Film Career · Camera And Electrical
Balloon Light Technician
Camera And Electrical · IATSE Local 600 and craft locals
- Union
- IATSE Local 600 and craft locals
- Day rate
- ~$50K–$200K+/yr
- Experience
- 3–7 yrs
What does a Balloon Light Technician do?
A balloon light technician carries a hands-on craft within the camera and electrical department, delivering their specialty daily as part of the department's crew.
On union productions the position falls under IATSE Local 600 and craft locals, which sets the rates, hours, and conditions the role works within. The role is engaged show by show, and careers in camera and electrical are built on the department heads and crews who hire the same trusted people back.
What does a Balloon Light Technician make?
- Camera, grip, and electric crews are paid by the day: entry chairs roughly $350-$950, mid-craft operators and technicians $500-$1,500, and department heads well above.
- Steady union work is roughly $50K-$200K+ a year, and roles that own gear add rental income.
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 are handy and technical with camera, lighting, and grip gear
Soft skills
- You take pride in doing your specific craft well, day in and day out
- You are a dependable team player who makes the department run
Career progression
The role advances the way most camera and electrical careers do: repeat hires from the same department heads, growing responsibility within the craft, and a reputation that travels between productions faster than any resume.
How do you become a Balloon Light Technician?
Careers reach this chair through the camera and electrical department ladder: entry work first, then increasing responsibility as the crew learns your name. Smaller productions hand out the title earlier, and the credits transfer.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by IATSE Local 600 and craft locals contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.