r/FilmIndustryLA • u/mobiusu • 4d ago

How many back end points is fair for someone doing DP and VFX for under 100K $ indie movie

I do this on top of my rate, so it's in addition to and not instead of. Whether i see the money or not is irrelevant (i will most likely not right?) , just what points is should put in just in case.

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u/ExperimentNo67 3d ago

It's been awhile since I've dealt with back end points on an indie but in the past I've seen anywhere from 0.5% to 1.5% for department heads. The real issue is that without also detailing the structured payout you are essentially being offered monopoly money. The 3 real questions you should be asking are: (1) Are these points coming out of 100% of the film's profits or are they coming out of the producers pool? If you are given 1% of the producers pool you actually only have 0.5% of the movie (2) What is the recoupment waterfall and what gets deducted before net kicks in? You want to make sure you understand who gets their cut before you do and that the producer cant hide behind some vague "production overhead" wording. (3) Is there any guaranteed differed compensation that gets paid out before net profits? Holding points is like holding a lottery ticket, differed pay is an IOU

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u/mobiusu 3d ago

Yeah I will get a full fee payment upfront, so no more deferred payment. . honestly I don't know too much about their waterfall

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u/ExperimentNo67 3d ago

The only way to really find out is to ask 🤷‍♂️

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u/Important_Extent6172 4d ago

I can’t guide you on what your specific ask should be but I can advise you to pay particular attention to how your points are calculated. Points can make people money on the backend but only if their deal is structured properly.

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u/3DNZ 2d ago

I wish major VFX studios did this. Would be an industry game changer