During our first production we had both PAID and VOLUNTEER positions. The paid positions were for professionals in key positions: Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Gaffer, Makeup & Hairdresser, Sound Recordist/Mixer, and finally the principal cast members. Paid positions consisted of "low pay/deferrals/and point participation" compensation package.
Other paid positions during production were college students who were on a "internship-pay/fractional-point participation" compensation. (Most of these were Patrick Henry College students.) Volunteers were high-school and middle-school students.
We had three crew members who were 11-12, one was 15, and two were 16. They were some of our hardest workers. In total, our team consisted of 8 working film professionals and about 30 high school and college students (paid and volunteers).
Students who want to be involved in our production travel to our production set during filming. For our first movie, we provided room and board (including all meals) for our "volunteer" crew for five weeks. The crew members themselves pay for their own travel arrangements to Purcellville, VA.
In exchange for volunteering their time and energy, a student gets the equivalent of about 2-years worth of film training and experience, plus professional screen credits. Conversely, students who go to film school typically pay about $10,000 to $30,000 tuition per year to the film school to make "student" short films and never actually get to make a 90-120 minute feature length movie during their entire four years in school.
