Film Career · Camera And Electrical
Rigging Gaffer
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 Rigging Gaffer do?
The rigging gaffer is a working craft position in the camera and electrical department on film and television productions.
On union productions the position falls under IATSE Local 600 and craft locals, which sets the rates, hours, and conditions the role works within. Like every camera and electrical 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 a Rigging Gaffer 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 like hands-on work and getting the details right
- You take pride in doing your specific craft well, day in and day out
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 Rigging Gaffer?
The working route in is through the camera and electrical department's junior positions: assist the people holding this chair, learn the standards the department runs on, and take the small versions of the job wherever they are offered.
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.