forced call

[geordi]

United we stand, divided, we BEG. 

 

Learn this well.

[S Harber]

I seem to remember the IA 695 contract on location being 8hrs for sound. The other locals had much longer turnarounds ie DPs at 10 or 11 and ACs at 9 or 10. Not sure what the contract says in town.

But from where I sit, we have a crap deal compared to every other local I've spoken to about it.

Turnaround is also not a huge concern as it really doesn't cost much to the show. Maybe there's a liability concern and that may come into play in getting a things to be better planned.

 

Bringing turnaround concerns up to producers in a civil way lets them know that you are attentive and not being a doormat. This attribute carries over into fighting to get what you need to record, mix and capture the performance. They get it, you get it and you need to diplomatically say that it's not OK but one doesn't have to be a whinny PITA about it.

 

Talk to the other depts and approach things as a unified, caring, concerned group trying to have a decent life. Not as a greedy group of folks trying to get more money and I'm sure things will go the direction you want them to and they will respect you for it.

 

Or not.

 

Scott

[mikewest]

Talk politely to the UPM and ask what they see as a fair solution.

 

Put the realities to them as it is their job to manage the crew and thier conditions.

 

Producers will often paint the good picture but realities such as overtime/travel/changes do happen.

 

A fair solution is better than firing up a crew and never coming to an undesrtanding.

 

mike

[rcklseric]

theyre _{not going to pay me for 60 days even though on set the director ( who is also producer) said" oh yeah we'll pay you  in like two weeks.}

 

but thank for all the info. i'll remember to get   my deal in very  great and written detail next time.

 

eric

 

 

[jrd456]

Do you see what you are talking about when you say "organize the crew" to get better turn around,you're talking union.We need to strengthen the union and kick the bums out that are sleeping with the producers.Remember,it's YOUR union.Go to meetings and speak up----Go to meetings.-----There's strength in numbers----don't be afraid to SPEAK UP.

 

                              J.D.

[Henchman]

If they don't want to put something I writing, then you KNOW they are not going to keep their word.

Your deal memo should have what you expect.

That not only includes your bedtime rate. But also what Marc said. Unless you have a proper turnaround. You will be returning at the rate you,left with. If that's double time, then you continue getting paid onetime until you get proper time off.

[Christopher Mills]

Uh.. recent contracts I have seen actually only pay the force for the infringed time period.  so, you go back to straight time at the point where turnaround would have been..

 

 

Not enough penalty to discourage a producer.

[jrd456]

Exactly----change it.

 

J.D.

[geordi]

Corporate gig contracts through the stagehand branch of IATSE (So the contracting should have parity in this respect) have the short turnaround as follows (Paraphrased into the rates, because I don't remember how it is written, but I have been paid this way):

 

Day 1: straight time for 8 hours, with either 30 min client-provided-meal break and stay on the clock, or walk away for full hour.

At 8 hours from start (or 9 if walking lunch) repeat meal option, and switch to rate times 1.5

At 12 hours from start, (or 14 if both meals walking) switch to double time. Hopefully your day is over by now!

 

Minimum 10 hour turnaround. If less than 10 hours from wrap to callback, return on SAME RATE LEVEL as you left.

(This happened to me, I came back 8 hours after wrap from 14 hour day) - Returned at double time.

 

The contract SHOULD be that the rate would then be double times 1.5 after 8 hours... Now comes the problem.

 

I wasn't paid double for just 2 hours (so for the turnaround time I missed) or for the full day - On that job, I was paid double until the first meal. WTF? The problem was, this was the client (PSAV, the rental company that has PLENTY of money and knows better!) whining to our local BA, and the dumbass believing him and "negotiating to keep the client happy" instead of enforcing the contract that THEY SIGNED. PSAV's client? The medical industry, and a bunch of brain surgeons' industry group. 

 

Sometimes, you don't only get screwed by the producer / client in your relationships. Sometimes your own union reps do it too.

[johnpaul215]

I always thought you worked at some version of OT until you get the proper turnaround, so theoretically that whole day would be OT.

Being non-union, it's not that hard for the crew to collectively say no. It's easy enough for somebody to quietly talk to department heads and get a consensus before approaching the appropriate production person. There is often one department that won't be part of it (don't need to saw which), but it's not like they can replace G&E, camera and sound overnight. In my experience, it's usually one production person pushing the short turnarounds or whatever and when the crew stands up, the rest of production is/acts surprised about it. I've worked on a few jobs where a crew member fell asleep at the wheel, and that's crazy. It's usually a PA that is either on 14s, or working crazy long days because they have to set up for breakfast, and clean up after we wrap. Also, turnaround doesn't account for commutes. I don't sleep a lot, but I did a film with approx 90 minute drives each way. That makes a 10 hour turnaround *maybe* 7 hours at home if I don't stop anywhere. If I cook dinner, I'm not getting 6 hours of sleep.

[Gregr]

This is obviously a pretty common scenario. I have to protect myself on that first deal-making phone call or risk being resentful for the whole job and that is no place to be. Generally the client will ask my rate and I'll ask what the job entails, tell them my labor for ten hours and the gear package rate. If they ask for a flat rate on labor and say what your client said (highly unlikely it'll go over twelve) then my next offer is the ten hour rate plus two hours at 1.5x and overtime after that, being as nice as can be all the while. If they want an all inclusive flat then I'd offer ten hour rate plus 6 hours of 1.5x (or similar) and be happy when they say no

There's other factors on every single job- is it going to be fun? Will you get a lot of work out of this client? Do you know anyone on the crew and what kind of rep does the production company have? How bad do I need the money... Oh yeah- is the producer/director experienced? You gotta love working with people that know what they're doing, and the opposite... you gotta hate that. 

[berniebeaudry]

I know of a PA who fell asleep at the wheel because the production was doing crazy long days and the guy had a long commute to get home.  Tragically he died.

[geordi]

I know of a PA who fell asleep at the wheel because the production was doing crazy long days and the guy had a long commute to get home.  Tragically he died.

 

Terrible. I would rather sleep in my car (and have done so) when I feel too tired to drive on. If I'm on a gig that runs longer than it should and I have a long commute... I'd rather show up the next day unshowered and stand close to the producer that caused it all day... Somehow, I think that next day would be a lot shorter!

 

Thankfully, I haven't had to do that, b/c any of my non-local multi-day gigs have all come with a hotel. If I'm doing a one-off several hours from home, I'll just take it easy and rest before leaving to drive home.

 

No gig is worth your life, this isn't brain surgery.