ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

10 years, 5 months ago - Paulina Brahm

It's me again... I just wanted to add not many actors go the Fi-Core route.

This is from the SAG-AFTRA website:

http://www.sagaftra.org/get-facts-about-financial-core

10 years, 5 months ago - Paulina Brahm

I don't mean to be dismissive of the side door option, Marlom, but again, the union is an important force. Look what happened when Jon Voight decided to get involved with his friend's non-union film:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3006250.stm

I have worked both non-union and under the jurisdiction of SAG and the difference in pay and how you are treated on set is remarkable. There is a reason the union exists. Over here, Equity quite rightly has launched 'Professionally Made
Professionally Paid' to protect actors from exploitation and poor business practices.

If you want a union actor, you will have to pay full union scale or negotiate a low budget contract with SAG-AFTRA.

10 years, 5 months ago - Claire Buckley

To address the OP's original question , Sheila, I well understand your need to obtain a "celebrity" voice for your documentary, as it is often thought this is going to oil the works of the project in getting both publicity and exposure, but don't count on it.

In my past experience, having the right contacts does help in that you can approach the "celebrity" directly. Don't forget, the agent has a 15 or 20% interest in maximising the fee, with no guarantee they have discussed the project (initially) with their client. It might not have even made it passed their junior level gateway.

In addition, I would agree unionisation has and did protect its own position (ACTT in the UK is one example from the past), although my current experience of Equity (here in the UK) is of a much improved relationship between actors and producers with greater flexibility. PACT indeed has helped to bridge what was once a wide gap. There is self-interest all round, for actors to work and to be able to pay their subs (union fees) - long-term out of work actors cannot.

"Celebrities" on the other hand may want to pick and choose and with this they can dictate the rate for any project - it can be purely a business decision, or an altruistic decision, or perhaps a combination of both. Do you know the thinking and personality of the "celebrity" you are targeting?

The success here in finding your VO artiste is indeed down to your subject matter and how passionate they, the artiste, feel for the topic and, most important, that you can get chance to pitch it to them without the commercial layers in between - it may work if they are looking for a route into a different form of work or a change in direction, or perhaps they are between projects and "resting." And the previous post by Paulina, also shows that it is possible commercially, as most (I know) operate through a separate legal entity and will invoice directly.

Quite a lot of variables, I'm afraid. But good luck in your pursuit.

10 years, 5 months ago - Sheila Marshall

Hi everyone, thanks for all the answers. I'm Kris, Sheila's colleague.

I understand the union/non-union conundrum, but one number we heard of someone who went the "agent" route was $25,000 for narration for a documentary. That's far removed from the $400-$500 daily rate I found on the SAG/AFTRA site.

At these rates, meeting union obligations is doable, but that $25,000 is well outside our budget. Does anyone have comparable numbers?

Thanks,

Kris

10 years, 5 months ago - Marlom Tander

You can go in the front door - see above, or through the side.

You sound like you are passionate about the subject of your movie, and you know the target celeb is as well.

What you really want is someone who KNOWS the celeb to say "there's this great docu made be some guys I know, and you what it needs - YOUR voice...."

Put the word out, esp talk to charities/orgs involved in the area and see if anyone has that contact.

The reason this works is that from the celebs POV they know that their mate would not waste their time having them look at a project that was not worthy of their time.

Your connection is almost certainly a Friend of a Friend...

Good luck.

10 years, 5 months ago - Paulina Brahm

Hi Kris,

You're very welcome. And thank you for taking the time to research the SAG-AFTRA site.

I also wanted to point out that any US actor is considered an employee of the IRS, and receives their paycheck via a payroll service, which deducts their taxes. Every single SAG or AFTRA job I did, union or non, went through the payroll service, and I did my taxes at the end of the year.

If your celebrity has their own company though, then he can send you an invoice. So, as Marlom says, if you can somehow interest your celeb and he has an FSO, then you can skip the signatory paymaster.

10 years, 5 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Every deal is a negotiation. If the narrator feels personally about the subject, likes the film with sample narration, can record remotely from home in an hour or two (you just send a recordist, script and sample timings track maybe), can for it in between real gigs and have 50% of any sales, maybe they'll go for it for a notional fee. Or not. Is it DiCaprio/environment? I'll bet he gets three requests a week. Others famous for backing a cause once will similarly be slammed with derivative requests. Maybe find others less publicly attached to the cause to find a new face- for instance maybe Mick Hucknall has a passion for Amazonian rainforests?

Why do you want that particular person? Is it to add sales value? That makes it a commercial project, so treat it as one. Is it to add credibility? Actors don't make credible experts - their whole job is to say what people tel them to say. Vanity? Pay retail. To reach a wider audience? It's commercial. Words only they can say? Rewrite. You get the idea - be really clear about your motivations and budget accordingly.

Frankly, though, why not use one of the many tens of thousands of other excellent voice actors, some of whom will feel a personal connection to your project. Is it about the message or messenger?!

10 years, 5 months ago - Alex Blogg

Hey Sheila,

Have heard of varying success when it comes to approaching celebs. It boils down to two things mostly;

Are they interested in the project?
Do they have availability?

If you convey your situation as small self-funded production company, then most people are willing to cut their prices - so long as they resonate with the content. This really benefits from conveying your doc as clear and concisely as possible.

The latter point sometimes cannot be helped. The bigger the celebrity the fuller their schedule is likely to be, and in the end it may just be a matter of waiting patiently.

There's absolutely no harm in reaching out and contacting, and it's certainly worth a try.

10 years, 5 months ago - Paulina Brahm

Another thing to consider is the union, which most likely your US celebrity is a member of. SAG/AFTRA is very protective (and rightly so) of its members and has rates and contracts to match. If your celebrity is also Fi-Core, then he or she may be able to voice your project at a negotiable non-union rate.