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Film Production: Working with Unions

Written by: Daliah Saper

Article Overview: Unions were created to protect workers from unfair wages and poor working conditions. If a producer wants to use any union labor, then that producer will have to become a signatory to the appropriate union contract. This does not necessarily mean that the production must hire only union labor, nor does it mean that the production will need a big budget. Some unions, such as the Screen Actors Guild (”SAG”) offer various contract options for small and medium budget films.

Film Production: Working with Unions

The major unions for on-camera actors are SAG (for feature film) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (”AFTRA,” generally for television, radio and commercial work). The major unions for crew are IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts) and the Teamsters.

In this section, we will examine how a producer runs a SAG signatory production. While each union has its own specific rules, this discussion should give a good sense of how the overall process works.

SAG has a basic contract that contains all of the union rules. That contract is about the size of a novel, and a producer might never get around to reading it (that’s what the attorneys do!). The producer signs a signatory agreement. This is a short document that says (essentially) “I agree to follow all the rules in the (really long) SAG basic agreement.” Those rules address everything from how many hours actors can work in a row, to when lunch must be served, to how residuals are calculated, and many other aspects of employment. The rates that a producer must pay, whether the production can hire non-SAG labor, and many other questions depend on what kind of signatory agreement the producer signs. For example, the “Ultra-Low Budget” signatory agreement applies to films of with budgets less than $200,000 and requires a day rate of $100 for each performer, while the “Modified Low Budget” signatory agreement applies to films with budgets of less than $625,000 and requires a day rate of $268. SAG has specialized agreements for shorts, and even student films.

The details of the SAG signatory agreements change from time to time, so it is important to coordinate directly with SAG and make sure the production is in compliance with the appropriate agreement. Many of the details of the SAG agreements can be found online at the SAGIndie website. SAG suggests that producers contact their local SAG office at least 4 to 6 weeks prior to beginning production. A SAG representative can be very helpful, and it’s a good idea to keep in touch with SAG “early and often.”

Once the production has become a “SAG signatory production,” all the performers must sign a SAG form of employment agreement before the beginning of production, which a producer can get from the local SAG office. This agreement will address basic employment questions such as pay and hours. However, this agreement does not address intellectual property issues such as copyright ownership. For this reason, it is critical that the performers sign appropriate release forms in addition to the SAG employment contract.

Non-SAG talent do not sign the SAG employment agreement, however SAG will usually require that a production pay non-SAG talent at the same rate as SAG talent. For this reason, it is important for the production to have a non-SAG form of employment agreement in addition to the SAG form. SAG also requires producers to carefully keep track of which performers work which days and hours. A local SAG representative can help a production set up a system for keeping track of these details.

The key to success in union relationships is to begin communication well in advance of production and keep that communication open throughout the production.

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Article Tags: actors, allied crafts, american federation of television and radio artists, attorneys, budgets, compliance, feature film, good sense, international alliance of theatrical stage employees, low budget, many other aspects, moving picture, novel, producers, sagindie, student films, teamsters, television radio, theatrical stage employees, unions



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