How much $$ for Film Crew?

A

Atsuma

Active member
I'm wondering what a realisatic number would be in paying a non experienced film crew. Mostly people to assist with camera holding, lighting setup ect.. Non experienced.
 
I live in Tulsa Oklahoma, people out here don't give a crap about the "talkies" or them fangled movin pictures. I'm from Vegas and New York, I lived in LA and I remember there people would stand on there heads to be part of a project. Out here no one cares or even takes it seriously. Its so frustrating doing anythign out here. I wish I had a film crew! but now that I think about it, I guess i wouldnt be the first person to try somethign without a film crew.
 
i live in oklahoma city and I flyout for everything....
it is defintely a struggle to do anything here.... everyone I have met is pretty much clueless.... atleast the price of living is cheap!
 
I live in sf, but I'm from Mannford, and I never had a problem finding crew free, not even food, for my projects. hell sometimes they'd buy me dinner lol.

tell us a bit about your film I may be able to hook you up with a few pf my peeps. hell two of them are coming out to San fran this summer to be cast and crew in a short I'm doing.

Jason
 
I think that whether your getting people to move your camera, lights or moving your couch you should always at least provide some food and drinks.

I will say that I have been travelling quite a bit and I would say the best crews for low budget indie films are found right here in Vancouver Canada. We just finished 15 days of principle photography for a low budget horror film and this crew was the toughest hardest working unstoppable crew I have ever worked with. They set the bar for volunteer crew. 12-14 hours days... and back for more the next day.

They Came from the Attic
www.theycamefromtheattic.com
 
Food and energy drinks. Capri Sun even. When we do a shoot, there's always pizza and Monster and some sort of snacking food. Last year, I produced a short that filmed out of town, and our 2 crew guys got free food and a free trip for a week. Since then, they're always willing to work with us, because they know they'll be well taken care of.

Also, copy and credit, of course. :)
 
Aside from food and drink, which SHOULD be mandatory (Except for Texas apparently), you need to give them patience and respect.
 
Capt Quirk said:
Aside from food and drink, which SHOULD be mandatory (Except for Texas apparently), you need to give them patience and respect.
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I'm guessing you had a bad gig in here in Texas. On all my projects I've always supplied food and drink, and offered gas money. The gas money has yet to be taken though. A project I worked on recently supplied food and drinks and paid me some gas money. The mexican projects I work on for a friend of mine supplies food and drink (always authentic mexican food, which is great though not great for a diabetic :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)) and sometimes gives me gas money.

Other than the food, drink and credits I believe in offering gas money. You might not be able to pay for people to work on your project, but I think at least offering to pay their gas expense is a must. :thumbsup:
 
No, there was a Craigslist ad somebody posted here. Guy was looking for a PA for 4 days, including travel. Pay was $100 a day, you shared a room with the DP so you couldn't smoke or snore- and you had to feed yourself.
 
RiffTrax.com

RiffTrax.com

Not sure who kicked Nic Aragon (Cynic821) but the guy is remorseful for anything he might have done and seems to be a good guy, perhaps with quirks.

Barry
 
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I am budgeting for features right now and I breakdown what I pay the crew into three groups. If you have no experience and I have to train you as I go I pay $50 a day (which is enough to cover gas and then some here in Ohio). If you have worked on a few projects and know your way around a set I charge $100 a day and if you are a pro I charge $250 a day.

That should give you a good guide to follow on your projects.
 
mrblue1022 said:
I am budgeting for features right now and I breakdown what I pay the crew into three groups. If you have no experience and I have to train you as I go I pay $50 a day (which is enough to cover gas and then some here in Ohio). If you have worked on a few projects and know your way around a set I charge $100 a day and if you are a pro I charge $250 a day.

That should give you a good guide to follow on your projects.
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That's a pretty reasonable pay scale. It's similar to what I've found working in New York City, though I can't speak for any other areas. Even though it's possible to find people willing to work for free I suggest always trying to pay your crew. It adds a level of professionalism to the shoot which makes everything easier in the long run--except for the budget.

People are less likely to miss call times, skip shoot days or be unproductive on set when getting paid. Once you give someone money for the work they're doing (as long as they're a semi-decnet person) they feel an obligation to thier job. If you're just giving them food then your crew is going to think they're doing you a favor and not have as many qualms about unprofessionalism.

This has obvious exceptions. Some people work passionately even with no pay. Others do terrible work even when getting great compensation. But in my experience, shoots where everyone is getting paid for their work even if they're just amateurs run far more smoothly than those where the crew is volunteering.
 
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