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"Below-the-line" is a term derived from the top sheet of afilm budget formotion pictures,television programs,industrial films,independent films, student films anddocumentaries as well ascommercials. The "line" in "below-the-line" refers to the separation of production costs betweenscript and story writers,producers,directors, actors, andcasting ("above the-line") and the rest of the crew, orproduction team.[1][2]
The top sheet of any creative project's budget serves only as an at-a-glance reference to a fully detailed and attached main budget document, which features total expenses including federal, state and local taxes, as well as insurance within the entire production, and/orproduction incentives. This painstaking task is usually assigned to the Production Manager or UPM of a production[3] and should be completed beforeprincipal photography begins for any project.
Some below-the-line film and television film crews operate inpre-production,production, orpost-production stages of filmmaking. For example, the film editor may work solely in the post-production stage of filming but might also work throughout the production, editing the film as it is shot and advising the director if and when additional shots or scenes are needed. The boom operator, on the other hand, is mostly on set during filming because they have to pick up the dialogue of the actors as well asambient noise when the scene is being recorded.
This particular type offilm crew usually belongs to a guild or union. Some of the unions and/or guilds that represent below-the-line crew include:I.A.T.S.E., The International Cinematographer's Guild (anIATSE organization), TheTeamsters, Motion Picture Editors Guild, Animation Guild, and the Motion Picture Sound Editors.[4]
It is usually the case for the "below-the-line" crew to work for hourly wages, as opposed to a set wage, or negotiated contractual wage on the front, or back end of any given project. These set workers are responsible for a number of many other unsung, and demanding tasks that must be completed to achieve the common goal of creating a film, or television program. These positions could be considered "less glamorous", and the unmentionable part of filmmaking. However, many dedicated and hard working individuals have made a good living with "below-the-line" job positions, whether it's inindependent filmmaking, and or for amajor film studio.[citation needed]
Within the many entry-level positions available to gain knowledge of the industry, such asLighting technicians,grips,wranglers,stunt performers,property masters,ADR,Foley,set painters or anystagehand etc., one could gain knowledge and skill of these, and many other key positions within thefilm industry.Many schools and ornonprofit organizations are set up to train the youth and other interested individuals to better prepare and teach a trade that may not otherwise be available within the traditional school system. These organizations teach about film and video terminology, equipment, andlife skills, a must for today's highly competitiveentertainment market.
Below-the-line crew refers to everybody else including:
Most of these crafts people are considered variable cost in the budget. Meaning, if you cut a scene from the script, potentially, you don't have to build that set, or paint it or dress it, etc.