The sample is the deal for Hannah Cole, the production sound mixer on SALT FLATS. It's worth studying because it has the three things that make crew deals complicated on an out-of-town indie: a day rate with overtime, a gear package rented from the crew member, and housing and per diem because she isn't local.
The dollar amounts on the sample are illustrative, chosen so the arithmetic is easy to follow. Real rates depend on position, experience, union status, and market. The crew rate lookup and the post on film crew day rates are better places to start a number.
Use this template as a starting point and review it with an entertainment attorney before the first memo goes out. The clause rows are plain-language summaries so both sides can follow the deal, and the signed version needs proper contract wording. Check the wage and hour rules in the state where you shoot, too.
For what a deal memo is and how it fits into hiring, the crew deal memos guide and the glossary entry for deal memo cover the background.
Working out the rate block
SALT FLATS shoots in California, where the Labor Commissioner's overtime rules for nonexempt employees require 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 8 in a workday, up to 12, and double time after 12. A day rate quoted "for 10 hours" therefore contains 8 straight hours and 2 overtime hours. You have to back out the hourly base or the overtime numbers will be wrong.
The math on Hannah's memo:
- 8 straight hours + (2 hours x 1.5) = 11 straight-time hours in a 10-hour day
- $440 / 11 = $40.00 base hourly rate
- Hours 11 and 12: $40 x 1.5 = $60.00 per hour
- After 12 hours: $40 x 2 = $80.00 per hour
Day 5 at the Sundown Motor Inn wrapped at 13 hours. Her pay for that day:
- 8 x $40 = $320
- 4 x $60 = $240 (hours 9 through 12)
- 1 x $80 = $80 (hour 13)
- Total: $640
That $640 is what should show on her time card for the day, so the memo's rate block and the payroll company's calculation need to agree. The overtime calculator runs the same numbers for other rates.
Writing the hourly base on the memo saves an argument later. If the memo only says "$440/10," the payroll company, the accountant, and the mixer can each work out a different overtime rate.
Kit, box, and package rentals
A sound mixer usually brings her own cart: recorder, wireless, boom mics, timecode. On the sample it's rented at $250 per shoot day, so 12 x $250 = $3,000 for the shoot. Rental is paid on an invoice, separately from wages, and needs an inventory attached with serial numbers. That inventory should match the sound section of the equipment checklist.
The insurance row is where productions get into trouble. If the memo says production covers the package but the gear isn't on the inventory, nobody knows whether the stolen wireless receiver was covered. The kit rental and box rental entries explain the difference, and kit rentals and box rentals goes into how productions pay them.
Filling in a deal memo for each hire
- Agree on the rate and guaranteed hours by phone or email, and write down exactly what was said, including whether the rate is for 10 or 12 hours.
- Fill in the production block once and save it as the base copy for the whole crew.
- Enter the crew member's details, their home base, and whether they're hired as an individual or through a loan-out company.
- Work out the hourly base and write overtime and double-time rates in the compensation rows.
- Add kit or package rental with a daily or weekly figure and attach the inventory.
- Add housing, per diem, and travel for anyone not local.
- Review the clause rows. Change credit wording to match the position.
- Send to your attorney before the first batch goes out. After that, only changed terms need review.
- Collect the signed memo with the rest of the start paperwork before the first day of work.
- Add the crew member to the crew contact list once the memo is signed.
Where crew deals fall apart
The rate basis was never written down. A 12-hour day rate and a 10-hour day rate with the same dollar figure are very different jobs, and the difference shows up in the first overtime week.
Prep and wrap days are left off. The mixer checks her package and jams timecode with the camera team at camera prep on 10/2, and if the memo only lists shoot days, that day turns into an argument.
Kit gets used without being on the memo. A gaffer's personal lights end up on set for two weeks and there's no rate, no inventory, and no coverage when one breaks.
The memo arrives after the first day. People are less inclined to negotiate after they've already worked, and payroll can't process someone without paperwork. Send memos with the start packet a week before prep.
What the deal memo feeds
Signed rates go into the budget's crew lines and the payroll company's setup. Names and roles go onto the crew contact list and into the crew calls on the call sheet. For cast, the equivalent document is the cast deal memo. If you're still putting a team together, how to hire a film crew covers the steps before the memo.
Crew rates in Storiara
In Storiara, crew are added in the Cast & Crew module, where each person can have a union and contract selected and a rate filled in. Those entered rates are what the Budget module uses for crew lines when it syncs from story data, and you can import a crew list from CSV or XLSX. The app doesn't produce deal memos. The cast and crew feature page has the details.