Film Accounting Glossary
Idle time
What is idle time?
Also called standby time, or waiting time.
Idle time is paid time when a crew member or asset is on the clock but not productive: a driver on standby, a picture car staged and unused, a unit waiting on weather.
It is a real cost with no footage against it, and it is where transportation and picture-car budgets are most often lost. Tracking idle time separately from working time is what lets a producer see the price of a scheduling decision.
Example
Six drivers on standby and nine picture cars staged for a day that gets weathered out costs roughly $14,000 with no footage against it. Tracked in its own account, it tells a producer what a scheduling decision actually cost.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Most visible in transportation and picture-car accounts. Worth separating from working time so the cost of waiting is legible.
Common mistake
Burying idle time in the same account as working time. Once merged, the cost of a scheduling decision becomes invisible and gets repeated.
Related questions
- What is idle time on a film production?
- Paid time when crew or assets are on the clock but not productive: drivers on standby, vehicles staged and unused, a unit waiting on weather.
- Why track idle time separately?
- Because it produces no footage. Isolating it shows a producer what a schedule change or a weather day actually cost, rather than blending it into department spend.