Film Career · Location Management
Assistant Location Manager
Location Management · Teamsters Local 399 in Los Angeles; varies by market
- Union
- Teamsters Local 399 in Los Angeles
- Day rate
- ~$3,500–$5,500+/wk
- Experience
- 1–4 yrs
What does an Assistant Location Manager do?
The assistant location manager supports the senior members of the location management department, handling the preparation and follow-through that keep the department moving.
Union coverage for the position varies: teamsters local 399 in los angeles; varies by market. Like every location management role, the job is hired production by production, and repeat work comes from department heads who trust the name on the call sheet.
What does an Assistant Location Manager make?
- This is an entry or assistant chair, toward the lower end of its department's range.
- Location work is paid weekly with heavy prep and overtime: assistants lower, and location managers roughly $3,500-$5,500+ a week.
- Roughly $60K-$250K+ a year (Teamsters Local 399 in Los Angeles).
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) ↗
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You can scout, permit, and manage locations
Soft skills
- You are reliable, eager to learn, and happy to start at the bottom
- You have the energy for long days and a good attitude under pressure
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Assistant Location Manager (this role)
- 2Location Manager
- 3Key Assistant Location Manager
- 4Key Location Manager
- 5Supervising Location Manager
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from assistant location manager toward supervising location manager, 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 location management 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.
- Assistant Location Manageryou are here
~$60K–$250K+/yr
~$130K–$250K+/yr
~$60K–$250K+/yr
~$60K–$250K+/yr
~$60K–$250K+/yr
How do you become an Assistant Location Manager?
This is a chair you can target directly: productions staff it from applicants with related skills and from people already working nearby on the crew. Get onto sets in any capacity, tell the department what you want, and be ready when a slot opens.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.