I have chosen to dedicate this post to the Screen Actors
Guild, which for those of you who don’t know, is a trade association consisting
of over 125,000 members. Despite its
large numbers, I am not a member, mainly because I am neither qualified nor eligible
to join. There are various prerequisites
of membership, such as having played a principal role in a SAG affiliated and
approved project. Although I’m not a
member, my clients and prospective clients are, so I admire their exclusive
club from the outside looking in, as it’s known as the most distinguished
performers union in the world.
Having recently completed some in-depth market analysis on
entertainment industry trends, I found a common thread among all sources and a main
topic of interest concerning advancements in technology and in what ways
technological breakthroughs are affecting the business. Probably the most influential innovation of
all time, or at least of recent history, is of course the Internet. With every passing day, it offers more and
more capabilities, providing the entire world’s worth of knowledge
instantaneously at our fingertips. In
addition, the Internet is now serving as an additional platform for the
distribution of shows, news, and movies alike.
With Video on Demand, consumers can now watch what they want, when they
want, and even where they want, with access to media on their mobile phones,
which is changing both the mindsets and behaviors of the public and the
advertisers trying to reach them.
The Screen Actors Guild, otherwise known as SAG, is the
largest labor union representing working actors. According to its website, “The Guild exists to
enhance actors’ working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a
powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists’ rights.” SAG not only strives to protect its members,
but to also help find them work. It has
developed a New Media Department which “provides valuable insights into the
implications of emerging technology”.
In other words, SAG formed this department because as technology and new
platforms evolve, so too must actors’ contracts. Just as downloading songs has had major
repercussions on the livelihood of musicians, downloading television shows and
movies will have the same effect on actors.
Therefore, their work must be protected over these new distribution
channels before its too late. SAG is
focused on making sure that happens.
In addition, SAG now offers a free service to its members
called iActor, which I feel truly speaks to the times. iActor is an innovative online casting agency
featuring only members of the Guild.
Each member has the opportunity to create an online profile and can
upload multiple resumes and headshots onto the platform that target different
varieties of work, such as commercials or features, as well as video and voice
reels. These profiles can be modified
and updated at any time. When a producer
or casting director is in need of talent, he or she simply can access the
iActor database and sort through all of the profiles, narrowing each search by
any combination of categories and terms such as skills, physical
characteristics, and credits. Once any
prospective performers are found, agents are able to contact the actors’
representatives through direct email.
And then that’s where I come in.
If actors want to solicit a particular casting agent, director, or
producer directly, for example, they can email their profile to any of their
contacts and a properly formatted version of their resume will automatically be
attached (although running that by your manager might not be a bad idea).
iActor is groundbreaking in the fact that now casting agents
too have all of the information they need right at their fingertips. And every actor on the platform has an
opportunity to be ‘seen’ by every casting agent searching the site. Actors with less connected representation for
example, who may not have been looked at before, are in the running for parts
alongside everyone else. It makes for a fair
and unbiased playing field- a field much bigger and broader than ever before. Now actors who don’t live in the heart of Los
Angeles or New York have the same exposure and opportunities as those who
do. SAG has even gone so far as to put
together a team of individuals to personally assist members who are not
computer saavy, as well has holding regular workshops for those needing
additional assistance or helpful tips so that no one gets left behind. Finally, iActor features automated Station 12
cast clearance, which means that producers will know right from the start that
an actor is cleared to work, rather than spending the necessary time, money,
and resources trying to determine an actor’s eligibility. That’s additional time, money, and resources
they can save and rather dedicate to their production.
Overall, I am emtremely impressed with the Screen Actors Guild
and its attempts to stay current in order to both protect and showcase its
members. In this day and age, it is
essential to continuously adapt and evolve, as technology is radically changing
how everything is done. The union is making every attempt to help procure work
for its members while looking after each and everyone’s best interest. And for all of those SAG members out there that haven’t yet taken advantage of the iActor casting directory,
hopefully this article will give you the incentive to do so, because if
it hasn’t been necessary to join thus far, judging from industry trends, it is
definitely the way of the future.
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