Stage Prompting - Rates/Options
IATSE Local 16 Union rates
Many of the venues in San Francisco are under the jurisdiction of the IATSE Local 16 stage hands union, including Moscone Center, The Civic Auditorium and the downtown Marriott.
For prompting purposes at these venues, our rate structure is slightly different than other venues. In these cases, we rent you the teleprompting equipment, and then you hire one of our operators through the Union -- and payroll that person separately.
OUR person will be put on your payroll -- whether it's your company running the payroll or a labor contractor. We'll give you the name of the operator, and you must request that person specifically through your agent at the IATSE office. We don't know the hourly rate for this, but we do know that Prompter goes into the labor call as Head of Department and is on an 8 hour minimum.
Stage Prompting system at Local 16 venue includes:
- Computerized prompting workstation and backup computer.
- Ability to output signal to DSM's (Downstage Monitors) via SDI or HDMI
- Rate for Calendar Day = $400
- Delivery and return of gear by the designated operator is $50.
- NO LABOR IS INCLUDED WITH THIS GEAR - See note above.
- Optional: On Camera Thru the Lens System = $100
- Optional: Presidential style paddles/mirrors/monitors = $200
- Optional: Qty 2 - 22" monitors placed in stands on stage = $200
- These rates are for GEAR ONLY when prompting a venue that is under IATSE jurisdiction.
Because you'll be booking our operator through your labor contractor, our person will arrive with the gear on the initial call, and will strike and return the gear after teardown. See our page on Stage Rates for prompting in non-union stage venues. - Parking charges will be added to invoice for each day that gear is delivered or returned. (Typically the first and last day of a show.)
- We do NOT typically rent just gear without one of our people assigned as the operator.
- On rare occasions, there may be a situation where we're prompting at one of these venues... such as a private hotel room/suite... and the need to book our services at the union rate comes into question. The short answer is: if there is even just ONE other crew member who is hired through the union, then our operator also has to be hired through the union as noted above.
- Please familiarize yourself will all of our Terms and Conditions.
Service Details
Prompting has seen many changes in the last few years, and we find more and more that this is the option our clients prefer. We come prepared to send a signal to your DSM's with either a composite signal, or a VGA signal from our laptops. The DSM approach allows your presenters to be more mobile on the stage, with easy glances at the monitors that are placed at the base of the stage, or in the pit just in front of the stage.
Because of the placement of the monitors, your presenter will be glancing down at the prompter, so this format works best when your presenters are familiar with the material, or are comfortable with prompter in an outline format. This is also the best solution for musicians/singers who want quick access to their lyrics.
Note that we can provide two 22" monitors for placement ON the stage at an additional cost of $100.
Also note, we do NOT have LARGE (>22") monitors for rent for your DSM's, and we encourage you to get those from your AV provider.
This is the 'classic' prompter that's been used for years by politicians and presenters who are standing at a lectern.
This system (additionl $100) includes TWO monitors, mirrors and poles placed on either side of the lectern. (These are sometimers referred to as "Paddles".)
The two-way mirrors allow your speaker to look directly at their speech in the glass, while looking 'through' the glass at the audience behind. And likewise, your speaker can be seen through the glass by the audience.This format is great for highly scripted speeches and a need to present the material as accurately as possible.
Live broadcasts, or live-to-tape shows, fall under our stage pricing day rate. These productions might involve a mix of equipment that might incur additional charges. For example, if camera mounted prompters are required in addition to provided DSMs, these will be an extra $100 each per day.
If your prompter needs do NOT require us to work in a venue under Local 16 jurisdiction, we can provide complete prompting services that include the labor price of the operator.
Please Visit our (Non-Union) Stage Rates page for full details.
Tips for Talent
Picture a friend or Colleague
behind prompter mirror.
You'll be looking directly into the lens, or audience, and it will help connect with your message.
YOU control the speed!
The prompter operator is following YOU. If you pause, the op will pause. If you speak faster, the op will scroll faster.
Focus on the MESSAGE!
Remember, they're just words... until spoken in context! By pausing normally, taking a breath, using punctuation to help pace yourself, the message will more easily make it into your audience's ears, brains and hearts.
Avoid Prompter panic!
Breeaaathe... relax. Blink occasionally, smile often, and relax your shoulders. It's ok to pause occasionally if you need to compose yourself or re-focus.
Ad-libbing is (mostly) Ok!
Especially when speaking live, there are moments when you might want to interject a personal anecdote, or to thank an audience member. If you do so, the prompter op will PAUSE where you had just been speaking. Then, be sure to start back up at the next line of prompter text.
Hydrate!
Your vocal chords are one of the first body parts to de-hydrate. Drink plenty of water to keep your voice clear. Consider having room temp water nearby for a quick refresher.
For video shoots, STAY FOCUSED at the end!
It's natural to want to look away toward the camera person or director as soon as you've finished the promtper text. Avoid the urge to do so...and insteand... smile... and HOLD your gaze into the prompter until after the director says cut. This gives the editors time to edit the end of your spoken words.
Prep your Script!
When writing or preparing your script, keep the formatting SIMPLE. You can work in any word processor, but avoide lots of tabs, columns, boxes, background colors, etc. There's no need to use a large font, as the prompter op will prepare your script for large text output.
Our Pricing
Here's a quick overview of pricing for our various services. Visit the rate page of each type for full details.
-
-
STAGE FULL DAY
$ 1000 day- Prompting Workstation
- Operator - 10 Hrs
- Backup Workstation
- Deliver/Setup/Operate
- Opt. Presidential Paddles
- VGA/HDMI/Composite Feeds
- See full Stage Rates
-
VIDEO FULL DAY
$ 1000 Day- Prompting Workstation
- Operator - 10 Hrs
- Rates are Portal/Portal from SF
- Deliver/Setup/Operate
- Opt. Extra TTL Units
- Camera or Stand Mount
- See full Video Rates
-
-
-
-
UNION STAGE RATE
$ 400 day- Prompting Workstation
- NO Op - provided thru Local 16
- Backup Workstation
- Deliver/Setup/Operate
- Opt. Presidential Paddles
- VGA/HDMI/Composite Feeds
- See full Union Stage Rates
-
VIDEO HALF DAY
$ 600 5 hrs- Prompting Workstation
- Operator - 5 Hrs
- Rates are Portal/Portal from SF
- Deliver/Setup/Operate
- Select Clients ONLY
- Camera or Stand Mount
- See full Video Rates
-
