Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800)

Overview

The Art Directors Guild (ADG), operating as IATSE Local 800, is the union representing 2,966 motion picture and television professionals in the art department across the United States and Canada (membership figure as of 2025). Founded in 1937 and headquartered at 11969 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, California, Local 800 represents production designers, art directors, assistant art directors, set designers, model makers, illustrators, matte artists, graphic artists, scenic artists, and title designers.

On July 1, 2008, three separate IATSE locals merged into Local 800 under orders from IATSE International President Thomas C. Short: Local 816 (Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists), Local 847 (Set Designers and Model Makers), and Local 790 (Illustrators and Matte Artists). This consolidation brought the full scope of visual development and design work under a single union umbrella. The current president is Dina Lipton and the National Executive Director is Joel Cohen.

Membership Requirements and Qualification

Joining Local 800 is typically triggered by employment on a signatory production, not by open application. The path to membership depends on your craft category:

Art Directors and Assistant Art Directors must work for a signatory company in a Local 800 covered classification. After 30 calendar days from the start date, the employee is required to join. To get onto the Motion Picture Industry Experience Roster (which grants preference of employment on signatory projects without requiring Guild permission for each hire), you must apply to Contract Services and have worked at least 30 days for one or more signatory companies within 365 consecutive days. Alternatively, 175 days as an Art Director or Assistant Art Director (union or non-union) in the three years preceding application qualifies for Roster placement. Art Directors must have 175 days of experience and an established reputation in production design. Assistant Art Directors need 400 days of experience in an Art Department craft in the last four years.

Set Designers and Model Makers follow similar signatory-employment triggers. Thirty days of signatory work within 365 days qualifies for the Industry Experience Roster. A separate Commercial Industry Experience Roster requires 30 days on commercial signatory work, with an additional 60 days of commercial work qualifying for the Motion Picture Roster.

Illustrators, Matte Artists, and Scenic/Title/Graphic Artists follow the same 30-day signatory employment trigger and Roster requirements. Local 800 has over 25 separate collective bargaining agreements for its Scenic, Title, and Graphic Artist members across more than 50 companies in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Denver.

Wage Minimums and Collective Bargaining

The 2024-2027 Local 800 Agreement is effective from August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2027. Wage schedules include three tiers: Schedule 1 (standard studio rates), Schedule 2 (3% reduction applied for certain productions), and Schedule 3 (prior-period rates for specific situations).

For Set Designers under Schedule A during the second period (August 3, 2025 through August 1, 2026), a Senior Set Designer earns a minimum of approximately $64.31 per hour. Wage rates increase across the three periods of the agreement. The full wage schedules for all classifications are available through the Art Directors Guild website at adg.org.

Employers make contributions to health, welfare, and retirement plans on behalf of covered employees in accordance with the collective bargaining agreements. Minimum wage scales and working conditions are negotiated by the union, not individually.

Production Design Initiative

Local 800 operates a Production Design Initiative that provides training and on-the-job experience to future production designers. The program requires a $50 application fee (paid by calling the Membership Department at 818-762-9995). Applicants must be 21 or older, legally authorized to work in the US, able to commit full-time, and must supply an online portfolio or CV demonstrating skills in sketching, digital illustration, spatial models, scaled floor plans, graphic design, visual research, or organizational and management training. Interview dates are typically held in June via Zoom.

Excellence in Production Design Awards

The ADG presents annual Excellence in Production Design Awards across film, television, and commercial categories. The awards recognize outstanding production design achievement and are among the most significant honors in the art department community. Award eligibility requires ADG membership or work on productions with ADG-covered art departments.

Notable Members and Leadership

Dina Lipton serves as president of Local 800. Joel Cohen is the National Executive Director. The union's headquarters at 11969 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City houses its administrative and membership operations.

The 2026 ADG Hall of Fame inductee is Thomas E. Sanders, whose credits include Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Crimson Peak, and Star Trek Beyond. Sanders was inducted by Randall Wallace at the 30th Annual ADG Awards on February 28, 2026.

Notable Local 800 members include Nathan Crowley, production designer for Wicked, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight trilogy. Crowley won the ADG Award for Fantasy Feature Film for Frankenstein at the 30th Annual Awards. Florencia Martin won Contemporary Feature Film for One Battle After Another, and Kasra Farahani won for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the same category.

The 2008 merger that created Local 800 brought together 3 separate IATSE locals under a single umbrella. Local 816 represented scenic, title, and graphic artists. Local 847 covered set designers and model makers. Local 790 represented illustrators and matte artists. This consolidation gave art department professionals unified representation across all visual development crafts.

Benefits Breakdown

Local 800 members receive health coverage through the Motion Picture Industry Health Plan, with employer contributions based on hours worked under collective bargaining agreements. The plan provides medical, hospital, surgical, and prescription drug coverage. Members earn eligibility through qualifying hours on signatory productions.

The MPI Pension Plan provides defined-benefit retirement income based on credited service. Employers make contributions to health, welfare, and retirement plans on behalf of covered employees in accordance with the collective bargaining agreements. The 2024-2027 agreement sets contribution rates that increase across the 3 periods of the contract.

Members gain access to the Industry Experience Roster, which grants preference of employment on signatory projects. Roster placement means a member can be hired without requiring Guild permission for each individual hire. This is a significant practical advantage over non-Roster workers who must be petitioned for individually.

The ADG operates a Film Society screening series, publishes the bimonthly magazine PERSPECTIVE, and hosts the annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. Members receive educational programming through the Production Design Initiative and access to networking events with directors, cinematographers, and other department heads. The union also provides contract enforcement through grievance procedures and arbitration.

How Initiation and Eligibility Actually Works in Practice

Membership in Local 800 is triggered by employment on a signatory production, not by open application. When you are hired for a Local 800 covered classification on a union production, you have 30 calendar days from your start date to join. This means the practical path to membership is getting hired onto a union production in the first place.

For Art Directors and Assistant Art Directors, getting onto the Industry Experience Roster requires either 30 days of signatory work within 365 consecutive days. Alternatively, 175 days of experience in the 3 years preceding application also qualifies. The 175 days can be union or non-union. The Roster is administered by Contract Services, not by the Guild directly. Once on the Roster, you have preference of employment on signatory projects.

Set Designers and Model Makers follow a similar 30-day signatory employment trigger. A separate Commercial Industry Experience Roster requires 30 days of commercial signatory work, with an additional 60 days qualifying for the Motion Picture Roster. Illustrators, matte artists, and scenic, title, and graphic artists follow the same 30-day trigger.

The practical decision of when to pursue Roster placement depends on your work history. If you have been working on non-union productions and building your portfolio, you can apply for Roster placement once you accumulate 175 days of experience. If you are just starting out, focus on getting hired for your first 30 days on a signatory production, which triggers the membership requirement. The Production Design Initiative offers an alternative entry point for aspiring production designers who can demonstrate skills through a portfolio or CV.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For productions hiring a production designer or art department, IATSE signatory status is required to access Local 800 members. The production designer is typically one of the earliest key hires in pre-production, and their rate is governed by Local 800's minimums for the applicable budget tier and schedule.

Independent productions often struggle with art department costs as a proportion of total budget. Local 800's low-budget agreement thresholds and modified rates can make signatory access more financially feasible on modest budgets while still accessing the professional design community. Producers should contact the Guild directly to understand which agreement tier applies to their production's budget level.

The off-Roster hiring process allows signatory companies to hire individuals not yet on the Industry Experience Roster, but requires petitioning the Local and approval from the Off-Roster Hiring Review Committee. This pathway exists for productions that need specific talent not yet on the Roster.

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See Also

For the broader IATSE structure, see IATSE in this directory. For how production design costs appear in film budgets, see Above the Line vs Below the Line. For estimating art department costs in your production budget, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator.