Newsletter

October 2007 · Newsletter Archive

"I love to explain to actors what I want, but not how to do it! (That's the actors job.)"
-- Fred Zimmer, Director

Above & Beyond Back-Up

We have recently made a few remarkable additions to our crew and we'd like to introduce you...starting with Pauline Kirk! She's come all the way from Devon, England just to grace us with her hard work, diplomacy, perseverance and not-so-common common sense. She will be our Studio Manager, managing our casting, scheduling and bookings. We couldn't be in better hands! Besides with that refined British accent, she's as great on the phone as she is in person. So, if you need to schedule time with us, we suggest you muster up your best 'Monty Python' imitation. (She's still adjusting her ear to the American phrasing.)

Next up is Jeff Finney. (Relax...he's local.) His talents as a professional voiceover and producer precede him. His skills are heightened further by his thoughtful commitment to impart the Sound Advice Approach while coaching or directing demo sessions. He's thoroughly committed to seeing to it that you succeed. So, he's a natural on our team. We're lucky to have such an effusive, levelheaded, experienced fellow as Jeff. We love him and are confident you will too.

Louise Rider officially joins our production staff, after interning with us since her graduation from Northwestern in June. (Do I detect a collegiate theme here? Hmm.) Louise takes the reins on the workshop with Colleen and Jeff, sharing responsibilities on that front. Louise is skillful, agile and on the order of a Ginsu Chef when editing. She's awesome!

So, there you have it.

Beyond recently fortifying our 2nd booth in the Orange Room (as we call it) I think you'll find we're only getting better and better every day thanks to these remarkable folks coming on board.

So, welcome, guys! We love you already! We feel so privileged and secure in the fact that you have our backs and in doing so have all of our Sound Advicers' backs as well!!

One last footnote...while Lamb Chop could never be replaced and we miss him very, very much, he does, however, have a successor, namely: Cricket, the Wonder Pup! His training is speedily moving forward and we expect Cricket will make his performance debut...oh, just about any afternoon now without any real forewarning. (He's a comic.) We hope you will be in attendance when he does!

Business Dictates

SAG Takes Aim at Production Flight North to Canada
Screen Actors Guild Signs Petition Opposing Canadian Production Incentives
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable

The Screen Actors Guild signed a petition opposing Canadian production incentives that have encouraged production of U.S. shows to move north of the border.

SAG contributed $50,000 to the creation of the 3,561-page petition, which was delivered to the U.S. Trade Representative Tuesday. SAG, joined by numerous unions, businesses -- though no studios -- and seven city councils, wants a U.S. government investigation into the Canadian subsidies.

But the union isn't just taking aim at the Canadian subsidies. SAG National Legislative Committee chair Gretchen Koerner pointed out in announcing SAG's participation that it has also worked to pass production incentives in 30 states to help reclaim some of the union jobs lost to Canada.

"For decades, we have watched as American producers head north to produce movies, television series and commercials," Koerner said in a statement. "The vast majority of SAG actors do not get hired to work in Canada, so our jobs are lost."

And this just in from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG)...

On September 4, 2007, Screen Actors Guild joined film industry unions, small businesses and the Film & Television Action Committee (FTAC) to file a petition under Section 301(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The petition argues that Canadian film subsidies violate trade law, and that American entertainment industry workers have been significantly harmed by incentives designed to lure media production from the United States to Canada.

The outsourcing of American film and television production has lead to a decline in U.S. film industry jobs, (an estimated 47,000 per year), and the loss of tens of billions of dollars in U.S. revenue. These numbers are so devastating, 35 states have implemented film incentives in order to stop the loss of American film industry production. It is time for the United States Federal Government to step up and join the fight to save American jobs.

The Screen Actors Guild national board of directors voted in October of 2006 to allocate $50,000 towards the effort to file this petition. SAG National Legislative Committee Chair Gretchen Koerner recently stated, "We are committed to exploring every method we can to bring film and television production back to the United States. For decades we have watched as American producers head north to produce movies, television series and commercials. The vast majority of SAG actors do not get hired to work in Canada--so our jobs are lost."

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) now has just 31 days remaining to evaluate the 301(a) petition and to determine whether the U.S. government should conduct a formal investigation of the Canadian subsidy programs. Please take a moment to email your U.S. Senator and member of congress to urge them to call the United States Trade Representative and let her know they support the 301(a) filing.

Below you will find links to locate your federal representative and a sample email you can modify to make your feelings known.

Find your Senator:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Find your Congressional representative:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Nice Work If You Can Get It...And You Can Get It If You Try!

In an attempt to further man you with as much info as possible, it would be nice to learn just how much you could make, don't you agree? So, we're continuing October's Newsletter with more of the finer points of union work.

How do you get paid on a Union gig?
Two weeks after the shoot or session date, you or your agent will be sent a check--depending on how you filled out your paperwork at the session.

If your agent sent you out on the job, it SHOULD be sent to your agent. If the check inadvertently is sent to your home, you need to call your agent and let them know. You owe them a check and you want them to correct where checks should be sent with the client if and when the client books you again in the future.

Bring your checkbook to pick up your check from your agents, just in case. There are one of two ways your agent gets paid their 10% (20% if the job was print or voiceover promo):

- The check was made out to the talent agency. In that case, they will have cut you a check minus their percentage.
- The check was made out to you. In that case, you'll have to write the agency a check for their percentage.

At Sound Advice, we recommend you become a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) to reduce your tax debt, legitimize your costs for promotion, clothing, travel, parking and general maintenance in forwarding the expansion of your small business as a working talent. (Go on-line with your state's Secretary of State's office to download applications and learn more.)

How much do you get paid?
'Scale' is the term designated to the lowest rate you can make as a union talent. This rate varies depending on the usage, but suffice it to say, all non-union work is based on scale.

(The following rates are based on standard scale rates as of JULY 2007, but are subject to change in 2008 when SAG-AFTRA contracts are renegotiated.)

A scale 'session fee' (the pay you get for simply shooting/recording the spot) for a SAG TV commercial is $501.25.

The set rate for a commercial to run on the Internet is 300% more than the standard commercial rate for usage. If the commercial is made strictly for Internet use first the rate is whatever the agent negotiates and you accept given the particulars of the job. (These rates can and often are upwards of $6500-$25,000, depending on the project and provided it's only used for a year at a time.)

For radio (covered under AFTRA), scale is $260 +10. (The '+10' is the talent agent's 10%, so that their fee is not taken out of your $260 session fee.
Scale for local television session fees run $401.50 (AFTRA).
Rates for on-camera commercial work run $567.10 per day; featured day performer runs $759 per day.
Industrial on-camera has two categories (also known as 'CATs') for Narrator/Spokespersons:

- CAT I is $832 and $457.50 for each additional day
- CAT II is $985.50 and $569 for each additional day.
Industrial voiceover runs $374.50 for a CAT I contract and $416.50 for CAT II for the first hour, plus $109 for each additional half hour.

The lowest union rate is a demo rate. Demos are typically produced prior to creating full-blown ad campaigns costing thousands and thousands of ad dollars.

A scale 'demo' runs $201.38 and falls under SAG. (Yes, this business pays you to record demos. (Not YOUR voiceover demo, mind you, but rather demos for products and services the ad agency has as clients or potential clients.) Spots are demo'ed in order to secure a specific client by presenting a campaign (they may or may not fly). Additionally, creatives typically produce demos of their spots to test campaign strategies and to determine the most interesting or effective attack possible.)

It's extremely rare to book a demo for radio. (I've only booked two my entire career.) On the average, budgets for radio generally don't allow for this luxury. However, if you happen to book one, they pay just under $89 and fall under AFTRA's jurisdiction.

If you record more than one spot at a demo session or they edit what you read or shot into multiple versions, you don't typically receive multiple session fees like you do for commercial spots set to air. There's often a bit of give and take here.

Most of the demos you just booked (let say you did 15 total) may never air, regardless of how great the spots sound. Then again, you now have a better than average chance to land the actual broadcast spot/campaign if it does fly.

If it does air then you'll receive an additional session fee (or fees, depending on the circumstance), plus 'residuals, (or 'resids' for short). Residuals account for a bulk of the working talent's income in mass mediums and allow the actor to cover their required on-going training, production of demos, promotional costs and personal upkeep, while earning a proper living.

How are residuals paid?
This is the single most difficult question in this business to answer. The reason being: talent and talent agents alike are not privy to production company and ad agency media plans for fear the clients' competition will attempt to undercut their promotional strategy. (Which they most certainly would!)

So, network television (ABC, NBC & CBS) is paid on a sliding scale. Network air-play is the greatest amount of residual income generated of all media formats. It is paid on 13-week cycles. There are four 13-week cycles in a year.

For instance, on a typical national product, such as the 'Swiffer Sweeper', airing for two full 13 week cycles, it could easily incur as much as $65,000 to $85,000 in residuals from playing on network TV alone. So, this commercial would have to play during Oprah, a few standard day time dramas, the evening news, Access Hollywood, The Office, and during Letterman, for example. And that's just the voiceover. You can pretty much double that amount for on-camera work.

Residual cable use is paid on a flat fee basis, which means you get paid at the end of the cycle, unlike network, which pays you every time it airs. With cable, the more markets in which the ad airs--the Northeast, the Midwest and so forth, the more residual income generated. Cable subscriber count per market determines the residuals incurred. Cable pays a fraction of what network pays, by and large. That said, the residual pay here is nothing to sneeze at; you're still looking at about $20,000 to $65,000 for the same example as mentioned above, yet during the most popular shows on TV Land, Bravo or HGTV.

Internet currently is a flat fee buyout overall, so it doesn't pay residuals.

Residuals are what allow talent to break even, earn P & H (pension and health) and generally keep their heads above water as working talent.

The All-Essential Follow Up

Recently, an email from J.C. read:

"So to fill you in, Friday was a great day. I auditioned with (a very reputable, local, non-union agent) and they signed me which I'm totally psyched about b/c I have had no action in Chicago yet, but as I was leaving for my appt, I missed a call from (another reputable Union-franchised agent) in NY. (She) called to tell me she loves my demo but is totally out of room for new talent and to be sure to send my demo in again in 6 months. I thought that was a great sign that she would even bother to pick up the phone.

Now, time for some gigs. I'm really over the online sites....I worked my a** off for a job 2 weeks ago, and in the end, they used someone else. It's fine, I'm still getting paid, but it's so hard to send in a job and "think" you know what someone else wants. The producers thought both of my reads were good, but the client kept wanting something different. They changed the script at the 11th hour and I was out of town (they knew I was going to be out of town, that's why I'm sure they used someone else). It's been great practice, but I think I'm just going to use that as a place to practice and as another place to have my demos."

Ah, yes... Advertising. She's a fickle mistress! Still all-in-all this is all great news.

Keep trying with the local agents, broaden your promo to the national talent agent list we recommend and keep promoting, region by region, to the Ad producers and copywriters.

I'm proud of your sticking to it. And keep in mind it's still very early in the game.

Everyone feels, once they've finished their demo and promoted their first full round or so to the agents and/or the Ad Creatives, that their work is through and they now can sit back and reap the benefits of all their hard work. That may be the case...if you land a half dozen or more national campaigns, but that accounts for less 2% of us.

The fact is, like any small business, we must persist to create and maintain a presence. We must continue to make ourselves truly accessible to the work in order to get hired with any regularity. That's what it takes to reap the greatest, most long term rewards.

At this point, some 6-8 months after you've completed your demo, you're still effectively establishing your brand in the marketplace through promotion.

Besides, if it went the other way around, and you were one of that less than 2%, then you'd likely have a false sense of reality on how this business really works and when biz hit a rough patch you wouldn't be able to see the forest thru the trees. love ya, k

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

I can't thank each of you enough for all the good wishes you sent to me after losing Lambie. It was so sweet and thoughtful of you to send your condolences. They were very much appreciated and meant so much to me to hear from you. Please forgive this mass 'thank you' but there were well over a hundred and I wanted you to know it meant a great deal to me. So, again...from my heart...thanks.

Onward & Upward!

And so with our newly-fortified crew in place and upgraded digs, we find ourselves producing more work than ever, I'm happy to report. We want to include you on auditions or flat out bookings off our web site, so be sure to keep us posted as to any changes in phone number, address, email, union status, new agents and general life hoo-ha. Besides we love to hear from you anyway and get the latest. In the meantime, enjoy the season...it's gorgeous out there.

Best, Kate & crew