How Much Should Post Production Pros Earn? Does AI Threaten Our Industry?

October 31, 2024

Technologist and post production industry veteran Katie Hinsen talks about her Annual Salary Survey - plus, should be worried about AI?

Tutorials  /  Office Hours  /  How Much Should Post Production Pros Earn? Does AI Threaten Our Industry?
Series

Office Hours LIVE! Practical answers to your career questions

On this edition of Office Hours Live, host and Mixing Light CEO Patrick Inhofer is joined by post-production veteran and Mixing Light contributor, Katie Hinsen. They tackle the thorny topic of what you should be charging for your creative services and how those rates stack up against others in your field.

For the past nine years, Katie has spearheaded the Post Production Survey, which collects confidential and anonymous salary and working conditions data to provide a valuable snapshot of the current state of the market.

“The overall trend since 2018 to 2023 is that inflation is going up faster than pay.

There is a small overall trend upwards in pay rates. It’s not a lot over the entire post-production industry. The overall rate has gone up by about $5 an hour.

But if you kept up with inflation, it should have gone up by about $30/hr.”

She also publishes the full dataset each year, so you can run your own analysis for the questions that matter most to you.

US-based talent can take part in the Post Production Survey at Postproductiondata.com during October 2024.

Key takeaways

  • It is to your advantage to know what other people are getting paid, so share your rates (anonymously) in the survey. We all win this way.
  • “We can’t improve what we don’t measure.” By revealing pay gaps, we can all work harder to make the industry fairer and use the data to make a positive impact.
  • Location matters less than you might think since the pandemic. The survey reveals differences in pay between NY/LA and the rest of the US.
  • Understanding how to run a business is key to career longevity. Katie shares some excellent wisdom and resources for calculating the rate you need to charge and the number of days you need to work.
  • Your ‘Runway’ (savings) gives you a cushion to protect yourself and also make career-changing creative choices.
  • As a colorist, your ‘Rolodex of relationships’ with DPs, producers, directors, editors, etc., becomes a valuable commodity to Post Houses, who will hire you to bring in that work. This is especially true when your projects hit $1 million/year in gross billable work.
  • We are creative technologists. “We manipulate science to make art.” AI companies need customers (us) who will use their tools in our work.
  • AI will impact different roles and departments in lesser and greater ways.

Mentioned in this Insight:

  • Post Production Data – Complete the survey and help our industry understand the current state of pay rates (through October 2024).
  • Strada – Michael Cioni’s new AI-driven post-production service.

Chapters

  • 00:00 – Introduction to Katie and The Post-Production Survey
  • 02:53 – Why salary surveys matter for Post-Production
  • 06:53 – Navigating pay structures as an Owner-Operator
  • 08:59 – Understanding pay trends and inflation in the industry
  • 12:20 – The importance of tracking race, gender, and location data
  • 15:02 – Using the report to empower young people entering the industry
  • 17:44 – “You can’t improve what you don’t measure” – targeting pay gaps
  • 19:15 – Calculating competitive rates for the number of days you work
  • 24:00 – Why multiple rates is a common strategy for different clients
  • 25:17 – Building a runway – how long can you last without work?
  • 29:53 – Understanding the real economics of color grading
  • 32:43 – The role of relationships in career growth
  • 35:29 – Different projects command different pay grades
  • 40:00 – The impact of technology changes on Post-Production jobs
  • 42:14 – The future of AI in the creative industries

What are your biggest money questions?

What is your professional experience negotiating rates? Have you used the data from the survey to help you determine your rate? Leave a comment and let us know!

– Patrick

Prev Next
Katie Hinsen
Patrick Inhofer
Insight # ML 1367
Type Video
Duration 60:46
Skill Level Beginner
Skills Business
Categories Business Machine Learning / AI
Series Office Hours

1,200+ Tutorials, Articles, and Webinars To Explore

Get 7-day access to our library of over 1,200+ tutorials - for $5!
Do you like what you see? Maintain access for less than $5 per month.

Start Your Test Drive!
Our Products
MixingLight.com Uptime Status
About

Mixing Light provides industry leading tutorials and training for digital video post production professionals, with a focus on color grading, finishing, and visual effects.

Join our community!

About Mixing Light
Contact
Stay In Touch

Enter your email to receive occasional updates about discounts, new tutorials, and training from Mixing Light!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

© 2025 Mixing Light, LLC. All rights reserved.   Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Use

Loading...

Report

Harassment or bullying behavior
Contains mature or sensitive content
Contains abusive or derogatory content
Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

  • See blocked member's posts
  • Mention this member in posts

Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

Report

You have already reported this .