If you're doing a non-union short film, but you have a SAG experimental film agreement (you can hire SAG actors with deferred pay, and the pay is determined by SAG depending on your budget), can you still put someone in it who is in AFTRA?

Yes you can. If you're AFTRA, you can't do non union work in an AFTRA production. You also can't audition for The Real World if you're either Aftra or SAG.

With the SAG Exp. contract, how many of the actors need to be SAG? Any? All?

So if you are Aftra

can you still do non union commercials and film?

I heard in a right to work state, union can do non-union and vice versa, even though union isn't supposed to do do non-union. I guess some of those guys do it because ther's more non-union than union up here (paying work).

I mean in LA

Does Aftra work like SAG where they can't do nonunion films or commercials?

What about extra work?



I ask
Because I was thinking of joining AFTRA to help get into SAG.

But I am also doing extra work for vouchers. If I can not do (nonunion)extra work on SAG projects after joining AFTRA...
Then I feel like really I have limited my chances of getting SAG.

In LA you're not suppose to do any non-union work if you belong to any one of the 3 unions.

So if I join AFTRA
It will kill any chances of joining SAG through extra work

If you join AFTRA and book a principal role in AFTRA, then you automatically qualify to join SAG, if you've been an AFTRA member for a year. (Same thing goes if you're a paid-up member of any of the other affiliated performers' unions (ACTRA, AEA, AGMA or AGVA). So joining AFTRA could help you become a SAG member. Nearly all of the new television shows that went into production this year are under AFTRA contracts.

(Doing extra work rarely results in anything but getting extra work.)

quote:

Originally posted by Jackie:
With the SAG Exp. contract, how many of the actors need to be SAG? Any? All?

Folks, there's no such thing as the SAG Experimental Film Contract any more -- it was replaced in 2005 with two new contracts: the Short Film Agreement and the Ultra Low Budget Agreement, contracts designed to cover the very lowest end of low budget productions.

The contracts are intended to cover SAG's members in these productions. For the Short Film, its purpose is so the producer has the opportunity to work with professional actors. As I understand it, the Agreement is for producers that use one or more SAG actors. It doesn't specify a required quota of SAG actors, but it only covers the SAG actors, protecting them in terms of salaries and conditions. So, if there's one SAG actor in the cast and four non-SAG actors, the union requires that the SAG actor get rights and payments and working conditions, and the producer can treat the non-SAG actor any way they please. The Ultra Low Budget Agreement is pretty much the same thing, but for films with larger budgets. It requires that the SAG actors be paid -- the producer can cast non-SAG actors to work alongside the SAG actors, and pay them nothing at all. (And offer no future distribution rights, which the producer would be required to entitle to the SAG actor.)

quote:

Originally posted by FaithLove:
So if I join AFTRA
It will kill any chances of joining SAG through extra work

You can do SAG extra work but not n/u if you join AFTRA. I don't think it's a wise move to do n/u extra work hoping to get SAG vouchers anyway-you'll go broke doing that because the pay sucks. I would only do extra work if you can be booked SAG beforehand.

but they dont book people for SAG if they are nonunion


mostly you just do a nonunion gig and hope one of the SAG people didn't show and get their voucher... or on a movie.. hope they had too many.

quote:

Originally posted by FaithLove:
but they dont book people for SAG if they are nonunion


mostly you just do a nonunion gig and hope one of the SAG people didn't show and get their voucher... or on a movie.. hope they had too many.

I know what the idea is but I just wouldn't suggest it-because if you don't get the SAG voucher you are going to end up with lousy pay that you can't live off of unless you live with your parents or have other financial support. You might work exactly 8 hours and the check could come out to about $50 after taxes-and you are taking up time that could be spent on classes, real acting work, etc. Even if you eventually do get vouchers where will the money to join SAG($2,335) come from? You won't save any up by doing n/u extra work for sure. Also, very few SAG no-show these days because the work is so scarce. It's a fast road to bitterness-I've seen it too many times.

I was booked SAG as a stand-in when I was not SAG, so it can happen. It only makes sense to do extra work after joining SAG, not before-because of the money.

quote:

Originally posted by LADelight:It only makes sense to do extra work after joining SAG, not before-because of the money.

Except that in this economy, some people are doing the extra work JUST for the money. And you have way more opportunities to do that when you're non-union (things dry up badly when you become SAG).

I have a friend back East who is an architect and out of work. No desire to be an actor at all. But she's now SAG-eligible, because she's been doing so much extra work, just to get by.

Think of that the next time someone tells you how being SAG is a sign of professionalism. Nope. Sometimes it just means you did a LOT of extra work.

quote:

Originally posted by JimChevallier:

quote:

Originally posted by LADelight:It only makes sense to do extra work after joining SAG, not before-because of the money.

Except that in this economy, some people are doing the extra work JUST for the money. And you have way more opportunities to do that when you're non-union (things dry up badly when you become SAG).

"Some" people are doing extra work just for the money? Well, of course-I can't think of any other reason to do it. Aspiring actor or not. I also haven't noticed more opportunities for non-union extra work. There's less for both SAG and N/U. A lot of shows use just 20 extras or less on a given day-so all will be SAG. The first 52 have to be SAG on a film. So unless you are talking about a very big call, there aren't more N/U opportunities. You also make more money for working half the time.