What does a performer earn in Germany? Figures, ranges and what remains at the end

We have gone through the known German-language casting sites and the largest industry magazine — together several hundred thousand words. On the question of what a performer receives per shoot day, not a single figure stands there. Only formulations such as “per shoot day a fee as a self-employed person”. That is accurate and helps nobody with a decision. This article therefore calculates the path from the gross fee to the net: which ranges are realistic, what comes off a single shoot day and what remains after tax and cancelled days over a year. On which terms we place is on the pay page. Here it is about the calculation behind that.

The ranges

The following figures are gross fees per shoot day from running productions in Germany. They are not a promise — what you receive hangs on role, shoot duration, content and production.

• Photo production: 250 to 600 euros. Sets for magazines, portals and campaigns, usually four to eight hours.
• Video production: 400 to 1,200 euros. Supporting roles sit at the lower edge, lead roles with face at the upper.
• Event accompaniment: 200 to 500 euros. Trade fairs, presentations, photocalls, without sexual acts.

These are day rates, not hourly rates. A shoot day is limited upwards by the agreed shoot time and not by when the production finishes. That is why the question of how long the day runs is always also a question about the fee.

Webcam and livestream work differently: there billing is not by day, but as a share of turnover. Platform payout rates sit between 25 and 90 percent — a difference that decides more about earnings than the number of hours in front of the camera. How that calculates is in the article on webcam income.

What sits between contract and account

A figure on the contract is not what remains at the end of the month. Between them sit five items, none of which disappears automatically.

• Travel. Train or fuel, depending on the location 20 to 120 euros. Some productions reimburse, many do not. That belongs settled before the acceptance, not after.
• Preparation. Cosmetics, hair, nails, waxing. Anyone who has that done professionally is quickly at 80 to 150 euros a month — independently of how often they shoot.
• Tests. On the productions we place, the production bears the STI-Panel. Anyone who also shoots independently or tests more often pays themselves: depending on the scope 60 to 180 euros.
• Tax. As a self-employed person you pay income tax on the profit. Nothing is deducted automatically; the bill comes later.
• Time. A shoot day often means ten to twelve hours including travel, preparation and waiting time. What is paid is the day, not the hour.

A sample calculation

Take a video production with a 700-euro fee, two hours of travel by train, no reimbursement:

• Gross fee: 700 euros
• Train there and back: minus 60 euros
• Share of the month’s preparation costs: minus 40 euros
• Profit from this day: 600 euros
• Reserve for income tax, here calculated at 30 percent: minus 180 euros
• Remains: around 420 euros

The tax rate is the most uncertain figure in this calculation. It does not hang on the fee, but on your whole yearly income. Anyone who is employed and shoots on the side taxes this profit on top of the wage and lands in the upper part of their personal rate. Anyone who otherwise earns nothing may pay nothing on the same amount. The outlines stand in the article on trade and tax.

On twelve hours, 420 euros are around 35 euros per hour, after costs and tax reserve. That is a decent rate. It is just not the figure that stands on the contract — and that difference explains most of the disappointments in the first year.

What is not paid at all

The day rate applies to the shoot day. Everything that arises beside that is unpaid working time — and over a year it weighs more than the individual euro amounts above.

• Cancelled days. A shoot is postponed at short notice, a cast changes, a finding comes back positive. The day is then blocked and brings nothing in. A cancellation fee is possible, but only if it stands in the contract beforehand.
• Castings and pre-talks. The casting itself costs you nothing with us. Travel and time still nobody pays.
• Waiting time beyond the agreed shoot time. If a set runs out of the schedule, that is only paid if an overtime rule was agreed. What of that can be billed is in the article on travel costs, expenses and waiting time.
• Administration. Invoices, receipts, test appointments, date arrangements, tax papers. Count on several hours a month, even without a single shoot day.
• Recovery. After twelve hours on set the next day is rarely productive. Anyone who is also employed is better off keeping it free.

Turnover is not profit

The most common calculation error at the start: you multiply the day rate by a wished-for number of shoot days and land at a yearly income that has nothing to do with reality. There are two reasons for that.

First the order book is irregular. Anyone who is new rarely shoots more than once or twice in the first months, and between two bookings there often sit weeks without a matching enquiry. That is not a judgement of your application, but a question of the current casts.

Second the costs continue, even if nothing is shot. Preparation, phone, travel, tax advice: these items are deductible as a business expense, but they are first of all spent.

A calculation example for twelve months, as a calculation size and not as a forecast: twelve shoot days at 700 euros give 8,400 euros of turnover. Subtract around 2,000 euros of running costs, then 6,400 euros of profit remain, on which depending on the remaining income tax still falls. That is a decent sideline and not a monthly income.

The honest statement is therefore: the work is well paid on individual days. A reliable monthly income only becomes of it with continuity, reliability and usually a second pillar.

What moves the price

Four factors decide where in the span you land. Three of them you have in your hands.

1. Reliability. The most underestimated factor. Anyone who is punctual, appears prepared and keeps arrangements is booked again — and three bookings at 600 euros are worth more than a single one at 900.
2. Role and visibility. A lead role with face is paid differently from a supporting role. Anyone who shoots without a face lowers the fee deliberately and buys protection for it.
3. Usage rights. An unlimited release in time and space is worth more than a time-limited one. Because in this industry settlement is almost always one-off, the contract day is the only chance to change anything about that. What that is about is in the article on period, territory and channels.
4. Content. The more specialised the requirement, the higher the fee sits — and the more precisely you should know beforehand what you are entering. A supplement is not a reason to move a limit.

More is negotiable than most people assume, only rarely the fee itself. Which points can actually be moved is in the article on negotiating the terms.

How you recognise unrealistic promises

Sentences such as “several thousand euros a month are not unusual” circulate in the industry. Such figures stand on sites that sell something: a file, a shoot, a seminar. Anyone who promises an income without knowing your availability, your limits and the order book is guessing.

Three questions open that reliably. Which range applies to this type of production? Who pays the fee, and when? What happens if the date falls away? Anyone who names no figures for that either has none or does not want to name them. Both are a reason to keep looking.

Note: This article places the practice in general terms and is not a substitute for tax or legal advice. The ranges named are experience values, not a promise.