Film Career · Production
Assistant Director (1st AD)
Production · Directors Guild of America
- Union
- Directors Guild of America
- Day rate
- ~$5,300–$5,900/wk
- Experience
- 1–3 yrs
What does an Assistant Director do?
The first assistant director owns the shooting schedule and runs the set. They break the script down into a day-by-day plan, call the roll, keep the crew moving, and are responsible for on-set safety. The 2nd AD manages paperwork, call sheets, and background actors so the 1st AD can stay next to the director.
What does an Assistant Director make?
- DGA minimum about $5,300-$5,900 a week on studio work (about $4,200 on low-budget), roughly $150K-$275K a year working steadily.
- The 2nd AD floor is roughly $3,500-$4,000 a week.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
On the job
- Break down the script and build the shooting schedule with the UPM and department heads
- Run the set: call the roll, manage the clock, and keep every department moving to plan
- Own on-set safety, including safety meetings before stunts, effects, and vehicle work
- Manage background action and coordinate the 2nd AD's paperwork and call sheets
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You can break down a script and build a shooting schedule
- You know on-set safety protocol and how a set actually runs
Soft skills
- You stay calm and decisive when a set is behind and everyone is looking at you
- You are comfortable being the voice of authority on set
Career progression
The DGA ladder runs from production assistant to 2nd 2nd AD to 2nd AD to 1st AD, and many 1st ADs step on to unit production manager or producer. Some move into directing, especially in television and second unit work.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
- Production Assistant· 1-3 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- Assistant Director (1st AD)you are here· peak of the craft
~$150K–$275K/yr
- Unit Production Manager· cross over
~$180K–$300K/yr
How do you become an Assistant Director?
Two routes: accumulate qualifying set days as a PA and 2nd 2nd AD until you can join the DGA through its qualification lists, or enter the DGA Trainee Program, which places a small class of trainees on covered productions each year. Either way, the currency is set days and a reputation for calm.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by Directors Guild of America contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.