Crew Appreciation Day is here — fittingly, on Oct. 4 and inspired by the “10-4” CB radio code meaning “message received” or “OK.”
Wrapbook, the prominent production payroll company behind the holiday, created the annual day of recognition for film and TV crew members earlier this year, filing with the official National Day Archives and rolling out a social media campaign encouraging industry employers and on-set colleagues to share some love for the crew.
“Crew Appreciation Day is our way of celebrating crew’s essential contributions both on and off set,” Wrapbook CEO and co-founder Ali Javid said. “Improving the crew experience has always been a focus for Wrapbook. Our next-gen tech allows workers to get paid faster and easier — with real-time visibility into their pay status and profiles that follow them from job to job. Production is hard enough; crew shouldn’t have to worry about when they’re getting paid, too.”
Of course, the development of Crew Appreciation Day came at a time when work shortages and studio belt-tightening following the 2023 actors and writers’ strikes are troublingly present — and especially impactful to crew professionals who, as TheWrap’s own reporting from our Holding on in Hollywood spotlight showed, are widely struggling to adjust to a fragmented production calendar to make ends meet.
“Right now, crew face an unprecedented mix of challenges, from production slowdowns due to macro industry challenges to higher costs of living,” a Wrapbook spokesperson told TheWrap. “These workers are the backbone of every film, show, music video or ad. During a time when crew are just getting back on their feet as the industry picks back up, we feel now is essential to spotlight their value, dedication, and resilience.”
“Wrapbook’s message to crew is simple: we see you. We recognize the challenges you face, and we want to thank you for your resilience and dedication. Even in the toughest times, your creativity, talent, and hard work are what keeps this industry going. We’re here to support you not just in words, but through tools and resources that help make your work easier and more rewarding.”
To partake in the day of recognition, Wrapbook encouraged industry pros and fans of film and TV alike to visit crewappreciationday.com to learn more about the day and find ways to get involved. Whether through small gestures of recognition on set, or by sharing appreciation on social media using #CrewAppreciationDay, Oct. 4 is meant to be a time to celebrate “the heart and soul of every production,” the company’s official release for the holiday read.
Looking beyond 2024’s inaugural Crew Appreciation Day, the Wrapbook spokesperson added in their statement to TheWrap that “by next Crew Appreciation Day, we hope to see more stability in job opportunities for crew members. We’d love to see an even bigger celebration with more people around the world acknowledging the critical role of crew workers in shaping the entertainment we all love. An In-n-Out truck on set couldn’t hurt either.”
Wrapbook is an official sponsor of TheWrap’s annual entertainment tech and media conference TheGrill, to be held Tuesday at the DGA Theater Complex in Hollywood. Learn more about this year’s event here.
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