Straight answers, no coordinator
Questions producers actually ask
Insurance, day length, money, travel, and fly-in logistics: the same answers you would get from me on the phone, written down. If yours is not here, call or text 678-371-5715.
Insurance & paperwork
Are you insured?
Yes, I am insured: I carry $1M/$2M general liability, plus workers comp and auto coverage on the van. A COI naming your production goes out the same day you book.
How fast can you get us a COI and vendor paperwork?
I send a COI naming your production the same day you book. My W-9 and any vendor onboarding paperwork your office needs go out the same day as well, so your production coordinator is never waiting on me.
Booking & the day
How far out should I book?
I sometimes have last-minute availability, so always ask: send your dates and you get a same-day yes or no, usually within the hour.
How long is a day, and how does overtime work?
A day is 10 hours. After 10 hours, overtime bills at 1.5x. The rate is the same seven days a week; weekends and Sundays cost no extra.
Do you do half days?
Yes, I do half days at 50% of the day rate, but only adjacent to at least one full day. On its own, the minimum booking is one full day.
Do you do tech scouts?
Yes, I do tech scouts: $500 for four hours.
Do you travel outside Atlanta? What is your service area?
Yes, I travel outside Atlanta, and the van goes where the booking goes. Travel is included within a 50-mile radius of the Georgia State Capitol; beyond that, quoted.
Money
What are your payment terms?
My payment terms are net 30, with a 25% deposit due before the first shoot day. I take ACH, check, or card; card payments add 3%.
What is your cancellation policy?
My cancellation policy is simple: cancel free 48 or more hours out. Inside 48 hours we either reschedule the day for a date within two weeks of the original date, or the cancellation fee is the first day of the booking.
Is there a multi-day discount?
Yes, there is a multi-day discount: Book four days, the fifth day is 50% off. It applies across the day rates.
What about expendables, meals, and extra crew?
Expendables (tape, blackwrap, diffusion, gel) are included, not billed. The van stays stocked; if a job needs an unusually large amount of something, that gets billed at cost. Meals are provided by production or billed. Additional crew and equipment are available, quoted per job. A sound mixer and a grip is the Full Crew Day at $5,000, four crew on one invoice.
Do you cover sound?
Interview sound is included on any day I'm on camera: sit-down interviews, up to two mics, wired or boomed into my own recorder while I shoot. Basic sound is available on gaffer days with a mixer rental. The Full Crew Day at $5,000 includes a boom op for narrative sound.
Fly-in producers
Do you work with out-of-town producers?
Yes, I work with out-of-town producers; wet-hire day work for fly-in productions is a core part of this business. A real example: an out-of-town producer found me through ChatGPT and booked the gaffer day for 2.5 days rather than flying gear in. The whole story, and how a fly-in day runs, is in The fly-in playbook.
Can you have the van at our location when we land?
Yes, I can have the van at your first location when you land: send the call time and the address, and the gear and I arrive together.
Can we have the COI before we get on the plane?
Yes, fly-in productions get a COI naming your production the same day they book: $1M/$2M general liability plus workers comp and auto, along with my W-9 and any vendor paperwork your office needs. Book before you fly and the paper is handled before you land.
Can we wet-hire a camera package too?
Yes. Two ways: the Docu DP Day at $2,500 for interviews and b-roll with me solo on camera, or the DP + Gaffer Day at $3,500 when the day needs more lighting. Either way I shoot on my own camera package, lenses, and accessories, and the van still comes.
What I do (and don't)
What kind of work do you take?
Interviews, b-roll, corporate and brand, documentary, and lit narrative days. That is what the van and I are packed for, and it is most of what books.
What does wet-hire mean?
Wet-hire means the crew and the gear come as one booking: me plus the 1-ton grip and lighting van, on one invoice, instead of renting a package dry and hiring crew separately.
What gear is in the van?
The van carries a full grip and lighting package: 9 COB heads (focusable LED lights) up to a 1,200W bicolor, panel and mat lights, RGB tubes and practicals (small lights that read as room lamps on camera), a full shaping package with 8x8 and 6x6 frames and rags (the fabric that softens or cuts the light), 24 stands, sandbags and rigging, a 2kW battery generator built into the van, stingers and distro (extension cords and power distribution), and expendables. The full itemized manifest is on the equipment page.
Is a 1-ton enough for my job?
This would typically be considered way more than a 1-ton package. Full gear lists are provided to help you assess. It typically covers what an interview, b-roll, corporate, or location narrative day needs: lighting for two or three setups at a time, shaped and powered, for a crew of up to six. Need more than the van carries? I source it from a deep network of Atlanta vendors and quote it with the job.
Are you union?
No union affiliation. For a union production, I can point you to the right local resources.
Do you edit?
I provide more full-service end-to-end production as part of my other venture, SkipShot Studio. The emphasis here is my day-hire work, but can certainly discuss editing as well.
Still have a question? Ask me directly.
Same-day answer, usually within the hour. You get me, not a coordinator.
david@robertsonproduction.com · Atlanta, GA