Crew Rates: USA

Crew Rates are a particularly important component of information you need to create a budget. Your crew makes up a large percentage of your budget spend, so it's important to pay attention to proper rates for where you are shooting. There are rate guides for crew around the world per country in the Global Guide section, but when it comes to the United States, there are a lot of caveats, stipulations, contracts and rules you need to maneuver within and understand.  This section will help you learn more about each of them.

UNION PROJECT RATE SHEETS

On the right is a menu you may use to view details on the following:

IATSE |  Much of your general crew will fall under the umbrella of this union.
Local 600 |  Your Camera crew, while technically IATSE, has some of it's own rules.
Teamsters |  If it has wheels, these guys oversee it.  Drivers and transportation crew here.
Directors Guild |  Directors, UPMs and your assistant director staff are represented here.
Writers Guild |  The name of the union says it well - this guild deals with the writing staff.
Screen Actors Guild |  On-screen talent will be members of this guild - as well as stunts, pilots and others.
AFTRA |  On-screen talent will be members of this guild - mostly (not always) television & radio talent.
Non-Union / Non-Guild Crew (working on Union Project)  |  These are crew not covered by a union contract.
Producers Guild |  Not a bargaining union (they have no established rates), but included here for clarity.

Please note that not all rate tables are up, more added soon.

NON-UNION PROJECT RATES

If you are working on a NON-UNION project, my best advice is to base your rates off union rates.  For example, using the union rates as a guide, cut the rates to 80% for each position and use those rates.  Why?  Union & guild rates are established norms and using them as a basis will create a level fairness to all crew.  Of course, I am mostly talking about projects which are a few million to start.  Should your project be a tiny one at $10,000 or even $500,000 - you'll want to use a different methodology.

One suggestion is to create a solid rate structure for the entire crew which puts everyone more at ease in negotiating rates and helps control costs.  For example, all your key crew would make $200 per 12-hour day, your firsts would make $165 per 12-hour day and all other utility crew would be at $130 for the same day.  Fluctuate these bases up or down depending on the size of your project.  You may find that you'll need to simply get a lot of people to work for free (friends & family) to afford other things like food, fuel and your camera.  Most important things are to ensure you adhere to state minimum wage laws and be fair.

Within each section of union rates, there are suggestions for converting rates for use on non-union projects.

Also, on many non-union crew projects, you might still use SAG actors.  This is fine as it's true that SAG is not a 'sister' guild to other collective bargaining agreements.  So, just be aware that you'll need a real payroll company and insurance to cover these actors.  A word of advice on this subject too:  Give yourself at least six weeks to complete the SAG paperwork - don't wait until the last minute!

Good luck!