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The talent are reliably better performers.
SAG has updated their terms in the past year, and rates are actually pretty reasonable.
For example - internet + new media is just one payment now. More edits are allowed.
There are low budget waivers you can apply for with SAG. They’re easy to get. Once granted, you can offer the same wages to union performers as non-union ones.
SAG sounds scary, and I’ve seen business affairs managers routinely scare people with worst case scenario estimates.
95% of SAG members are not making livable wages from acting.
Listen, whether it’s union or non-union, a national advertiser should be not be wanting to use someone’s image prominently for their own profit over a long period of time on campaigns with big media dollars behind it while simultaneously offering that same performer any less than a full month’s live-able wage.
Last thing … the union formed because actors died on set from working conditions. Actors lost hands, fingers, and in one famous case - their head. Sets are the equivalent of live construction zones. Even if you are opting for non-union productions, follow the unions guidelines for on set safety (for example - least 30 minute lunch breaks).
You’re welcome!
Chief
SAG as in Screen Actors Guild? If so, it’s a union. SAG card holders get health insurance from them as well as, like any union, standardized rates and conditions.
Chief
It’s good for the talent who get SAG cards. They get high pay, good benefits and very strict limitations on the hours they can work without overtime pay.
Like any union though, there are downsides. Getting that SAG card can be HIGHLY political. They purposely limit them to keep rates high and protect members. Nepotism is rampant when it comes to who gets and doesnt get a SAG card. SAG also carries a somewhat hefty fee to pay for the union’s leadership team.
Their operations tends to also drive down the rates of non-union actors and limits the jobs they can get pretty severely.
Whoa - just chiming in here to add additional context.
Nepotism isn’t super rampant to get into the union. There are clear and strict guidelines on how to get a SAG card - which involves the actors actually working a union job - as an extra or as on-camera talent. So nepotism might happen in terms of an actor getting union extra work or even getting an audition for the on-camera roles (which ultimately leads to getting into the union) but it isn’t a factor in the getting of the SAG card itself, since those rules are clear and strict and it is actually super-expensive to get in because of the initiation fee. Most SAG actors earned their cards, it wasn’t due to gaming the system or getting a free pass.
It’s the biggest driver for productions being shot offshore with foreign talent.
All those ubiquitous boat productions
Its a Union. Its a good thing. We should do one
Actors say it’s like playing the lottery. They don’t get paid for auditions or callbacks even though it costs to go to them. And the session fees for showing up on set and working their tails off doesn’t pay that much either. They only get paid if they get on air. Then they get paid a truckload. I bet we creatives would ask for fewer actors to come to auditions and callbacks if we had to pay them a little bit to show up — at least enough to cover parking in LA.
Correct. The only really lucrative roles are those spokesperson roles where it’s repeat work. VO is decent, but incredibly hard to get.
And the problem with those spokesperson roles are … they’re one and done. Honda won’t be booking Red Lobster’s old spokesperson. They wouldn’t be considered a fresh face (or whatever).
To be fair to the OP, the real problem I see is … the sheer bulk of people who have to be paid out. That does add up.
Holding fees add up too, but you can also get a great freelance BA who knows how to work the system.
They were smart enough to unionize a long time ago. Something I could only dream of.
It gets me a check quarterly for five lines i had in a Netflix show/movie
Yeah not bad. Wish i had booked more so i could get more royalties but happy that this thing i was in is popular