While most production companies are honest and upright, some bad Apples have made the film crew's life miserable. Fraud and "negligence" mainly occur in the ultra-low or limited budget area, so it is beneficial for the crew to know in advance the various problems you may encounter. You should be aware that producers are ready to understand the truth to ensure financing.
This mentality is also common when recruiting crew members. Their strategy is to minimize pay, maximize output, and avoid accountability. For non-union crew members, protection for compensation, working hours or fringe benefits is limited. In addition, there are numerous applicants in almost every position and the negotiating position is severely weakened.
Again, a little knowledge may increase your income and alleviate your headaches. How to avoid being ripped off? First, be careful and be vigilant. Stay confident while dealing with management and understand the scams and drawbacks you may encounter. This article covers more obvious content and lists of complaint sites.
In order to attract high quality people, producers sometimes play the big names they allegedly signed. A well-known actor, a respected director, can attract experienced crew members, some who are willing to lower their standard rates. If it does, it's all good. This bait and switching strategy is very effective for investors, so why not use it on production people. If you can't sign these people, there will be a bunch of excuses to wait. At that time, crew members will work on the picture based on this error message.
Work lists can be misleading, especially when it comes to credits and certificates for principles. When his actual title is a sub-producer, the producer may suggest that he is dealing with a feature. These small ruins reflect the integrity and personality of management. Check out the credits on IMDb.com and the certified Movies ' website. It is best to ask questions early, rather than entangle in the production process.
In the recruitment process, the transaction memo should be your top priority because it helps to avoid problems. It outlines your pay, working hours and screen credits. At FilmContracts.net, there is an online form of this protocol. If you are unable to obtain a transaction memo, please re-send the recruitment conditions to the recruiter via email and send a copy of cc to yourself. In this email, please state that this is your understanding of the terms, if not, please reply with a reply email. Save this email in a special email file and use it as proof of your understanding before this date. Although the legal status of such emails is limited, they provide some leverage if problems arise.
When negotiating compensation, you should understand the "preference country" clause. Such a provision in the agreement guarantees that other staff members on the picture [in the same job category] will not receive more favorable terms. This is the reason to ensure that you get fair trade compared to others.
The producers of the terms sometimes promote a series of performance fee agreements. Such a contract locks you up and usually does not take into account additional shooting days. Therefore, you may be employed for 18 days of work and actually work until 22 days. This can reduce the wages by 22%. A fairer approach is to assign a set rate for working days that exceed the scheduled shooting day.
If you need to purchase production supplies for some of your duties, please avoid paying for it. Instead, get cash from the production manager. Reimbursement can be a hassle because reimbursement can be delayed for months and cause you to be overly difficult at the same time. In addition, make copies of receipts and forms because management can easily lose these items.
Crew members who bring their own tools and supplies for filming may be eligible for box rental or kit fees. This fee includes items such as utensils on the tool, cosmetics, script administrator fees, and consumables used in the production process. Replacing or replenishing these items can be a huge expense, and the data in production can provide good leverage. The funds for these items are not easy to give up. It is unfair to "contribute" to your production when other crew members who receive similar wages do not.
Working conditions are another major scam. Production companies promise a reasonable amount of time, but these are usually extended to fourteen or even sixty hours. This makes commuting and sleep time short. Although there are many excuses, the reasons can often be traced back to bad plans. This abuse, especially when it is popular, will soon wear production workers to where they are functioning or performing well. The way to correct this abuse is to determine a reasonable turnaround time as early as possible. Simply put, if you work late, you will start later the next day.
Another scam is not enough staffing. Due to the overworked staff, their working hours are extended and the quality of their work is affected. Management's general solution to this problem is to increase interns, volunteers or PAs. However, these people have limited process experience and then paid staff are more involved in teaching than working. The management's strategy is to count several rather than qualified workers. Adding this unskilled workforce creates many problems, including reduced production quality, safety issues, and extended working hours. Although it saves management money, it builds a culture whose bottom line replaces the production of high quality movies.
Messy bookkeeping is another way in which movie crews are deceived for reasonable compensation. Whether it was intentional or careless, the results were the same; the crew lost. The difference is hard to prove, especially after a few weeks. I suggest you keep your timetable. In this way, you can record your working hours and refute such abuse. Also, keep the call tables as they are evidence of your work.
If you pay in cash, you may be skeptical about the integrity of the production company. Without a paper record, your employee rights may be threatened. Deferred payments, workers' compensation and state disability rights. Cash payments allow producers to remove your efforts from books. In addition, producers can cook books that investors see and increase production costs. They also avoid paying state and federal employee benefits such as benefits and SDI. If the producer hides the funds, then the cash payment allows the funds to be undiscovered. While cash payments seem to be good for employees, they can cause problems. When applying for unemployment, the payroll shows that you are employed and eligible for benefits. There are also consequences of not reporting all income to the IRS. Not issuing 1099 is another sign that the company is a bit unstable because there is no federal record of your employment.
On the same subject, it is well known that producers will lay down the work of the staff and say that it does not meet the standards. Then they use this excuse to change or reduce the promised wages. This strategy is usually completed after the crew's work is completed and production has been completed. Then the situation becomes it or it is stagnant and can only be resolved in court. The crew transaction memorandum is of great value in this case, as supported by actors and other crew members. Record your complaint in writing and send it by registered mail. With the advent of video telephony, some crew members asked about their job evaluation during the production process. Such a lens provides additional evidence.
Vehicle use, parking, and mileage are another area in which production companies cut corners. On this issue, runners, buyers and production assistants are the most abused. Running the production errands in their own cars, these people are the least able to afford this extra cost. They are also the least confident crew members, so it is the easiest to scam. They will avoid any fluctuations as they seek to gain experience and screen credit.
In a movie with limited budget, the production company avoids liability and workers' compensation insurance. If the company has a filming license, then it is likely that they have this insurance. If not, you should be aware of the risks if you are injured or severely maimed. This knowledge may determine how you accomplish your work. Premiums for stunts, lighting and scene construction are high due to high damage rates. With so little protection, slow and cautious is your only defense.
Partially funded works look for ways to get more money. One way is to convince the crew to postpone some or all of them in order to complete the picture. They promised that they will repay the deferred salary from the film's distribution agreement [although it remains to be negotiated.] Another strategy is to give points instead of wages in production. These quotes are bad, bad, bad ideas, because the prospect of seeing any money is zero or not. According to AMPPA, only 2% of non-studio movies have been made to make money for producers. Taking such a quote is like betting a plow horse to win the Kentucky Jockey Club. The same is true of putting your own money into struggling production. This is still a bad idea when you are removing the pressure from hype and team members.
This next scam often happens on student movies and phone cards. These films are usually entered into the industry for expressive purposes. The strategy is to get people to work for the film for free and promise to participate in other projects of the group later. However, when it happened later, the scammer had an excuse not to respect his promise. The first filmmaker is lucky...
Orignal From: Fraud and deception in the film crew
No comments:
Post a Comment