Frame & Field Studios Business Plan — Appendix B: Capacity, Mix and Cost Schedules

Detailed capacity, service-line mix and cost schedules underpinning the revenue build and the average day rate.

Appendix B: Capacity, Mix and Cost Schedules

Jump to section
On this page

  • B.1 Capacity and the binding constraint
  • B.2 Service lines, pricing and exposure
  • B.3 The conventional studio comparator
  • B.4 Direct cost per billable day
  • B.5 Break-even and the utilisation curve

B.1 Capacity and the binding constraint

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Photographers

3.0

4.5

6.0

7.0

7.5

Working days a year

232

232

232

232

232

Billable utilisation

58%

64%

68%

70%

71%

Shooting days possible

404

668

947

1 137

1 235

Editors

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.0

4.5

Editing ratio

0.87

0.87

0.87

0.87

0.87

Editing capacity, in shoot-day terms

398

664

929

1 062

1 195

Billable days delivered

398

664

929

1 062

1 195

Binding constraint

editing

editing

editing

editing

editing

B.2 Service lines, pricing and exposure

Service line

Share of days

Day rate

AI exposure

Typical client

Corporate and executive portraiture

26%

R14 800

10%

Listed companies, professional firms, financial services

Property and architectural

22%

R13 200

15%

Estate agencies, developers, architects, hospitality

Events, conferences and documentary

20%

R19 400

5%

Conference organisers, corporates, associations

Brand, editorial and campaign

17%

R33 500

45%

Agencies, consumer brands, publishers

Motion and video content

11%

R38 500

35%

Corporate communications, agencies, brands

Catalogue and product

4%

R9 600

85%

Existing clients only; not actively sold

Blended, this plan

100%

R20 946

21.8%

Revenue-weighted exposure 25.7%

B.3 The conventional studio comparator

Service line

Share of days

Day rate

AI exposure

Corporate and executive portraiture

12%

R14 800

10%

Property and architectural

10%

R13 200

15%

Events, conferences and documentary

8%

R19 400

5%

Brand, editorial and campaign

14%

R33 500

45%

Motion and video content

6%

R38 500

35%

Catalogue and product

50%

R9 600

85%

Blended, conventional mix

100%

R16 448

54.0%

Revenue-weighted exposure

45.3%

Mature revenue at risk

R12 665 542

B.4 Direct cost per billable day

Per billable shooting day

Amount

Share of the day rate

Second shooter and assistant

R2 450

11.7%

Talent, styling and props

R1 180

5.6%

Travel, vehicle and location costs

R980

4.7%

Outsourced retouching overflow

R880

4.2%

Equipment hire for specialist briefs

R760

3.6%

Cloud storage, delivery and licensing

R340

1.6%

Consumables, media and catering

R290

1.4%

Total direct cost

R6 880

32.8%

Contribution per day

R14 066

67.2%

B.5 Break-even and the utilisation curve

Utilisation

Billable days delivered

Year 5 EBITDA (R)

Constraint

40%

696

(2 003 722)

shooting

45%

783

(723 517)

shooting

50%

870

556 688

shooting

55%

957

1 836 893

shooting

60%

1 044

3 117 098

shooting

65%

1 131

4 397 303

shooting

69%

1 195

5 339 063

editing

71%

1 195

5 339 063

editing

75%

1 195

5 339 063

editing

80%

1 195

5 339 063

editing

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Fixed cash costs, R

6 202 891

7 821 726

9 607 479

11 010 324

12 245 362

Contribution per billable day, R

14 072

14 224

14 397

14 557

14 715

Break-even billable days

441

550

667

756

832

Break-even utilisation

63.4%

52.7%

47.9%

46.6%

47.8%

Billable days planned

398

664

929

1 062

1 195

Margin of safety

-10.8%

17.2%

28.2%

28.8%

30.4%