To pay, or not to pay, that is the question…

In late December or early January Gretchen and I were talking and Gretchen commented that with her set still photography she was now at a place where she could get all the free work she wanted. Then a week ago Saturday at the Utah Women in Film meeting the often thorny issue of paid versus free work came up several times. It's a real issue.

My personal goal is to re-join the ranks of working actors by the end of this year. I've defined what that means to me in terms of dollars per month as well as what counts as acting. (I'm including voice over and background work in my calculations.)

I've been acting in Utah for just under three years and in my opinion, I've done my share of "food, copy and credit" projects. (Special note: If I'm working for copy and credit, give me the respect I deserve, spell my name right and get me the copy of my three minute short within two years!)

Anybody ever waited forever, you finally get the DVD and it's a total piece of doggie-doo?

I've made a conscious decision to give one day a month back to the local film making community. That's why I do student films. I love doing student films. The students at the "U" and BYU are the best and I love working with them. I think that most of us are willing to do student films. I also think many of us are willing to do the "occasional" non pay project. Where I've started to draw the line is the guy who's on his 673^rd film and still doesn't pay his actors or crew. Or the guy whose films have commercial distribution and he doesn't even feed his extras!

If I'm willing to work multiple days on your project free, why aren't you willing to commit to pay me if, IF your film project earns some money?

I've got some ways for film makers to earn money that I'll be announcing in the coming weeks. I'm investing my time and skills in your project, if it's a hit, are you willing to pay me?

I'm not telling anyone that they have to pay their actors or crew, I just know that I've become very discriminating about whose free projects I choose to work on. And in my opinion, as we stand up for ourselves and demand the compensation we've earned and deserve; our self confidence and self respect will spread like a virus and Utah actors and crew will be recognized as the professionals we are and are working to become.

If we choose to become a working actor in Utah, we can achieve it. After all, "Professionals get paid for what amateurs do free."

 

 

HB 99, A Call to Arms! (Would you believe, “A Call to Your Keyboards!)

A few years ago I attended a seminar where among other things the presenter asked, "Why depend on 100% of your income from someone who only has a 10% interest in it?"

At the time it seemed that all the auditions I was being sent out on were "freebies". That seminar and my wallet inspired me to intensify, on a daily basis, my own search for acting opportunities. Soon after attending that seminar, I changed agencies, but I still look for work on my own every day in addition to taking advantage of the opportunities that come to me from Knightstar.

The Utah Film Commission is an award winning state agency and we're very fortunate to have such a talented group of people working on our behalf. It seems to me that especially over the last two years they've intensified their efforts to sell us to the rest of the state as well as Hollywood. The Film Commission is doing great work, but we can't and shouldn't rely on them to do it all. Some things, such as lobbying members of the legislature, are illegal.

Lobbying the members of the legislature is where the Motion Picture Association of Utah (MPAU) comes in. Two years ago the MPAU was instrumental in getting S.B. 14 passed by the Legislature. The MPAU has worked tirelessly over the years first implementing and then improving the states film incentive program. It's my considered opinion that all of us owe the MPAU, former Governor Huntsman and the members of the Legislature who voted in favor of SB 14 our sincere thanks.

This year we have a new challenge in front of us. Senate Bill 14 is up for review and a new bill HB 99 has been written and presented. This new bill will be coming up for debate on the floor of the House in the very near future. We're asking for more and better incentives. Getting this bill passed means more jobs for Utah actors and crew. (We just got home from watching "True Grit" at Brewvies; that could have been US!) I'm urging each and every one of you to write your state Senator and Representative and ask them to support HB 99. HB 99 was passed out of committee unanimously; it enjoys bi-partisan support. But we can't assume it will pass both houses of the legislature. We all need to work for it. If you choose to email, use the word, "Constituent" in the subject line. And, while you're at it, if they were in the Legislature two years ago, thank them for their vote on SB 14. I've already heard back from my Representative and the two emails took less than 10 minutes to write and send.

Finally, if you're an actor or crew member who lives and works in Utah, please join the Motion Picture Association of Utah. A student membership is $35 and a general membership is $50. That's less than $1 a week and if you attend the forums and eat enough of the cookies and hot dogs, it basically pays for itself.

Calling or writing your state legislators and joining MPAU isn't quite everything. If you're serious about your career in entertainment, you need to constantly practice your craft and educate yourself about it. Take classes, read books, talk to your friends in the business; let's show the folks in LA and New York how professional we truly are and I'll see you on location, on set or in the studio…