revisions eat your time.
• No usage rights clarity. Client assumes they can broadcast; talent / music license bills them later.
• No signed contract. Verbal agreements fail. Always get signature.
• Working on spec. Treatments, edits, anything before a deposit. Don't.

What to practice this week

Take a hypothetical project: a 90-second brand video for a local restaurant client. They want a hero piece for their website and 3 social media cutdowns.

Bid it. Write a full 2-page PDF with all the sections above. Specify shoot days, locations, talent, deliverables, revisions, total cost, deposit terms.

Show it to a working freelancer in your network. Ask: "Would you sign this if you were the client?" and "What did I miss?"

The exercise of writing a complete bid for a hypothetical project is the fastest way to learn what a good bid looks like — without the pressure of actually losing the client to your inexperience.

A great filmmaker who can't bid loses to a mediocre filmmaker who can.