Alright, people. Saddle up and get ready. This is probably the most valuable information I have ever put on this blog. Seriously, this $hit is priceless. Perfect for our 100th post (!)
What the hell is SAG anyway?
SAG stands for Screen Actors Guild, and is a collection of actors. It is often referred to as “the union,” and it many ways acts like a union, even though it’s technically a guild. Any “legitimate” projects (e.g. things you actually see on TV or in the movie theatre) have agreements with either SAG or AFTRA for every project. These agreements delineate things like how much actors are guaranteed to make, working conditions, the hours you can work people, etc.
Do I need to join?
Eventually, yes. To be a working actor in Los Angeles, you will absolutely have to join SAG at some point. Having SAG on your resume–rightfully or not–gives you a rather giant leap up in credibility. It indicates that you have been paid to act on a seriously professional level.
Know, however, that when you join SAG you are agreeing to no longer work any non-union jobs. Bonnie Gillespie has a phenomenal post on when to join the unions.
How do I join, and what’s all this ‘eligibility’ business?
- Principal Performer: As a non-union actor you book a union job as a principal performer. For SAG, this means you will get “Taft-Hartleyed,” meaning a Taft-Hartley form (see below) was filed for you as a principal performer. This makes you eligible for SAG.
- Vouchers: As a non-union actor you must receive 3 Taft-Hartleys as a background performer to become eligible to join SAG. Basically, 1 principal role Taft-Hartley = 3 background role Taft-Hartleys
- It seems to take people between 3 months and 5 years (I know) to obtain 3 vouchers
- The younger, hotter, and more female you are, the better chance you have of getting a voucher
- On a set, it is usually the 1st or 2nd AD (Assistant Director) who has the ability to give out vouchers (if they have any)
- I have heard of a large number of people who paid someone roughly $100 per voucher. I personally hate the system that engenders this, but more on that later
- Affiliated Unions: If you are a member of one of SAG’s sister unions (AEA, AFTRA, ACTRA, AGMA or AGVA) you are eligible to join SAG one year after working a principal part through the sister union
This is a very brief, not super thorough overview. Read the Brains of Minerva post for more in-depth coverage of this.
Once you are eligible, you are free to join SAG at any time. Simply pony up $2,335 at the time of this writing (that’s including the minimum $58 in your first year’s annual fees) and you’re a full-fledged SAG member. And yes, you can pay with Visa or Mastercard.
When do I have to join?
Ok, so I’ve been tracking down this answer for a long time and finally came to my senses and just called SAG for clarification. Here goes…
Once you receive a Taft-Hartley as a principle performer OR receive 3 Taft-Hartleys (vouchers) as a SAG background performer, you are eligible to join SAG and can pay at any time. If you choose not to join off the bat, it works as follows:
“SAG Eligible” Status: From the date you first become eligible, you then have 30 days to do as much SAG work as possible without having to join the union.
“OK 30” Status: After that 30 days, if you book another SAG job and they call to clear you in time, you can be cleared for an additional 30 days to again do as much SAG work as possible without having to join. At this point you are considered to have “OK 30” status.
“Must Pay” Status: After that 30 days, if and when you book another (ostensibly your third) SAG job, you then become a “must pay.” From the first work date of this (third) SAG job you have 5 business days to join.
Payment Plan: If you are an “OK 30” or a “must pay” status, you are eligible for SAG’s payment plan. The payment plan is 40% down on the total ($2,335) , and then 3 equal monthly installments of the balance.
Note, if you are in the midst of your payment plan and book another SAG job, you must pay off the balance you owe in full before you can be cleared for another job.
Station 12 Promise to Pay. If you are “must pay” status and you book another job but don’t have the money, it is possible if you are represented by a SAG-franchised agent to have them call in with a promise to pay for you, which clears you for–and I didn’t receive exact clarification on this–like one more week to pay. However, that agent can only have ONE person in a “promise to pay” status at any given time.
Taft, who? Wasn’t he that fat President?
Wow, you really know your history. But I bet you didn’t know that President Taft had a specialty bathtub installed in the White House for him. So what does this have to do with SAG? Absolutely nothing.
“Taft-Hartley” refers to the Taft-Hartley Act which is a law passed by Congress in 1947 relating to labor unions. Without further boring you, what it means for an actor is that if you get a Taft-Hartley you are then eligible to join SAG as mentioned above.
Getting Taft-Hartleyed is rather difficult to accomplish, as a TV show or movie has to do a (minimal) paperwork and pay a (minimal…like a few hundred dollars) fine to Taft-Hartley you. Fortunately for you, you can get Taft-Hartleyed by doing your own web video or webseries, and pay no fine.
How to form a SAG signatory company for a web-based video project (and Taft-Hartley someone such as yourself)
First of all, know that SAG states you cannot use the following process simply to Taft-Hartley yourself or anyone else. You must actually do a legitimate web project. (There are no listed requirements for what that entails, nor is there any stated way of them checking on this, but that’s what they say.) What I explain below is how to create a SAG Signatory Company, which then produces your web video (or series). There is no cost to forming a Signatory Company through the New Media Agreement.
When doing a project through SAG you are agreeing to abide by their rules, and to hire union (SAG) actors for your project, unless for some reason you are unable to find a SAG actor for a specific role (see the actual Taft-Hartley info below). Brains of Minerva has another incredible article on what this all means when doing a web project. You might also look over the FAQs for New Media Projects provided by SAG.
Step 1: Preliminary info sheet
You must first fill out the Preliminary Info Sheet found on SAG’s website. Along with that sheet, you must also turn in the following:
- Copy of the driver’s license of the person submitting the form (whomever is going to be the Signatory company/primary contact)
- A line-item budget for the project
- A script for the project
- Be sure to designate how much you plan on paying the actors
- There are no actual requirements for this, and you can indeed “defer” pay to actors. However, you should know that SAG most assuredly would like to see that you plan to pay your actors something…even if it’s deferred payment
- If you decide to pay, say, $100/day deferred that’s fine, you just need to stipulate when you would actually pay the actors
- Ex: You say we would pay the actors 14 days after receiving any distribution money if you theoretically made money on the project at some point
- If you decide to pay, say, $100/day deferred that’s fine, you just need to stipulate when you would actually pay the actors
- There are no actual requirements for this, and you can indeed “defer” pay to actors. However, you should know that SAG most assuredly would like to see that you plan to pay your actors something…even if it’s deferred payment
- You need to indicate whether we want an OPO (One Production Only) or Term Agreement
- OPO means you are only doing one video, whereas a Term Agreement means you plan on doing more.
- OPO only obligates to do this single project through SAG, whereas a Term Agreement means you agree to do all future productions through SAG until the next round of SAG contract negotiations (which generally happen every three years.
- While there is no official requirement, SAG definitely wants to see that you plan on hiring at least some SAG actors for your project. Again, there is no actual requirement, but the more SAG actors you plan on using, the happier SAG will be.
It generally takes 3 weeks or so to process this form. After it is processed, SAG will send you a a packet with the various forms you’ll need to complete your Signatory status and carry out your production.
Step 2: The signatory packet
After you submit the preliminary info they will send you a large packet of information (that will also have the Taft-Hartley form) that you then fill out to officially form the SAG Signatory Company. Once that gets processed, you’re good to go to begin filming your project.
This packet is fairly self-explanatory. A couple notes:
- It is not required that you form an LLC or separate entity to become a SAG Signatory Company. That is, an individual can effectively act as a SAG Signatory Company
- If you do not have a separate bank account for your production company you can skip the “credit check” section (though you do need to fill out the rest of that page)
- If this is a new project, you don’t need to fill out the “New Media Transfer of Rights” page
Once you submit this packet you will receive an email from SAG within a couple weeks with your SAG Signatory number as well as the SAG production number for your project.
Step 3: Film it!
Pretty self-explanatory. The best advice I can give you: find an amazing DP (Director of Photography) and pay your sound guy. Poor sound makes a project seem incredibly unprofessional.
Step 4: More paperwork
There is some paperwork included with your signatory packet that you are required to fill out during your shoot. Be as thorough as possible.
The Actual Taft-Hartley
If you are planning to hire a non-union actor (such as yourself), then you submit the Taft-Hartley within 15 days of the non-union performer working on the project.
Important Note: For the SAG New Media process outlined here, SAG does not have any fines for a Taft-Hartley, nor do they state anything that would keep one from having their Taft-Hartley go through.
Ever wondered what the actual Taft-Hartley looks like? Are you assuming it’s some monstrous 27-page packet? Well, look no further. Here is the actual Taft-Hartley form. You might notice the myriad ways one might qualify to be Taft-Hartleyed, including “first employment of a person who has training/experience as a professional performer and intends to pursue a career as a motion picture performer.” When filling out the “contract type” section on the Taft-Hartley, you might just write in “___ New Media.”
The performer who was Taft-Hartleyed will receive a letter in the mail from SAG in a few weeks indicating their eligibility to join SAG.
Legal Stuff
Please know that if and when you produce your own project, there are a number of legal ramifications that you need to be aware of. First of all, if you personally are listed as the SAG-Signatory producer when you fill out the paperwork explained above, then you personally are legally responsible for everything that happens on your set. Someone breaks a leg, dies, scratches a Ferrari…it’s all on you. As such, it might be wise to form an LLC or other legal entity that produces your project.
In addition, there are myriad state and federal legal requirements when you produce something. For example, you can only work children for a certain number of hours, you need a permit to film anywhere (even on private property), and it is California state law that you need to have workman’s comp insurance if you do a project. Entertainment Partners will actually provide you with workman’s comp insurance for everyone on set if you go through them as your payroll company. Contact them for pricing, but my understanding is that often it will only cost a couple hundred dollars, and then you’re protected if something horrible happens. Sure beats getting sued because Joe Actor decided to trip on the banana peel (he’ssooo cliche) and hit his head on the dalmatian statue.
Many people confuse these laws with annoying SAG requirements so they shoot non-union. The hoops and such that you must jump through with a SAG project are there to help you ensure that you are following all of the laws.
Loophole?
I’ve heard from a couple people that the process described here is a “loophole” that SAG is planning to close (they’ve also been saying they’re going to get rid of the voucher system for about a decade now). I don’t see how producing a new media project through SAG is a loophole, nor does it make sense to me that SAG would make it any more difficult to go through them for new media projects. Moving picture entertainment is moving more and more online, and I can only think that SAG wants to be as much a part of that as possible.
Questions
If you have any further questions on what is presented here, I suggest you call the appropriate SAG department (full list here).
New Media: (323) 549-6724
Membership: (323) 549-6757
Final thoughts
I hope this has been helpful. If you’re a rock star who is out there producing their own work, then you might as well take the next step and make it a legitimate SAG production. When you’re ready to upgrade from new media to actual film, Bonnie Gillespie has a great column on becoming a SAG signatory for non-New Media projects. Happy filming!
38 comments
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March 1, 2010 at 4:24 pm
JoeVB
Holy smokes, great post! 🙂 I can’t begin to tell you how helpful this info is. Thank you, sir!
March 1, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Aaron
Great article Ben! I’m developing a web series with my writing partners and we have talked about making it under the SAG New Media contract. There was some debate as to how difficult it can be but judging from your research it seems pretty simple.
For the SAG “must-join” status, here are my thoughts: In the background work I’ve done, I’ve talked to extras who are still non-union and have earned more than 3 SAG vouchers. They just haven’t paid to the fee to join (stupid, I know, if they join they would earn a higher rate and possibly be eligible for insurance), so it appears you don’t have to join if you aren’t booked as a principle. As far as Taft-Hartley for principle work as a “must-join”, I’ve been told before that in the 30 day period you can book unlimited non union and SAG jobs in that period, but after 30 days if you want continue to work SAG jobs you “must-join”. And I believe the 30 day period begins the first shooting day on the SAG job on which you were Taft Hartleyed. Again, this is heresay and there is a lot of incorrect info being passed around by actors so don’t take my word as gospel…
March 1, 2010 at 6:18 pm
benwhitehair
Thanks for the info! I know that you do NOT have to join within 30 days of booking the job you got Taft-Hartleyed on (my current status). However, I do know you have to join once you book a second SAG job, I just don’t know what exactly the time frame is within that second SAG job.
And again, I have it on good authority that if you become eligible via vouchers, you aren’t a must-join automatically (as you are with a Taft-Hartley), you are a must-join once you book the THIRD SAG gig. So you get 3 vouchers, and are eligible. Then book another SAG job and become a must-join. So then the next (third) job you book forces you to join.
March 1, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Brandi Ford
Ben- this is INCREDIBLY helpful information! I’ve been working on a project that will be a vehicle for me to TH myself and you’ve provided me with all the initial info that I need to get it going. Thank you so much for this post!
March 1, 2010 at 11:37 pm
uberVU - social comments
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by celestenadauld: SAG: What’s the deal and how to Taft-Hartley yourself:http://wp.me/pDW7W-in If you’re non-union, this post is a must-read(via @BenWhitehair)…
March 2, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Seth B
Brilliant, concise, and informative…as always!
March 2, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Christa
Holy cow–great info, Ben! The SAG paperwork for our webseries just went through, and I’ve been wondering what to do to Taft-Hartley a couple of us. Of course, since I’m still in Denver, I won’t actually join, but having that eligibility on my resume can make all the difference. I’m sending my co-stars to this blog!
Cheers!
March 2, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Christa
P.S. I love the teeny-tiny smiley-face down below! 🙂
March 10, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Tara
Thank you Ben! Great collection of all the right information, especially the less-known new media rules.
March 16, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Tom
Hey man, this is awesome information!
I finished step one and got an email that we should be approved for our signatory status. Yes! I took a look at the Taft Harley form, and I’m wondering if I would check off “Theatrical” or “Television” on the form. Help with this? Thanks!
Tom
March 16, 2010 at 4:37 pm
benwhitehair
Tom, that’s a GREAT question. When I did it I just wrote in my own box and put “new media”
March 17, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Theatrical Agent Tracy Curtis on ‘The Biz’ « Playbills vs. Paying Bills
[…] As with most agents, Tracy also wants actors to at least be eligible for SAG. (For more information on SAG and how to join check out this post.) […]
March 18, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Goldie
Interesting – you put down “new media” and no one at SAG questioned it? Brava! And now you are “Must-Join”?
March 18, 2010 at 7:44 pm
benwhitehair
Not sure I understand your question, but to clarify I am talking about a Taft-Hartley giving to a principle performer under a new media contract agreement. =)
March 21, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Marilyn Anne Michaels
This is a wonderful post. Bonnie Gillespie passed it on to me and some other self-producers. I just recently became a SAG signatory because my best friend and I (partly inspired by Bonnie’s Self Produced Clip of the Week segments of her Actor’s Voice column) started producing a web series. When going through the process I couldn’t find much info on the web from people who had gone through the New Media Contract experience so I started blogging about it as well. I hope that your post and my blog will inspire others to share their experiences so that as a community we can make giant leaps in this arena. Thanks again for taking the time to do this!
March 22, 2010 at 2:59 pm
benwhitehair
Thanks so much for your comment! Would love for you to post a link to your blog on here so we can share resources. 🙂
April 20, 2010 at 6:34 am
Tom
Just got my eligibility letter in the mail! Too awesome. Thanks so much for this!
April 20, 2010 at 7:46 am
benwhitehair
Congrats, Tom! That’s amazing. So glad this could help =)
April 30, 2010 at 6:28 pm
drew
There’s just one question about the new media thing that’s been bugging me and maybe someone can clear this up for me if they’ve gone through all of this. Let’s say you did Taft Hartley yourself and you proceeded to join after becoming eligible…..does SAG make any phone calls to test the projects legitimacy? If I made something specifically for web distribution, low budget, do I have to prove to them that it is not bogus when I join? This only crossed my mind when I noticed on the website that they investigate projects that they consider bogus….then again this makes no mention of the new media contract, which I guess is new. I plan to make a legitimate webiseries, at least a pilot, and Taft Hartley myself in the process (icing on the cake, naturally) and I just want to know what evidence I would be expected to provide if they demand it.
April 22, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Bill Jackson
Concise and nice. Good info. Than you , Ben
April 27, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Amber Plaster
GREAT POST. There is a lot of info to learn starting out, and word of mouth on how to get in SAG can be confusing.
I didn’t realize I was SAG ELIGIBLE in a month! I joined AFTRA last May with a co star role on a TV show. I called up AFTRA to confirm this.
There are 3 requirements:
-You must have been a member of AFTRA for at least 1 year
-Your membership must be in good standing
-You must have had 1 speaking role. even 1 line counts.
check, check, and check!
I don’t believe you get a discount on the joining SAG fee, but still, very exciting news! Everyone should join AFTRA first if it’s this easy! (and you have an agent who can submit you for AFTRA shows like ABC family)
-Amber
May 2, 2010 at 10:23 pm
benwhitehair
Congrats, Amber! As you mentioned, the trick is that you have to have a principal role in an AFTRA show to become eligible for SAG. One cannot simply join AFTRA and then be eligible for SAG a year later.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
May 2, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Marci Liroff
Hey, correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought the producers will only pay a fine on the Taft-Hartley ONLY IF the Union fines them for an inadequate reason for the Taft-Hartley.
May 2, 2010 at 10:25 pm
benwhitehair
Marci, I believe you are correct, though with this new media contract it is my understanding that there is never a fine.
Under other SAG contracts there is only a fine IF SAG enforces one due to inadequate reason for the Taft-Hartley. Is there something int he post that seemed to indicate otherwise?
May 3, 2010 at 1:01 am
benwhitehair
Oh, and Drew to answer your question, I have never heard of anyone needing to provide any kind of proof of their project. If for some reason you were Taft-Hartleying like 1,742 people they might get suspicious and ask for some footage of any kind of final product. But again, I’ve never heard of anyone needing to show proof of the final product.
May 3, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Hotdiggity Bonnie Gillespie Does it Again! – SAG and How to Taft Hartley Yourself!!!! « Kaizen Headshots LA
[…] For an in depth explanation of process of joining the union go to my friend Ben Whitehair and his co-authors at Playbills v.s. Paying Bills. […]
June 14, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Paul Hickert
Ben, I did all the SAG paperwork and shot my production her in NYC two weeks ago. I called SAG today to ask about eligibility and they said I am not eligible. They followed up by saying that I am not eligible on a ‘deferred pay’ project until I am actually paid. Is that right? It sounded to me like others have received eligibility letters without paying anyone????
June 14, 2010 at 1:33 pm
benwhitehair
Paul,
First of all, congratulations! So awesome that you’re taking all this into your own hands.
As far as SAG rules out here–and I don’t think they’re any different in NY–once the Taft-Hartley form is submitted you are then eligible for SAG. Did you actually submit the T-H and have they had time to process it? Eligibility should be based on that form, regardless of the actual pay. A common piece of advice when dealing with SAG is to call back in an hour and talk to a different person. =)
Keep us posted…
B
June 14, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Paul Hickert
Ben, That was a lightning quick reply, thanks for that. Two weeks ago, I hand delivered the original T-H forms to the NYC office and sent copies to the LA office (with my final SAG production paperwork, timesheets, etc). My understanding from the direction is that you are supposed to deliver the T-H’s to the city office closest to where you shoot. Initially I talked to someone in the NYC office, and they told me that deferred pay doesn’t count. Then I waited until the LA office opened and asked them if what I heard was true. They agreed. Maybe they were both mistaken and SAG just has not finished processing the T-H’s yet. But it has been 15 days since we shot (as noted on the SAG website). I didn’t see it specifically stated but they may have meant 15 working days.
June 14, 2010 at 3:13 pm
benwhitehair
Paul,
Very interesting. Looks like you’ve done everything right. Am very confused at your response from SAG, as myself and NUMEROUS others have done this process with deferred pay as the compensation and had no problems. So long as a Taft-Hartley is submitted from a legit SAG-signatory you’re good to go. You might try calling Maria at the SAG new media department here in LA: (323) 549-6724.
I will say that it took me about a month to receive my letter from them stating that I was eligible.
June 14, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Paul Hickert
I sent Maria an email. I received an auto-reply that she is out today. I’m just going to wait a couple more weeks before contacting them again. Thanks for letting me know it took a month for you to get your letter. I’ll just use more patience.
June 14, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Brandi Ford
Ben, just wanted to thank you again for this post. As you know, I’m now SAG-e because I followed the steps outlined here. Paul, my project was under the SAG New Media contract and all of my actors agreed to deferred pay and 6 of us were taft-hartleyed. I’m wondering did you shoot under the correct contract because I do know that deferred pay doesn’t count under some of the other contract that SAG has. I wish you the best of luck with getting this resolved and Ben, once again, THANK YOU!!!
June 14, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Paul Hickert
Brandi, I just pulled out all the copies of my contracts and they all say “New Media” so that is all good. Based on Ben saying it took a month to get his letter. I think I just have to wait a while longer. I will post a message when I hear from SAG. Also, you probably did everything through the LA office including T-H’s. My T-H’s went through NYC because the directions said to send them to the city where you shoot. That may be part of the difficulties/miscommunication. I will follow up when I hear more.
June 15, 2010 at 6:43 pm
STARFISH
Hi Paul,
I submitted myself for a SAG internet project calling for a Featured Extra. The submission said the following:
“NEW MEDIA AGREEMENT, We are Taft-Hartlying (giving SAG Eligibility) to Extras Committing to all dates, no pay, no billing”
Does this mean that if I work the project as a “featured extra” I could be SAG Eligible under the New Media Agreement? Traditionally I understand that one had to receive 3 Taft Hartley’s as an Extra to equal 1 normal/regular Taft Hartley. Is this different for Internet projects?
June 15, 2010 at 9:11 pm
benwhitehair
SAG’s generally uses a little different language than the general public so it can be a hair confusing. It sounds like the project will be giving a Taft-Hartley as a principle role to the aforementioned featured extras. However, I would check with them to be sure. You can also check with SAG to make sure they’re a SAG-signatory. I don’t actually know how extras fit in to the new media agreement, but I do know that a SAG-signatory can decide to give a Taft-Hartley (or not) to anyone on their project so that might be what they’re doing.
Does that answer your question?
B
June 15, 2010 at 6:46 pm
STARFISH
Sorry, I meant to direct this question to Ben. =) Ben, any feedback would be awesome on this! By the way, thanks for your amazing article!
June 16, 2010 at 10:37 am
Paul Hickert
Ben,
I started pannicking to soon. Eligibility was granted yesterday. Thanks for all your feedback.
Starfish,
I agree with Ben. It is confusing language regarding Background on SAG MFNM project. If your primary reason to do the project is SAG eligibility, then, I would recommend getting a commitment from them that they will T-H you as a principle performer. Last year, I did get a valid SAG background waiver on a MFNM project once but I was paid for the work. My signatory packet didn’t even have T-H waivers for BG. As you can see from my posts above, even some people at SAG don’t always know the correct details. This is pretty new territory for everyone and it is taking a while for things to settle.
June 17, 2010 at 1:05 am
benwhitehair
SO glad to hear that. Way to take matters into your own hands! =)