“How much does roto cost?” is a reasonable question with an unhelpful answer: it depends on the shot. Two shots of the same length can differ in effort several times over, depending on hair, motion blur, camera movement and how many elements need separating. This guide explains how vendors price outsourced 2D work, what drives the effort behind each service, and how to brief a vendor so the number you receive is the number you pay.
You won’t find rates in this guide. Published rates rarely survive contact with real footage, and a quote based on your actual shots is always more useful than an average.
Pricing models
Vendors usually price 2D work in one of four ways. Many projects mix them — per-shot pricing for the bulk of a turnover and artist-days for open-ended support, for example.
| Model | How it works | Works well for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per shot | Each shot is assessed and given its own price based on length and complexity. | Defined turnovers where each shot can be reviewed before award. | Needs good plates and briefs up front; shots that change after award need re-quoting. |
| Per frame | A rate per frame, often banded by complexity level. | Long runs of similar work, such as roto for stereo conversion. | Complexity bands must be agreed clearly, or disputes follow when a “simple” shot turns out not to be. |
| Per day / artist-day | You pay for artist time, regardless of how many shots it covers. | Open-ended support, R&D, or work where the brief is still moving. | Less cost certainty; needs clear reporting on what was done each day. |
| Fixed bid per package | One price for a defined package of shots or a sequence. | Productions that need a single committed number for budgeting. | Vendors build in contingency for unknowns; scope changes need a change-order process. |
Whichever model you choose, the underlying question is the same: how many artist hours will this shot take to reach the agreed standard? Everything below is about what changes that number.
What drives the cost of roto
Rotoscoping effort is driven by the edge, not the subject. A person standing still against a wall is quick; the same person running through a forest with loose hair is not.
- Edge complexity. Hard, clean silhouettes need fewer points and less adjustment than organic shapes, fingers or loose clothing.
- Hair and fine detail. Individual strands or flyaways that must be broken out multiply the shape count and the time per frame.
- Motion blur. Blurred edges need inner and outer edges or feathering that tracks the blur, frame by frame.
- Number of shapes and elements. Separate mattes for each character, limb, prop or depth layer add up, especially when they overlap.
- Frame count and resolution. More frames means more work; higher resolutions show more detail that has to hold up.
- Required precision. A matte for a background colour tweak can be looser than a matte for full background replacement or stereo conversion.
What drives the cost of paint and cleanup
Paint covers a wide range of tasks: wire and rig removal, tracking-marker removal, beauty work, logo and crew removal and clean plates. The drivers are similar across all of them.
- Frame count. The number of frames the object is visible for matters more than the shot length.
- Static versus moving camera. On a locked-off shot, one clean patch can often be held across many frames. A moving camera usually needs tracking and patch work that follows the perspective.
- Area to be painted. A small marker on a wall is a different job from a large rig crossing the frame.
- Parallax. When foreground and background move at different speeds, a simple 2D patch won’t hold, and the background must be rebuilt or projected.
- What is behind the object. Plain backgrounds are easier to rebuild than detailed or moving ones — water, foliage, crowds, or an actor’s face.
- Grain and noise. Painted areas must match the plate’s grain, which usually means degraining and regraining the work so it doesn’t look smooth or static.
- Interaction. Wires that touch hair or clothing, or markers on moving skin, are harder than objects on rigid surfaces.
What drives the cost of keying
Keying effort depends heavily on what happened on set.
- Screen quality. An evenly lit, correctly exposed screen keys far more easily than one with hot spots, creases, shadows or patches.
- Spill. Green or blue light bouncing onto skin, hair and costume must be suppressed without killing the natural colour.
- Hair and fine detail. Fine hair and translucent fabric often need a combination of keys, and sometimes roto or a core matte.
- Motion blur. Blurred edges carry screen colour into the subject and need careful treatment.
- Lighting and exposure. Underexposed screens, compression artefacts or heavy noise reduce the information a keyer can work with.
- Screen coverage. Where the screen doesn’t reach the edge of frame or the subject moves past it, roto and garbage mattes fill the gaps.
What drives the cost of matchmove and rotomation
Matchmove and rotomation are 3D tasks, and their cost depends on how much information the shot gives the artist.
- Camera motion. A slow dolly is simpler than a handheld or fast-moving camera with motion blur.
- Lens data. Known focal length, sensor size and lens distortion grids save a great deal of solving time. Variable zoom during the shot adds work.
- Survey and set measurements. Measurements, LiDAR or photogrammetry of the set make the solve more reliable.
- Trackable features. Plain walls, sky and blown-out backgrounds give the tracker little to work with.
- Occlusion. Actors or objects passing in front of tracking features break the track and need manual work.
- For rotomation: the complexity of the performance, how much of the body is matched, the accuracy required for contact and shadows, and whether a rig matching the actor exists.
What drives the cost of compositing
For compositing, the main drivers are the number of elements and render passes to integrate, how much matching is needed (colour, grain, light wrap, defocus, lens effects), whether an approved look already exists, and how much roto, keying or paint the comp depends on. A screen insert into a static monitor is a different job from integrating a CG creature with multiple passes into a moving handheld plate.
Complexity matrix
This matrix gives typical examples of how vendors tend to grade shots. Real grading always depends on the footage, and one shot can contain elements at different levels.
| Service | Simple | Medium | Complex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roto | A rigid object or a still figure with a clean outline; little motion blur. | A walking figure with tied-back hair and some motion blur; one or two elements. | Several characters with loose hair, fast action, heavy motion blur and overlapping limbs. |
| Paint | A small marker on a flat surface with a locked-off camera. | A wire against a textured background with a moving camera and some tracking. | A rig crossing an actor or detailed background, with parallax and heavy grain. |
| Keying | An evenly lit screen, short-haired subject, little motion. | Some uneven lighting or spill, moderate hair detail. | Patchy screen, heavy spill, fine flyaway hair, motion blur and transparency. |
| Matchmove | A slow, smooth camera move with plenty of trackable detail and known lens data. | Handheld camera, some occlusion, partial lens data. | Fast handheld move, zoom, motion blur, few features, no lens or survey data. |
| Rotomation | Matching a rigid prop or a single limb with limited motion. | Upper-body match for a moving actor, medium accuracy. | Full-body performance with contact points and close-up accuracy for CG costume or armour. |
| Compositing | A screen insert or sky replacement on a locked-off shot. | A keyed element into a moving plate with colour and grain matching. | A multi-pass CG integration with interactive light, defocus and lens effects. |
Hidden cost traps
Most budget overruns on outsourced 2D work come from changes, not from the original quote. These are the usual culprits.
Revisions
Ask how many revision rounds the quote includes, and what counts as a revision. Fixing an error against the brief is normally the vendor’s cost; changing the brief after work is approved is usually yours.
Resolution and format changes
Mattes made at one resolution often can’t simply be scaled to another without edge problems. If a 4K deliverable is possible, say so before work starts.
Late plate turnovers
New editorial cuts, extended frame ranges or regraded plates may mean starting a shot again. Lock cuts and handles before turnover wherever you can.
Rush work
Compressed schedules mean more artists on the same shot, overtime, or both. Plan turnovers in waves rather than one large drop shortly before a deadline.
Unclear quality targets
If “good enough” isn’t defined, work can be redone to a higher standard than budgeted. A reference frame showing the required edge quality avoids this.
Missing data
A matchmove quoted on the assumption that lens data exists can take much longer if it never arrives. The same applies to clean plates, reference frames and colour information. If something is still to come, tell the vendor so it can be priced as a risk rather than discovered later.
Comparing bids on different assumptions
The lowest number is not always the lowest cost. One bid may include handles, QC renders and two revision rounds; another may include none of them. Line the assumptions up side by side before comparing totals.
Ask every vendor to list their assumptions alongside the quote: frame ranges, resolution, number of revision rounds, delivery format and turnaround. Comparing assumptions is often more revealing than comparing totals.
How to get an accurate quote
The more a vendor can see, the less contingency it needs to build in. To get a quote you can rely on, send:
- The actual plates, or a representative sample of them, at full resolution.
- A shot list with frame ranges, including handles.
- A clear description of what each shot needs: which elements to roto, what to remove, what to key.
- Reference for the expected quality, such as an approved shot or an annotated frame.
- Delivery specifications: format, resolution, colour space, matte channels and naming.
- Your deadline, in your time zone, and whether shots can be delivered in waves.
- For matchmove: lens data, camera reports and any survey data.
Our guide on preparing plates and briefs for a VFX vendor covers the full turnover package, with a downloadable checklist. If you are still deciding which technique a shot needs, see roto vs keying vs rotomation vs matchmove.
How RotoEdge quotes
We don’t publish a rate card, because we’d rather quote your shots than an average shot. Every project is scoped individually:
- You send footage or a sample, frame ranges and your brief.
- We review each shot, grade its complexity, and ask any questions about edge quality, delivery or schedule.
- We reply with a scoped quote, our assumptions, and a suggested workflow. Where it helps, we suggest a test shot first.
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