Most of my calendar is out-of-state networks and production companies shooting in Florida. The producer has a mixer they like back home, the budget meeting happens, and someone asks whether it is cheaper to just hire local. Here is the honest breakdown from the side that gets hired both ways.
What a local booking actually costs
Three lines, and you can price them before you call anyone:
- Day rate for the mixer.
- Kit fee for the sound package: mixer/recorder, wireless, booms, timecode, IFB.
- Mileage if the location is outside their home radius.
That is the whole invoice. In my case there is no travel fee within about 50 miles of Tampa, and past that it is the standard federal mileage rate. Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Gainesville, Tallahassee, the Keys, the Panhandle: all of it is a drive.
What flying someone in actually costs
The day rate and kit fee do not change. Everything below gets added on top, and this is the part that gets underestimated in the budget meeting:
- Airfare, usually booked late, at whatever the fare is that week.
- Excess baggage on the sound cases. A working package is heavy and it is several pieces. Airlines charge accordingly, every leg.
- A rental car big enough for the gear, which is not the compact on the budget line.
- Hotel, plus a night on the front end if the call time is early.
- Per diem for each day on the ground.
- Travel days. Half or full rate on each end, and they are real days on the schedule, not just on the invoice.
Add those up for a two-day shoot and the travel package routinely costs more than the shooting days. On a one-day shoot it is not close.
The part that never makes the budget
A location sound recordist who works Florida year-round brings local knowledge that does not appear as a line item. Which parks and plazas go loud at three in the afternoon. How the summer storm pattern moves, and how much shooting you can get in before it does. What salt air and humidity do to wireless on a marina day. Which venues have a house PA feed worth taking and which will hand you a hum. Where to park a gear vehicle downtown.
An out-of-state mixer is learning all of that on your shooting day, at your budget's expense. It is rarely a disaster. It is usually just slower.
The gear question, answered honestly
The reasonable worry behind flying someone in is that the local hire shows up with less kit. Ask for the gear list before you book, the same as you would for a camera package. A working broadcast mixer will send it without hesitating. Mine is here: Sound Devices 833, A20 digital wireless with Sanken lavs, booms for interiors and exteriors, jam-synced timecode to every camera, IFB for the client and director, and redundant recording on every job. If the list matches what your post house needs, geography stops being the deciding factor.
When flying someone in is right
It genuinely is, sometimes. Three cases:
- A long-running production. Over enough shoot days, continuity of crew is worth more than the travel spend.
- A mixer who already holds the show. If they know the cast, the workflow, and how the EP likes the tracks delivered, that is real value you cannot rebook locally.
- A genuinely specialized rig that local crew does not own.
Outside those, for a one to five day Florida shoot with standard broadcast deliverables, hiring local is cheaper, and the day usually moves faster.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to hire a local sound mixer in Florida?
Almost always, for a shoot of one to five days. Local means a day rate, a kit fee, and mileage. Flying someone in adds airfare, excess baggage on the sound cases, a rental car, hotel, per diem, and travel days on each end, and those extras frequently cost more than the shoot day itself.
What travel costs does a Florida sound mixer charge?
For me: no travel fee within about 50 miles of Tampa, which covers St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Lakeland, Bradenton and Sarasota. Past that it is the standard federal mileage rate. The whole state is drivable, so a statewide day still costs a fraction of flying a mixer in.
Does a local sound recordist know the Florida locations?
That is the part that does not show up on an invoice. Which locations go loud at 3pm, how the summer storms move, what salt air and humidity do to wireless and gear, which venues have a house PA feed worth taking. An out-of-state mixer learns all of that on your shooting day.
When should you fly a sound mixer in instead?
A long-running production where crew continuity beats travel cost, a show whose mixer already knows the cast and workflow, or a specialty rig local crew does not own. Outside those three, hire local.
Shooting in Florida and pricing it out? Text me the dates, the city, and how many people need to be on mic, and I will send a number the same day. 813-716-8826.
More: hiring a sound mixer in Florida · what a complete sound package needs · memorable projects
