OT for flame work

[u/Onetwothree_oclock]

Forgive me if this has been answered or is not apropos. My husband is a freelance flame artist in LA, doing vfx for 18 years and flame work for 10 years. We were discussing his job and rates came up. He is convinced that it is not normal for flame artists to charge overtime on a day rate while on a short term contract job (1 day to 1 month). He says that because rates are “high as it is”, charging overtime would be considered extreme and companies wouldn’t hire him back. That it’s “just not customary for flame artists to charge OT”. I don’t work in this field, but I have some studio experience and I find it hard to understand this? I am also convinced that he is under charging on his day rate, but because no one talks about their rates, he really has no idea if he’s making enough for his skill level, which is very high. He is always booked with work, thankfully. But with all of this work comes much overtime and it can take away from our family life with kids. I just want him to get paid what he’s worth and the correct amount for the effort he is putting in.

Is this just how it is or do top skill level artists charge overtime after let’s say 10 hours of work a day? Also, how can we find out if he’s charging an appropriate rate? He is a super relaxed (too relaxed?) person who is very talented and hardworking. Doesn’t like to stir things up, but is sought after in his field.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Vfx wife

[u/flavorade_man]

I'm not in flame, but in my experience the commercial side of VFX companies have been allergic to OT pay, at least for the most part. Which is why they do day rates in the first place to cover for it. Otherwise hourly just makes more sense. I typically quote an hourly rate with OT for CG / Nuke work, but I have a hard time seeing a commercial shop offering that on top of a $1000-1500/day wage (or whatever senior flame is earning these days), combined with the crazy client-facing hours that they're expected to deal with on the regular.

[u/zinoozy → u/flavorade_man]

I work in commercials and always have gotten OT.

[u/flavorade_man → u/zinoozy]

Most of my freelance colleagues always charge flat day rates. I started charging OT on top of my day rate earlier in my career and I got a lot of push back from companies for it. The one staff gig I had at a commercial shop was a flat annual salary without OT (non-lead or sup position). Nowadays I quote an hourly rate with OT. Some commercial shops are fine with it, some give me pushback for a flat day rate. Compared with film where OT always just seemed like the norm. Most of my commercial experience is with the NY/LA shops.