Film Career · Above the Line
Director
Above the Line · Directors Guild of America
- Union
- Directors Guild of America
- Day rate
- ~$22K–$24K/wk
- Experience
- 5–12 yrs
What does a Director do?
The director is responsible for the creative execution of the film: performance, coverage, tone, and pace. Every department head takes creative direction from them, and the DGA covers the role along with its direct support team of ADs and unit production managers.
What does a Director make?
- DGA scale runs about $22K-$24K a week on features (roughly $530K minimum on a big-budget theatrical) and $45K-$70K an episode in TV.
- Steady work spans $150K at scale to $500K-$5M+ for established and A-list directors, who negotiate multiples of the floor plus backend.
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
- Own the creative interpretation of the script from prep through the final mix
- Direct performance, shape blocking, and choose coverage with the DP
- Lead every department head toward one coherent vision of the film
- Make the thousand daily decisions that keep creative intent alive under schedule pressure
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You can read a script for story and translate it into staging, shots, and performance
- You can lead a large team through a plan
Soft skills
- You have a clear vision and can communicate it to hundreds of people
- You make decisions constantly and own the results
Career progression
There is no single ladder. Directors emerge from writing, editing, commercials, music videos, acting, and the AD ranks. In television, directing episodes after proving yourself in another chair is a recognized route. The consistent element is a body of directed work, however small it starts.
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· 0-2 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- Assistant Director (1st AD)· 5-10 yrs
~$150K–$275K/yr
- Second Unit Director· cross over
~$150K–$5M+/yr
- Directoryou are here· peak of the craft
How do you become a Director?
Direct something: shorts, spec commercials, anything that proves taste and command. The DGA is joined by being hired on a covered project, not the reverse. Most working directors built a reel, found representation off it, and treated every small job as the audition for the bigger one.
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.