Studios: Big studios like Pixion, Prime Focus and USL hire editors. There are numerous mid-size and small studios in Andheri looking for editors.
Corporate ladder
Editing
Level 1: Newcomer
Documentaries pay less. The money is in feature films
Money: Rs 3,000 to 10,000 per month
Level 2: After a year or two
You can either work with a big studio or strike out on your own.
Money: Big studios Rs 30,000 -Rs 45,000 per month
For freelancer up to Rs 1 lakh per month depending on the scale of the project
Directing:
Level 1: Newcomer.
A lot of assistant directors are quite young and they come as early as in their late teens.
Money: Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 per month
Level II: 3-4 projects old
It could be a meteoric rise if you have talent and eye for details, graduating to the second or third assistants to directors such as Vidhu Vindod Chopra or Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Money: up to Rs 1 lakh
Level III: Director
The sky is the limit if you can deliver a hit
Cinematography:
Film school students get a priority. Money varies with talent, experience and the scale of the project. The pay package is for feature films.
Level 1: Lighting assistant
Money: Rs 500-1000 per day or a shift of 8 hours
Level II: In charge of lighting/Focus-puller
Money: Rs 5,000-Rs 7,500 per day or for a shift of 8 hours
Level III: Director of Photography (DOP)
Money: Between Rs 2-3 lakh and Rs 1 crore for feature films, again depending on the scale of the project