The SAG day rate is $1,082, and $3,756 for the week. It can take many years of working in the film industry before you have enough experience to join a union. Including: DGA West Coast Thank you! Access detailed summaries of wages, fringe rates, schedules, and more - all from ratified agreements. For a grip, $450-$550. Budgeting A Film Crew Rates and Work Hours. Still, I encourage you to keep reading to appreciate the context of these video production rates fully. Mostly camera op or 1st AC. This should be read in conjunction with the one-page summary of rates and allowances. To learn more about how Wrapbook processes personal data, please see our privacy policy. WebThe DGA minimum salary schedules for Directors, Unit Production Managers, Assistant Directors, Associate Directors and Stage Managers, effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. Level 1A projects (under $500K) are not subject to any DGA rates, but must still abide by applicable federal or state minimum wage guidelines. Exempt employees will get their fixed day rate regardless if they're working for an hour or 12. Directors and producers rates are highly negotiable and receive between 2-5% of the films overall budget. With the pay hours total in hand, calculating hourly rates is an easy task. Be an industry insider with EP's newsletters and alerts. determining whether or not someone is exempt. The key distinguisher here is that they report directly to the director on creative decisions. Film Production Crew Rates (In Studio - Call for On Location) Half Day (3 to 5 Hours) Full Day (5 to 10 Hours) Director of Photography: $495-$650: $750-1300: Camera Operator: $395: 2022 Video Collective | Registered Trademark. The most versatile film budgeting software on the market, Showbiz Budgeting allows you to actualize your film budget at the detail level, and display your actuals in column format alongside the original. In NYC for a very low budget scripted shoot (non-commercial) you are looking at $400-$650/12 for the Art Director and $225-$250 for the PA. Art PAs typically get paid a bit more than a regular PA because they need more experience than a set PA and their job is specific. Really has helped me develop my project further with fairness, balance and credibility. Henri K. W. Rapp www.henrirapp.com. When Im doing super basic stuff, it usually comes out to $850950/day. *2-5% budget. Say a crew member leaves set after 10 hours, and they get into a fender bender on the drive home. After all, who cares about hourly rates if each employee is being paid, more or less, by a day rate anyway? Something went wrong while submitting the form. Wrapbook document.write(new Date().getFullYear()). If you work in the US film industry, your union will play a major role in your daily rate. Making a feature film with SAG talent? Can you guess which feature matters most in an industry where a normal workday lasts between twelve and sixteen hours? As with most DGA rates, network rates are always higher than cable. AssistantArtDirector! In the US, your union and state will affect your day rate. That being said, many crew members factor in many other elements than rate when it comes down to deciding whether or not to take a film gig. When converting so-called day rates to hourly rates, theres a chance that the resulting hourly rate might not meet a states minimum wage requirements. For network shows, producers should plan to budget an additional 15 percent. Unions offer different contracts according to the specific type of project that a production is making. If youre making a short or documentary, this is also your contract, regardless of your budget. The P&H rate for background actors is 20.5%. SAG actors are paid weekly for their time: $4,520 per week for appearing in every episode, $5,042 per week for appearing in more than half, and $5,897 per week for appearing in half. TheSSA also posted a fact sheetsummarizing the 2022 changes. Fortunately, this is usually the easy part. Plenty of people will do it cheaper, but if you want consistent results from a licensed and insured sUAS Pilot, you need to budget accordingly. Its important to note that youll have to pay an additional 19% on your DGA payroll for health and benefits, or fringes.. DIT $700 (plus gear, which changes per job in the $500-$1500 range). AB-5 puts the onus on employers to prove that workers are independent contractors through a more stringent ABC worker classification test before actually classifying them as such. Though that may be obvious, it carries an important implication. And what does that mean for having contractors on your crew? In addition, they will help to arrange your rate and workers rights, such as break hours and overtime pay. Calculating production crew rates is no easy task. I frequently go down to $1000. Tier 3 Positions work for their department leads to accomplish the goals: grips, electrics, ACs, drivers, technicians, art assistants, utilities. $1500 for a single op setup. *2-5% budget. Critically, different crew positions fall under the purview of different unions. The minimum compensation for a Second Unit Director is $1,500 per day. A guide to understanding when its time to incorporate your photo business, and how to do it. Sign up for the Wrapbook monthly newsletter where we share industry news along with must-know guides for producers. Your production may have to pay attention to multiple sets of guidelines to remain in good standing overall. However, this is a high level position that is negotiated depending on past quotes, experience and budget of the project. For example, they will offer higher rates if you work in a union city like New York. GOT A FILM BUDGET BREWING? Inspire2 fully loaded with two crew starts at $3k/day. Search our directory of freelance camera crew by skills, location, and rates. In addition to these rates, commercial contracts will require a 19.25-20.5% pension and health contribution. Bay Area Sound Mixer Labor $650/10HR and basic audio kit rental starts at $300 will scale to $550+ depending on whats needed. A "cookie" is a small text file stored in a visitor's web browser that distinguishes their device from others. Download the interactive PDF right to your computer. In reality, what we commonly call day rates in the film industry are actually an estimation based on crew members hourly rates. Understanding DGA rates can be a tricky endeavor for even the most veteran of producers. Crew members are classified as non-exempt employees. Like SAG rates, the DGA minimums are based on the budget of your project. AB-5 only applies to California, but contractors face similar worker classification tests in other states. That rate varies depending on what they own. Unlike national or cable ads, wild spots are commercials that air in over twenty specific cities. Download the updated rates. Every negotiation will be different. My current rate for prod sound mixing is $650/day. Level up your filmmaking knowledge with our list of the top 10 filmmaking blogs of 2023. Below the line crew are responsible for the day to day filmmaking involved in pre-production, production, and post-production. End of story. Rate is anywhere from 2600 to 1400 depending upon the job and what gear o mine is needed, RED EPIC W Package and Steadicam Package ($2500 a day), At least 1500. Such valuable information. It doesnt matter if he works one hour or eight hours or sixteen hours, if Kenny worked one day, hes getting paid $350 for that day. What the inexperienced crew member might not realize is that labor laws dictate that for the first 8 hours of a shoot, shes supposed to be paid straight time, or for the first 40 hours she works in a week. If youre making a studio flick, then chances are this is where youll find your DGA rates. You also will need to consider what you will pay if you shoot overtime. Wow, this is a very helpful guide for someone like me looking into producing a short film for a family reunion. On the one hand, you want to make sure you get the best, most experienced non-union crew possible without breaking the bank, but on the other, you want to make sure that the rate youre offering your crew is competitive or at least not too far off the mark from what your crew gets paid typically on other non-union shoots. If youre a cheap producer working with a crew youre paying a flat rate, with no time and a half or double time, then at the very least youll want money set aside to keep your crew from mutinying should you need to go long in those rare emergencies. Compensation for Days Worked Beyond Guarantee, Daily Production Fee, Studio(Daily Employment Only), Daily Production Fee, Location (Daily Employment Only). On top of that 12 hours you budget for, factor in about 10% contingency in case you go over that. Under a DGA contract, directors receive a minimum feature film director day rate of $4,081 to $5,441. The P&H rate for performers is 21%. Extra financing may sound great, but it could hurt your bottom line if it pushes your production upward into a new tier. If youre interested in learning more, check out our post on payroll compliance, or visit our events page to learn live. New Media productions with budgets between $250,000 and $700,000 should expect to pay major performers either $335 per day, or $1,116 per week. Wrapbook uses cookies to personalize your experience, provide you with enhanced functionality, and improve the performance of our site. Using this information, you can determine which SAG agreement, or contract, your production falls under. Dramatic still means scripted narrative. Get the best resources for producers delivered to your mailbox. Told ya so, and attempt to reclassify your crew members as contractors, you might want to take a moment to read the fine print. Unlike other SAG day rates, actor salaries are completely negotiable. But theres still one more step to go before were finished. These terms typically require several work credits and a certain number of hours on a film set. Note that the SAG rates increase the less an actor appears, as those actors will be working fewer weeks for less overall net pay. Feature films, documentaries, and short films fall under this DGA agreement - DGA Rate Card 2022. SAG has not updated anything beyond July, 2022 so it stays at $703. If your project is going straight to the web, start here - SAG Rates 2023. Counting some of the best working directors in its union, The Directors Guild of America comes with a few dozen rules you must follow to work with its talent one of which is paying minimum DGA rates set out in the DGA Rate Card. For UK filmmakers see advice provided byBECTU. At this point, your project has crossed out of New Media and into its traditional counterpart. Minimum wage will go up in several states in 2022, so production companies will want to plan ahead to make sure theyre paying their freelance crew correctly. Incredibly grateful for Film Budgeteers. WebMovie Production and Film Crew Pay Rates in the U.S. - Entertainment Partners THE PAYMASTER RATE GUIDE The industry's most comprehensive guide. To learn more, check out our complete list of worker classification tests by state. As with all DGA rates, you should expect to pay an additional 19.4% into the DGA health and pension plan. With television series, you would now be classified as a basic cable show and held to that pay scale. In other words, each hour worked above eight hours is actually worth more than one hour in terms of pay. If you want one from [name of a major VFX studio] they bill $5000 a day. The Wrapbook Team consists of individuals who are thrilled about building modern software tools for creators. Its part of the reason why directors get executive producer credit on shows when they direct the pilot. Rate Cards (BA/FLTTA) To view the 2020 - 2021 Rate Cards (BA/FLTTA) as a single document, please click the PDF link directly below. Well go over all that in our next installment. But after those set hours, shes owed time and a half (1.5 times her regular hourly rate), for up to 12 hours in a work day. These are all direct quotes from professionals in the industry. If your production goes beyond five days in a week (which does happen), youll have to pay your director in accordance with state overtime laws. depends on how big of a crew usually on a commercial 650 gaffer key grip 650 bestboys respectively 600 electrics and grips 550 each, then you gotta rent a grip truck. I get hired a lot to op or run a gimbal as well so Im running double duty a lot of the time and that hikes the price up a little bit. Looking for some reading material? I usually dont have any trouble getting $650/day. SAG has not updated anything beyond July, 2022, so rate stays at $216. Its important to note that youll likely have to pay up to an additional 20.5% on your SAG payroll for health and benefits, called fringes. However, depending on the agreement, this percentage will fluctuate. But youre a smart producer. SAG rates for multiple programs are put on a weekly scale, with $2,784 per week for both 1/2 Hour and 1 Hour Programs, $3,272 per week for 90 minute programs, and $3,856 per week for two hour programs. IATSE Local 873 supports all film makers, at every budget level, with highly skilled professional crews. Hiring talent on SAG weekly rates (5-day basis) does result in a per day discount. In California, overtime pay starts at a factor of 1.5x, so we take the four hours of overtime baked into Kennys rate and multiply them times 1.5 to get six pay hours. Others are shot in a few hours. For that same $500 for 10 hours, the hourly rate would be $45.45. Additionally plan for $300 as a starting place for gear (Recorder, Boom, 2 Wireless, and Hardline to Camera). While made up with some of the best talent in the world, working with the Screen Actors Guild comes with its own set of rules. Below are the four basic steps of calculating day rates. For a non-union film budget, youll want to do your homework when it comes to crew rates. Oops! Here are a few things that are considered when working out crew rates. WebArea Standards rates SAG-AFTRA scale rates WGA wage scales and fees DGA wage scales and fees AFM fees and schedules The Labor Guide also displays overtime rates and guarantees per job category, plus a section of Fringe rates such as Pension, Health and Vacation pay. Luckily, weve put together this comprehensive guide, breaking down the SAG rates of 2023 so you can determine what you might owe for a principal performer. But before you say Ha! Something went wrong while submitting the form. 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