It takes a lot of people on payroll to make all of the lights, camera, and action happen on TV shows. BuzzSugar filled you in on how much the big moneymakers make on-screen (hopefully you'll do better than me on her quiz!), and I wanted to give a shout-out to those behind the scenes whose roles aren't as visible. TV Guide included some interesting pay facts about how much money these important contributors command. Do any of the numbers surprise you?
- $37,005: Minimum rate for director of a one-hour show on network or pay cable.
- $2,132: Weekly minimum for a costume designer on a half-hour or one-hour show.
- $486: Residual per episode for a writer who creates a new character on an existing show (up to four episodes).
- $31,748: Writers Guild minimum for one-hour teleplay.
- $2,202: Weekly minimum for makeup artist.
Check out four more behind-the-scenes roles and their pay when you read more.
- $600-$800: Average daily rate for TelePrompTer operator.
- $1,690: Weekly minimum for videotape editor of a scripted show.
- $350: Average daily rate for entertainment-news show field producer.
- $1,000: Average daily rate for Steadicam operator.
Free People
Prada
Jimmy Choo
wow...the teleprompter rates seem kind of high. 600 bucks a day? i'd take that. and i would love to be a makeup artist for a show. that rate isn't so bad either! maybe it's time to rethink my career?
1I didn't expect the Steadicam operator pay to be so high.
2I wish I got paid to put my makeup on everyday.
3well i think that we all have to remember that it's the industry that they are in - and there are a lot of unions in place which keep the rates a bit higher. i'm not sure if that's 100% of the reasoning but it makes sense right? i think that i would love to make that kind of money in a day - the $600 - wow - i make that in like 3 days - and i'm on salary so i'm not even sure how to break it out exactly.
4wow! thats a lot money!!I also rethnik my career as a make-up artist
5I'm in the wrong business! I should have stuck with cosmetology and become a makeup artist.
6Now that I've looked up what a Steadicam IS, I can see that it's more like being able to be a camera man, but plus a lot of manual labor.
7Hahaha.... Yeah, being a producer was a great idea at the time, but if I could go back, I'd be a teleprompt girl!!!
8Being a Steadicam op is a HAAAARD job. Do you know how that works? Counter-weight. Yes, additional weight is added to balance the camera. Steadicam guys have to be in decent shape because sometimes they will have to do things like run backwards WHILE artistically shooting their subject. Think about it.... (I've never been a Steadicam op, but I've tried on the equipment. There's a reason you don't see a lot of females doing that job.)
And you have to remember also, that people who work many of these jobs, don't work typical schedules and shifts that office people work, AND don't have with the same kind of job stability that people in other industries work. The might work on a show, but once that series ends shooting for the season, they are out of work until they pick back up, or pick up another gig.
But don't get me wrong, I couldn't imagine working in any other industry!!!
9uptown girl, you made exactly all the points I was going to add! well said
10Yeah, but the makeup artists have to pay quarterly union fees, plus the 6K initiation fee AND they work very long days, at least 10 hours (usually more) without days off...
11That is high for a teleprompter, it could be a regional thing, but here in nyc they get $375/8hr day and I sometimes get complaints about that.
12Uptown_girl has a very good idea of what a steadicam operator does. I'm not a steadicam operator, but i want to become one. It's a very phsysical and mental job. Not to mention you have to have a good eye to make those artistic shots you see in movies. People don't really know or appreciate the talent it takes to make those beautiful shots!
13Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.