As part of the DGA’s member education, here we highlight the importance for episodic Directors to track their days worked and then submit invoices to production when they complete their assignment. When Directors do not submit an invoice to production, it’s often the case that a holiday, an extra shoot day, or a day they were held on location will be overlooked by production accounting and money is left on the table.
As dramatic television become more complex, so do the production schedules and Director employment periods. Directing assignments are frequently longer, spread across multiple geographic locations, and occasionally include hiatuses during the production schedule. The DGA Basic Agreement has defined rules which address these increasingly expanded schedules and typically result in additional compensation owed to the Director.
It is incumbent upon the Director to maintain an accurate calendar identifying all days worked and what type of work was performed — whether travel, prep, shoot, and any intervening days — to ensure appropriate compensation. The DGA offers sample invoice templates to assist members in calculating what you’re owed, and completed invoices can be submitted by a Director’s representative to the producer providing a clear, streamlined accounting of all days worked.
For any questions regarding calculations, disputes regarding payment, or for a DGA staff member to review your invoice, reach out to the DGA Contracts Dept. at (310) 289-2010 or email Tina Givens (tgivens@dga.org) or Libby Buchanan (libbyb@dga.org).
Click here to visit the Television Director Economic Rights section for invoice templates and information on other economic rights-related topics, including:
- Minimum Salary/Guaranteed Period
- Travel, Local Hire Eligibility, & Per Diem
- Crossboarding
- Payment for shooting during prep
- Payment for work on another episode, if the original Director is unavailable to return
- Table Read Fees
- Payment for Intervening (“non-consecutive/hold”) Days
- What you’re owed for 6th/7th Days worked, in-town or on location
- Expanded Paid Post-Production (for HBSVOD and Pay TV episodes on seasons which commence July 1, 2024 or later and exceed the requisite budget thresholds)
- Pay-or-Play
- Holiday Pay for working on DGA-recognized holidays: New Year’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Martin Luther King Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
Many Directors have requested the Guild increase efforts to educate themselves, their representatives, studio executives and crew members of a Director’s Creative Rights. This series of articles is designed to help raise awareness of your rights, which span all phases of production and are foundational to the role of the Director. There is more information on the rights outlined here in the Creative Rights Handbook and in Article 7 of the DGA Basic Agreement. We encourage you to share this with fellow Directors and crew members.
If you find yourself with any creative rights questions or problems, please consult a DGA Field Representative or call the DGA Contracts Line at (310) 289-2010. For more information on Creative Rights and to download a copy of the Creative Rights Handbook, click here to visit the DGA’s Creative Rights Section.
