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Production Notebook
I just sat through two hours with SAG Indie.
Two hours that I thought would be long and mostly useless. Filmmakers who I chatted to beforehand were inclined to agree: It would be tedious and redundant and hell no they didn't want to come along so that I had someone to pass funny notes to if things got boring. I already knew a lot about the basics of the Screen Actors Guild from the actor's side of production, but I went anyway because I had one producer's question about residuals and ancillary markets and I wanted specific clarification. It turned out that the entire session was helpful. They blew past the basic info in about five minutes and then the rest of the time was spent on producers” Q&A. While I did have to endure some of the “What is Taft-Hartley?” sort of questions, most of the producers asked advanced questions that inspired me in regards to crafty ways of thinking about insurance coverage and pain-in-the-ass things of that sort that have to do with the production as a whole and require creative problem solving.
A lot of new and/or super low-budget filmmakers are hesitant to put the paperwork through to hire SAG actors despite the fact that they are (or should fearlessly be) aspiring to a professional art piece. It is my opinion that that is often an indication of how committed you are to your project. Even if it”s simply a digital short for the Internet: If your work is good and you”re serious about filmmaking, you”ll want professional actors in key roles and you should preserve your ability to distribute (you cannot do that if you use SAG talent under the table, i.e. your actor friends "doing you a favor").
Guess what? You can hire professional actors without breaking the rules.
It”s not that hard to put the paperwork through, especially under the indie contracts, extra especially under the short/ultra-low contracts (which tend to be the productions that don”t file SAG).
Don't be scared.
You truly should go signatory if you are a professional filmmaker because professional performers do make an important difference in a film and filing the paperwork will also require you to get your paperwork straightened out across the board. I recommend that anyone producing independently visit with SAG Indie at some point. For all film students in Los Angeles, it is a must. And if you”re shooting your “serious” thesis, I recommend using the SAG Indie short agreement over your school”s student film agreement: That way you can submit to film festivals instead of only to student film festivals. (Under the short contract there are less restrictions and payment for SAG actors is deferred.) If your thesis isn”t shooting for the festival level (in short form) then I don”t know what you”re doing as a filmmaker, anyway. Or you should be more realistic about how “serious” the project actually is and scale the budget back. (Most students waste a bundle of cash on a "serious" thesis that doesn”t help them business-wise whatsoever. Two years later they find themselves wishing they had that 10k back to make a better/more focused/more useful/artful short.) Otherwise, it only makes sense to view your thesis as an independent film in place of viewing it as a student film.
So to all independent filmmakers, time at SAG Indie will be time well spent. I”m glad that I went. To the rooks, just remember when asking your questions that your SAG reps can neither tell you how to run your business nor give you legal advice. The other producers there will appreciate this (seriously).
In semi-related news, the TSL prints were waiting for me in a huge package when I returned home. I opened them immediately and they are so, so awesome.
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