okay so kind of a weird situation. a small production company reached out to me through instagram of all places, they saw some of my footage and want me to shoot aerials for what sounds like a regional commercial, couple days of work sometime next month. they asked what my day rate is and i just said ill get back to them because i genuinely had no idea what to say.

i've done real estate and some event stuff but never anything that felt this "professional" i guess. they mentioned they have a budget but didnt say what it is. im flying a mini 4 pro which i know might be an issue depending on what they actually need but for a regional commercial it should be fine right? worried about underselling myself but also dont want to quote something crazy and lose the job before it even starts

dont undersell yourself, seriously this is such a common mistake with first commercial gigs. production companies have budgets and they expect to pay professional rates. if you come in too low they might actually get nervous about your experience level.

for commercial aerial work a lot of guys charge somewhere in the $800 to $1500 per day range depending on the market and deliverables, and that's not including licensing fees if they want to use the footage in broadcast or paid ads which is a separate conversation entirely. you should also factor in prep time, travel, any editing they want done. the day rate is just the starting point.

on the Mini 4 Pro — depends totally on what they need. if they want 4k and nothing crazy like fast moving subjects in weird lighting it'll probably be fine. just be upfront about your kit and let them decide, don't hide it and hope nobody notices

ohh this is exciting, regional commercial sounds like a real step up. i'd also say look up what your local film production market is like because day rates vary a lot depending on where you are. NYC rates are not the same as midwest rates obviously.

also one thing i read somewhere — ask them what deliverables they actually need before you finalize anything. sometimes "a couple days of shooting" turns into a huge editing job they assumed was included and then you're suddenly doing 20 hours of post for free. get it all in writing before you agree to anything