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In Reply to: Re: film production posted by Kenner on February 25, 2003 at 16:37:36:
I'm not sure the source of your numbers, but if it's a buddy, I'd take what he says with a grain of salt. Asst Film editors do not make $200 an hour. None, ever. I include a link to the editors guild website, of which I am a member. You'll find the top rates for editors and sound mixers to be more in the $2000 a week range. In this day and age few people make overscale, and the ones who do can be counted on a single hand. The highest rates I have ever heard of in 27 years in this business are triple scale. That number falls far short of $200 an hour and never do assistants get triple scale only a few big name picture editors and re-recording mixers.and BTW at 10,000,000 the actor is walking off with the lions share, as far as the working stiffs who make movies go. To take a lead actors wage and lump every other cost against it and come to a conclusion that actors wages are not a problem is absurd.
Steve
Follow Ups:
SR,I appreciate the desire for accuracy.
When I mentioned $200 per hour, I referred to "billing" which in this case was the amount I was told a consulting post-production company in Santa Monica billed for editing. This was a special, but apparently not unique case, in which the enormity of the post-production of 100s of F/X & CG sequences- and remarkably a time constraint- meant that PP work was done by numerous firms. Also, though an assistant, my friend had an (on-and-off) staff of two others (assistant assistants?) within that $200/HR fee and worked 60-80 hours per week for a year.
This situation reminds me of other professionals- a staff attorney may bill out by the firm at $300/HR but this includes overhead, secretaries, investigation, copying etc. and the attorney's wages are $3000 a week, not the $12-15,000 billed.
I did not intend to lump the salary of a Hanks or Roberts in with below the line personnel, but wanted to point out that in large-budget features like the $100 million+ movies these lead actors appear in their salaries of $10-20 million are now something like 10-20% of the budgets. "Titanic" cost over $200 million and I would guess that the lead actors were well under 10%. But this movie has passed $2Billion! BO and video income and the like other $100Million+ movies that produce $300Million+ incomes the leads' $10Million salary is shown to be cost-effective.
My point was to emphasize the large contribution of crew and post-production people whose efforts are not fully appreciated by the general public in terms of both cost and contribution. I went through a phase where I believed that studio movies were 20% script, 20% directing, 20% acting, 20% lighting, and 20% editing! Now I realize that product placement on E! and CNN are another 50%! For independent film the extra 50% becomes Sundance.
Remember that I am not an insider looking at accounting of these figures.
K
Steve---Interesting, most of those jobs pay around what Building Tradesmen make in a town like Chicago. Good dough but not getting rich. But cleaner and safer than construction. And it IS Hollywood.A couple of our Boilermakers worked on permit with the Stagehands for a movie here in Chicago, building a device in a swimming pool to simulate a plane crash or something. Big articulated arms that needed welding together. Stagehands were out of welders and called our hall for guys. Our guys got a couple of weeks work out of it, money was good and so were conditions.
Yes sir I drip glamour. There was a time when we were way ahead of most workers in most industries. Not anymore. My minimum work week is 48.6 hours, my average is 52 hours. The current and next contract offer no sick pay and no paid personal days. I think we are the only workers in America(union anyway)that get zero paid sick days. Our vacation benefit maxes out after 8 years at 3 weeks per year. Not one single day of that can be carried over from year to year.I have a friend who works at CBS in a NABET job that makes $1 an hour less, but gets similar medical and dental. He also gets 5 weeks per year vacation, 2 weeks sick pay and 2 weeks personal days. Any or all of that can be collected at year end or carried over. A couple months back he told me he had enough time saved up to take off for 9 months and never miss a check. Of course he only gets to do soaps and game shows. He's not into the big glamour lifestyle that I have.
Steve
Steve---You're doing allright. In the Building Trades sick days and personal days are unknown. "Put it on the check" is the way we think. No vacations either and they would be hard to implement seeing as I usually work for over a half-dozen contractors every year. My Local does get an extra 5% of what we made when we're laid off, vacation pay. But most trades, or even other Boilermaker locals, don't have such a thing.Do they have to buy you lunch every day?
TB,I find movie making endlessly facinating as it's so similar to a military operation but (hopefully) no one is injured.***
As you say, there are definite perks to the movie-making scene besides the money, safety and the nice weather of LA. The conditions are very careful and the mood is generally positive and friendly- only directors and the Nicholson-level are allowed to scream. A substantial time is spent waiting so you meet and talk to some interesting people who have been called. Teh food is surprisingly good and I notice set caterers are now credited.
As you say, there are definite perks to the movie-making scene besides safety and the nice weather of LA. At the set of Dr. Doolittle I watched from the back where a fellow was sitting with a wild red-tailed hawk on his arm! He was hanging around with it to acclimatize it to being around people. That does not happen often in my regular work which involves construction. I have met quite a few lead feature actors but I remember that hawk more vividly!
My friends that are crew and PP do not get rich but instead work about 6-8 months per year and go to Bhutan, Nepal, or the Amazon for a month ot two. The suits have high incomes but have to work 80 hours per week year round and worry about the right table at Mortons and whether Range Rovers are out now and Mercedes G500s are in. A friend in studio business affairs mistakenly bought a Jaguar XKR convertible and was soon moved to an office that was 1'8" smaller.
I think I would rather join the Bhutan touring crowd with 6 months off!
K
***[Cameron is absolutely a nut about safety and in all those complex shots of explosions, drownings, shooting, fire, alien mauling, and killing there is virtually nothing beyond a Band-Aid cut or scrape. He refused to use those small remote-control helicopter cameras because he considered them unsafe.]
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