A fixed project fee and a filming day rate can look like competing prices when they describe different commitments. One proposal may cover finished films. Another may cover a person's time, with editing, preparation or other work still to be agreed. Comparing the two numbers alone will not tell you what the project would cost.
First identify the work being purchased. Then examine how the price changes when that work takes more time or the brief changes. The useful choice is a charging arrangement both sides can explain and manage, rather than a label that appears to promise certainty.
Keep scope and charging basis separate
A supplier can price a narrow recording assignment at a fixed fee or charge time for an extensive production. The charging basis does not tell you whether interviews, editing or finished outputs are included. Establish the delivery scope before deciding which commercial arrangement fits.
Business.gov.au's contract-negotiation guidance distinguishes engagements for labour or skills from those for a particular result, and discusses time-based and fixed-fee payment. Treat that as background to the questions below, not a rule that every video supplier must offer both options.
Write the proposed work in a sentence that avoids pricing language: “Prepare, film and edit one project case study with agreed shorter versions.” Beside it, list work retained by your organisation. Use this same boundary when asking each supplier to clarify its proposal.
Read what the fixed fee actually fixes
A fixed amount needs a defined scope. Check which outputs, filming allowance, preparation and review work it covers. Identify assumptions about access, supplied material and the buyer's contribution that matter to delivery.
Ask how the supplier would assess an additional request. A fixed fee for an agreed production should not be read as unlimited new filming or editing. Equally, avoid assuming every difficulty creates an extra charge. The written terms and circumstances determine what needs discussion.
Record exclusions without silently assigning them a zero cost. If the film needs work outside the proposal, that work must be priced, removed or owned elsewhere before you have a complete project estimate.
Read what the time-based proposal measures
Ask what counts as chargeable time and how it is recorded. Preparation, filming, editing, travel and meetings may be treated differently; the proposal needs to explain the actual arrangement. If the unit is a day, confirm its defined allowance rather than supplying your own definition.
Then distinguish an estimate from an agreed spending limit. A forecast of likely hours helps planning, but the buyer also needs to understand how additional work would be authorised. Ask what happens when the estimate or an agreed limit is approaching: who receives notice, who can decide and what work may pause.
Business.gov.au's contract-preparation guide discusses describing services, fees and payment arrangements. For a production, turn those headings into specific questions rather than copying generic contract wording. Get appropriate advice about terms you do not understand.
Use a charging-basis comparison
Complete the same record for each proposal. Leave an unanswered field visibly unresolved.
| Question | Record from the actual proposal |
|---|---|
| What is being bought? | Tasks, outputs and the buyer's retained work |
| What is the charging unit? | Fixed defined scope, named time unit or a stated combination |
| What is included? | Preparation, recording, editing and other agreed components |
| What remains outside it? | Exclusions and who will supply or price them |
| What makes the amount change? | An identified request, condition or additional chargeable unit |
| What visibility will we receive? | Agreed progress information or time record |
| Who controls further commitment? | Named buyer authority and the supplier's notification route |
| What happens at the limit? | Agreed decision point, not an assumed right to unlimited completion |
Keep invoice timing separate. A fixed project fee can have several payment milestones, while time-based work can have its own invoicing schedule. Neither label establishes when money must be available.
Match uncertainty to a practical control
Consider what remains uncertain. If access, outputs and review responsibilities are well defined, ask whether the supplier can provide a clear price for that scope. If the work cannot yet be described, first investigate the missing information. An unclear brief does not become workable simply by changing the charging label.
Where time-based work is proposed, consider whether someone in your organisation can monitor progress and make timely decisions. Where a fixed scope is proposed, consider whether the team can stay within the agreed boundary or identify changes promptly. Both arrangements need active buyer involvement.
The record should expose who can act on uncertainty. “We will sort it out during editing” is weak if nobody can approve additional work or decide which request to remove.
An illustrative comparison
A builder receives one fixed proposal covering a case-study film and specified short edits. A second proposal lists a filming day rate and an editing estimate. This is a hypothetical comparison, not Live Images pricing.
The buyer initially prefers the smaller figure beside filming. The comparison record reveals that this is only one component of the second proposal. It asks for the full estimated work, chargeable-time definitions and the process for authorising more editing.
The fixed proposal also needs clarification: an additional interview requested by the buyer is outside its stated allowance. Both suppliers are asked to address the same required scope. The buyer can then assess the complete arrangements without declaring either pricing model inherently better or cheaper.
Request an explanation you can use
Before accepting, summarise the charging basis, included work, remaining unknowns and authority for additional commitment. Confirm your understanding with the supplier. Use the existing quote-comparison worksheet for the detailed inclusions alongside this commercial-model review.
Live Images' Industry Standard page describes project-specific quoting and written scope. It does not promise a universal day rate or choice of charging models. Discuss your construction project with the intended outputs, location and required date, and ask how the proposed fee relates to the work agreed.
Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images. Planning guidance is general; suitability and production scope must be agreed for your project.