Actor per diem

BloodnGuts

BloodnGuts

I was wondering do you give an actor a per diem every day they are away from their home and working or just on the days they are away from their home and not shooting/working??

Just asking I have an actor asking about per diem
 
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As a per diem is supposed to be used to cover living/food expenses then it would be every day you have them contracted to be in a certain location away from home.

Or really, whatever's in the contract/deal memo.
 
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Actors (and crew) per diem are set by contract. Unless the producer
is a guild (and/or) union signatory how it's paid and the amount is
open to negotiation. In general it's paid for every day, as jax said.
After all it does translate to “for each day”.
 
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directorik said:
Actors (and crew) per diem are set by contract. Unless the producer
is a guild (and/or) union signatory how it's paid and the amount is
open to negotiation. In general it's paid for every day, as jax said.
After all it does translate to “for each day”.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Rik. So what's a reasonable rate for a micro-budget Youtube shoot?
 
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An actor's living expenses in a location doesn't change based on the
producers budget. If the producer cannot afford to pay the per diem
(or travel or lodging) the producer should not hire from out of states.
If the show is a low budget ($5,000,000) production the hotel and
food in the city where it's being shot is not less than if the show is a
micro-budget YouTube production. The per diem should be enough to
provide the actor with reasonable lodging and meals in what ever area
the show is shooting. The actor should never spend anything in order
to be in your project - regardless of the budget.
 
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directorik said:
An actor's living expenses in a location doesn't change based on the
producers budget. If the producer cannot afford to pay the per diem
(or travel or lodging) the producer should not hire from out of states.
If the show is a low budget ($5,000,000) production the hotel and
food in the city where it's being shot is not less than if the show is a
micro-budget YouTube production. The per diem should be enough to
provide the actor with reasonable lodging and meals in what ever area
the show is shooting. The actor should never spend anything in order
to be in your project - regardless of the budget.
Click to expand...

Which begs the question.
 
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Working with SAG on our Ultra Low Budget feature we asked the question about this, since we have several actors from out of state that would be working on our feature.

We would be housing the actors in some nice houses near the shooting location that are being generously provided to us. Since those houses have kitchens and we are generously stocking those kitchens and pantries with food, we do not have to pay per diem since we are providing food for the actors outside of the shoot times. However, if we were providing housing at a hotel, we would need to provide per diem since they would be getting their own lunches dinners, etc.

However, you do have to pay the actors travel costs and pay them for their travel time, as well as perdiem on the day they are travelling. This all adds up very quickly. Also, remember, if you require the out of town actor to stay in your vicinity for, say, a day between shooting, then you need to pay them the day rate for that day. So make sure you work your production schedule very wisely if using SAG actors from out of town.
 
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Oh. OK, you are talking about rate.

I know that the SAG Ultra Low Budget Mininum wage is 100 per day.

During my time as a non-union actor I worked on films for the following:

Free
Gas Money
50/day
100/day
600/day

Do you have no budget, or do you have some budget?
 
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I have some budget, but, first of all, I don't like unions, being a staunch conservative, so I wouldn't go with what a union would demand.

That said, I don't want to take advantage of anyone either, and I've build my business practice around that. So, for a non-union actor, assuming no travel or hotel costs to speak of, how much should I pay for a day? I would think that an ultra-low-budget Youtube would be minimum wage.
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
I don't want to take advantage of anyone either, and I've build my business practice around that
Click to expand...

I'm curious - what exactly is your background in? I'm trying to identify some common or relateable themes, 'cos I've found it difficult understanding where you're coming from in more than a couple of threads. I'd like to understand you better :)

.
 
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Zensteve said:
I'm curious - what exactly is your background in? I'm trying to identify some common or relateable themes, 'cos I've found it difficult understanding where you're coming from in more than a couple of threads. I'd like to understand you better :)

.
Click to expand...

I'm a lawyer, but I have substantial education in the social sciences, particularly economics and political science. As Directorik will tell you, I've spent the last few years asking questions about film, and I've gone to a couple of film markets and conferences.
 
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You're doing a low/no/mini/micro shoot. You want to pay as little as you can, and preferably nothing. The real issue is how much your project means to you. You get what you pay for; if you pay nothing, you may get nothing. And this applies to every person working on your shoot, not just your actors.

The issue you face is cramming as much quality into your minuscule budget as you can. The solution to this is exquisite, patient planning; in other words, preproduction. Once you have your shooting script & storyboards, and have figured out all of the logistical and artistic needs you will know how much of your budget is left for paying people (or not).

You owe everyone working with you efficient use of their time and talents, and a detailed preproduction is the first step; you are showing those involved you do value their time. The next step is to keep everyone in the loop at all times, and to treat them like the professionals the are or aspire to be. There should always be a comfortable "rest" area for the cast and crew, a well stocked craft table and great meals. This lets everyone know you value their well-being - and they will work harder and happy because of it.

What you have left of your production budget after the logistical costs of the shoot and treating your cast and crew like royalty is what you can divvy up amongst your cast and crew. Everyone should, at the least, get twice the gas it took to get them there. Then you can figure it out on your own - DP, PSM and leading roles are, of course, on top of the list.
 
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OK, let's get to it. I want to be fair, but I'm not 20th Century Fox. How much should I pay an actor for a day, considering I'm going ULB?

This is, by the way, for a table read or something more elaborate, just to get my scripts fleshed out.
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
OK, let's get to it. I want to be fair, but I'm not 20th Century Fox. How much should I pay an actor for a day, considering I'm going ULB?

This is, by the way, for a table read or something more elaborate, just to get my scripts fleshed out.
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You pay no per diem at all if the actor is local. None. If
the actor is traveling more than 20/30 miles offer to pay
for gas.

For a table read you should pay $50. The reality is you could
pay them nothing. A table read takes no more than two or
three hours out of their day. Do one in the evening and serve
a nice dinner.
 
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directorik said:
You pay no per diem at all if the actor is local. None. If
the actor is traveling more than 20/30 miles offer to pay
for gas.

For a table read you should pay $50. The reality is you could
pay them nothing. A table read takes no more than two or
three hours out of their day. Do one in the evening and serve
a nice dinner.
Click to expand...

OK, but I will NOT pay nothing. This is not just because I'm a nice guy - though I hope I am - but because I want to avoid lawsuits in the future.

For example, if a bunch of actors, DP's etc were to do work for free on your test pilot or whatever, and then you go on to make the film and make money, they will have a claim on ownership of the film and, hence, the profits. If I pay the agreed-upon rate, however, and we put our agreement in writing, they will have no claim.
 
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