I’m Not the President but I Play One on TV

or How to Taft Hartley Yourself

I’ve been sitting on this post for a while.  It actually came from a few articles that I saw tweeted a while back.

As someone who works in new media and is at best someone who likes to act but isn’t actively pursuing it, the who idea of getting into SAG or AFTRA is one of those things you hear talked about but you never really fully know what it’s all about.

If you don’t know SAG is the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA is American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the two main governing unions for actors.

For the full rundown read these two articles here and here.

For many SAG and AFTRA are the holy grails of the starting actor.  Though in reality they are just the stepping stones to an even larger arena of trials and tribulations.

If you haven’t joined SAG or AFTRA yet, (there are membership fees that to most are fairly costly) there is still non-union work, but SAG and AFTRA offer the benefits of scale pay and other certain amenities.

Why all of this matters to me is the new media “loophole” that is currently available to many actors, instead of having to jump through “hoops” with things like vouchers and the like.  New media is creating a new path for many actors to gain the eligibility to join that was previously harder to achieve.

Top all of that off with the influx of so many more new media projects these days and we’re living in a perfect storm for actors.  While I’m not one who is “actively” looking for acting jobs, though I know many web shows are turning to traditional casting methods to find talent for their shows.  From places like Actors Access and LACasting and others new media/web shows are cropping up like an infestation of ants.  Now is the time to make sure to know how to get your foot in the door if you’re ready to take the step into the world of SAG and/or AFTRA (many actors are in both unions).

This even opens the door for those who are looking to produce their own content as well.  Beg, steal, borrow gear and crew, write a script and go out with your friends, film something and boom all of your talent is SAG eligible.  It’s a little more complicated than that, read the articles I linked to in the beginning of this post for the full run down.  But it’s not much more complicated than going out with some forethought and filming something.

All in all it’s an exciting time to be a part of the video production scene in Hollywoodland.  People are unchained from studios and even film itself.  Digital media is sweeping the land and changing the landscape about how we think about visual content, both for the web and for traditional mediums.

I’m going to hold to the fact that I enjoy acting but in a way I’m not planning on marketing myself as an actor.  Sure I’ll come out and do a role here and there, but usually they are background stuff for friends or the like, but also I’m not opposed to doing some more serious work.  And yes it may seen contradictory, but I’m not going to go the “actors” route.  More so, I like the idea of working with people who know me and enjoy working with me, from anywhere from a producer, an AD (assistant director) to an actor.

What it comes down to is I really enjoy being a part of a creative team that brings vision to live for others to enjoy.

I hope this has at least informed you a bit and has inspired you to go out there and make some content.

Let me know your feelings towards SAG and AFTRA and your experiences in either joining or what’s been getting in your way of achieving those goals.

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