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Thread: New Flash Freelancer need some advice

  1. #1
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    New Flash Freelancer need some advice

    I'm close to getting my first contractual flash gig.

    I was interested in knowing if you guys usually supply the FLA file or just provide your clients with the SWF file. The reason I ask is I'm creating some actionscripts that talks with a database driven ASP page, and since the client is a pretty savvy ASP guy, I'm afraid he won't need my services once he figures out how to make flash talk with an ASP page.

    Also, I'm charging him $25 a hour. I think that's pretty cheap (probably an 4 hr job), and in my opinion, it won't be worth it if he's going to just take things from there (not certain, but possible). At an hourly rate, how much should an Actionscripting guru be charged?

    Thank you for your input/advice.

  2. #2
    Bearded (M|G)od MyFriendIsATaco's Avatar
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    I really dont charge by the hour...I go by what is it worth to me And here's my advice....(dont tell the clients though!) I always tell them a bit high at first...i havea set price in my mind, say $300 is my lowest...I'll start at $400 and see what they say, if not, keep lowering a bit until they accept...Sometimes you get lucky and land it for $400, sometimes you get it for your lowest $300...And about giving them the .fla...i usually do, but i dont do anything that secure either...i usually give them the fla just incase they want me to do any changes or soemthing, they have a copy of the final project...I'm not really worried about someone pickign apart the code and learning it themselves...If they really wanted to, they can just get an .swf decompiler and decompile any code you have...So i dont really worry about it that much...i hope this helps

  3. #3
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    sometimes... in the course of creating several projects, you'll learn that some can be completed in just hours.. some, days... and some.. longer.

    there are many ways to plan a project, and you have to consider the time. if you think you can finish the project in 4 hours.. you have to provide an extra hour or two... just in case...

    in terms of pricing, perhaps 25$ is cheap enough.. but it also depends on how much work.. or the type of work you'll have to do... if it's going to be a bit complex.. shoot up to 35 or 40$, but true enough.. it is also good to price the entire project, and provide a time frame... like in close to normal situations, ppl charge 300$(minimum) for a duration of 3-4 days.. minimum..

    about providing the fla.. that really depends... for example..in past projects i have made.. i did not provide the fla file.. partly because i came up with the code myself.. i had no help, and made no reference to other source codes, or even here at flashkit..

    but when the client decides that he wants the source code, or the .fla file, i add a chunk to the price... and that amt depends too...

    hopefully, you'll get more replies to this thread you have.. and you'll get other points of view.. the thing is.. i make projects for people in the philippines, so i try to do work a bit cheaper.

    hope this gives you a bit of insight.. i mean... it's one opinion to add!
    Flash MX + ASP + WinXP Pro
    Now Learning PHP & MySQL

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cubensis420
    I'm close to getting my first contractual flash gig.

    Also, I'm charging him $25 a hour. I think that's pretty cheap
    I'd agree except that it's your first paid gig. You need to gain some experience and perhaps more importantly, convince prospective customers that you have experience.

    Our company does Flash only to complement our web design business and we charge $125/hour for Flash. This is in a major metro area of the USA though so it also depends heavily on where you are located.

    Also, the rate you can charge depends heavily on the types of clients you work with. If you can work up to providing Flash services for mid-size to large companies or to agencies that serve those clients, you can get better money. If you are working for very small/startup types remember they don't have a lot of money!

    My advice...start with some of the small projects but do the very best work you can to build your portfolio. Then, work toward getting more clients who can afford higher rates and adjust your strategy accordingly!

    Just my 2 cents.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Planet's Avatar
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    Thread moved to the Board Room . Please read the Freelance Forum rules before posting in there.
    Thanks.

  6. #6
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    Thank you very much for the advice. I will hopefully work myself up there as my portfolio becomes better and my clients become bigger!

  7. #7
    ....he's amazing!!! lesli_felix's Avatar
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    To be honest, an experienced ASP guy should already know a bit about how to make flash talk to a server. I recently worked on two projects with server-side programmers, and the more they know the better. One of them didn't want anything to do with the .fla source, and that actually slowed the project down when we had to debug things.

    Building up a level of trust is essential to a good business relationship, and lets face it, if he only wants you for one project, then wants to do the work himself, you're not going to stop him.

    As for the source. If they're paying for your time, then your working for them, which for me means they're welcome to the source code, fla etc.

    $25ph is quite a low rate, but if you're just starting out, it's an appropriate price.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by lesli_felix
    As for the source. If they're paying for your time, then your working for them, which for me means they're welcome to the source code, fla etc.
    by law (in the USA at least) the developer owns the rights to what he/she creates (even HTML design!) unless and until he/she explicitly transfers those rights to the client. and this applies to work for which you are paid!

    now, as a practical matter, most web developers these days automatically transfer rights to HTML and graphic design but many do not provide Photoshop source files, FLAs, etc.

    if you are simply concerned that the client will learn your techniques you need to consider whether the code is sufficiently advanced that he could not easily learn the techniques elsewhere. if so, it's probably not worth your time to try and restrict access.

    on the other hand, if you've written some innovative code that you plan to use elsewhere, maybe in a commercial product, then you certainly should restrict access (and rights) to it.

    a customer who is knowledgable in this area will require you to sign a "work for hire" agreement. these agreements assign everything you create to the client. be careful with these and make sure the amount you are getting paid is worth the automatic transfer of what, by law, is your intellectual property.


    let's take an example.

    Acme Amalgamated Mining hires you to develop a Flash presentation for them. they are looking for something really cool but they have a very limited budget. you take the project anyway knowing you can realize a profit because you intend to use your Super-De-Duper Flash Presentation Engine (SDD/FPE) you've been working on for the past year. the SDD/FPE allows you to deliver a knock-out presentation on time and on budget.

    clearly in this example, you MUST retain all rights to the FLAs and, preferably, not even provide access to them. the customer got excellent value and they have the presentation they hired you to create. you still have the SDD FPE to use in future projects.

    BUT, if you signed a work for hire agreement or if you transferred your rights and delivered the FLAs, you may be up the proverbial creek. and, in fact, if you try to use your SDD FPE on a future project this client can likely sue you because they now own it.


    on the other hand, if your FLA is pretty basic, using a few lines of AS gleaned from the tutes here at FK, you're probably better off not even raising the issue and simply agreeing to assign all rights.
    Last edited by 1a2b3c4d; 09-18-2005 at 11:40 PM.

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