SAG low budget day rates are going up.
- Thread starter ahennessey
- Start date
SAG is still out of touch with reality. So for a 201,000 budget film I have to pay $335 for a SAG actor? I just won't do a SAG movie.
I'd go with whatever I wanted to go with because I wouldn't want to be constrained to SAG's rules and minimum rates. Nobody likes bureaucracy. SAG has consistently failed to understand that most indie filmmakers are losing lots of money. And actors can negotiate on their own on indie films. At the end of the day SAG scares off most filmmakers and there's lots of SAG actors who work secretly on non-union films under alias names. I never had a problem finding good non-union actors. There's a zillion actors in LA. That's why they call it a cattle call. Over supply and tiny demand dictates low rates -- not $335 a day on films over $200K.
If you cannot afford it, you cannot afford it. If you don't think it's worth it, then it's really that simple. Don't use them. No one is forcing people to use union talent, just like no one is forcing anyone to use highly paid, top qualified crew either. DGA, Teamsters, WGA and so on. It's really up to you whether you sign with them or not.
Blade, all I'm saying is $201k is a number that makes very little sense if you're using SAG. Unless of course you're talking about an unlikely circumstance of only using a single actor for something like 4 or 5 days (it seems I cannot do simple math in my head at the moment).
Blade, all I'm saying is $201k is a number that makes very little sense if you're using SAG. Unless of course you're talking about an unlikely circumstance of only using a single actor for something like 4 or 5 days (it seems I cannot do simple math in my head at the moment).
Blade picked $201k because then the rates are more than doubled compared to $200k.
On the other hand: the weekly rate isn't that much higher. The big jump is in the day rate.)
So, keep the budget below $200 or go enough above it to cover the higher rates and still have more production value then when you would have had with $200k. Otherwise the increased budget adds almost nothing to the endresult, except the commitment of certain actors.
When your budget is $201k, make it $200k and you probably have more to spend.
Or just stay away from SAG.
On the other hand: the weekly rate isn't that much higher. The big jump is in the day rate.)
So, keep the budget below $200 or go enough above it to cover the higher rates and still have more production value then when you would have had with $200k. Otherwise the increased budget adds almost nothing to the endresult, except the commitment of certain actors.
When your budget is $201k, make it $200k and you probably have more to spend.
Or just stay away from SAG.
What if you lied about your budget, to get an actor for a lower price? You don't have say how much you are actually spending, and no one is going to know. I worked with a guy who had to do it, but I understood why he did, given the desperate circumstances he was working under. Is that so bad, if you have to make ends meet?
Not if you had the original budget and then "increase" it later.
Budget increases happen all the time.. halloween was originally 300k.. then they wanted a specific actor they increased it to 325
Well yes, the excuse would be a budget increase, however, if you increase your budget in post, do you still have to pay the SAG actor more then, after the increase? However, how does one know how much a movie costs anyhow? Is the SAG actor really going to bother hire a private eye to investigate all the money trails, along with other problems that comes along with?
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Well hell h44, after you've written this in a public forum, I wouldn't be surprised if you get audited until the cows come home. Do you really want to risk a possible jail sentence on the chance you aren't caught?
@sfoster, if you lie about your budget in order to get a rate you're not entitled to, it's fraud. I believe fraud has to do with the intent to defraud.
If the budget goes over the threshold, don't you need to pay the higher rate.
I can imagine the following conversations:
Sag to your PM. "How much did the budget end up coming to? "Oh, $205k"
SAG to H44, "You owe us money"
H44 to PM "Why didn't you lie for me? "I'm not risking jail for you"
@sfoster, if you lie about your budget in order to get a rate you're not entitled to, it's fraud. I believe fraud has to do with the intent to defraud.
If the budget goes over the threshold, don't you need to pay the higher rate.
I can imagine the following conversations:
Sag to your PM. "How much did the budget end up coming to? "Oh, $205k"
SAG to H44, "You owe us money"
H44 to PM "Why didn't you lie for me? "I'm not risking jail for you"
Sure if you lie with an intend to defraud yada yada ..
Personally I don't like to screw over people it's not something I would do. But I do enjoy problem solving and discovering loopholes just for the sake of discussion. And it would be impossible to prove something like that if you're intelligent about it.
Anyway if you're right at 200k, just cut the budget somewhere!
I'm sorry, I don't mean to condone fraud. I am just trying to help make ends meet with limitations and trying to be creative. But if the solution is bad, it's bad. My bad.
Isn't that what we were talking about? H44's idea of lying about the budget to get actors cheaper? An intentional act that defrauds out of what they're rightfully entitled to.
I'm all for being creative and working out the best way to keep it within the means of the production, though committing fraud isn't a tool in my toolbelt.
Two big rules for film making that I live by. No film is worth risking someone getting killed and no film is worth going to jail over.
Yeah that's what we're talking about
What you've said reminds me of this quote
http://kottke.org/15/01/24-pieces-of-life-advice-from-werner-herzog
"2. There is nothing wrong with spending a night in jail if it means getting the shot you need"