Loading and downloading film
On a film shoot the loader's home is the darkroom on the camera truck, or a black changing tent when the truck is too far away. Loading means taking a roll of unexposed stock out of its can and bag in total darkness, threading it into the feed side of a magazine, and closing the magazine. Downloading is the reverse: taking the exposed roll off the take-up side, bagging and canning it, and taping the can shut.
Every can and magazine gets labeled. A loaded mag carries a strip of camera tape with the stock type and emulsion number, roll length, and the roll number it will become. An exposed can gets production title, date, roll number, camera, stock and emulsion, footage exposed, and a clear note of "EXPOSED" and "DEVELOP NORMAL" or any push or pull instructions from the DP. A mislabeled can at the lab can mean a roll developed wrong, so experienced loaders are fussy about handwriting.
Loaders also clean magazines and the darkroom, check mags for scratches with a test roll, and keep a stock of fresh loaded mags ready so the 2nd AC never has to wait on a reload.
The raw stock inventory
At wrap the loader reconciles every foot of film. The daily raw stock report is the production's record of what was used, and the numbers have to add up. On 35mm, a common roll size is 1,000 feet.
Say A camera loaded 10 rolls of 1,000 feet today, which is 10,000 feet loaded.
| Category | Feet |
|---|---|
| Exposed (good and NG takes, sent to lab) | 7,340 |
| Short ends (3 cans, canned for reuse) | 2,120 |
| Waste (tails too short to use, fogged ends) | 540 |
| Total | 10,000 |
7,340 plus 2,120 plus 540 is 10,000, so the day balances. If it didn't, the loader would recheck the camera reports and can labels before the report goes to the production office. Standard 35mm four-perf runs at 90 feet per minute at 24 frames per second, so 7,340 exposed feet is a little over 81 minutes of footage. That number, compared against the script supervisor's screen minutes, gives the shooting ratio, and the shooting ratio calculator runs that math for budgeting film stock.
Shipping to the lab
Exposed cans go into a shipping box with a copy of each camera report and a lab order listing rolls, footage, and processing instructions. The loader or a PA drives the box to the lab, or a courier picks it up at wrap. The loader keeps a copy of every report and a shipping log, because when the lab calls at 2 a.m. about a problem roll, the first question is which magazine and which camera it came from.
Utility jobs on digital shows
On digital productions the classification shifts. A camera utility typically builds and breaks down camera accessories, runs cables for monitors and video, charges and rotates batteries, moves carts, and helps the 2nd AC on company moves. A digital utility supports the DIT by running media between set and the DIT cart, labeling cards, and helping with offloads. The work changes but the purpose is the same: keep the 1st and 2nd ACs on set next to the camera.
A realistic day on a film shoot
| Time | Work |
|---|---|
| 5:30 a.m. | Opens the camera truck, checks the darkroom, loads the first mags |
| 6:00 a.m. | Crew call. Delivers loaded mags to the 2nd AC at the cart |
| 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Downloads and reloads mags as rolls run out, cans exposed film |
| 1:00 p.m. | Lunch. Reloads a stack of mags for the afternoon |
| 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. | Changing tent at a remote set, downloads short ends before a new scene |
| 6:00 p.m. | Camera wrap. Downloads everything, labels cans |
| 6:45 p.m. | Raw stock report balanced, lab box packed with camera reports |
| 7:15 p.m. | Lab box handed to the driver |
Who the loader works with
The loader works for the second assistant camera and the first assistant camera. They coordinate with the production office on film stock orders and inventory, with the lab on shipping and processing, with transportation on the camera truck's location, and on digital shows with the DIT.
Pay and the union
On Local 600's 2026 to 2027 Western Region rate card, Panel 1 (features and one-hour episodic, studio-local), effective August 2, 2026:
| Classification | Schedule | Per hour | Per 8-hour day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film Loader | A-1, daily | $53.87 | n/a |
| Camera Utility Person | A-2, daily | $70.62 | $564.96 |
| Camera Utility Person | B-2, weekly | $63.29 | $2,531.60 per week |
| Digital Utility Person | A-2, daily | $48.58 | $388.64 |
A footnote on the card says the Camera Utility and Digital Utility rates apply to one-hour and long-form television recorded digitally.
Getting on the roster
Loading is the usual first union job in the camera department. To work in Los Angeles or the other Western Region states, a loader needs placement on the Industry Experience Roster through Contract Services. Path 1 is 30 days of signatory work as a film loader within one year. Path 2 is 100 days of union or non-union work within three years, and for loaders the roster sheet allows days worked as a film loader and as a digital utility to be combined. Applicants submit employment verification letters from payroll companies and complete general safety and harassment prevention courses, then join Local 600 within 60 days of placement.
From loader, the next step is 2nd AC. Loaders who learn the camera build, keep a clean darkroom, and never mislabel a can tend to get called when a 2nd AC spot opens.