I was invited to audition for a Party City commercial today, but they were only offering seventy-five bucks if I booked it. Is it just me, is is this really cheep of them. I mean I've seen lots of stuff for a hundred a day, which, for a commercial, is pretty damn crappy, but these people couldn't even shell out a hundred.

I skipped the audition.

It's funny. I submit for a non-union commercial one day that pays $15k, then I see one that pays $250 in perpetuity. And also the ones that pay $100. Damned if you join the union, damned if you don't. Lol.

They pay that little, because there will always be bottom-feeders who don't hesitate to bite on that price.

"Hey! I booked a commercial spot with Nike!"

"Good for you. How much did it pay?"

"Umm... 100 dollars. But it's Nike!"

"..."

I noticed that up here (the publicly submitted ones) and they're the union ones. They'll give you a couple hundred dollars but it's like a buyout.

I admit that I've done a few cmmercials for a fairly small amout of money... but they were local commercials. I have never done a major companies commercial, and I don't think I would, just out of principal.

I'm curious, how many people showed up?

I don't submit to anything on LaCasting for a few hundred dollars... unless it REALLY piques my interest. It's generally not worth my time; I earn more at my regular day job and I don't need the money so it would be a waste of time. I wouldn't even get out of my bed for $75... let alone sit in L.A traffic.

I only submit to the stuff that pay enough to make it worthwhile to me. My goal is to get an agent and hopefully get some SAG stuff with residuals...

My goal is $$$ when it comes to commercials.

Yep...it's called taking advantage of actors, but Yonie is right, unfortunately if you decide to not shoot a commercial for $75.00 there's a looooong line of people who will be happy to. Doesn't make anyone better or worse than anyone else, maybe it's the actors who don't have a day job and would rather make the $75.00 than $0.00 that day.

Either way, as long as "demand" will show up, the "supply" will fork out as little as possible.

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Originally posted by LA_Actress:
Yep...it's called taking advantage of actors, but Yonie is right, unfortunately if you decide to not shoot a commercial for $75.00 there's a looooong line of people who will be happy to. Doesn't make anyone better or worse than anyone else, maybe it's the actors who don't have a day job and would rather make the $75.00 than $0.00 that day.

Either way, as long as "demand" will show up, the "supply" will fork out as little as possible.

That doesn't mean you, or anyone, have to submit. Let the bottom-feeders suck the muck.

You have to turn the analogy around though. Casting offices have a demand and us actors are in overwhelming - not to mention cheap - supply.

$75 for a principal in a commercial? Ha! I'd rather do extra work for $350 minimum and possibly a lot more.

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$75 for a principal in a commercial? Ha! I'd rather do extra work for $350 minimum and possibly a lot more.

$350 minimum? Where are you hearing about extra work for $350 minimum?

quote:

Originally posted by Iceman:

quote:

$75 for a principal in a commercial? Ha! I'd rather do extra work for $350 minimum and possibly a lot more.

$350 minimum? Where are you hearing about extra work for $350 minimum?

Just plain old SAG bg work. Nothing special. In fact I'm working one right now. I'm posting from holding. Should make about a grand today with the rate double.

This is why I'm glad I became SAG. When I first got here, I remember seeing the 5-15k buyouts and some ever bigger (I think I remember seeing a Corona that was BIG money), but then when I booked my first SAG National, they were already down to like 1k buyouts. Now you're talking $75 a day in perpetuity....someone please tell me that there is a career in nonunion work, or that being SAG-E is the best of both worlds.

Do the work, get into class, make the investment in great headshots, and get into SAG-AFTRA.

Amen to what Midwest said. Why waste your time bottomfeeding?

On the commercial I'm working on now the principals are nothing special. Not classically trained or anything. Just have the right hipster look.They got the job because they are focusing on the good stuff, not $75 n/u buyouts.

quote:

Originally posted by Midwest2LA:
This is why I'm glad I became SAG.

Truth. The only reason producers undercut us like that is because we let them.