been getting into doing aerial work for small video production companies and its been... interesting. some of them are great to work with, really know what they want, have a shot list ready, and pay on time. others are kind of a mess honestly. had one last month where they changed the location day of and expected me to just roll with it even though i had already done my airspace checks for the original spot.

anyway i guess im wondering if this is just the nature of freelancing for production or if i should be doing something differently on my end. i feel like i need better contracts but i dont really know where to start with that. also do most drone ops working in this space charge a day rate or per project, ive been doing per project but starting to wonder if thats leaving money on the table

day rate, always day rate if you can get it. per project sounds simpler but the second a shoot runs long or they ask for extra setups you've already undercut yourself. i switched to day rate a couple years ago and it just makes everything cleaner. you can still have a half-day option but anchor everything to the day rate.

the contract thing is real, you need one. doesnt have to be fancy but at minimum it should cover location changes, cancellation window, and who owns the footage. i just found a basic template online and tweaked it, nothing crazy. the location change situation you described is exactly why you want something in writing - if they want to move the location within 24 hours thats either a reschedule or they pay a fee, end of story.

honestly the chaos you're describing sounds pretty normal for smaller production companies lol. the bigger ones tend to be more organized but also harder to break into. i've had similar stuff happen, showed up to a shoot and the director wanted shots over a crowd that definitely wasnt in the original brief. just part of it i think, you learn to ask more questions upfront and build buffer time into everything