# Hiring a Film Crew: A Reading Path on Rates and Deal Memos Source: https://storiara.com/learn/crew-hiring Last updated: 2026-09-14 Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara > Film crews are hired from the top down. The producer hires the line producer or UPM, who brings on the 1st AD and department heads, and each head hires their own crew. Learn that structure first, then the order hires happen in prep, how rates are set on union and non-union shows, and the paperwork every hire signs before their first day: the deal memo, start paperwork, and weekly time cards. Crews are hired from the top down. The producer hires the line producer or UPM, who hires the 1st AD and the department heads, and each department head brings in their own people. As a newer producer or coordinator, you need to understand that structure, know what a fair rate looks like at your budget level, and get the right paperwork signed before anyone's first day. ## Understand the structure first [The core production team](https://storiara.com/blog/the-core-production-team-who-runs-a-film-set) explains who runs a set: the line producer and UPM on money and logistics, the 1st AD on the shooting day, the coordinator in the office, and the accountant tracking every dollar. Then browse the [roles directory](https://storiara.com/roles) one department at a time. Each role page covers the job in prep, on a shooting day, and at wrap, who the person reports to, and how people get the job. Read the ones you'll hire first: [line producer](https://storiara.com/roles/line-producer), [first assistant director](https://storiara.com/roles/first-assistant-director), [director of photography](https://storiara.com/roles/director-of-photography), and [production designer](https://storiara.com/roles/production-designer). ## Hire in the right order Read [how to hire a film crew](https://storiara.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-film-crew) together with the [indie pre-production checklist](https://storiara.com/blog/indie-film-pre-production-checklist). The checklist puts the line producer, 1st AD, and DP on the team around ten weeks out, before the first schedule and the real budget, because those people are the ones who build them. Heads of the electric and grip departments, the [gaffer](https://storiara.com/roles/gaffer) and [key grip](https://storiara.com/roles/key-grip), usually come through the DP, and their crews come through them. The same pattern holds in art, costume, and sound. ## Know the rates before you make offers What you pay depends on union status and budget. On IATSE shows, the [Low Budget Theatrical Agreement](https://storiara.com/blog/iatse-low-budget-theatrical-agreement) sets crew minimums by tier, from Ultra Low up through Tier 3, and [tier projects](https://storiara.com/blog/understanding-tier-projects-how-budget-size-affects-crew-rates) explains what counts toward the budget figure that decides the tier and what happens if you go over. For individual positions, the [crew rate lookup](https://storiara.com/tools/crew-rate-lookup) lists union minimums by role, and role pages include rates where they've been verified. Non-union rates are covered in [film crew day rates](https://storiara.com/blog/film-crew-day-rates). A quoted [day rate](https://storiara.com/glossary/day-rate) almost always assumes a set number of guaranteed hours, such as 10 or 12. Learn to turn it into an hourly rate and price the overtime; the [overtime calculator](https://storiara.com/tools/overtime-calculator) splits a day into straight time, time and a half, and double time using thresholds you set. [Kit rental](https://storiara.com/glossary/kit-rental) and [box rental](https://storiara.com/glossary/box-rental) are paid on top of the rate when crew bring their own gear. ## The paperwork Every hire gets a [crew deal memo](https://storiara.com/templates/crew-deal-memo) before their start date: position, dates, rate and guaranteed hours, overtime, kit or box rental, travel and per diem, and credit. [Crew deal memos](https://storiara.com/blog/crew-deal-memos) covers the memo in more depth. Then comes [start paperwork](https://storiara.com/glossary/start-paperwork) so payroll can pay people legally. Some crew work through a [loan-out company](https://storiara.com/glossary/loan-out-company), and the [payroll company](https://storiara.com/glossary/payroll-company) handles them differently, so find out before the first time card arrives. After people start, weekly time cards are how they get paid. [Film crew time cards](https://storiara.com/blog/film-crew-time-cards) works through a non-union PA's week in California and shows how accounting checks a card against the production report. Meanwhile the [crew contact list](https://storiara.com/templates/crew-contact-list) grows with every hire and feeds the call sheet, covered in [call sheets](https://storiara.com/learn/call-sheets). ## Union crews If the production is signatory to IATSE, the DGA, or the Teamsters, hiring preference and minimums change who you can hire and what you pay. [Navigating film unions](https://storiara.com/blog/navigating-film-unions-a-guide-to-the-dga-sag-aftra-and-iatse) is the overview, including how IATSE locals divide the crew. The [DGA low budget agreement](https://storiara.com/blog/dga-low-budget-agreement) sets pay for your ADs and UPM on theatrical films budgeted at $11 million or less, and the [qualification list](https://storiara.com/glossary/qualification-list) entry explains why DGA signatories give hiring preference to ADs on the list. The [unions and compliance path](https://storiara.com/learn/unions-and-compliance) goes further. ## Where hiring connects Crew labor is one of the biggest parts of any below-the-line budget, and every rate you agree to comes back with fringes on top. [Film budgeting](https://storiara.com/learn/film-budgeting) shows how those rates become account totals. For the week-by-week prep calendar that hiring sits inside, see [pre-production](https://storiara.com/learn/pre-production). ## Frequently asked questions ### Who should I hire first for a film crew? The line producer or UPM, then the 1st AD and the director of photography. Those three build or shape the schedule and budget, so they need to be on before either is locked. Department heads usually follow and bring their own crews. ### What paperwork does a crew member sign before starting? A crew deal memo with position, dates, rate, guaranteed hours, overtime, kit rental, travel, and credit, plus start paperwork so payroll can pay them legally. On a union show the relevant agreement's minimums apply on top of whatever the memo says. ### How do I know what to pay crew? On an IATSE show, the Low Budget Theatrical Agreement tier sets minimums based on the budget. On non-union shows, rates depend on the city, the budget, and the crew member's experience, so ask department heads what their people expect and convert every day rate to an hourly rate with overtime.