What the client covers, and what the fee covers
Two lists. Nothing in the first is marked up, and nothing in the second is billed twice.
What the client covers.
- Return airfare from Calgary for the crew
- Accommodation for every night on the ground
- Ground transport at the destination
- Local flight permits and airspace authorisations
- Any destination-specific insurance rider
- Equipment shipping or excess-baggage fees where the kit cannot fly as carry-on
All billed at cost. Estimates are provided at quoting and reconciled against actuals afterwards.
What the fee covers.
- Pre-flight airspace and regulatory research for the destination
- Shoot days on site
- Post-production and colour
- Digital delivery of the finished files
Why there is no rate card here.
A day in Kelowna and a day in a country requiring operator registration, a local sponsor and an insurance rider are not the same day, and a single published number would be wrong for both.
What is published instead is the structure, above, in full. The number comes from the brief: destination, duration, deliverables and regulatory load. Ask, and it arrives with the expense estimate itemised beside it.
Questions, answered.
Are travel expenses marked up?
No. Travel is billed at cost. A marked-up airfare is a worse arrangement for both sides than an honest one, and it is the fastest way to turn a straightforward engagement into an argument about receipts.
What does the shoot fee itself cover?
Pre-flight airspace and regulatory research for the destination, the shoot days themselves, post-production and colour, and digital delivery of the finished files. The fee is for the work, not the getting there.
The rules referenced on this page
- Transport Canada — Flying your drone safely and legallyThe RPAS certification and operating rules every Canadian flight is conducted under.
- NAV CANADA — NAV DroneThe authorisation tool used to check and file for controlled-airspace flights.
- Parks Canada — Drones in national parksThe prohibition that governs Banff, Lake Louise and every other national park.