Hello, I was wondering if anyone would know what a dog would get payed doing a 30 second comercial,A friend of mine has a german shepard that may be in a commecial and they were wondering if somthing like that would be worth the wild. TIA

I think it depends on the commerical and were you live and what agency you work with. One of my boys was in four commercials that were done together which took 1wk. The agency paid for the hotel which was the biggest room you can imagine, actually two rooms.
It was not a easy for the dog, for a 20second take on the commerical took about 30 times up and down the stairs, the director wanted different shots. My boy did wonderful and did everything on the first take.
They paid $1500.00 for the four commercials, it was a wonderful experience for the dog and us!

Really depends on the area and who the commercial is for. Generally, our dogs have gotten 150.00 for a brief appearance up to 350.00 for an extended commercial. But no other payments after that. Most companies make you sign a release that allows them to use the footage indefinately.
Chantel

We've never done TV, but for the magazine spreads, we were told that there was a "union" scale that we would get ($200 a day). To tell you the truth, we would have done it for free - it was a lot of fun and we got to meet a lot of interesting people.

I have gotten as much as $1000 for one day of still shots and low as $200...depends on who the customer is...

I did a Disney movie recently and got $200.00. What I was really pushing for was to be listed in the credits, but Disney would not budge to allow that!

Johanne

Commercials tend to pay the best, films come second (unless it's for Disney or any of it's affiliates such as Touchstone or ABC) and TV comes last. The pay rate for a commercial will vary dependent upon who the client is, just like the others have said, as well as how many days the dog is needed on set and what the dog needs to do. You'll get more $ for the dog if it's a dog centric commercial like K9 Advantix as opposed to a dog in the background for something like a prescription ad.

When it comes to TV and film it's important to know if it's a union or non-union show/film. In TV or film there should be a flat daily rate paid for the use of the dog outside of the payroll system AND an hourly rate for the wrangler (person handling the dog on camera) paid through payroll. If you are the person who trained your dog well enough to get the part, there's no reason why you should not be hired as the wrangler. Don't let them tell you different. You'll just get a crash course in set operations and etiquette and be on your way. If it's a union show/film the union will have to make concessions for you until you reach your minimum # of days worked requirement in order to join the union. Membership is mandatory for a union show/film.

If it's a union show/film the union states the minimum hourly rate of pay, not the production company. However, given the opportunity to take advantage of a newbie, most production companies will do so. The rates generally are not negotiable unless for example, it's a TV show that takes off and is projected to have years of longevity. At that point you can negotiate for a higher hourly rate if you're the wrangler and most definitely a higher daily rate for the dog. Another good thing to add into the negotiations for hourly pay is 'port to port' which means your drive time from home to the set and back again, up to 1 hour each way, be included. Some folks also receive a rental car allowance and kit rental fees, which is basically an allowance paid to you because you have to bring the dog's necessities to work. The list goes on and on.

As a side note, the Animal Wrangler position is lumped in with the Movie Drivers (people who drive shuttle vans, stake beds and everything else on sets), which falls under the Teamsters throughout the US.

My mention of Disney refers to Disney and the networks and studios it bankrolls. Disney has a horrible reputation for being extremely cheap and paying poorly.

As for screen credit, in television at least, there is a "standard short list of credits" that includes at most 20% of those people who should be credited. This is purely due to time restraints when airing on TV. When it comes to working for Disney, it's more difficult to get anything. You just have to stand your ground and be prepared to walk away.

I speak from experience. I worked for Disney (can't ya tell) on a huge show until just about 4 months ago.

Aloha,
Kim

Back in the 70's my dog did still shots for a vodka ad, plus some footage. it took all afternoon due to the models hair and make-up - about 4 hours and I was paid $100. So I guess I was paid extremely well considering inflation.
A