Shoot day
The billing unit of the industry: a working day on a production, paid with a day rate and independent of how much material arose.
A shoot day is the unit by which erotic production is billed: a working day on a production, paid with a lump sum. How many minutes of usable material arise from it plays no part in your payment — what is paid is your time and the agreed performance, not the result.
What belongs in time terms
The day does not start with the first take. A shoot day usually includes arrival and briefing, hair and makeup and wardrobe, the discussion of the process, rehearsals without camera, the actual takes, waiting times between rebuilds, and removing makeup and wrap.
Waiting time is the item newcomers underestimate. Between two setups there is a rebuild, the light is reset, the sound is checked. For you that means: waiting in costume and makeup. This time is working time, even if nothing is recorded.
What does not count towards the paid shoot day, by contrast, is preparation at home, body care and the appointments for the STI test. The test costs themselves are borne by the production; the time for that you bear. Anyone who accepts several shoots in a month should take this unpaid share into their own calculation.
Ten to twelve hours are the rule
For a video production a shoot day of ten to twelve hours on site is realistic, travel not included. Photo productions often sit below that, at four to eight hours. Anyone who plans with four hours and then stays twelve has calculated the day wrongly — especially if the return journey or follow-on appointments hang on it.
The fees with us sit at 250 to 600 euros for a photo day, 400 to 1,200 euros for a video day and 200 to 500 euros for event accompaniment without sexual acts. Payment is within 14 days by transfer. The full list is under pay.
Overtime, travel and side costs
A contractually agreed shoot day has an end. Usual is a fixed number of hours from which extra time is paid separately — often pro rata on the basis of the day rate. That limit has to stand in the contract before the shoot, otherwise there is nothing to negotiate in the evening, because you have then already worked twelve hours.
Travel costs, overnight stay and meals run separately. They are not a fee but expenses, and they are regulated separately. A half shoot day with reduced scope is billed as a half-day fee, usually not as an exact half, because travel and makeup arise independently of the shoot duration.
Clarify before you accept
Ask about the planned duration, about the overtime rule and about whether travel the day before is paid. Have the answers in writing, either in the contract or in the day’s disposition. How such a day feels from arrival to wrap is described in this article.
This entry places the practice in context and is not a substitute for legal or tax advice.
An open question about this?
Begriffe erklären das Was, nicht immer das Wie im eigenen Fall. Wenn du wissen willst, was das konkret für dich bedeutet, frag uns — daraus muss keine Bewerbung werden. Viele Antworten stehen schon bei den häufigen Fragen.