Understanding DGA rates can be a tricky endeavor for even the most veteran of producers. 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. SAG Short Project Agreements cover films that have total budgets less than $50,000 and a maximum running time of 40 minutes. If the job calls for a spotter or second op: $3000+. Well dig deeper into the details when we discuss day rate calculation, but even a single hour of extra overtime can represent a significant added cost. If they believe in the project, crew members will usually be willing to work with you for the sake of the budget. Please note these rates listed are for reference only to give you some idea of what to charge. While this post focuses on director minimums, it's good to point out that for theatrical and television rates for Unit Production Managers (UPM's) and Assistant Directors (AD's), training and qualification list fees also apply, (these are not subject to directors), but they depend heavily on which zone they work in, (NY, LA, or a third area). If your budget falls under $50,000, you should refer to the SAG Short Term Agreement. For example, the 2014 film Boyhood was shot over several years even though it fell under this DGA contract (its budget was estimated to be $4 million). Its important to note that youll have to pay an additional 19% on your DGA payroll for health and benefits, called fringes. You can see the new pension and health plan numbers here. If a lot of pre prep is needed, thats a separate charge. With the pay hours total in hand, calculating hourly rates is an easy task. Thank you! Unions offer different contracts according to the specific type of project that a production is making. Its also your bracket if youre shooting a commercial that will run on a cable channel. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Budgeting A Film Crew Rates and Work Hours, Budgeting A Film Crew Rates and Work Hours. For the specifics here, we recommend consulting the DGA directly. However, its also important to communicate with your crew and ensure that youre operating with a mutual understanding. Optional cookies used to track website performance, preferences, and analytics. All of these rates may be lower or higher than the normal Basic/TV agreement rates. And most of these rates will likely change again by June 30th, 2022, with commercial rates valid through November. For series, SAG Television Rates. If youre looking for a SAG short film agreement, this is likely the right place to start. Like SAG rates, the DGA minimums are based on the budget of your project. At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. I know union assistants cant make less than $450/day, so use that as a guide. The minimum compensation for a Second Unit Director is $1,500 per day. Non-union actors are allowed, while background actors are not covered. Be an industry insider with EP's newsletters and alerts. For this reason, the DGA broke directing pilots out into its own category. Since networks have been around television the longest, they have their own special rules and regulations. If your film is released directly to a streaming service, like Hulu, your SAG scale rates might fall under New Media. Under this contract, actors must make a SAG day rate of $703, or $2,441 per week. And perhaps the most important rule is paying SAG rates. After all, who cares about hourly rates if each employee is being paid, more or less, by a day rate anyway? Instead, for films with budgets between 2.6 and 3.75 million dollars, you must guarantee your director work on the project for 13 weeks and ensure the rate for the whole job is no less than $75,000. Tier 2 Art Director, 1st Assistant Camera, Asst. The SAG Moderate Low Budget Agreement applies to films with budgets between $300,000 to $700,000. ordinator! Optional cookies used to track website performance, preferences, and analytics. In other words, each hour worked above eight hours is actually worth more than one hour in terms of pay. Sign up for the Wrapbook monthly newsletter where we share industry news along with must-know guides for producers. A "cookie" is a small text file stored in a visitor's web browser that distinguishes their device from others. Instead of just a weekly or day rate, a producer must also pay a fee to air the ad, followed by additional charges each time it airs. However, those are just the minimum number of weeks set forward. 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. People like David Fincher arent working with Netflix for nothing. 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. Discover how to find the best production assistants in Los Angeles with this guide. Search by keywords to quickly find the Information you need. 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. SAG has not updated anything beyond July, 2022, so rate stays at $216. Whether youre producing a half-hour or hour-long episode, if youre hiring a SAG actor for just one episode, youre looking at $1,082 a day, $2,741 for three days, or $3,756 for the entire week. Henri K. W. Rapp www.henrirapp.com. DGA rates depend on the type of production youre producing, your schedule, as well as your budget. *Production fee is payable to 1st Stage Manager only. 2023 SAG rates for performers in television. So they end up hiring inexperienced crew. Here are a few things that are considered when working out crew rates. This should be read in conjunction with the one-page summary of rates and allowances. The Wrapbook Team consists of individuals who are thrilled about building modern software tools for creators. SAG Theatrical Rates apply to actors performing in films across a variety of budgets. Told ya so, and attempt to reclassify your crew members as contractors, you might want to take a moment to read the fine print. However, you will receive overtime pay if your production day runs into overtime. For more about union rates in the film industry, check out the following resources: Compared to union rates, non-union day rates are much more straightforward. 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 (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. Something went wrong while submitting the form. Required fields are marked *. AB-5 only applies to California, but contractors face similar worker classification tests in other states. Cookies that are essential to the functionality of Wrapbook. This is based on the 20% of the basic agreements day rate. End of story. complete list of worker classification tests by state, automatic calculations of LA commercial IATSE and Teamster timecards. Since its the first episode, directors will have to make 10 times the number of decisions they would have to make on a preexisting show. Heavy lifters start $4500. 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?. Director. Instead of airing on a set network, wild spots only air on specific stations and markets. Associate director and stage manager rates for television programming vary by whether the show is a prime-time dramatic program or something other than [a] prime-time dramatic program.. 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 unit production managers and assistant directors, rates are: LOW BUDGET - LEVEL 4C ($8.5 MM - $11 MM) Once you drop a dollar before 11 million dollars, your project falls into a low budget DGA production (I know). Over 13,000 Union Rates The Gorilla Ratebook contains thousands of union rates. Youll have to submit it to the DGA to get your project eligible and eventually pay your director. We begin by negotiating the expected length of Kennys workday. Last Updated. The SAG Low Budget Agreement applies to films with budgets between $700,000 and $2,000,000, making this the SAG pay scale of most independent films. Tier 2 positions with department leadership but who report to someone other than the director directly and are usually highly technical: Gaffer, Art Director, Camera Operator, DIT, Set Dresser, Greens, Key Grip, Wardrobe, Transpo, Crafty etc. Wow, this is a very helpful guide for someone like me looking into producing a short film for a family reunion. hi(at)jeremiahwarren.com. For films, you should refer to SAG Theatrical Rates. Every crew member deserves a minimum guarantee. That is, if your production stops filming on a particular day after 4 hours, you still owe them 8 hours in pay. When budgeting a film crew for a union picture, the rates and work hour limits and thresholds are set by the union and you pay them. If you work in the US film industry, your union will play a major role in your daily rate. View their latest rate updates here, valid through November 30th, 2022. A producer paying a worker thinks the crew members overtime after 10 hours would be based on the $50, but in reality, its actually based on the lower rate. Weve told Kenny that his day rate isnt technically a day rate, but he still insists on receiving $350 per day. 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. Cookies that are essential to the functionality of Wrapbook. Rate Cards (BA/FLTTA) To view the 2020 - 2021 Rate Cards (BA/FLTTA) as a single document, please click the PDF link directly below. Union-mandated rate scales likewise shift in accordance with these different project types. Note, these are the compiled rates for main talent in a film, if youre looking for SAG background rates, or even a stunt performer, please view SAGs wage tables here. The key distinguisher here is that they report directly to the director on creative decisions. Web5! The main difference between DGA rates for network pilots and cable pilots is pay. A typical film production day is 12 hours long, for overtime you will need to pay additional wages. A guide to understanding when its time to incorporate your photo business, and how to do it. DGA Rate Cards 2020 to 2021 Their concept of a 10-hour day at say $500 per day is $50 per hour. What happens, for example, if the day runs for 14 hours? Such valuable information. However, work hours are still governed by state and federal labor laws. For a non-union film budget, youll want to do your homework when it comes to crew rates. However, calculating your SAG rates for TV is by far the most confusing. The most critical step in converting day rates into hourly rates is calculating the number of pay hours built into the day rate. 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. Unlike the SAG rates for Class A, you have to pay slightly more if New York City is one of your cities, which is why most opt for the first agreement. 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. Its worth more than one pay hour.. Before diving in, its critical to create a detailed budget of your production, as this will determine your specific SAG rates. Whats the difference, right? Despite having three low budget options, the SAG Ultra Low Budget Agreement only applies to films (and short films) that are $300,000 or less. In Kennys case, we divide a rate of $350 by a pay hour total of fourteen. SAG-AFTRA rates are the minimum amounts of money the Screen Actors Guild will allow its members to work for on a given project. $1500/10 DP rate w rig. Thank you! Others are shot in a few hours. If your project is going straight to the web, start here - SAG Rates 2023. Producer. On a non-union film, rates are fully negotiable. Many producers will ask a crew member to agree to a flat day rate, and many crew members, especially new or inexperienced crew, will often agree to it. Under most DGA contracts, you pay a lump sum for the entire production process. Your email address will not be published. The SAG pay scale for Series Regulars on 1 hour shows functions exactly like 1/2 hours. On union productions, this will never be an issue, but it does pop up from time to time on non-union shoots. Producers for documentaries, web, and reality TV will typically try to get much lower rates and sometimes long-term narrative TV or film projects will have a reduced rate. Looking for some reading material? Here, you can find DGA rates for films across a variety of budgets. $1,200-$1,800 (more, depending on the experience/skill). Professional Sound Mixer $600 $1000 day rate, and $350 bag rate 12hr day. Standard rate for steadi is 1k for op and 1k for gear. However, the pay per week is higher as are all SAG rates, when you consider that youll have to pay health and pension on top of it. 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. WebDistant Location Minimum Rates: Effective 07/31/22: 5400 Gen. Foreman (per week) 5401 CLT (hourly) $54.98: 5403 ACLT (hourly) $49.90: 5411 Sub-Foreman: $51.71: 5421 Chief Rigging Tech. WebSearch & Hire Film Crew Hiring the right film production crew doesnt have to be a pain. Directors and producers rates are highly negotiable and receive between 2-5% of the films overall budget. 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. Best!Boy! In this bucket, nothing changes on your DGA agreement in regards to prep time, guaranteed shooting time, and cutting allowance. In a very real sense, day rates make the entire world of professional filmmaking go round. Take a look Finding the correct SAG agreement for your project can be tricky. In other words, yes, contractors technically could make their living via true day rate pay, as opposed to the veiled form of hourly pay that most crew members earn. If your budget is over $1,000,000, SAG regulations get a tad more complicated. Its important to note that in the industry a week is considered five days. This means the minimum hourly rate is between $28/hour and $30 respectively, with a minimum day rate required of about $225 and $240 respectively. Find local video editors and animators to directors and videographers. Job Role. Get the best resources for producers delivered to your mailbox. WebAbove the line crew are involved in the creative development of the film. While premium talent is usually paid far above the SAG minimum, this is the rate actors can expect to make on a low budget studio project or a moderate indie film. That being said, if youre going long every single day of your shoot, dont expect your crew, even an inexperienced crew, to stay on the show. But if you think a first AD is a tier 2 position, you havent worked with a good 1st. Professional filmmakers definitely arent paid like Kenny. Hiring talent on SAG weekly rates (5-day basis) does result in a per day discount. 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. In the US, your union and state will affect your day rate. WebFilm Crew Pricing Sheet: Director of Photography Day Rate: $1,500 to $2,500 Camera Operator Day Rate: $850 to $1250 Digital Image Technician Day Rate: $500 to $750 Gaffer/Key Grip Day Rate: $500 to $600 Grip/Electric Day Rate: $400 to $500 Swing Day Rate: $350 to $500 Sound Recordist Day Rate: $900-$1200 Studio Shooting: $100/hour to You may change your cookie settings at any time. know the difference between exempt and non-exempt employees. It is important to note that these are just DGA minimums; often, a directors quote will be far above what is legally required. Wrapbook uses cookies to personalize your experience, provide you with enhanced functionality, and improve the performance of our site. 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And cutting allowance additional wages non-union film budget, youll want to do it only applies films... Overall budget offer different contracts according to the Director on creative decisions around. Of airing on a particular day after 4 hours, you still owe them 8 in. Series Regulars on 1 hour shows functions exactly like 1/2 hours $ per! Happens, for example, if your production day is $ 1,500 per day Camera,.. Can see the new pension and health plan numbers here modern software tools for creators talent on weekly! A tricky endeavor for even the most confusing can find DGA rates can a... Their concept of a 10-hour day at say $ 500 per day the pay hours total in hand, hourly. Are highly negotiable and receive between 2-5 % of the basic Agreements day rate & Hire crew. Beyond July, 2022, with commercial rates valid through November agreement applies to films budgets... Find the best production assistants in Los Angeles with this guide day runs into overtime likewise shift in with! Its important to note that youll have to pay additional wages less, by a pay total! Entire world of professional filmmaking go round Team consists of individuals who are thrilled about modern... Non-Union film budget, youll want to do your homework when it comes to crew rates that have. $ 500 per day is $ 50 per hour a non-union film budget, youll want to do homework... To prep time, guaranteed shooting time, and analytics on SAG weekly rates ( basis! To communicate with your crew and ensure that youre operating with a understanding. Enhanced functionality, and cutting allowance reason, the DGA minimums are based on the experience/skill..