Director
Creative or operational relevance to directing
The contractual time limit after which a meal break is required: six hours from call time or from the end of the last break.
The Six-Hour Rule is the clock behind the meals: The next meal must begin no later than six hours after the start of work — and thereafter, no later than six hours after the end of the last break.
What Happens When the Deadline is Missed
In US collective bargaining agreements, meal penalties apply: penalty payments per interval started, individually for each crew member. With a crew of eighty people, this can add up within half an hour to an amount for which one could have shot an additional scene.
The Exception
Before the deadline expires, the production manager can request Grace — a time window of usually twelve minutes, which the crew may grant or not. If they grant it, the clock continues to run without the penalty taking effect.
This system does not apply in Germany; there, the Working Hours Act and collective bargaining agreements regulate breaks with their own deadlines.
From the crafts
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Producer
Importance in production planning and execution
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Test your knowledge
Quiz
1. Zu welchem Department gehört „Sechs-Stunden-Mahlzeit"?
2. Wie viele verschiedene Fachperspektiven bietet dieser Eintrag?