Little people behind big films

At the end of the movie "Road to Perdition," which opened Friday, the mob-boss character played by Paul Newman faces defeat, his family and business relations crumbling.

The Oscar-winning actor's character seems to have shrunk somehow, diminished into a feebler version of his former dominant self.

Mr. Newman received a helping sleight-of-hand for his performance – from a costume designer who made the actor's suits slightly larger for the final scenes.

As one of two assistant costume designers on the 1930s-period film, Marcy Froehlich helped costume all the actors, from Mr. Newman and his fellow stars, Tom Hanks and Jude Law, to hundreds of extras.

Ms. Froehlich's name appears in the film's credits. But it slips by without most people ever knowing what she's done.

She's far from alone. In an industry that rolls out one blockbuster film after another featuring big-name stars and directors, there are thousands of unknown workers.

These technicians and artists are known as below-the-line workers – an industry term for anyone in a film who's not a top actor, director, producer, or (in rare cases) screenwriter.

Of course, their roles are central.

They build and light sets, dress and make up actors, operate cameras, make sure scenes flow smoothly, and otherwise design, create, and manage the infinite number of details that go into making a film.

In Hollywood, where an estimated 175,000 people work below the line in the film industry, it's possible to sit in a theater where audience members actually know some of these workers – and cheer as their names roll across the screen.

But almost anywhere else, credits like "gaffer" and "best boy" play to the backs of moviegoers who are on their way out the door as soon as the film ends.

For artists like Froehlich, who has a master's degree in costume design and 20 years in the business, the satisfaction comes not in celebrity, but in a job well done.

"I enjoy actors," she says. "I appreciate that they put themselves out there, expose themselves emotionally to create their art.

"My job is to support them and to enable them to do the best job they can, so that they feel so completely comfortable about the clothes they're in that they forget about them," she says. "I feel that if I have done that, then I have done my job."

Doing the job, however, isn't all that easy – not for Froehlich or for any of her below-the-line colleagues. Although pay can be substantial (from $1,700 to $5,000 a week or even more for "A list" costume designers, for example), 12- to 16-hour workdays are normal.

In addition, virtually all film technicians are freelance contractors. Few work year-round, and many have other jobs to fall back on during lean times, such as contracting or design work.

Perhaps most difficult, however, is the fact that the growing trend in mega-salaries for star actors, directors, and producers squeezes salaries and budgets for everyone else working on a film.

Union-negotiated wage increases have been minimal, around 3 percent, say many technicians, and other benefits – such as special rates for night work – have been cut altogether.

"What we've seen is an extraordinary inflation in star salaries," says Larry Gerbrandt, chief content officer and senior analyst with Kagan World Media, a media research firm. "What's happened is that money tends to go to people who have clout. When it comes to below the line, the fact is, those people don't have clout," he says. "If you're trying to keep the budget down, it's the only place you can cut."

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