(original posted 12/6/2009 – updates coming soon …)
Welcome to the fun world of union! SAG is usually the first union that indie filmmakers come into contact with. SAG covers professional film actors and is generally required from a professional quality standpoint. There are talented non-SAG/non-union actors, but they are few and far between and usually inexperienced and unproven.
Expense:
SAG Actors can be expensive (depending upon the contract and star status), but I find them to be cheaper in the long run. Professional actors work quickly and efficiently. This is particularly important on low budget shoots. If you have to shoot 4 pages a day, you need your actors to finish each set-up in two to three takes. Professional actors can consistently hit this schedule. Non-union actors are inconsistent at best. Nothing ruins a budget like overtime and additional shoot days.
Contracts: (6/10/2009 – 6/09/2010)
There are many SAG contracts that are applicable at different budget levels. You can always pay an actor over-scale, but you don”t want to pay smaller actor more than you have to. Each contract has a daily rate and and weekly rate. There are different schedules for higher paid actors that are above the scope of this post. However, it is important to take into account the days worked for each actor and use the appropriate daily, weekly or schedule rate to minimize your actor labor costs. Keep in mind that it is standard practice to pay 10% in addition to the rates below for agent commission, AND these rates are for non-overtime work days (rarity in the indie film industry). In addition, you must pay a 15% fringe rate for Pension and Health.
Basic Agreement
- Budgets greater than $2.5M
- Daily 8 Hour Performer Rate: $782
- Weekly 44 Hour Performer Rate: $2,713
Low Budget Agreement
- Budget between $625,000 and $2.5M
- Daily 8 Hour Performer Rate: $520
- Weekly 44 Hour Performer Rate: $1,805
Modified Low Budget Agreement
- Budgets between $200,000 and $625,000
- Daily 8 Hour Performer Rate: $276
- Weekly 44 Hour Performer Rate: $961
Ultra-low Budget
- Budgets less than $200,000
- Daily 8 Hour Performer Rate: $100
Please note that there a MANY more stipulations that must be adhered to (seriously). It is important to read your selected contract carefully. You don”t want to have your SAG deposit unreturned due to penalties and underpaid actors. Actors know their agreements and they will hold you to them.
