In other words, each hour worked above eight hours is actually worth more than one hour in terms of pay. What is a day rate when you break it down into something meaningful? Insurance providers like Wrapbook can spin up a policy thats SAG compliant at lowest possible cost to you. And then after 12, depending on what state shes working in, she may even be entitled to double time. Directors and producers rates are highly negotiable and receive between 2-5% of the films overall budget. Well, if you care to ask a production accountant, theyll tell you that the difference is massive. No matter what your budget level, theres bound to be a bit inequity when it comes to how much Crew Member A is paid versus how much Crew Member B is paid. Your productions only legal obligation for non-union rates is to achieve payroll compliance with all federal and local labor laws. complete list of worker classification tests by state, automatic calculations of LA commercial IATSE and Teamster timecards. This FREE searchable entertainment industry rates database gives you 24/7 access to: Occupation codes for entertainment industry unions. As a Gaffer in SLC anywhere from $500 to $800 all dependent on prep days and equipment. Free, searchable collection of scale rates for SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, DGA, WGA, Teamsters and more. However, those are just the minimum number of weeks set forward. apher. My current rate for prod sound mixing is $650/day. Figuring out overtime (AKA O.T.) and budgeting for it is something many of them find odious. $1500 is a good baseline for an experienced op with good gear. As a director and sometimes producer, I understand that budgets can sometimes be limited but I also believe in paying fair wages and that you get what you pay for. Oops! Overtime pay for an entire crew could result in a production incurring extra expenses of thousands upon thousands of dollars. GOT A FILM BUDGET BREWING? A guide to understanding when its time to incorporate your photo business, and how to do it. Whereas Theatrical SAG rates depend on budget, SAG commercial rates depend on where and how many times youll be airing the commercial. Perhaps I should look into film production services to see if I can get a serviceable crew. Really has helped me develop my project further with fairness, balance and credibility. Home Filmmaker Resources Film Production Crew Rates in 2023. 2023 SAG rates for performers in television. If you want one from [name of a major VFX studio] they bill $5000 a day. This means the minimum hourly rate is between $28/hour and $30 respectively, with a minimum day Directors usually get 510% of the total budget. This of course has huge implications. You can read the bills full text here, but the basic point of AB-5 is to protect workers by making it more difficult for employers to deny them benefits via a contractor classification. The day rates listed below will give you a good indication of the cost of video production. Discover how to find the best production assistants in Los Angeles with this guide. The Multiple Programs Agreement is a contract that applies to actors who are shooting multiple episodes of a show within one week. Wrapbook document.write(new Date().getFullYear()). In my experience Director is between $2500 to $4000, DP is between $2000 and $3500. (Who often end up costing the producer and the film more money due to their inexperience, slowness, and/or flat out ineptitude, relative to that of an experienced crew. Thank you! However, SAG offers different agreements that allow producers to essentially buy in bulk, depending on where the commercial will be airing.. But for non-union films, its a bit different. DGA Rate Cards 2020 to 2021 Once again, your union will decide your day rates for the project type. And perhaps the most important rule is paying SAG rates. *2-5% budget. Extra financing may sound great, but it could hurt your bottom line if it pushes your production upward into a new tier. As with anything related to DGA, you should always defer to their organizations website. Thats just the single day rate. Thank you! Tier 1 Production Designer, Director of Photography, Principal Makeup, Line Producer, etc. Your union will provide overtime rates, but if you work on a non-union, you must arrange these terms with the producer before filming starts. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances. $1,200-$1,800 (more, depending on the experience/skill). For that same $500 for 10 hours, the hourly rate would be $45.45. Sound gear rates are based on the needs of the shoot, $300 is a great starting place, but anything passed [sic] a basic kit will increase the price. Understanding SAG rates can be a tricky endeavor for even the most veteran of producers. Exempt employees will get their fixed day rate regardless if they're working for an hour or 12. I have seen a lot of producers trying to hire film crew in Los Angeles for sub-standard rates so I got the idea to compile together a list of rates based on discussions that Ive seen in various private online groups. Inspire2 fully loaded with two crew starts at $3k/day. How much a producer pays in overtime costs will depend greatly on where theyre located. In addition to these rates, commercial contracts will require a 19.25-20.5% pension and health contribution. Recommend this to any filmmaker, producer. The majority of film projects will require at least 2 cameraman and even that is somewhat bare bones. 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. The Showbiz Labor Guide has been the go-to authority for guild and union rates in the entertainment industry for over 25 years, including SAG-AFTRA scale. I only have about a years worth of experience as an ac so my rate is a little low. Here, you can find DGA rates for films across a variety of budgets. We will update this section accordingly. Discover how to find the best production assistants in Los Angeles with this guide. Directly hiring an individual, non-union, $1,000-$1,500 a day. For standard equipment rates, you should compare a few differentfilm equipment rental companies. WebHire Film Crew - On Location or In Studio. The file can then be imported into Showbiz Budgeting in a matter of seconds, eliminating the need to hand-key hundreds of transactions as the main Budgeting file is actualized. Well go over all that in our next installment. Thank you! Then, once weve found the total number of pay hours included in Kennys daily earnings, we can use it to finally calculate Kennys base hourly rate. Union-mandated rates may shift according to the city that youre shooting in, due to both local labor laws and the influence of local union chapters. If your budget falls under $50,000, you should refer to the SAG Short Term Agreement. A guide to understanding when its time to incorporate your photo business, and how to do it. Optional cookies used to track website performance, preferences, and analytics. On a low budget film your cast and crew costs will likely be your highest expense. uction. People like David Fincher arent working with Netflix for nothing. Filmmaker, photographer, digital marketer. Looking for some reading material? Due to the immense amount of work directors put into a film, the DGA rates are most commonly expressed on a weekly scale with minimum work commitments. And if you know the difference between exempt and non-exempt employees, you know that this classification has a huge impact on how crew members total earnings are calculated. Actors Feature Film Collective Agreement (AFFCA) Summary, January 2023. Get the best resources for producers delivered to your mailbox, If youve ever worked on a film set or had to pay a crew member, you probably know that most film professionals have a common favorite phrase: What is my day rate?. THESE SOFTWARE PRODUCTS MAY HELP: When Im doing super basic stuff, it usually comes out to $850950/day. See the specific agreements below. In this bucket, nothing changes on your DGA agreement in regards to prep time, guaranteed shooting time, and cutting allowance. These rates are from non-union freelance individuals that work primarily in commercials or narrative film. Better known as AB-5, Assembly Bill 5 has had a huge impact on the entertainment industry in California since it was signed into state law back in 2019. Understanding DGA rates can be a tricky endeavor for even the most veteran of producers. For unit production managers and assistant directors, rates are: Once you drop a dollar before 11 million dollars, your project falls into a low budget DGA production (I know). On a non-union film, rates are fully negotiable. For myself, and a full kit, its around $1,200/day. SAG has not updated anything beyond July, 2022 so it stays at $703. Previously a printed binder-book, the Labor Guide now exists entirely paper-free, online. For both ethical and legal reasons, its critical to double check that your production is paying all crew members at or above minimum wage. Instead, please see basic. If the job calls for a spotter or second op: $3000+. per videogr. The logic behind this is that those crew members booked out your show, making them unavailable for any other work that day. You can see the new pension and health plan numbers here.. In the market for a good PA? Note that minimum work weeks are not affected, as it still takes the same length of time to make a high budget film. For one, the type of program needs to be considered. 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. Your preferences have been updated. For a grip, $450-$550. Every creatives rates will vary, but these are the standard day rate charges for the most common crew members: Documentary DP (Director of Photography): $400-$1,200 Commercial DP: $650-$2,000 Full-Service Video Production: $1,500-$300,000 (flat rate) Drone Operator: $500-$1,400 Commercial Video Editor: $400-$1,000 Film unions and guildsprovide recommended day rates for crew. Level up your filmmaking knowledge with our list of the top 10 filmmaking blogs of 2023. Rate is usually $2k/day. Directing usually $510kUSD per job flatrate [sic] not including post. Wow, this is a very helpful guide for someone like me looking into producing a short film for a family reunion. The vast majority of SAG commercials are Class A, meaning that your commercial will air in over twenty cities. If their contract stipulates a 12-hour day and the day runs for 10 hours; theyll likely still be paid for a 12-hour day. When budgeting your film crew, its definitely a good idea to set some money aside for when the crew does go over 8 hours, or 12 hours. Wrapbook uses cookies to personalize your experience, provide you with enhanced functionality, and improve the performance of our site. Henri K. W. Rapp www.henrirapp.com. You should also have all your expenses covered, and travel days pay half of the total working day rate. For example, Christopher Nolan was reportedly paid $20 million upfront and 20 percent of the gross for Dunkirk. 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. I frequently go down to $1000. A project shooting with a micro-budget will generally have to pay lower minimum rates to cast and crew compared to a project shooting with the elevated financial backing of a major studio or network. Super helpful idea about the tier concept and a fair way for small budget films to keep the little bit of money available equitable. Eight? This summary includes key conditions, classifications, rates and allowances from July 1, 2022. If you work in the US film industry, your union will play a major role in your daily rate. Because many productions plan for shoot days to run longer than 8 hours, day rate amounts are contracted to likewise correspond to a higher total number of hours per day. Usually in the $800/10 range. If youre producing a daily talk show or variety show for streaming or cable, this is your pay bracket. Day rates are the most critical factor in determining how crew members receive their financial compensation on any film, TV, or commercial production. There are departmental keys and there are multi-departmental keys and the tiers should be done accordingly. As with anything related to SAG, when in doubt, you should always defer to their organizations website. But if youve got a penny more, youre in the right place. Sign up for the Wrapbook monthly newsletter where we share industry news along with must-know guides for producers. Dramatic, here, simply means a scripted narrative show versus reality. SAG actors are paid weekly for their time, with $3,756 / week for appearing in every episode, $4,300 per week for appearing in more than half, and $5,000 per week for appearing in half. Overtime laws vary state to state, but they usually kick in after eight hours in a given workday. 1500/10 excluding OT. In this post, were digging into the complex world of production payroll to learn everything we can about day rates. This much-requested tool allows crew in the field to enter their purchase orders, including vendor and payment info, and email the file to the lead accountant. In general, your day rate will increase the higher the project budget. However, what the guild considers a DGA television rate depends on when in the series the episode is airing. This is for companies with up to 25 employees. You'll need to know many cities your commercial will air in - SAG Rates 2023. The 1st use rates are: The least used of all three SAG Commercial Agreements, Class C applies to commercials that will air in less than six cities. SAG-AFTRA rates are the minimum amounts of money the Screen Actors Guild will allow its members to work for on a given project. Some cookies are essential to the functioning of our site, but you can accept or decline non-essential cookies using the toggle below. This is based on the 20% of the basic agreements day rate. If your budget falls under $20,000 or less per picture or episode, you may be eligible to work under the SAG Micro-Budget agreement. A day rate is still subject to change if the planned amount is exceeded. Different productions may shift tier positions based off the responsibilities for the positions, but my primary point is that the mere term assistant in film does not immediately note the value of that position. On a small film, it might benefit your production to pay everybody the same flat rate, and not worry about time and a half or double time, but that should only be if youve got a fairly cohesive group of people working on your film to begin with, and probably only if your crew is made of up largely inexperienced people. Producing a Short film for a 12-hour day that applies to actors who are shooting episodes! A Producer pays standard film crew rates overtime costs will likely be your highest expense with federal. Doubt, you can see the new pension and health plan numbers here behind this a... Producers rates are highly negotiable and receive between 2-5 % of the total working day rate when you it!, searchable collection of scale rates for SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, DGA you! 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Used to track website performance, preferences, and how to find the best production assistants Los. Full kit, its around $ 1,200/day veteran of producers DGA Agreement in regards to prep time and. Find the best production assistants in Los Angeles with this guide - SAG rates 2023 rate... Other work that day $ 500 to $ 800 all dependent on days. Project type increase the higher the project budget are Class a, meaning that your commercial will air in SAG.