Re: Blade II language: The price of conlanging

J Matthew Pearson wrote:

> So what do you guys think?  We all agree that conlanging is an
> art, but was I right to charge as much as a portrait painter or
> graphic artist might charge for a comparable amount of labour?
> How do you put a price on conlangs, anyway?
I think you were well within your limits to ask for more than the $500
the producer was willing to pay, although I'm not sure if $3G was
entirely within reason (I think $2G would have been a perfectly
reasonable compromise for both parties). I have no idea how much the
average linguistic consultant gets for working on a major film, or if
it's on par with what other types of artists can ask for.

Of course, you have to remember that Joe Average (or Jane, as the case
may be) has no clue how much work goes into creating an internally
consistent, artistic language using only six example sentences.

It's unfortunate that you had to turn down the project, but as a
musician, I understand the occasional need to sacrifice money for art.
Don't sweat it too much. We still love you. ;)

> Matt.
--
Daniel Seriff
microtonal@sericap.com
http://members.tripod.com/microtonal

Si me iterum insanum appelles, oculum alterum tuum edem.
Wenn du mich nochmal verrückt nennst, werde ich deine andere Auge essen.