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One of the first decisions you’ll have to make as a producer is whether or not to hire DGA directors.
Counting some of the best working directors in its union, the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) has a few dozen rules you must follow to work with its talent. One of which is paying the minimum DGA rates set out in the DGA Rate Card.
In this guide, we break down the most current DGA rates according to the latest DGA 2024/2025 Rate Card, so you can determine what you owe your director, AD, or UPM on your next project.
Keep in mind that these are just the minimum rates. Quite often, DGA members are paid far beyond these numbers. The DGA 2024 Rate Card for theatrical motion pictures, television, and pilots is valid through June 30, 2025. However, the DGA commercial rate card is effective from January 25, 2024 to November 30, 2024.
DGA rates refer to the minimum amount of money the Directors Guild of America will allow its members to work for on a given project. DGA rates will vary depending on the type of production, the schedule, and the budget.
Unlike SAG rates, DGA rates are far more than just a set price for a week or day of work. Per the DGA Rate Card, you must also guarantee a set number of days for pre-production, shooting, and post.
Under most DGA contracts, you pay a lump sum for the entire production process. However, if you have to add days beyond the minimum, you’ll have to pay on a daily or weekly scale.
Producers will also have to contribute to the DGA’s health and benefits plan. This additional percentage is commonly referred to as “fringes.” More on this below.
Before calculating the rates, be sure to have at least a rudimentary budget for your project. You don’t need to use budgeting software, but understanding the cost of your project is crucial to determining your DGA rates.
You’ll have to submit this budget to the DGA to ensure your project is eligible and eventually pay your director.
You can use Wrapbook’s film budget template to get started!
It’s important to note that you’ll have to pay an additional 19.5% on your DGA payroll for health and benefits, also known as “fringes.” This marks a 0.5% increase from the previous DGA rate card.
While this post focuses on director minimums, it's good to point out that for theatrical and television rates for unit production managers (UPMs) and assistant directors (ADs), training and qualification list fees also apply. These fees depend heavily on their work zone (NY, LA, or a third area). For specifics on this topic, we recommend consulting the DGA directly.
Additionally, on full theatrical and established TV, producers must consider vacation and holiday pay, which accounts for 8.583%. The DGA 2024 Rate Card requires 4% of the salary as vacation pay and 4.583% of the salary as applicable holiday pay. Producers tend to accrue the holiday, but pay out the vacation per week.
On a full-budget feature, a UPM or AD gets 19.5% in pension and health pay and 8.583% in vacation and holiday pay. On a low-budget feature, they receive 19.5% pension and health pay but no vacation and holiday pay (under some, but not all levels).
As you can tell, the contract language here can often become confusing and widely varied, so always consult with the DGA first. You can see the new pension and health plan numbers here.
If you’re producing a film, look no further than the DGA Theatrical Agreement. Here, you can find the DGA Rate Card for films across a variety of budgets.
Like SAG rates, DGA minimums are based on your project's budget. Due to the immense amount of work directors put into a film, DGA rates are most commonly expressed on a weekly scale with minimum work commitments.
In the entertainment industry, a week is considered five days. If your production goes beyond five days in a week (which does happen), you’ll have to pay your director per state overtime laws.
If you’re making a studio flick, chances are this is where you’ll find your DGA rates. Applicable for films with budgets starting at $11 million, this part of the DGA Rate Card outlines both minimum weeks allowed for a project along with pay expressed on a weekly scale.
If you’re making a short or documentary, this is also your contract, regardless of your budget. You can download the latest DGA Rate Card here.
For unit production managers and assistant directors, rates are:
You can download the relevant rate card here.
Once you drop a dollar below $11 million, your project becomes a “low-budget” DGA production (we know). In this section of the DGA agreement, nothing changes in regards to prep time, guaranteed shooting time, and cutting allowance.
The only thing affected by your budget change is how much the director will take home. The weekly salary is 10% less than it would be on the Basic DGA Theatrical Contract. This is also reflected in the compensation beyond guaranteed work and daily employment rate.
You can download the latest DGA rates here.
UPM and AD rates for this budget range are:
You can download the latest DGA rates here.
As in the previous DGA Rate Cards, the 2024-2025 DGA rates for levels 4A and 4B are identical. If your project falls between $3.75 million and $8.5 million, you’ll have to pay your directors 25% less than they would make under the Basic DGA Theatrical Contract.
Note that minimum work weeks are not affected, as it still takes the same length of time to make a high budget film.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that the DGA Rate Card only sets forth the minimum number of weeks. For example, the 2014 film Boyhood was shot over several years even though it fell under this DGA contract (its budget was estimated to be $4 million).
You can download the latest DGA rates here.
The DGA rates for UPMs and ADs though vary whether it’s level 4A ( $3.75MM - $5.5MM) or 4B ($5.5MM - $8.5MM):
You can find the latest DGA rates here.
Unlike DGA television rates, Level 3 doesn’t set a specific program rate, prep period, or even a DGA rate for work beyond a guaranteed commitment.
Instead, for films with budgets between $2.6 and $3.75 million, you must guarantee your director works on the project for 13 weeks and ensure the rate for the whole job is at least $75,000. The minimum compensation for a second unit director is $1,500 per day.
The minimums for UPMs and ADs are as follows:
If your film’s budget is under $2.6 million, then you’re not looking at a specific DGA rate for directors.
In fact, for projects under this cost threshold, the minimum pay is negotiable between the producer and director per the DGA Rate Card 2024/2025.
That being said, you’ll still have to pay at least 19.5% in fringes on top of whatever rate you and the director reach. In terms of post-production, you must also provide the same number of days for the director to supervise an edit as they took for principal photography.
UPM and AD rates vary for a level 2 ($1.1MM - $2.6MM) or level 1B ($500K - $1.1MM) project. Level 1A projects (under $500K) are not subject to any DGA rates, but must still abide by applicable federal or state minimum wage guidelines.
In television, there’s more work keeping DGA directors busier than ever. However, the guild's definition of a DGA television rate depends on when an episode is airing in the series.
Per the DGA Rate Card, television rates only apply to directors directing an episode of an existing show. Since the groundwork has already been laid, DGA directors have fewer choices to make when compared to a pilot.
For this reason, the DGA broke directing pilots out into its own category.
So, if you’re not producing a pilot, these are your rates.
Since networks have been around television the longest, they have their own special rules and regulations. Whether you’re dealing with SAG rates or even crew jobs, the rates when working on a network show are often higher than cable.
To determine your DGA rates, you’ll need to know both your budget and episode length. While the DGA Rate Card refers to “dramatic programs,” there isn’t a separate rate card for comedies. Dramatic, here, simply means a scripted narrative show versus reality.
Download the updated rates here.
Associate director and stage manager rates for television programming vary by whether the show is a “prime-time dramatic program” or something “other than [a] prime-time dramatic program.”
For prime-time dramatic programs:
*Production fee is payable to 1st stage manager only.
The minimums for other than prime-time dramatic programs:
Find the updated rate card for associate directors and stage managers here.
If you’re not working with ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC, your television rates will fall squarely in the cable/non-network camp. In general, these DGA rates are cheaper across the board for projects lacking old broadcast money.
Beyond that, the DGA Rate Card for non-network television shows is very similar. The amount of prep time and guaranteed shooting are nearly identical. “Dramatic” still means scripted narrative.
Download the updated rates here.
Making a television pilot is an extremely laborious process. Since it’s the first episode, directors must make 10 times the number of decisions they would make on a preexisting show.
It’s part of the reason why directors get an executive producer credit on shows when they direct the pilot.
The DGA Rate Card for pilots gives directors a higher amount of prep time and compensation to account for the unique pilot directing process.
As with most television, your minimum DGA rates depend on where your pilot is initially being aired and its length.
As with most DGA rates, network rates are always higher than cable. For network pilots, DGA directors must receive a flat rate for their efforts, increasing with program length.
Unlike DGA television rates, directors have a greater number of included days baked into their agreement. Additional days cost a few thousand dollars more as well.
The main difference between DGA rates for network and cable pilots is pay. Despite having the same number of included days, producers don’t have to shell out as much upfront and on an additional day basis.
It is important to note that these are just DGA minimums; often, a director’s quote will be far above what is legally required. People like David Fincher aren’t working with Netflix for the bare minimum outlined in the DGA Rate Card.
Some commercials are shot over several weeks. Others are shot in a few hours.
When it comes to commercials, the DGA 2024 Rate Card is simple and easy to understand. Regardless of the commercial’s scale, the DGA commercial rates for directors must be at least $1,719 for the day or $6,875 for a 5-day week.
According to the DGA Commercial Rate Card, you should expect to pay an additional 19.5% into the DGA health and pension plan. That means when paying $1000 for the day, you’ll have to pay an additional fee of $195.
Download the latest DGA Commercial Rate Card here, which is valid through November 30, 2024.
Understanding DGA rates can be tricky for even the most veteran of producers. As with anything related to DGA, you should always defer to their website.
Please note that most of these rates will likely change again by June 30, 2025, with the DGA Commercial Rate Card being valid through November 30, 2024. Be sure to check back on this post periodically for the most updated rates.
If you’re curious about other union rates, check out our updated SAG Rates for 2024. To learn more about how Wrapbook can supercharge your entertainment payroll and accounting, watch our demo!
At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
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