Dear Addison,

Ha! After reading your blog I realized maybe I asked the wrong question. I asked what happens if I am released from a job, but I wonder if I was actually downgraded from a principle. In the (blank) spot I was hired as a principle, shot on the set, but they cut me out of it. The exact wording in the letter they sent me says, "...your performance has been completely cut from the commercial listed above. As provided in the SAG 2009 Commercials Contract Section 27cB you are released from your employment contract and no further payments will be due you."


Is that a release or a downgrade? If it is a downgrade should I get another payment? Like I mentioned this has never happened before so I am in the dark. Thanks for the blog and thanks for the answers to all our wacky questions.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

The answer to this question is that you have neither been released, nor have you been downgraded.  You have been outgraded.  To be outgraded means that you shoot a spot and when the spot is edited you are completely removed from the final edit.  When you are outgraded you are not entitled to an additional session payment.  

Addison DeWitt

Dear Addison,

Because I was released from the (blank) spot, does that mean I get another payment for the release or is the initial pay all I get? I've actually never been released from a spot before...

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Unfortunately, the answer is no.  You are only paid a fee if you are downgraded. 

Please be mindful that, if, there is more than one spot - the performer should be careful to make sure which spot(s) exactly is being released - a title or a code # should be indicated at time of release.

Addison DeWitt

Robbing Peter to pay Paul (part 2)

As you can see from my diagram money can be sent to either your representation, or to you directly.  It is your right to choose where your money is sent.  However, unless you have reason to believe that there is an issue at your agency regarding money, it is my belief that you should allow your agent to field all payments.   

The reason for having payment sent to your agent as opposed to you, is that your agency will have a knowledgeable person reviewing checks for accuracy.  The check needs to be issued within the SAG specified amount of time, for the correct amounts, etc.  If you receive your checks directly, and deposit a check that is later discovered to be incorrect for whatever reason, there is nothing your agent can do.  The act of depositing that check is an acceptance of its terms, and becomes a binding contract.   

Another reason to have payment sent to your agent is that your agent will keep track of your conflicts.  Your agents will contact ad agencies, etc. within the proper amount of time to determine whether or not a spot will continue being held.  This is another reason you pay your agency a percentage.

Depending on whether or not your agency is SAG, or ATA franchised, that will dictate when your agency is mandated to issue you a check.  For ATA franchised agents, their website states that their agents have 15 days from receipt of a check to issue payment to their clients.  SAG franchised agencies have 5 business days to issue payment, unless the check is being sent out of state.  It is then 7 calendar days from receipt of payment.  All monies, other than commercial payments, are 3 business days from receipt of payment. 

If you have questions about whether or not a check has been issued for a commercial, you can contact the Payroll Company, or paymaster.  You will need to be able to provide the product, commercial title, and the commercial id #, or “ISCI” code.   

Throughout my career I have heard a handful of horror stories about talent payments. In rare cases companies that, in order to sustain and maintain 'solvency', have elected to hold their clients' money well in excess of the turnaround deadlines that are dictated by SAG and ATA.   When the company received more talents’ money, the previous batch was then processed and released.  In the most unfortunate cases, I heard of this cycle continuing until there is shortage of money.  It is at that point when those companies needed to make a choice. Pay them, or pay the actor. I am sure you can surmise who the loser is in this equation. The actor ends up losing their money, and their agent.  While cases such as these are truly (thankfully) the exception and nowhere near the rule.

New blogger...

As promised, today we are adding a blogger from an animation studio who is in post production, the post will follow below.  This executive has first hand knowledge of all of the ins and outs of a major animation project, from start to finish.  As always please feel free to ask any questions you would like, and we will answer in a timely manner.  

Whenever I am asked what I do for a living, I reply that I work in post-production for a movie studio. That response is usually followed by the question, "what does that mean?" Specifically, I work on animated movies, which opens up a whole other door in the realm of post-production. Explaining the process can be very detailed and you might not have imagined the amount of work that is done in post to finish a feature. Animated movies take three or more years to create from the beginning of story development to the time it’s in theaters. In post-production, we are still working on a movie even after it is released because of all the international versions that are released after the domestic version in the USA. Our movies are typically dubbed in well over 30 languages.

The term post-production is used to group everything under one name but typically includes many different processes such as, editing, voice over recording, sound design, music scoring, test screenings, final mix, lustre, film out and finally finishing prints for the theaters. For the purpose of this entry, I would like to explain how the voice over recording process works.

Most animated features today are much like live action movies; A-list stars are typically cast in the leading roles. Someone once asked the head of our studio why we use big celebrities which inevitable have to be paid more money when you aren’t going to see their faces on screen. The response was simply that if you can get a specific actor that is really good, you take them! Another obvious reason is that star power sells tickets. However, not every character is voiced by a big name. It really depends on what the director(s) and producer(s) are looking for.

Voice-over sessions for animation are very interesting to see because the actors don’t have other actors to feed off of or play to. Sometimes the production will provide a “reader” to work with the actor but other than that, the actor is alone in a recording booth with a handful of people staring at them from the control room. The recording session starts out with the director setting the scene. Typically the actor has met with the director prior to the recording and has a general idea of what the movie is about, but each scene is described to them on the spot at the recording session. Often times the production will supply a few clips from the movie for the actor to view and give them an idea of their character, but other than that, the actor has to do their best to imagine the scene around them. The production will sometimes dress the recording session with artwork of the characters and landscapes but for the most part it is a blank slate.

So here we are at the recording session. The actor walks up to the podium which has a stack of slides with script pages tacked to them and the director sets the scene. The actor runs through each page line by line, giving multiple takes for each line. It is not unusual for the actor to record the same lines several times. The production takes back the recordings and has their editors marry the audio to picture. Often times the production will hold internal work-in-progress screenings to get an idea of how the show is moving along. This also allows the director/producer to decide if a line needs to be removed or adjusted, or sometimes they will ask the actor to deliver the line with a different inflection. It is important to note that typically, at least at our studio, the lines are recorded prior to the movie being animated. The movie will exist only in storyboards, or simple sketches that give an idea of the flow of the film. At recording sessions tiny cameras are used to record the actors. They are aware that the camera is there but the fact that it is small prevents them from noticing the camera and wanting to act to the camera. The footage from the recordings then goes back to the studio for the animators to use as reference. The animators try to mimic the facial expressions of the actor and at times will even incorporate hand gestures or body movements from the actor as well to give the animated character a more life-like appearance. Often times the actor won’t get to see the fruits of their labor until the film is closer to being complete.

Thanks for reading. Tune in next time.

L.B. Jeffries

 

Dear Addison,

If the spot you shot was broken down into 3 separate 15 second spots and you appear in the background in one and principal in another...do you qualify for a downgrade fee?

Thanks in advance!

Dear Arianna,

The scenario you describe is similar to Lauren's.  In the spot where you only appear in the background,  you are entitled to a session payment for the 15 second edit, which is also called a "mechanical lift", and to a downgrade fee.   

Hope that helps.

Addison

Robbing Peter to pay Paul (part 1)

Robbing Peter to pay Paul(part 1)

So as not to send you away fearful and paranoid, let me begin this post by saying that, aside from needing a job, I do this because I love actors. More than just loving actors, I love finding work for actors. In regards to work, nothing makes me happier than knowing a client has made enough money to make their insurance, pay their mortgage, or just simply live a little easier. I believe most people in my line of work share a similar feeling.  I am going to give you the facts about talent payments; I’ll save the horror stories for the end.

So that actors from every level of the business can understand commercial talent payments, below is a very simple diagram of how payments get from advertiser to actor.

  

In regards time frame for payments from the payroll company to the actor, SAG is the jurisdiction that dictates the when talent payments are due.  Below is the schedule of payments: 

 

Next post, how and when your money is processed once received...

 

What defines a principle performer...

Dear Addison,

I have a question: If an actor is in a spot and it gets made into several,
and the actor's face is recognizable (at least to the actor) but much farther away in the second spot, does the actor still make residuals? Its all principle roles; no group 6, etc....

Thanks Addison!

Lauren

Dear Lauren,

First, assuming this is a union job, know that most of the time, SAG is the governing body regarding what defines a principle performer, and here is how it is “technically” defined:

1. A performer is directed to speak a line (other than omnies); or

2. A performer is performing an identifiable stunt; or

3. A performer is in the (1) foreground, (2) identifiable, and (3) demonstrating or illustrating a product or service or illustrating or reacting to the on/off camera narration or commercial message. (The performer must meet all 3 criteria simultaneously in the spot to qualify for a principal upgrade.)

Based off of SAG’s definition, if the spot is edited, so that you are in the “background” of the spot, an advertiser could issue a downgrade, meaning, you are considered to be an extra, and therefore not entitled to residuals in that particular edit.  You are entitled to a session payment for the "mechanical lift", and a downgrade fee, which is equal to a session payment.  If you have been downgraded, and you feel it is en error, you must appeal to SAG.  SAG will review the spot, and issue a ruling as to your principle status.  

Please continue to ask questions.

Until next time I remain your humble and obedient servant.


Addison DeWitt

The early bird gets the worm...

For those playing the home game, I have recently created a Facebook Page.  The page is aptly titled, "Addison DeWitt".  

Next post, "Robbing Peter to pay Paul"...

Until then, I remain your humble and obedient servant.  

Addison DeWitt