HOLLYWOOD ACTOR PREP by Dana Kaminski

Internet Acting Work Is Work. Voiceover Is Work.

Actors, get paid for your work!

The Interactive AFTRA Contract voting deadline is November 12th, 2009.

There are 3 emails here, to give you information on what this contract means. One is from a working actor with over 200 credits on IMDB, the second is from a prominent voiceover agent, and the third is from a consistently working voiceover actor.

Please vote, and vote no.

LETTER ONE  FROM ACTOR———————- DAVE CLENNON

Friends,

I have not yet worked in the interactive video game field.  But I am auditioning every week for voice roles in new games, and I hope I can break into the field soon.  I need the income to supplement my earnings as an on-camera, live-action performer.

At some point in our careers, I believe that almost all of us will want to work as voice actors in the gaming world.  I heard that the “Grand Theft Auto IV” video game earned more money in a month than any theatrical film in history!  So Interactive is an important earning area and will only get bigger.

A fateful vote is being taken right now among AFTRA performers in the video game field.  They are being urged to ratify the recently negotiated contract which S.A.G. actors rejected, in caucuses last month, by a very large majority.  AFTRA leaders conducted caucus votes as well, but they did not like the negative results, so now they are conducting a ratification vote by mail.

Most of us will NOT receive AFTRA ballots.  This is a case of “qualified” voting — you may NOT vote unless you have worked the Interactive contract in the last three years.

So, even though many of us are hoping to work in this field someday soon, we have no voice in ratifying or rejecting a contract that will soon impact every one of us who succeeds in breaking into the area of video games.

(See below for the opinions of actors who have worked the contract and who know what the new agreement will mean for them.  See also the urgent message from voice-over agent Sandie Schnarr.)

AFTRA’s elected and salaried leadership is pushing hard to persuade qualified members to ratify this contract, which was negotiated by salaried staff, apparently WITHOUT input from the performers they were supposed to be representing.

If you know ANY AFTRA actors (or singers!) who are qualified to vote on this contract, PLEASE . . . (ONE) Make sure they have received their ballots in the mail, and  (TWO) Ask them, persuade them, beg them to think carefully before they vote for this contract!!!

(The proposed contract contains a radical new legal definition of “Atmosphere” which could have serious consequences for us in live-action and non-interactive animation.  If my understanding is correct, you can have dialogue, and yet be hired as Atmosphere.)

The income base we actors depend on is already crumbling.  We cannot afford to allow newer sources of income to shrivel before we even get a chance to work in the field.

In solidarity,

Dave Clennon

The ballots have arrived!

WHAT EXACTLY IS AN “ATMOSPHERIC” ACTOR?

In all of show business, “Atmosphere” has ALWAYS referred to
Background Actors (aka ‘EXTRAS’)It has NEVER been used to refer to an actor who speaks.

Every actor who speaks in an animated program is considered a
principal.

Every voice actor who performs in an ADR session, even when they speak in groups, earns a principal scale payment for their work.

Every actor who performs in an Interactive game, even if they’re
playing “Soldier 1″, is considered a principal.

The concept of “atmospheric voices” has been introduced by producers in contract negotiations over the years and it has always been “dead on arrival” as far as actors are concerned.

Just last week, in fact, the SAG Interactive Contract proposal was
shot down by actors at SAG because it introduced the concept that some actors who play smaller parts are only “atmospheric” and therefore should not receive the same pay as “principal” voice actors.

This is now up for a vote at AFTRA and if you’ve performed in an AFTRA Interactive game during the last three years you should soon be getting a ballot in the mail.

You must vote NO.

You will lose your status as a “principal” actor if the role you are playing “does not advance the story.”

Ever hear of the “under 5″ rate for some on-camera sit-coms?  Now that same concept is going to be applied to Interactive.  The only
difference is you have to record WAY OVER “5 lines”.  You will be
required to perform 300 words for every “atmospheric” character (and that does not include battle cries, screams, groans and multiple takes.)

For voice-performers in every field (animation, ADR, interactive) IT WILL SET A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT IF THIS CONTRACT PASSES.

It’s standard operating procedure for Producers to look for precedents that are set in other contracts.  You can bet that they will be using this against YOU in all future negotiations.

If this contract passes, “atmosphere” will have a new definition:  it will now refer to both EXTRAS and INTERACTIVE ACTORS.  WHO WILL BE NEXT?

Don’t let this industry devalue your talent and skills.  Don’t let
yourself be sold to the lowest bidder.

Please vote NO and send the negotiators for BOTH unions back to the negotiating table.

P.S.   If you’ve worked on an AFTRA game in the last 3 years and you don’t get a ballot, call Britt at AFTRA at 323-634-8133.  THE DEADLINE TO VOTE IS NOVEMBER 12.

Please forward this to your Agent/Manager Friends as well as all the
actors you know who work under the Interactive contract,  Urge them
to forward the attached flyer to their clients that work the
Interactive Contract!  San Francisco outreach is very important, as well as LA , Seattle, New York and all other affected markets.

::::::::::::::::::::

LETTER TWO FROM VOICE-OVER AGENT ———SANDIE SCHNARR

My final words on the Interactive Contract…..  I swear!!!!

My reason for being so vocal about this agreement is I believe in

the actors who do this work.  I know how good you are and how hard  you work on these games. I know how much your performances add to  the value of these games.  I’m proud of you.

That said….

The main point of contention is the Atmospheric Voice provision.

We all agree that the technology for video games has changed

dramatically since the inception of this contract.  Games now have

the ability to include hundreds of characters.  The formula for the

current contract is based loosely on the animation agreement.  It

doesn’t work anymore for video games.  There are no animated shows  with hundreds of voice, but there are and will be more games that

have exactly that.  We do need to address this

issue. The structure of the contract does need to be changed.  But,

not in the dramatic way the unions are agreeing to.

The unions and some actors are saying this contract is a good

thing. Let me point out a few things that I feel are not so good.

The Atmospheric Voice provision allows for one actor to do 20

CHARACTERS for SCALE.  Yes I said SCALE.. The same rate you’re

getting right now for three voices.  It also allows for UNLIMITED

VOICES for Double Scale.  The same rate you are getting for 6-10

voices.  How in the world is this a good deal?

EACH CHARACTER can have up to 300 words of dialogue.  They would have to hire 10 actors for Principal roles, before they could hire

additional actors for Atmospheric Voices.  They are trying to make

that sound like it will create more work for more actors.  It will

not.  It will only add a provision that has not been thoroughly

thought out and we will all regret it.

As you know, the video game industry uses the same actors on their games for a reason.  They want to hire actors who make their games

the best they can possibly be. These actors can do many characters,

do a great acting performance, work for four solid hours , scream

their lungs out  and come back and do it the next day.  It is a

specialized field and it is not something that every actor can do..

They have also added a provision that would cause the actors to

become Tattle Tales on the very people who hire them.

If you do a job that is vocally stressful and your agent wasn’t

told, you could tell your agent and we could call the company that

hired you and make them pay $100.   Is that $100 worth the actor and  the agent risking their working relationship with a company.  I think not.  Most of the time they do tell us it’s vocally stressful

when they book you, but they won’t pay any more money for the work.  So, it doesn’t matter if they tell us or not.  It doesn’t change

the fee you get.

What your unions need to do is get you a higher session fee for

vocally stressful work and forget turning their actors in to tattle

tales.

Below is the increase they got on scale.

You would be getting a 3% wage increase with SAG, which would bring you into parity with AFTRA.  and than an additional 2.5 % increase

on April 1, 2010 for both unions.

Well, 3% increase is standard in any contract, but the big

difference is, most other contracts have a residual base as well.

As you know this contract has never had a bonus structure or

residuals or any profit sharing.. This is a BILLION DOLLAR industry,

if they do not want to do a bonus structure, you should be getting a

bigger bump up front.

In my opinion, your unions need to go back to the negotiating table

with some respect for the actors they represent.  Many of your

negotiators don’t know how these sessions work and they probably

don’t play the games. They have no idea what we agents have to do

to get you work on these games.  They are now using the fear doctrine

to try and get actors to ratify this very bad agreement. As you see,

I said many, not all.

I was told EIGHT years ago by very big director for a huge video

game company these words “Sandie, when games start depending more on the story line and need good actors or when they are based on

movies, your actors will be able to get what they want”.  That

wasn’t the case 8 years ago, but it is now and will continue to be.

Video game management and their lawyers know this, but it appears

your union representatives do not.

How can the very people who negotiate on your behalf in all good

conscience agree to a deal that so undercuts their actors.  What

kind of a union is that?

They should be ashamed of themselves.

Let me make it clear, that I am a full supporter of our unions, but

I do not support them negotiating a contract that is harmful to

their members.  I also consider many of the producers and directors

I work with in the video game industry to be friends.  They are

honorable people and I thoroughly enjoy working with them.

It is management and lawyers from the video game industry who are

negotiating these contracts.  They are trying to get the best deal

they can for their companies.  Who wouldn’t.  My only wish is that

your unions would do the same..They are not at this moment.

Alright, I’ve had my say.  Do with it what you wish.

Sandie Schnarr

LETTER THREE: VOICEOVER ACTOR —————–STEVEN BARR

To All — Even if you do not do Interactive Games (now) I urge you to send this to your AFTRA friends who will be getting a ballot on this Interactive vote.

Also — a big warning to ‘Loopers’….

If Employers in Interactive Games  get a ‘word count’ added to it’s contracts, how do we know Employers in other job areas won’t find out about this  and there won’t be an attempt to pay Actors based on a ‘per utterance’ or ‘per word’ count?

A very slippery slope if you ask me.

I’m voting NO on the AFTRA Interactive contract, and I urge you to tell your friends who do Interactive Games to vote No.

VOTE NO.

SB

[There is more to this letter, which you can find  along with other information about this in Hollywood Actor Prep's Actor Union News.]

Please share with any and all your actor friends. AFTRA members, especially.  Thank you for supporting actors.