actors membership at movie production companies

'SAG-AFTRA OK-30': This is another way of saying SAG-AFTRA Eligible, but I generally don't recommend using it.'SAG-AFTRA Eligible': If you've already landed a SAG-AFTRA role or have worked for 3 days as a background actor on a SAG-AFTRA production, you are eligible to join the union, and should list this term on your resume.'SAG-AFTRA' or 'AEA/Equity': List this on your resume to inform casting directors that you're an active member of the union.Including your union status on your acting resume tells casting directors whether you're a union member or not so they know if you'd be able to get hired on their project (for instance, if it's a non-union project, they won't be able to hire you if you're part of a union). Union status simply refers to what your status is as a union member – are you eligible to join? Are you non-union? Are you a member? What are the Major Actor Unions in the United States? Assistance with finding work and training opportunities.īecause of how competitive acting is, and the fact that most projects are WAY shorter than a standard employment contract in any other industry, actors often get exploited by being asked to work in unsafe working conditions, or for extremely low pay.Īctors' unions are meant to guarantee income and decent working conditions no matter who hires them, and because these major unions have much more strength than any individual actor does, they can better negotiate and set terms.Lobbying for certain legislation that will help actors, such as changes to tax codes and bans on technology that can repurpose or animate an actor's likeness (called 'deepfakes').

Legal counsel (should a production breach a contract).

The maximum amount of time an actor can be required to work each day (plus the amount of money they must be paid should they need to work longer than that).

The minimum amount an actor must be paid each day (called 'scale').Here are the most commonly negotiated items: This negotiation process is done so that individual actors don't have to worry about it themselves, which allows them to spend more of time focused on their creative work. These unions negotiate with studio executives to improve pay, benefits, and working conditions for actors, and all productions that employ union actors must agree to those conditions. SAG-AFTRA and AEA are both labor unions that represent the interests of actors working in film, television, theater, radio, and more.

Actors membership at movie production companies