ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

10 years, 3 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Not a bad idea - although it does potentially open a fresh can of worms around NMW compliance (can you defer NMW, legally? The NI and tax positions might become exotic. And for a feature/any shoot over 7 days only some grades actually can be self-employed, the vast majority have to be PAYE employees or operate through limited companies, no matter what they do in other industries or have done before).

I'd suggest SP having a chat with someone who can advise before setting up something which could be a potential trap to the uninitiated! OK, it's less of a deal on shorts (basically no revenue stream to defer), but you do see the occasional feature, and nobody wants to see anyone get in a bind.

10 years, 2 months ago - Andrew Morgan

It depends on the production.

It frequently means little or no pay until the film makes a profit - and most films never even find distribution, much less make a profit.

If it's a great project with a good team and has potential to be a success at festivals then I'd happily work for a deferred fee (assuming my expenses were covered).

In fact, that's a more attractive proposition than the glut of 'expenses only' jobs we see at SP since there's the (tiny) possibility of actually making (some) money (a long way) down the road.

In practice it's not likely to change much for many of these films since they'll never make back their money anyway.

But right now we have (low)paid which infers you'll get compensation for your work and expenses which means you work for free (if you don't get expenses then you're effectively paying the producers to work on their film).

Thr advantage of offering deferred pay is exactly what you touch upon in the article you linked to - that you might attract professionals that won't work for free to a project that has commercial potential.

10 years, 3 months ago - Marlom Tander

+1

10 years, 3 months ago - Kelie Petterssen

Hi Andrew,

You make a valid point about deferred payments - would you be able to send an example? It would be really useful to see how the job description has been worded.

Normally, because deferred payments are not always a certainty, we do ask members to at least cover expenses and say in further detail whether they are waiting on funding etc.

10 years, 3 months ago - Andrew Morgan

I'll send you a private message Kelie rather than publicly point fingers :)

10 years, 2 months ago - Chris Bairstow

Does deferred in reality mean no pay?

Below is a link to a very interesting article on what happens to 'the money'. The crew were paid around 80% of normal rates and at the time of the shoot. If the produce had to pay those fees out of the film's earnings/ profits the crew probably would have never been paid.

http://stephenfollows.com/the-full-costs-and-income-of-a-1million-indie-film/

10 years, 3 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

+2