SAG-AFTRA Utah
From Behind the Camera by Amanda Melby, Arizona Co-Secretary, Co-Member-at-Large As a SAG-AFTRA actor here in a so cal l ed “r i ght -t o work state”, I’ve often found myself talking to film producers and directors about the ins and outs of the SAG Low Budget contracts. “It’s really easy,” I’d say, “Just a few forms to fill out. SAG scale is $100 a day for the Ultra Low -Budget Agreement and the Short Film Contract payment can be deferred.” This past fall, I directed my first short film and had three SAG actors in the cast. Because my producer hadn’t ever done the SAG Low Budget Agreement paperwork before, and because I wanted to find out first-hand what the process was really like, I said I would be the signatory. Most of the forms are now online, so really, that was a breeze. There were some redundancies with the paperwork, and some of it was in .pdf format, so I needed to retype them, but everything they asked for were items that we already had (a full budget, a shooting script, a cast list). So any
filmmaker who says that SAG AFTRA requires too much is either lazy or doesn’t know what he/she is doing. These were basic pre production items that SAG requested. Overall, my experience with becoming a signatory was a piece of cake and now I know from whence I speak: “It’s easy for a filmmaker to hire a SAG-AFTRA actor — signing a union contract is not hard.” While most of the parts were cast from people I’ve already worked with, I did audition actors for four roles. Here’s where the surprises started to pile up. I posted an audition notice and asked actors to submit a headshot under 1 MB in .jpg or .pdf format and a resume in .pdf format. I asked them to title the documents with LastNameFirstName.filename. I was AMAZED at how many actors sent me photos called DSC111.jpg or Smiling One.jpg or how many resumes I got in .wps (a file that I can’t open) or .doc (a file I can open). As a director now, I can’t imagine that this actor is going to follow direction on set with me if s/he can’t even submit using the directions I provided. I also looked on iActor and AFTRAPhoenix.com to find local actors – perhaps
people I didn’t know. I was surprised at how few actors were actually on these sites. Here I am, specifically looking for local union talent and I can’t find any because they haven’t taken the time to list themselves online. Perhaps they don’t want work? Assuming that you DO want to work, I suggest that you check your electronic documents for both file size and names, and regularly check your online profiles for iActor and AFTRAPhoenix.com And, if you aren’t on these sites, get on them! There will probably be some changes coming with these sites due to the merger, but pay attention and get online. Lastly, I highly suggest that you read up on the SAG Low Budget Agreements so you can speak with confidence about them. Knowing how easy it is and what SAGAFTRA requires from the filmmaker can easily turn a nonunion project into a union one. Get proactive and get some bookings! Article reprinted with permission
Don’t know how to rename or resize your photos? Here’s a primer. Open your photo in whatever photo program you have on your computer. In the “file” menu, you’ll probably have something like “rename” or “save as.” Simply click on that and rename it with your stage name. If your file is very large and your headshot photographer didn’t give you a “low rez” version for emailing, you can 1) email your photographer and ask for a low rez version, or 2) resize it yourself. To re-size it, again open the photo in your photo program. Look for a “Tools” menu bar and something like “adjust size” or “image size.” If you’re working with the original photo, it’ll be something like 36 inches wide by 54 inches in height and 4.1-5 MB. This is HUGE! A photo to email needs only to be 8 x 10 inches. By reducing the dimensions, the file size will reduce to somewhere around 100 KB. Your “resolution” size can be from 72 pixels/inch to 300 pixels/inch. The higher this number, the higher the file size. 3