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LENGTH OF WORKDAY

Brent’s Rule:

Brent Hershman was a 35-year-old camera assistant on New Line Cinema’s “Pleasantville”. He died in a single car accident on the Century Freeway at 1:30am on March 6, 1997 after working a succession of 18 and 19 hour days. Brent’s death inspired a campaign for more humane working conditions – especially for “below-the-line” employees on motion picture sets. A petition calling for a limit on the number of hours worked in a single day gained the signatures of more than 10,000 industry professionals.

As a result of that effort IA Local 600, International Photographers Guild; The International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE); the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have joined together to promote BRENT’S RULE, which would limit the hours worked on motion picture sets. The university has adopted a modified version of Brent’s Rule.

(Length of workday has separate rules which apply for minors. Refer to the Working With Minors section for more information)

Pepperdine University 12-Hour Length of Workday Rules

  • PEPPERDINE student filmmakers are required to limit the shooting day to 12 hours. The 12 hours begin at call and end at wrap. Call is defined as the time the first person arrives at set. Wrap is defined as the time the last person leaves.

  • Each cast and crew member is guaranteed a meal break for at least 30 minutes after 6 hours work.

  • No call time can occur within 12 hours of the last wrap time.

  • If the one-way distance to a location is more than 60 miles from the PEPPERDINE campus, the travel time from and to the PEPPERDINE campus MUST be a part of the 12-hour day. If including travel time in the 12-hour workday will not leave enough time for filming within the12-hour day, cast and crew must be provided overnight accommodations at the expense of the student production budget.

  • Equipment pick-up and returns must be considered a part of the 12-hour workday for any crew doing pick-ups and returns. There must be 12 hours between the wrap of pick-ups/returns and the next call for anyone working on pick-ups/returns.

  • Night shoots require special attention to proper scheduling to observe these rules. Everyone should be well-rested before a night shoot begins. Consult with your professor to make sure night shoots are scheduled and managed appropriately.

  • These are the minimum rules for every member of a PEPPERDINE production. In the case where cast or crew have a contractual arrangement with PEPPERDINE or the student production that stipulates length of workday and travel arrangements (SAG contracts, etc.), the contractual arrangement may include more and stricter rules than listed here, including travel reimbursement, etc. If the faculty advisor to a production deems that more and/or stricter rules are necessary for the safety of cast and crew, those rules will apply as well.

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