Come Nolo / Gaffer, lighting designer

Starting out as an intermittent du spectacle: practical guide (Movinmotion, micro-entreprise, France Travail)

Header illustration for the starting-out article

You have just left film school or a BTS in audiovisual, or you are self-taught — in short, you are starting out in the entertainment industry. You hear about the « intermittent du spectacle status » everywhere, as if it were an automatic Holy Grail. Spoiler: in the first year, it never works like that. Here is the real practical path, with no lies, and the concrete tools to use (Movinmotion, micro-enterprise) while you work towards your 507 hours.

The blunt truth: in the first year, the intermittent status will not be for you

To open your France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) rights (intermittent unemployment allowance), you need 507 hours of declared work over 12 rolling months. That is roughly 60 shooting days at 8h, or 50 days at 10h. At your level, you will have 3 shooting days here, 5 days there, and 6 months in between when the phone does not ring. You will not make 507h in 12 months in the first year. And therefore no allowance. And therefore no « intermittent status » that pays between shoots.

That is fine, it is the normal path. Nobody arrives with their 507h in the first year. What matters is getting into the right administrative setup so you can be hired on those small shoots, without breaking your future eligibility for the intermittent status.

Step 1: Create your Movinmotion account (not a France Travail account)

What is Movinmotion?

Movinmotion is an administrative platform used by a large share of film, audiovisual and events productions to manage their intermittent payroll. When a prod hires you, they need your contact details, your social security number, your bank details and your Audiens ID (the pension/welfare fund for intermittents). Instead of asking for all of this on every shoot, you create a Movinmotion account once and all the productions can access it.

It is free for the employee (the productions pay for the use). It is also, in practice, almost unavoidable for many companies. Without a Movinmotion account, some productions will not be able to hire you easily, so you risk missing out on opportunities.

How to create your Movinmotion account

  1. Go to movinmotion.com → « Create an account » → « I am an intermittent »
  2. Fill in your personal details (surname, first name, date of birth, social security number)
  3. Apply for your Audiens number: if you do not have one yet, create it on audiens.org (free, essential to work as an intermittent)
  4. Upload your documents: ID card, bank details, proof of address, medical certificate from occupational health (obtained through Audiens)
  5. State your role (gaffer, electrician, grip, camera operator, etc.) and your social regime (annexe 8 or 10)

Allow 2-3 days for your profile to be validated. Once done, you are « hireable » on the platform and any prod can offer you a contract in a few clicks.

Step 2: France Travail, why NOT straight away

Many beginners rush to register with France Travail after their first shoot. It is useless, even counterproductive.

France Travail only pays you as an intermittent if you have your 507h. Below that, you are a « general jobseeker » (standard employee regime), which is of no use if you work occasionally as an intermittent. Worse: you risk having to prove « active search for salaried employment », attend RSA interviews, etc.

When to register with France Travail?

  • Not before you have your 507 hours accumulated over 12 months
  • Once the 507h are reached, book an appointment at a « spectacle » agency (not all agencies handle intermittence, ask for the nearest specialist agency)
  • Bring ALL your AEMs (Attestation Employeur Mensuelle, monthly employer attestation) from the last 12 months + your Audiens ID + bank details + ID
  • Your file is reviewed, and if everything checks out, your rights are opened for 12 months

While you are in your building-up period (below the 507h), track your hours to know where you stand. Our tool Intermittor automatically calculates your progress towards the 507h from your AEMs or your timesheets.

Step 3: The micro-enterprise as a transitional status

Here is THE piece of advice nobody gives you at school: open a micro-enterprise alongside your fledgling intermittent salaried activity. It is the administrative Swiss army knife that solves 80% of your first- and second-year problems.

Why the micro-enterprise

  • Invoice outside salaried work: your musician neighbour asks you to film their music video for €200? Without a micro, it is undeclared work. With a micro, you invoice properly, and it counts towards your turnover
  • Small side jobs: photographer’s assistant for fashion shoots, videographer for a wedding, workshop leader, training, equipment hire: anything that is not an intermittent CDD d’usage (customary fixed-term contract) goes through the micro
  • Enjoy the tax relief: in the first year, the micro-entrepreneur benefits from a partial exemption from social contributions (ACRE, the business creation/takeover aid: about 50% until the end of the 3rd civil quarter following creation, i.e. 8 to 12 months depending on the start date, then 25% from 1 July 2026). Combined with the flat-rate tax payment (1.7% of turnover for services), you pay very little
  • Build your network without depending on productions: you can prospect directly, create your website, take small jobs that pay the rent while waiting for the next big shoot

How to open a micro-enterprise

  1. Go to guichet-entreprises.fr or directly to autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr
  2. Declare your activity: for entertainment/audiovisual, it is generally a service activity (turnover ceiling €83,600 (2026 ceiling for services))
  3. Choose the flat-rate tax payment (1.7% of turnover for services), subject to your household reference tax income (from year N-2) not exceeding a certain ceiling per share
  4. Tick ACRE (business creation/takeover aid) → about 50% less in contributions until the end of the 3rd civil quarter following creation (i.e. 8 to 12 months depending on the start date), then 25% from 1 July 2026
  5. You receive your SIREN within 2-3 weeks. With it, you can invoice

What you cannot invoice through the micro

  • « Intermittent du spectacle » work: it is salaried work, and it must go through an employer declaring on an AEM
  • The relationship is reversed: on a shoot, you are an EMPLOYEE (CDD d’usage). As a micro, you are an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR (auto-entrepreneur)
  • If a prod wants to pay you €1,500 for 3 shooting days on a micro invoice instead of a salary, it is illegal (concealed work). Refuse: your 507h will never build up, and you risk trouble with URSSAF

Step 4: Build your network (the real game)

All the admin above is just the infrastructure. The real work of the first 2-3 years is to build your professional network. It is what will get you your 507h.

Strategies that work

  • Internships, assistant roles, odd jobs: take the small, poorly paid jobs in the first year. You will meet the people who will call you back for their future big shoots
  • School short films: unpaid, but that is where the feature-film crews of the next 3-5 years are formed. Be reliable, punctual, pleasant. Young directors remember it
  • Make contacts in YOUR role: if you are a junior electrician, the important network is not the directors, it is the chief lighting technicians. They are the ones who put their crew together on every shoot
  • Be geographically where filming happens: Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux mainly. It is hard to build an intermittent career in a city with no active production
  • Instagram + portfolio: a website with your showreel or portfolio, Insta stories from the set (with the prod’s agreement). It helps heads of department remember you

Mistakes to avoid

  • Turning down small jobs to « protect your level »: your level is useless if nobody knows you. Accept everything in the first year
  • Working undeclared: tempting when you are broke. But it does not count towards the 507h, and URSSAF can claw it back
  • Believing SACD/SCAM will feed you: royalties at the start of a career are anecdotal. Do not count on them to live
  • Not tracking your hours: the worst mistake. You think you have 350h in June, your review date arrives, and you find out 200 are missing because 3 productions forgot to declare the prep. Too late. Use a tracking tool now

Step 5: When to switch to the full intermittent regime

Once your 507h are reached (generally between 18 and 36 months after starting, depending on your role and network):

  1. Register with France Travail spectacle, with your accumulated AEMs
  2. Your intermittent rights open (allowance calculated on your reference gross salary)
  3. You keep your micro-enterprise alongside if you want (limit: your micro turnover cannot exceed a certain threshold AND your CDD d’usage days cannot overlap with your invoiced days)
  4. You track your new 507-hour counter for your next annual renewal

Many people keep the micro-enterprise alongside intermittence for several years, for small side jobs (training, filming an event, hiring out personal equipment). As long as you respect the no-overlap rules on the same days, it is legal and advantageous.

Summary: the ideal beginner timeline

  • Month 0 (leaving school): create Audiens account + Movinmotion + open micro-enterprise + ACRE + flat-rate tax
  • Months 0-12: take small jobs, internships, assistant roles. Invoice the non-salaried jobs through the micro. Track your intermittent hours as you go
  • Months 12-24: your network starts working. You have 200-400h. Keep accepting, only refuse when you have several offers at the same time
  • Months 24-36: you are approaching or reaching the 507h. Prepare your France Travail spectacle file
  • Month 36+: intermittent regime established. Annual review to watch. You keep the micro for side jobs

Useful tools for beginners

  • Movinmotion: admin management on the prod side, almost unavoidable
  • Audiens: the intermittent pension/welfare fund, create it first
  • URSSAF auto-entrepreneur: monthly/quarterly declaration of your micro
  • Intermittor: real-time tracking of your 507-hour counter, conventional gross salary calculation, AEM PDF import. Particularly useful in the status-building phase (you know exactly where you stand)
  • Professional bodies: for technicians, AFCAE (directors), AOA (DOPs), AFC (cinematographers). Membership possible once established

Frequently asked questions

Can you be an intermittent du spectacle in your first year?

No, almost never. You need 507 hours of declared work over 12 rolling months, i.e. roughly 60 shooting days at 8h. In the first year, you string together a few days here and there without reaching that threshold. It is the normal path: allow rather 18 to 36 months to open your rights.

What is Movinmotion and is it compulsory?

Movinmotion is an administrative platform used by a large share of productions to manage their intermittent payroll. You create an account once (contact details, social security number, bank details, Audiens ID) and all the productions can access it. It is free for the employee and, in practice, almost unavoidable: without an account, some productions will not be able to hire you easily.

Should you register with France Travail when starting out?

Not before you have your 507 hours. Below that, you fall under the general regime rather than the intermittent regime, which brings nothing if you work occasionally as an intermittent, and can even be counterproductive. Once the 507h are reached, register with a « spectacle » France Travail agency with all your AEMs from the last 12 months.

Why open a micro-enterprise when starting out as an intermittent?

The micro-enterprise lets you legally invoice non-salaried jobs (filming a music video, a wedding, running a workshop, hiring out equipment) that do not go through an intermittent CDD d’usage. In the first year, ACRE (50% less in contributions) and the flat-rate tax payment make it very cheap. Watch out: a real shoot is salaried work (declared on an AEM) and cannot be invoiced through a micro-enterprise.

How long does it take to reach the 507h?

Generally 18 to 36 months. The real work of the first few years is not the admin but building your network (internships, assistant roles, school short films), which is what will bring you the hours. Track your hours from the very first AEM so you do not find out too late that you are short.

Key takeaways

  • The 507h do not happen in 1 year, that is normal: allow 18 to 36 months
  • Movinmotion: create your account now, it is free
  • France Travail spectacle: not before you have the 507h
  • Micro-enterprise: open one alongside, ACRE + flat-rate tax in the first year = very low charges
  • Network: that is the real work of the first 2-3 years, not the admin
  • Track your hours from the very first AEM. You will avoid finding out too late that 100h are missing

Sources

Article written by Come Nolo, gaffer / chief lighting technician who went through this « career-building » phase a few years ago. See also: How to calculate your 507h · Decoding your AEM · Annexe 8 vs Annexe 10 · Intermittor: automatic tracking of your hours.

Related guides

Manage all of this automatically with Intermittor: 507-hour counter, timesheets, AEM import and France Travail tracking.

To go further, Intermittor’s intermittence guide covers this topic in detail with up-to-date rules and worked examples: I have my 507 hours: what now?. Complete contents: the intermittence guide.