Film Accounting Glossary
Golden time
What is golden time?
Also called golden hours, or double time.
Golden time is the premium overtime rate, often double time or higher, that applies once a crew member has worked beyond a defined number of hours in a day under their union agreement.
It is the most expensive labor on a production and the fastest way for a single long day to blow a weekly labor line. Accounting flags it in the hot costs precisely so producers see the price of that day before the next one is scheduled.
Example
A crew member on $40 an hour hits double time after 14 hours. Hours 15 and 16 cost $80 each rather than $40. Multiply across a 90-person crew and one long day can add tens of thousands, which is why it appears in the next morning's hot costs.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Calculated by the payroll company from timecards, and flagged in hot costs so producers see the price of a long day before scheduling the next one.
Common mistake
Scheduling a second long day before reading the first day's hot costs. Golden time is the most expensive labor on the show and compounds across the whole crew.
Related questions
- When does golden time start?
- After a threshold set by the applicable union agreement, commonly beyond fourteen hours in a day, at double time or higher.
- How much does golden time cost a production?
- It multiplies the base rate across everyone still working, so a single overlong day can add tens of thousands to a weekly labor line.