J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5
I
3
Know Your Rights: Don't Leave Money on the Table!
The Need for Episodic Directors to Track Your Days
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).
Visit the Television Director Economic Rights section at www.dga.org/Contracts/Directors-Economic-Rights 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
DGA CONTACT INFORMATION FIELD REPS
For contact information for Guild departments please visit www.dga.org/The-Guild/Departments
OFFICES
DGA National Headquarters
Los Angeles 310-289-2000
New York 212-258-0800
DGA Website www.dga.org
REPORTING HOTLINES
Safety: 310-289-5326
Racial Harassment: 310-289-2006
Sexual Harassment: 310-289-2006
Contract Violations: 310-289-5300
Abbie Brewer: 740-707-6284, ABrewer@dga.org
Bart Daudelin: 212-258-0809, BartD@dga.org
Jon Drew: 310-279-7693, JDrew@dga.org
Michael Mintz: 646-256-6264, MMintz@dga.org
Emily Pierceall: 213-321-9791, EPierceall@dga.org
Alexis Soto: 323-382-1058, ASoto@dga.org
Brett Wise: 570-447-4823, BWise@dga.org
Sydney Woods: 213-400-5054, SWoods@dga.org
