Film and TV studio lifts pay for extras

Hengdian World Studios, a big film and television base in Zhejiang province, addressed potential holiday labor shortages by increasing payments for the lowest rank of extras.

To encourage them to stay in Hengdian for Spring Festival, a busy time for film and TV production units, it lifted payments in line with a proposal from the local actors’ association.

Between Jan 16 and Feb 24, the adjusted basic payment for an ordinary extra working a 10-hour day was raised by 60 yuan to 180 yuan ($8 to $25), which actors’ association representative Song Qiang told Shangyou News was a record high.

Song said the production schedule this Spring Festival holiday was shaping up to be busier than ever. During the same period last year, over 6,000 crew members from 22 units were engaged in filming and over 40 units worked on preparations for future filming.

There are over 130,000 registered extras in Hengdian, with approximately 10,000 working year-round, China News Service reported.

Extras are categorized as ordinary, supporting and special contract, with ordinary extras used in crowd scenes earning the least.

A source told Shangyou News the payment structure for extras was complex, with deductions for association fees, overtime pay and additional payments for specific conditions, such as working in adverse weather, contributing to their final earnings.

A homestay owner in Hengdian said ordinary extras could earn an extra 10 percent for every hour they worked beyond 10 hours a day during the holiday, and those working between Lunar New Year’s Eve and the third day of the Lunar New Year were entitled to triple pay.