Local 44's description of the craft has a line crews repeat: "Stunts happen to people, gags happen to things." The special effects supervisor owns the gags. If the script says rain, the supervisor figures out how many rain towers, how much water, and where the water goes after it hits the street. If it says a car bursts into flames, the supervisor designs the fire, gets it permitted, and stands at the firing position when it goes.
What the department covers
Special effects work on a typical feature falls into a few groups:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Atmospheric | Rain towers and bars, snow, wind machines, fog and smoke, dust |
| Mechanical | Breakaway furniture and glass, pull rigs, rocking sets, gimbals, car rigs |
| Fire | Controlled flame bars, burning props, fireplaces that need to look lit |
| Pyrotechnic | Bullet hits, sparks, muzzle flash elements, explosions |
| Water | Tanks, flooded sets, dump tanks, wave makers |
Local 44 lists the supervisor's (coordinator's) job as designing the effects, staffing the shop, budgeting construction, hiring specialized personnel, and ensuring stunt safety for actors and crew where effects are involved. Qualified assistants, at gang boss or journeyperson rates, handle specific skills.
Prep work
It starts with the script breakdown. Every effect gets tagged, and the supervisor prices each one. A rain scene, for instance, is priced in towers, water trucks or hydrant permits, pumps, crew hours, and drying time for wardrobe between takes. The supervisor attends the tech scout to check water sources, drainage, ground conditions, and wind.
Pyrotechnic scenes carry extra prep under Safety Bulletin #16. The bulletin says production must notify the departments involved (special effects, stunts, camera, art, construction, hair, makeup, wardrobe) in advance, and any performer who may be involved. Required licenses and permits come from the authority having jurisdiction before any pyrotechnic effect is used. Sets, props, wardrobe, wigs, and makeup near the effect must be made available to the operator in charge for evaluation and, if necessary, testing. Special effects personnel must tell the transportation coordinator what pyrotechnic materials will be transported.
Safety responsibilities
On the day, Bulletin #16 puts several obligations on the pyrotechnic operator in charge and the production:
- The call sheet, or another suitable notice, should tell personnel that pyrotechnic effects are planned and what type.
- Everyone involved attends a safety orientation meeting on site, with a walk-through or dry run that includes the operator in charge and the stunt coordinator if applicable.
- The 1st AD or a designee announces exits, the primary escape route, and alternates before the effect.
- Fire suppression equipment such as charged extinguishers and hoses must be manned and ready during testing, rehearsal, and filming.
- Electrically fired devices stay shunted until firing, firing power comes from isolated ungrounded batteries or dedicated ungrounded generators under 5 kilowatts, and house power is never used directly.
- There should be no wireless transmissions near electrically fired devices without first consulting the operator in charge.
- Nothing fires unless the area is in the continuous, unobstructed view of the operator in charge or a designee.
- After each event, only the operator in charge or their designees enter the area until it is declared safe, and a fire watch is maintained as the fire authority requires.
Pyrotechnicians "should not be rushed, interrupted or distracted," in the bulletin's words, and no performer is rigged with a pyrotechnic device without their consent and consultation with the operator and, where applicable, the stunt coordinator. Minors under 16 are allowed on set during pyrotechnic handling only if their performance requires it, and some states prohibit it altogether. Other bulletins apply to specific gags: #19 for open flame, #17 for water hazards, and #41 for gimbals.
A rain night
EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT, Scenes 42 and 42A, crew call 5:00 PM:
| Time | SFX activity |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | SFX crew arrives; water truck and pumps staged, hydrant permit checked |
| 1:30 PM | Rain towers built and positioned outside frame lines per the DP's plan |
| 4:00 PM | Test rain with lights off to check drainage down the gutter |
| 5:00 PM | Crew call |
| 7:30 PM | Lighting tests with rain running; adjust tower heights for backlight |
| 8:30 PM | Safety meeting covers wet surfaces and cable protection |
| 9:00 PM | Rolling; SFX foreperson on radio to turn rain on at "action" |
| 2:00 AM | Wrap; drain, strike towers, clean up standing water |
Local 44 rates and licensing
In Los Angeles, special effects technicians are members of IATSE Local 44. The Local 44 website posts Wage Schedule 1 for theatrical pictures over $15 million, covering 8/4/24 to 8/2/25, with these classifications:
| Classification | Hourly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|
| SFX foreperson | $61.45 | $3,283.42 |
| SFX gang boss | $56.91 | |
| SFX journeyperson | $53.80 | |
| SFX licensed powderperson | $61.70 | |
| SFX assistant licensed powderperson | $57.60 |
That schedule covers only the first year of the 2024 contract, so pull the schedule for your shoot dates before budgeting. Two notes on that schedule matter for pyro days. When a Class 1 licensed powderperson is working with explosives and they are detonated, the powderperson earns a 10% bonus: $61.70 x 1.10 = $67.87 per hour at the 2024-25 rate. If that person is also gang boss over the crew, the gang boss rate is 15% above the bonus rate: $67.87 x 1.15 = $78.05.
Local 44 lists California State Fire Marshal pyrotechnic licenses in Third, Second, and First Class, plus powder cards, welding certifications, and dive certification, depending on the work.
Getting into the craft
Local 44 describes the route: log 1,200 hours with IATSE signatory employers doing classified prop shop duties and pass a written prop shop test. Moving to special effects requires holding a prop shop card for four years and passing written and practical exams. A non-union coordinator can join as a propmaker after 30 qualified days as a special effects coordinator, as recognized by Contract Services, on a show the union organizes.
Paperwork
Effects breakdowns and bids, permits and license copies, material inventories for transport, test logs, and safety meeting notes. The supervisor also works with the VFX supervisor when a practical element will be extended digitally. Our post on breaking down stunts, SFX, and VFX shows how those elements get separated on the breakdown sheet, and each effect should appear on the call sheet for its scene.