Hey guys, I've had this AWESOME idea for three different commercials for a fast food establishment. I have no idea how to sell them though.
I'm calling my boss tonight to see if he can help me get in contact witht he right people.

But I need help from you guys:

ON AVERAGE:
How much does it cost to pay an actor for a 30 second commercial?

How much does a commercial idea sell for?

How much does the director of a commercial get paid?

How much to pay an editor?

Basically anything to do with paying so I can try and offer them (slightly) lower rates.

Also, anything as far as law (how I can protect my ideas) would be extremely helpful.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

On average (for a union shoot):
Actors get paid $1-5K a day for shooting commercials, and half that for any wardrobe fitting or non-shooting day. But then they also get residuals every time the spot airs. This could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Or, it could be nothing if the client abandons the spot.

Commercial ideas can be worth millions of dollars. But they aren't really bought and sold. Normally a ad agency will do a proposal for a potential client. The ideas are almost always in house and taken from people that have a reputation of making profitable ad ideas. So joe shmoe's (or Travis') idea has little value to a client or an ad agency (sorry).

Directors get paid 5-20 thousand dollars per shoot day. yes that much. This is how many feature directors make their money (normally to get creative control of a feature they will give up most of their pay). But they are expected to do a week or more of preproduction for free.

Editor ... I don't know. But it's normally an edit house that gets hired and delegates the job to a hired editor. So, I'm fairly certain they don't get the kind of cash a Director or DP gets (at least in the commercial world).

This is what I would do if I were you: Make the commercials as a specs. Send a copy to the copyright office (for protection). And send the specs as a directors reel to the client's marketing department (i.e. Nike, Frito Lay, Dell, etc.), send a copy to all the ad agencies (BBDO, Leo Burnett, etc), and send a copy to all the commercial production companies you can find (to their executive director). Maybe someone will want to license the idea, but maybe they'll want you as a director.

So, that's it! Oh, and by comparison, when I did local commercials in market 139 and 140 (chico/redding), the sales person would sell ad time (for a commission) and then sell the actual commercial production for as little as 250 bucks ..because they didn't get a commission on that. We were expected to conceptualize, shoot, edit, and online a spot in 6-8 hours. Yes, that means we were making 12-18 bucks an hour.

Wow - those prices are staggering! That just confirms my goal of directing commercials for cash to finance my films.

Guys... I don't know how it is with films, or spec commercials for that matter. So someone who's got the experience, please, fill us in on this.
But I'll tell you, with spec MUSIC for commercials (particularly jingles, which sort of become the main concept for whatever commercial they're featured in), companies and most of the time agencies will return whatever unsolicited material you send them, unopened, to avoid potential lawsuits, should they come up with an idea that even distantly ressembles yours.
This is also one of the reasons why agencies tend to work with in-house talent, since their copy writers are under a contract that pretty much says anything they come up with while working for the agency belongs to the agency to use in any way (or any time) they see fit.
I'm guessing, for spec ideas, no matter how they are presented to them, they may ask you to sign some sort of limited release form, which might state that if they use your idea you will be entitled to a fair compensation, defined in THEIR terms. However, most copyright laws are flexible enough to allow them to change one tiny detail, say it makes for a conceptual difference, and give you nothing.
Some people believe one can learn form such experiences that if your ideas are worth stealing, then you know there's a value to them and can take them further (whatever that means). I'm not sure I agree, though.

E.

I understand not accepting unsolicited material to cover one's ass, but the real question is: how do you get your material solicited in the first place? An agent right? Well, how do you go about finding an agent that will take you on and help you with getting your product into the right places?

elliott...

like, TD said, those prices ARE staggering! Still, I know these ideas are great, better then what the company is airing now, and I know if they really took teh time to think it over, they would see an increase in business.

Can I copyright my ideas even though its someone elses product? Whats to stop them from tweaking it just a little and saying they came up with it?

I never realized commercials were so cut throat .

Oh, Joren, no offense taken, I know my chances are slim

Ciao, this thread is very interesting. What can you tell me about commercials soundtracks in your areas?

well, I got an email to one of the individuals on the baord of directors, we'll see how that goes. . .