Lets get into it. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Plain and simple. Do you remember a time when a producer ACTUALLY produced a shoot? I do. Your shooting film, so it has an inherent cost, discipline, responsibility. The stock costs, and has to be handled, dropped off at the lab, developed, transferred (or G-d forbid work printed.) So you have to keep hiring people (and paying them) to protect your investment in the media itself.
But now, and today - Shooting data onto cards, there is a definite lack of respect for the media, because it is so cheap. Yeah, Yeah, someone bought the camera, but the producer - They don't have to pay for stock anymore, so less investment to have to protect. I remember when a producer squeezed the budget to get the crew and gear that were needed. Now squeeze the budget to do it as cheaply as possible, and get it shot. Not get it shot right or well, but just get something as cheaply as possible. I've run into too many producers who aren't producing. You, the producer, are making the film. You hire all the crew and cast positions necessary. If you need a director - hire one. A D.P., an audio person, etc. etc. If you don't have the budget to hire the necessary crew, stop making it someone Else's responsibility. Get the crew needed by the creatives!!!!! That is the JOB, don't just throw your hands in the air and say, there is no money for crew. Uggghhh - and I know it isn't just me who has to deal with this, not always, but it seems to be an increasing situation. The established methods - which weren't always established - give way to newer methods, that's fine, as tools and processes change. Of course the point of this is, that as the media gets less costly, and the process gets less costly - The perception of the entire production loses value. This is the big problem, the lost respect and appreciation for the value of the entire production process.
and there is a dangerous continuing pattern...asking crew, actors, etc. to work for free because it will help your career. How?! You're just setting your quote as "free." Then how does a professional pay the rent, keep their skills polished (or grow) when they work for free. Then that professional needs to have job to pay the rent, lessoning their time availabilty to work....and they are no longer a professional. The simple thing is; a professional gets paid, a hobbyist does not. You have to ask yourself, what kind are project are you making? ME? - I'd want working professionals.
ReplyDeleteTrue about that. It is one thing to ask a friend or a comrade to help you out on a personal project. Especially if it allows them to move up to a new position. Actors - well, I always thought differently about that. thanks for bringing it into my thought process. The last film that I shot, I paid everyone - except of course the actors. I do have a SAG agreement, and will honor it with all the actors, even the ones that aren't SAG. I just couldn't ask people to work for free anymore. At the minimum, everyone was fed, and transported, and expenses paid for, and reimbursed for use of their wardrobe. I made sure the actors had what they needed to do their job, which is really what it is about, and we worked around their schedule. So if the film gets some kind of distribution, I will pay the actors.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the term professional means that you admit your mistakes.
It is funny how people don't think about the actors that way. Thanks again Marc for bringing into the consciousness. Don't forget to read the other posts, or sign up for notifications. :-)
You have to pay EVERYONE. I did when I did my feature. I could not in good conscious ask anyone to work for free on a project that was mine. Yeah, sure it's great if you have friends, and you ask them for a favor, but if you want to keep those friendship you better make it easy for them. Throw a few bucks their way, pay for meals, and make sure they have down time and that they’re not waiting on you. I went SAG and never regretted it. I loved the caliber of people I got to work on my film, and I even learned a lot from them. I think I spent more money on accommodations, meals, and mileage then I did on anything else. It worked out, and I shot for 11 days. Of course now I know where and how to cut corners without having the people involved or the project suffer, but that's all part of the learning curve. Now a days producers (and I use the term loosely) are given some money and told that there is no more, which is a lie. The money gets eaten by unnecessary blotted above the line personnel who have no concept on what it takes to make a film. SAG was never a problem for me. It can become if your film gets distributed, but hell I'd worry about that later because that's a GOOD problem to have.
ReplyDeleteI just have a problem with people who don't pay people for their work. It happens a LOT in the biz, and its gotten worse because of the technology becoming cheaper. I love that more people are making films, but I don't love what has become a hurry up and do it attitude. It takes time and money a good product, and that includes film/video whatever you want to call it. The examples are all out there. Look at all the sub-standard products on the shelves at your local market. It's the same in the film world. Great blog Steven. Let's keep the conversation going.