This is practical guidance from a production point of view, not legal or tax advice. Employment rules differ by state, so have an employment attorney or your payroll company confirm how you're hiring before offers go out.
Settle three things before the first offer
Hiring goes wrong when the first call to a DP happens before anyone knows what the job pays. Before any offers, get these nailed down:
- The budget, at least by department. You can't offer a gaffer a rate if the electric line isn't set.
- The shooting schedule, at least as a draft. Number of shoot days, prep weeks, and whether it's a 5-day or 6-day week decide every deal.
- Union status. A production signed to an IATSE or DGA agreement hires under that agreement's rates and rules. A non-union show may not be able to hire union members at all. Decide this with the line producer, because it changes the crew pool.
Hire from the top down
This order fits a typical independent feature. Each hire in the first rows shapes who comes next.
| Order | Position | Why now | Typical start |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Line producer or UPM | Builds the budget and schedule assumptions every rate depends on | Before financing closes, or at the latest 10 to 12 weeks out |
| 2 | Production coordinator | Runs the office, start paperwork, and crew list | 8 weeks out |
| 3 | 1st AD | Breaks down the script and builds the shooting schedule | 6 to 8 weeks out |
| 4 | Director of photography | Chooses camera, grip, and electric keys and the gear package | 6 weeks out |
| 5 | Production designer | Hires art director, set decorator, prop master | 6 to 8 weeks out, earlier for builds |
| 6 | Location manager | Scouting and contracts can't wait for the rest of the crew | 6 to 8 weeks out |
| 7 | Keys: gaffer, key grip, sound mixer, costume designer, key hair and makeup, script supervisor | Each brings a department plan and crew names | 3 to 4 weeks out |
| 8 | Department crews | Filled from the keys' recommendations | 1 to 3 weeks out, many only for shoot days |
DGA assistant directors have prep minimums under the Low Budget Sideletter, which is a useful check even on a non-union show. On a DGA Level 2 film (budgets over $1.1 million up to $3 million), the 1st AD gets at least seven days of prep and the key 2nd AD at least three. On Level 3, it's 15 days and seven. A 1st AD hired the Friday before shooting can't build a schedule anyone will trust.
How big a crew do you need?
Crew size follows the script and the schedule. Here's one plan for an 18-day, 1.5-camera indie feature with mostly practical locations and few night exteriors. Treat it as an example to argue with.
| Department | Positions | Head count |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Line producer, production coordinator, production accountant (part time), 2 set PAs | 5 |
| ADs | 1st AD, 2nd AD, 2nd 2nd AD (added on large background days) | 2 to 3 |
| Camera | DP, 1st AC, 2nd AC, DIT | 4 |
| Electric | Gaffer, best boy electric, electrician | 3 |
| Grip | Key grip, best boy grip, dolly grip | 3 |
| Sound | Mixer, boom operator | 2 |
| Art | Production designer, art director, set dresser, prop master | 4 |
| Costume, hair, makeup | Costume designer, set costumer, key makeup, key hair | 4 |
| Script | Script supervisor | 1 |
| Locations | Location manager, assistant location manager | 2 |
| Total | 30 to 31 |
Scenes drive the changes. A car-to-car chase adds a picture car coordinator and more grips. Two kids in 20 scenes add a studio teacher in California. A night-heavy schedule might add a genny operator. Go through the breakdown with each key before you lock heads.
Where the crew comes from
On most shows, much of the crew comes in because a department head vouches for them. When that network runs out, or you're shooting somewhere new, these are the usual sources:
| Source | What it is | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Department heads | Keys bring people they trust | Nearly every below-the-line hire |
| DGA Availability Lists | Weekly lists of DGA Qualification List members who are available, by category and region, including low budget lists | 1st ADs, 2nd ADs, UPMs on DGA shows |
| Contract Services Industry Experience Roster | The Los Angeles roster for more than 125 IATSE and Basic Crafts classifications; producers signatory to those agreements use it to give preference of employment | Union crew in LA |
| IATSE and Teamsters locals | Some locals refer available members to signatory productions | Union crew in their region |
| State and city film commissions | Some publish crew and vendor directories | Shooting away from home |
| Referrals from other productions | Line producers and coordinators trade names | Filling a gap fast |
| Online crew listings and social groups | Job posts and crew groups | Entry level, specialist gear owners |
The DGA notes that its production lists are for networking and aren't a job referral service. The same caution applies to any list: it tells you who's available, not who's right.
Vetting before you offer
A reel shows what someone shot with a good director and a good budget. It doesn't tell you whether they show up on time or can light a kitchen in 40 minutes. Before an offer:
- Call two references from recent shows, ideally the 1st AD or line producer, and ask how the person handled a bad day.
- Ask what they need. A DP who says "a 20-ton package and a Technocrane" is telling you something about fit.
- Check the kit. Sound carts, makeup kits, and grip trucks are rented from crew. Get an inventory before you agree to a rental.
- Match the schedule to their calendar. Ask about holds on other jobs as well as your dates.
Employee or contractor
This is the decision that causes the most trouble after wrap. The IRS says there's no single test. It looks at behavioral control (does the production control what the worker does and how), financial control (how they're paid, who supplies tools, whether expenses are reimbursed), and the relationship (contracts, benefits, whether the work is central to the business). A boom operator working your call times on your set, directed by your mixer, is hard to describe as an independent business.
California makes it more concrete for film. Wage Order 12 applies to all persons employed in the motion picture industry and sets overtime, meal periods, and rest periods for them, so misclassifying crew there also means missing overtime and meal premiums. Most productions hire crew as W-2 employees through an entertainment payroll company, which handles withholding. Ask whether they provide workers' compensation coverage or whether you need your own policy. A crew member with their own loan-out company is paid through it with the right paperwork on file.
Paperwork before anyone works
Nobody should work a prep day before this is done:
- A signed crew deal memo with position, rate, guaranteed hours, overtime basis, kit rental, and dates. The deal memo guide covers negotiating the terms.
- The payroll company's start paperwork packet, including tax and identity forms and loan-out documents where relevant.
- In California, the written notice required by Labor Code section 2810.5 at the time of hiring. It covers the rate of pay and how it's calculated (including overtime rates), the regular payday, the employer's name and address, and the workers' compensation carrier, among other items. The statute directs the Labor Commissioner to publish templates, and your payroll company can tell you which form it uses.
- Kit or box rental agreements with inventories.
- The crew member added to the crew contact list with emergency contact.
Rates for common positions are in film crew day rates, with starting figures in the crew rate lookup.
A six-week hiring calendar
For a feature with principal photography starting Monday, November 2, 2026:
| Week of | Hiring | Paperwork |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 21 | Line producer confirms budget by department and union status; 1st AD, DP, PD, location manager offers out | Deal memos drafted from the budget |
| Sep 28 | Keys hired; DP and gaffer start gear list | Payroll company set up; start packets ready |
| Oct 5 | Keys submit crew lists and rates; tech scout dates set | Deal memos out for keys' crews |
| Oct 12 | Remaining crew confirmed; backups identified for each key position | Signed memos and start paperwork collected |
| Oct 19 | Prep for art, costume, locations in full swing | Kit inventories and rental agreements signed |
| Oct 26 | Tech scout; loaders, PAs, and day players booked | Crew list final; call sheet contacts checked |
Keep a backup name for every key. People book other jobs, and the week before shooting is the worst time to start over.
Keeping the crew list in Storiara
In Storiara, crew are added in the Cast & Crew module, where you can import a crew list from CSV or XLSX, record each person's union and contract, and send availability requests. Crew assigned there show up on call sheets, which go out by email or as a shareable link. Storiara doesn't generate deal memos or handle payroll, so those stay with your production office and payroll company.