Pricing an uplighting job

[WWDJ]

OK, so I have been asked to quote for an uplighting job which will be in addition to the disco services that I offer.

Let's assume that I will be looking at 15 units, DMX controlled.

What should I be charging for this additional service?

Also roughly how long would setup be for this kind of service, 15 units, power, dmx, tidying, taping etc?

Cheers.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Bit of a tough one that as I know people charge different rates etc and some of the prices I have seen vary quite a lot for the same thing.

A customer the other day enquired about Uplighting with me. They had previously been quoted £150.00 for 4 Units DMX'd. I thought that was a bit steep personally.

I don't tend to charge per unit but per job and will try and check out the venue beforehand and make the customer aware of this. Unless there are a number of you, I think Uplighting as an addition is dependent on being able to get into the venue early as it's not really something that can be done when the change around after the wedding breakfast (if the function is a wedding for example).

I think at the end of the day you need to work out roughly how long it will take to install it and that's down to the power sockets in the venue really. A couple of places I do regularly are very easy and perfect for Uplighting and it takes less than half hour to install.

You could (for example) say £10.00 per unit which would be £150.00 and then add on extra for labour / installation? Maybe £250.00 all in? Sorry, I know that's not much help.

[surround sounds]

OK, so I have been asked to quote for an uplighting job which will be in addition to the disco services that I offer.

Let's assume that I will be looking at 15 units, DMX controlled.

What should I be charging for this additional service?

Also roughly how long would setup be for this kind of service, 15 units, power, dmx, tidying, taping etc?

Cheers.
Hi Dave
As already quoted its sometimes hard to quote for uplighting unless you know the venue.because time wise its hard to know because plugs etc.
When i normally send quote out i normally quote them a option to add uplighters with there disco.
Eg mobile disco cost £xxx with 4 uplighters £xxx with 8 uplighters £xxx extra
If i know the venue and its easy i normally charge around £13 a par can and £50 a hour set up fee.
So for example 12 uplighters at £13 each would be £156 and 1 hour to set up makes a total of £206
If i not not know the venue i normally add around 25% to cover extra cost which may occur.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I charge £15 per unit dmx'ed. It depends on location of sockets and walls etc.. to how long it would take but 45 minutes should be about right.

[WWDJ]

Bit of a tough one that as I know people charge different rates etc and some of the prices I have seen vary quite a lot for the same thing.

A customer the other day enquired about Uplighting with me. They had previously been quoted £150.00 for 4 Units DMX'd. I thought that was a bit steep personally.

I don't tend to charge per unit but per job and will try and check out the venue beforehand and make the customer aware of this. Unless there are a number of you, I think Uplighting as an addition is dependent on being able to get into the venue early as it's not really something that can be done when the change around after the wedding breakfast (if the function is a wedding for example).

I think at the end of the day you need to work out roughly how long it will take to install it and that's down to the power sockets in the venue really. A couple of places I do regularly are very easy and perfect for Uplighting and it takes less than half hour to install.

You could (for example) say £10.00 per unit which would be £150.00 and then add on extra for labour / installation? Maybe £250.00 all in? Sorry, I know that's not much help.

Ha Ha, you might not think it's much help, but you're the best i've got so far Gary :D lol
EDIT : well when I started this reply you were :D

To me £150 seems steep for 4 units. 4 units is barely worth the bother IMO. I have 6 units right now and I can at my own discretion uplight something or use them for effects as I see fit (or not use them at all). I don't charge the customer extra for this, it is within the price although I do mention the 6 units on my web site currently in what they get so I will use them unless it is not possible.

I don't really want to get in the realms of charging 'per unit' and I think you have got it right, per job ... even if I do have 'bandings' in my head

So it might be

- <10 Units - Price A
- 11-15 Units - Price B
- 16-20 Units - Price C
- etc

then add a 'difficulty' rating

- Easy - No surcharge
- Medium (tape downs, door ways, lack of socks) - 20% surcharge
- Hard (difficult to reach locations and the above) - 40% surcharge

I realise on the timing you can't do in a change around, so would need to work with the venue on this.

[WWDJ]

Hi Dave
As already quoted its sometimes hard to quote for uplighting unless you know the venue.because time wise its hard to know because plugs etc.
When i normally send quote out i normally quote them a option to add uplighters with there disco.
Eg mobile disco cost £xxx with 4 uplighters £xxx with 8 uplighters £xxx extra
If i know the venue and its easy i normally charge around £13 a par can and £50 a hour set up fee.
So for example 12 uplighters at £13 each would be £156 and 1 hour to set up makes a total of £206
If i not not know the venue i normally add around 25% to cover extra cost which may occur.

Interesting, and higher than what I expected. Do you discount for people taking both disco and uplighting?


I charge £15 per unit dmx'ed. It depends on location of sockets and walls etc.. to how long it would take but 45 minutes should be about right.

Does that include setup?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

As I said, when I get an Uplighting enquiry, I tend to check out where the venue is first of all and if it's somewhere I have been before and I know it and what it entails to provide it, I will generally quote around the same price as I always do. I always say that it's dependent on an early set up if I don't know the venue.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Does that include setup?

Yep :)

[WWDJ]

As I said, when I get an Uplighting enquiry, I tend to check out where the venue is first of all and if it's somewhere I have been before and I know it and what it entails to provide it, I will generally quote around the same price as I always do. I always say that it's dependent on an early set up if I don't know the venue.

:D There are some good pics of the venue online, but ultimately it would require a visit, it's only about 45 minutes drive. I'd be interested in what your price is Gary if you are willing to share, but don't feel the need to, or to do it publicly, just PM me.

Thanks for the help :D

[Shakermaker Promotions]

It varies mate.
There are 4 venues in my area that I have supplied Uplighting to (and continue to do so) on a regular basis. All of them are great for Uplighting as the power sockets are spaced out perfectly for it. Easy to install and most of the time it's static uplighting that I have provided. I've set up the Disco early and the uplighting at the same time and have priced it at £175.00. That's for 12 units maximum at one venue and the other venues have been the same.

It varies because I have an Uplighting job coming up in a few weeks where the venue is one that I have never been to before. I visited it with the customer last week during the day and it's more or less an empty shell (a bit like the barn I did the other week but double the size). There is no lighting in there apart from some installed floodlights which the customer doesn't want to use as it will be too bright. They are having a covers band for their wedding entertainment.

The power in the venue is sparse so it will mean a lot of work, a lot of extension cables etc etc. I can get access the day before and know it will take me a while. The price is £350.00 for this job. It may not actually be that hard to do or take that long either but I quoted what I thought would be acceptable and the guy thought it was a good price.

[surround sounds]

Interesting, and higher than what I expected. Do you discount for people taking both disco and uplighting?



Does that include setup?
Hi Dave
Yes sometimes i give a little discount, Mainly if i am there all day and they have booked me for a early set up, disco etc.
I do have a fair few uplighting job at this moment in time and upgraded all my uplighters cause they are getting used more. Although most of mine are sold on as extras with my mobile package where i may offer 25% discount

[Charlie Brown]

I'm obviously not charging enough.

I've done it for as little as £75 DMX'd! (this was taken at the weekend) Charlie Brown&#39;s Entertainment - CP - - YouTube

In my eyes, it took me an additional hour to setup. They paid £375 for the evening disco and then an additional £75 for the mood lighting, which I thought was fair.

I might consider lowering my disco prices (a little) and upping the mood lighting so physiologically people think they're getting a better deal?

I have charged three hundred once but that was a huge job that took hours and hours.

If they're plug sockets around the room, it can be easy peasy but some venues can be a lot more time consuming and before you know it, the room looks like spaghetti junction!

If it's your first uplighting job and you're going to invest in some units - I'd do it very cheaply so they book and go ahead with the additional service. It's some practise for you, impress the venue and get the important promo shots for your wedding site!

[WWDJ]

I'm obviously not charging enough.

I've done it for as little as £75 DMX'd! (this was taken at the weekend) Charlie Brown's Entertainment - CP - - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ6YMRmUtJU&feature=g-upl&context=G23cf4e4AUAAAAAAAAAA)

In my eyes, it took me an additional hour to setup. They paid £375 for the evening disco and then an additional £75 for the mood lighting, which I thought was fair.

I might consider lowering my disco prices (a little) and upping the mood lighting so physiologically people think they're getting a better deal?

I have charged three hundred once but that was a huge job that took hours and hours.

If they're plug sockets around the room, it can be easy peasy but some venues can be a lot more time consuming and before you know it, the room looks like spaghetti junction!

If it's your first uplighting job and you're going to invest in some units - I'd do it very cheaply so they book and go ahead with the additional service. It's some practise for you, impress the venue and get the important promo shots for your wedding site!

Without getting into disco pricing (mine is fixed priced anyway on my wedding site), I think that seems low for the effort and equipment involved especially as the uplighters will be sitting doing nowt for a fair chunk of the year.

With that said Charlie, it is an enquiry I would like to convert so I will be quoting accordingly and I will take the hit if it turns out more difficult than I anticipated.

I've done bit's of uplighting before (see vid), but I do only have 6 units and this job would involve probably 12 possibly even 16 units to do it justice, so I will need to get payback on the hire (or more likely purchase as I am quite specific in what I like to use) of the units.

The wedding is early next year, so I will have some good shots for my site before then hopefully ;-) but to be honest, as it is now I am generating plenty of enquiries so I am pretty happy ;-)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I don't think you need to lower your Disco price Charlie.
The way I do it is that I will lower the Uplighting price if it is a bit hit & miss as to whether they go for it or not. A slight discount will usually make their minds up if they're not sure and it's extra on top of the Disco.

At the last wedding fayre I did a couple of weeks ago, I did a special discount on Uplighting and had a few bookings come from it.

[Charlie Brown]

The way I do it is that I will lower the Uplighting price if it is a bit hit & miss as to whether they go for it or not. A slight discount will usually make their minds up if they're not sure and it's extra on top of the Disco.


I remember you saying a while back something similar. I'd much rather spend another hour at the venue (instead of watching Come dine with me) and put the units too good use for some extra bucks instead of them sitting there doing nothing.

I knew they were eating in a separate room to the entertainment so it was stress free.

It gets annoying when you're either expected to setup the mood lighting in the morning, go home and then come back to setup the disco OR venue managers/couples expect the mood lighting + disco to be setup during the turn around. It's pretty impossible IMO.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Why is it annoying to set up the lighting and then go back? This is what you charge for!

[stormproductions]

As others have said, venues can vary hugely. 'Uplighting' is just a little part of what we can provide as a lighting based business, but I've done ones varying between non-DMXed cans uplighting pillars where each pillar had a mains outlet at the base so it was just a case of set a colour, plug it in angle it and hide the cable behind the fixture, through to a large marquee which had the sides open into other marquees so each leg at 3m spacing had to have both the mains and DMX in & out cables running down behind the lining with the cables going along the top of the bays, and the linings had been beautifully stapled through the carpet to the wooden floor so I had to re-staple them. Took absolutely ages! Oh, and running the cables along the tops was a pain too as they had to be hooked behind the bungee clips.

So I'd definitely advise checking the venue in plenty of time!

[WWDJ]

All good advice, and thanks to all.

I now know how I am going to move forward on this :D