Film Career · Production
Line Producer
Production · Not a DGA-covered title (the DGA covers the UPM); often non-union, PGA-associated
- Union
- Non-union
- Day rate
- ~$5,000–$12,000/wk
- Experience
- 5–12 yrs
What does a Line Producer do?
The line producer runs the physical production against the budget: crewing, scheduling, vendors, insurance, and the daily cost report. The title comes from the budget's line between above-the-line and below-the-line costs. Everything below it is theirs to manage.
What does a Line Producer make?
- About $5,000-$12,000 a week by budget tier, roughly $150K-$350K a year on steady features or series.
- Often not DGA-covered; the rate scales with the size of the budget.
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.
On the job
- Build and manage the production budget from prep through delivery
- Hire department heads and negotiate crew and vendor deals
- Track daily costs and force the schedule to live inside the money
- Manage insurance, legal compliance, and production logistics
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You can build and hold a production budget
- You can schedule and solve logistics across departments
Soft skills
- You are calm and numbers-minded
- You like enabling the creative team more than the spotlight
Career progression
Line producers rise from production coordinating and production management: coordinator, then production supervisor or UPM, then line producer. Many continue into producing proper, carrying the rare skill of knowing what everything actually costs.
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.
- Production Assistant· 0-2 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- Production Coordinator· 2-4 yrs
~$40K–$130K/yr
- Unit Production Manager· 3-6 yrs
~$180K–$300K/yr
- Line Produceryou are here· 5-8 yrs
~$150K–$350K/yr
- Producer· top
~$90K–$300K/yr
How do you become a Line Producer?
Learn budgeting software and the real cost of things by working in production offices. The coordinator-to-UPM road is the proven one; independent films short on money give hungry production managers line producing credits earlier than studios ever would.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.