$100 vs. $150?

M

MaximusXXX

I'm getting some actors with a name, which as bad as it sounds, have now earned the right to good pay.


What I'm unsure of is the contract types. Should I pay $100 for a 4 hour slot or $150 for a 5 hour slot?

Obviously one is $25/hr and the other is $30/hr but I also feel the 5 hour slot with driving to and from location essentially backlogs the actor to committing their whole day to the project despite the fact they are not schedule for the day.

The other thing with the 4 hour slot is I'm over-estimating and it would be closer to 3 hours, maybe 3 hours and 20 minutes or something in that range.


Again, the difference here is commitment. Shooting times would be in the morning or at night btw.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Well, you're obviously not paying standard rates, so it doesn't really matter.

The way I'd do it is pay them a day rate, and pay them that whether they work for 8 hours or 4 hours. Very few in this business work with half-day rates, and even less charge by the hour (unless you're charging overtime on top of your day rate).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MaximusXXX said:
The other thing with the 4 hour slot is I'm over-estimating and it would be closer to 3 hours, maybe 3 hours and 20 minutes or something in that range.
Click to expand...

So your shoot could be 3 hours... or it could be 6 hours... or if a hiccup happens, 8 hours...

Just pay a day-rate and you can concentrate on shooting the film, instead of counting down the minutes like it's a doomsday clock.

Fwiw, $100 - $150 a day keeps most actors happy as a clam, over here. You might have a smaller pool to pick from, but I think you'll be shocked at how many actors will jump at the chance for any paid gig.

A 12-hour day for $100? It's more likely than you think.

As far as your actors who "have earned the right to good pay" :abduct: - why are they making you guess how much to pay them? Ask them what their day-rate is. If it's $500/day, tell them thanks but maybe next time. If it's $250/day, offer $150 and throw yourself at their feet. Kiss a little boot.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
This issue is closed now.

For references, SAG's minimum is $100/day.


I would never pay an actor a measly $100 for a 12 hour shift. EVER. I don't care what the standards are but I will always consider hourly pay.

I usually guarantee the actors 4 hours paid, so if I'm paying them $20/hr they are guaranteed $80. Doing the math that would be $240 for a 12 hour shift, and I would pay them extra for going over 8 and probably round it to $300.

But I've never had an actor work 12 hours thus far.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just asking this but when you hire an actor and pay by the day do you also supply meals? Or is everyone on their own.

The sags minimum is $100/day? To be frank, if I were hiring actors and they were willing to work for that - considering its a low budget and funds are tight - I would do it. If I were an actor looking for work to show on a resume that I am a paid actor I would do it...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MaximusXXX said:
This issue is closed now.

For references, SAG's minimum is $100/day.


I would never pay an actor a measly $100 for a 12 hour shift. EVER. I don't care what the standards are but I will always consider hourly pay.

I usually guarantee the actors 4 hours paid, so if I'm paying them $20/hr they are guaranteed $80. Doing the math that would be $240 for a 12 hour shift, and I would pay them extra for going over 8 and probably round it to $300.

But I've never had an actor work 12 hours thus far.
Click to expand...

Cool. If paying more makes you feel good, then by all means do so.

Now just balance that against always requiring much larger budgets to work with, to start with. Also, figuring out what else to cut from the budget in order to afford the higher-paid actors. Sound is a popular choice. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top