Crew

Crew Deal Memos: What Goes in Them and How to Negotiate Terms

What a crew deal memo should cover, how the rate basis changes real pay, which terms are worth negotiating, and the clauses that start arguments at the first payroll.

Extras Breakdown: How to Count Background Actors Scene by Scene

How to build an extras breakdown: turn vague action lines into counts, split featured from general background, track matching faces, and total person-days per shoot day.

Film Crew Day Rates: Union Minimums and Setting Non-Union Pay

Union minimum day rates for film crew by position and region, converted to 12-hour days, plus how to set and budget non-union rates without getting the overtime wrong.

Film Crew Per Diem: Rates, GSA Tables, and How to Budget It

How to set and budget film crew per diem: FY2027 GSA meal and lodging rates, travel-day math, meal deductions, SAG-AFTRA background per diem, and the tax line to watch.

Film Crew Time Cards: How to Fill Them In and Get Paid Right

How film crew time cards work: what to record each day, who signs, how payroll turns hours into overtime and meal premiums, and a worked California week for a PA.

How to Hire a Film Crew: A Line Producer's Order of Operations

Hire a film crew in the right order: department heads first, union status decided early, crew found through rosters and referrals, and paperwork signed before day one.

IATSE Low Budget Theatrical Agreement: Tiers and Crew Rates

The IATSE Low Budget Theatrical Agreement sets crew rates by budget tier, from Ultra Low up to $3.3M to Tier 3 at $16.5M. See 2026 thresholds, rates, and budget math.

Kit Rentals and Box Rentals: How to Budget and Pay Them

How kit and box rentals work on a film: typical departments, deal memo wording, inventories, why they stay off payroll, 1099 reporting, and a 5-week budget worked out.

The Core Production Team: Who Runs a Film Set?

Who runs a film set: producers, the UPM, the 1st AD, the production office, accounting, and department heads, with the order they're hired and who reports to whom.