Craft SErvices - How much to feed a cast and crew of 30?

imageonepictures

imageonepictures

Well-known member
Hey,

I am planning on a feature next summer July 2007. It will shoot for about 20 days. How much should I allow for craft services?

I have about 17 actors with speaking roles and up to 150 extras. Crew is about 12-15 (including myself).

Any ideas?

Chris
 
You FEED your cast and crew?! What the heck is wrong with you?!

... how much do you have to spend? Sometimes you can cut a deal with local restaurants.
 
imageonepictures said:
Hey,

I am planning on a feature next summer July 2007. It will shoot for about 20 days. How much should I allow for craft services?

I have about 17 actors with speaking roles and up to 150 extras. Crew is about 12-15 (including myself).

Any ideas?

Chris
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That's gonna be a chunk of change. Your best bet is to check out the catering in the area, perhaps they'll make you a good per/head deal.
 
that's a ton of people. since you're shooting in the summer, i'd suggest you budget enough for lots of water, gatorade, soda, ice, etc. you might want to cater cast and crew better than you do for the extras, but you can't skimp too much. people might put up with bad food for a 2 day short. nobody's going to put up with bad food for a 20 day shoot.
 
kiyong said:
nobody's going to put up with bad food for a 20 day shoot.
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When you are paying my day rate I have wolfed down some pretty god awful food. If you are working with low/no pay crews then definately keep the food decent. Moral is lost much quicker on an empty stomach.

If you can make sure the food is high in protein to keep the energy up. Avoid too much sugar, candy, and simple carbs that spikes the blood sugar and then leaves everyone sleepy an hour later. If you are going over 10 hours then you need to have two full meals in addition to snacks. Unless you know you are constantly going to go over 10 hours, ordering pizza for the second meal tends to be pretty well received.

Restaurants will cut you deals but they still work out to be pretty expensive. For smaller production my experience has been the producer finds a stay at home mom type who likes to cook and hires them for a bargin price. You can get away for about $5-8 a head with that. Remember to emphasize the protein. It is quite popular to throw lots of spagetti and pasta at the crew because it's cheap but again that doesn't give sustained energy. Avoid foods that give some people gas...for obvious reasons.

Always have an excess of water. If the water runs out the production will grind to a halt...seriously. Last year I worked on production where they gave everyone water bottles and then had a portable water cooler. It had a few glitches but mostly worked out really well. Less expense and trash. If you go with bottled water keep a sharpie TIED (it will get permenently borrowed by someone otherwise) to the cooler for people to put their names on their bottle. Otherwise you end up with a bunch of half empty water bottles at the end of the day and go through alot more water. (one sharpie mini=about 3 to 4 wasted water bottles in $$$).

Another tip is to have the AD get the key crew members in line for their food first. It is not a favortism thing but efficient. The sooner they get feed the sooner they can get back to work instead of wasting some of their meal time waiting in line.

Alot of things get overlooked on smaller productions to save money but mess around with kraft services to your peril. :)

Good luck
 
We fed our cast/crew of about 15 on average... for 5 days of shooting for about $800... That is a lot... and we didn't do two meals each day either... tried to keep it to one...
 
Brandon Riceand said:
we didn't do two meals each day either... tried to keep it to one...
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Then keep your hours under 10 and you and I will get along just fine :love4:

Seriously, I have basically handed the producer a phone at 10 hours and said either call in some pizzas or I am done for the day. Might sound harsh but I think it is much worse to expect people to work their asses off without proper nurishment.

FEED ME, Seymour!
 
When I'm budgeting shoots I usaully calculate $12-15.00 per person per meal. If you can find a caterer that per-person cost may go down. And don't order pizza every day! Mix it up--- sandwhiches one day, full-on hot meals once or twice a week, thai food here and there, etc.

Don't taje the easy way out and order pizza every day. You'll have a mutiny after 4 days.

A camera-man here in Chicago now refers to pizza as 'producer steak.' So when it gets close to lunch time, and he overhears some PA saying, "yeah, I just ordered 'em, the guy should be here in 30 or under," he'll usually look over at another crew member and say, "and how did you order your steak today?" Usually I'll reply, "ah, I went with the bernaise sauce, steamed asparagus tips, and a randy cabarnet."
 
If its a union gig, don't forget about the potential for meal penalties. Never, never go past 6 hours from first call (5 hours is a much better interval). Crafty is a full time job for any set, and with a lot of background players, you will need a few people at a minimum to help out. Catering is typically a contracted service aside from craft services.

Good catering companies that handle shoots are well prepared, they know how to get it done and they know how to do it efficiently. Tables, chairs, shade, clean up, etc. They are all part of the job.

good meals = happy cast and crew = good effort = good project
 
khmuse said:
If its a union gig, don't forget about the potential for meal penalties. Never, never go past 6 hours from first call (5 hours is a much better interval). Crafty is a full time job for any set, and with a lot of background players, you will need a few people at a minimum to help out. Catering is typically a contracted service aside from craft services.

Good catering companies that handle shoots are well prepared, they know how to get it done and they know how to do it efficiently. Tables, chairs, shade, clean up, etc. They are all part of the job.

good meals = happy cast and crew = good effort = good project
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Courtney,

Nope not a union production but somehow I do not think it really matters. Union or nonunion people need to be fed well and treat well. You agree?

Chris
 
Yeah, Courtney and I both agree, always treat your cast and crew well. The outcome of your project is dependent upon their performance (both in front of and behind the camera), its best for the project and its the right thing to do.
 
vicrattlehead said:
When I'm budgeting shoots I usaully calculate $12-15.00 per person per meal. If you can find a caterer that per-person cost may go down. And don't order pizza every day! Mix it up--- sandwhiches one day, full-on hot meals once or twice a week, thai food here and there, etc.

Don't taje the easy way out and order pizza every day. You'll have a mutiny after 4 days.

A camera-man here in Chicago now refers to pizza as 'producer steak.' So when it gets close to lunch time, and he overhears some PA saying, "yeah, I just ordered 'em, the guy should be here in 30 or under," he'll usually look over at another crew member and say, "and how did you order your steak today?" Usually I'll reply, "ah, I went with the bernaise sauce, steamed asparagus tips, and a randy cabarnet."
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Hi,

I think tha tis way too much especially for a low budget independent film. I can eat far cheaper.

Chris
 
khmuse said:
Yeah, Courtney and I both agree, always treat your cast and crew well. The outcome of your project is dependent upon their performance (both in front of and behind the camera), its best for the project and its the right thing to do.
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Hey,

Sorry but by your photo I thought you were 'Courtney' am I talking to someone else?

Chris
 
Yeah you have to make sure they are fed at regular intervals with snacks inbetween and plenty of coffee. You also have to make sure you have something for vegetarians too. Some nights try to put away some money for a good restaurant and give them real steaks.
 
YES, don't forget us vegetarians. We need to eat too! And there are more of us than you think.

I was shooting on location in Philadelphia the other day and we ended up at Geno's steaks (famous Philly cheesesteak place). The producer said that since we were already here we might as well get lunch. I had to take him aside and kindly let him know that I couldn't do it. Fortunately he was super cool and took care of me. I guess the point is that vegetarians aren't always on peoples minds when it comes time to feed the crew.
 
On west coast, you will find that there are a lot of vegetarians on set (I am one). A few vegans too. Other than grips (who always seem to be carnivores) you will find a mix of dietary requirements (some health, some religious, some just plain picky eaters).

Most craftys and caterers take this reality into account and most producers query the cast and crew to ascertain these things before production begins.
 
with a cast and crew that big You're crazy for not having an experienced caterer planned from day one, you're opening yourself up for a world of pain.
 
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