Film Career · Producer
Senior Story Producer
Producer · Not unionized; PGA is a professional association
- Union
- Non-union
- Day rate
- ~$90K–$300K/yr
- Experience
- 8–25+ yrs
What does a Senior Story Producer do?
A senior story producer holds one of the senior positions in the producer department, combining craft mastery with responsibility for outcomes.
Union coverage for the position varies: not unionized; pga is a professional association. The role is engaged show by show, and careers in producer are built on the department heads and crews who hire the same trusted people back.
What does a Senior Story Producer make?
- Producing has no union floor and pay is negotiated per project: roughly $50K-$250K on indie features and $250K-$1M+ on studio films.
- Working producers land roughly $90K-$300K a year, established ones far more.
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.
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You can build budgets, schedules, and teams
Soft skills
- You are trusted with the work that has the least room for error
- You stay calm when the pressure is highest
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Associate Story Producer
- 2Story Producer
- 3Senior Story Producer (this role)
- 4Supervising Story Producer
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from associate story producer toward supervising story producer, with each step earned through set time and the trust of the chairs above. Where this role sits on that ladder is less important than how the producer department works: people move up when the department already believes they can do the next job.
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.
~$90K–$300K/yr
~$90K–$300K/yr
- Senior Story Produceryou are here
~$90K–$300K/yr
~$90K–$300K/yr
How do you become a Senior Story Producer?
The path here is internal: the producer department promotes this position from within, based on a track record built in its junior chairs. Start at the department's entry level and let the work argue for you.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.