Welfare of film crews gets second billing

Nelfi Wibowo, Contributor, Jakarta

With 26 feature films coming into theaters since 2000 -- a bumper crop compared to the lean years of the 1990s -- glamorous gala premieres are becoming a regular event.

When the parties are over, however, film workers face up to harsh reality of being underpaid, putting in heavy overtime and lacking insurance due to the absence of professional guilds to protect their rights.

From the top to the bottom of the responsibility ladder, film workers still cannot earn a decent living.

"There is no standard for payment that producers must follow if they want to hire film crews," a 29-year-old camera operator who declined to be named told The Jakarta Post.

He said a one-month production of a feature film could earn him about Rp 3 million.

"I have to take it because if I asked for more, they would offer the job to other people who, believe me, would take it for a lot less," he said.

The fact that film workers have yet to establish guilds for their profession is exploited by local film producers to slash production costs to a ridiculous level.

"I once worked for a feature film where the producers had the goodwill to give film crew a reasonable paycheck. They ended up being blamed by other production companies for screwing up their low standard," the film worker said.

Cinematographer German G. Mintapradja said that while it was understandable that the film industry was finding its feet after many difficult years, producers should pay more attention to their crew's welfare.

He said the grips -- crew members who work with the heavy equipment used for camera movement -- were not insured despite the dangerous nature of their job.

"Production companies insure the heavy tools but not the people who handle them," German said.

For their effort in pushing, lifting and pulling heavy equipment -- definitely harder than working out in a gym -- they are usually paid Rp 300,000 per day for work that is intermittent at best.

The same low standard of payment also applies to crew members from other departments.

With a limited number of films produced every year but many production companies, chances are a film crew will only work on two productions in a year.

It's impossible for the workers to make a living simply by working exclusively for feature films.

To supplement their income, crew members moonlight on the production of TV commercials and local soaps.

Perhaps even worse than the compensation are the backbreaking working hours.

Local production companies usually shoot a 90-minute feature in 30 days -- a very short period of time compared to what is required to shoot a film of the same length in a country with an established film industry with standard regulations.

The short shooting schedule forces film crews to work extra hours. They usually start at 5 a.m. and work through until midnight to reach the targeted shots that day.

"How do you keep your crew in a healthy mood when they know they will not get any overtime pay for their extra work?" German said.

Many filmmakers have to rush completion of the production while compromising in the creative department.

Film producers argue that at a time when the film business is struggling to stay alive, some compromises have to be made, including minimizing production costs, such as the crew payroll.

"Everybody has to make sacrifices for a grander purpose. We have to keep producing films despite all the limitations," a film producer who refused to be named said.

"If everybody complains at this stage about a low paycheck and everything, we will never get off the ground."

Film workers say there are two types of producers. The first are those who strive to make a movie on a genuinely limited budget, but the others are those who actually have more money to spend but cry poverty to keep payments to the minimum.

"The latter type is the one we usually have to face," said the camera operator.

"I mean, come on. We know when they really don't have money right? And I don't mind helping them," he added. "But those who really can afford it, please don't exploit us."