DVXFest and SAG Short Film Agreement - yes?

[gabrielflorit]

I was hoping I could (if I attract any SAG talent) produce my entry under their Short Film Agreement. But a closer look reveals this agreement to be really restrictive - basically no exhibition period. Is this true? Do I have to bump up to the Low-Budget Agreement?

[Tom Marshall]

What do you mean by "no exhibition period"?

[Larry Rutledge]

Just looking through the Short Film Agreement via www.sagindie.org and it allows for exhibition at festivals.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what your asking, there should be no problem using a SAG Short Film agreement to shoot a DVXFest entry.

[Mark Harris]

Just looking through the Short Film Agreement via www.sagindie.org and it allows for exhibition at festivals.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what your asking, there should be no problem using a SAG Short Film agreement to shoot a DVXFest entry.

It's probably fine, but the last time I was at one of their workshops they were real sketchy about what constituted a "festival."

I dunno if technically they would consider this a festival.

prob the monsters or someone like Zak would have some good input.

[gabrielflorit]

This is that the SAG SFA (Short Film Agreement) says:

Excludes:
Any project intended for exhibition, sale, release, distribution or other public display in
theatrical motion picture houses, free television, basic cable, pay cable, videocassettes/discs,
holography, internet, interactive media of any type, or to educational or industrial markets, as more particularly defined in the Screen Actors Guild Industrial/Educational Agreement.

[Larry Rutledge]

That's true, I'd forgotten about the internet thing. I know when I did a SAG Short Film Agreement for a project outside of 'user' they indicated I was not allowed to distribute the film via the internet.

Not sure if that would exclude an online festival or not. Might be best to call your local SAG/AFTRA office and find out more information. I found during my last project that they were extremely helpful in getting me through the process.

There are also several here on the site who are knowledgable/experienced with SAG, so someone might come by with the right answer(s) soon.

[Tom Marshall]

You're not showing it at a theatre or trying to make money so you're fine. I've attended the SAGIndie workshop twice. They just want to make sure the actors get paid if you're making money off of the short, that's all.

[gabrielflorit]

You're not showing it at a theatre or trying to make money so you're fine. I've attended the SAGIndie workshop twice. They just want to make sure the actors get paid if you're making money off of the short, that's all.

I certainly hope so - I called my "local" SAG branch (Washington, there's no presence in AK) and left a message. I hope this agreement means I don't have to pay actors until I make money off the film - which of course will win everything everywhere :)

[Tom Marshall]

The only real stipulation that the contract has is that the actors will get deferred payment if your short does make you any money.

Basically, if your short doesn't make money, you don't owe the actors anything.

[Larry Rutledge]

Well, non-SAG actors you don't have to pay anything (unless you agree to pay them, but they don't come under the SAG contract). The contract is only interested in the SAG actors involved in the shoot.

I'm not sure how deferred pay works, when I did my SAG short recently I had to pay the actor within a certain time frame regardless of what the film did.

[gabrielflorit]

Now that we're taking about SAG... do I have to pay them for rehearsal time? I can't seem to find any information about this connected to the Short Film Agreement.

[Larry Rutledge]

I don't see anything in the agreement about rehearsals, but I do see it in the other agreements.

I've sent an e-mail to my SAG contact (she's been very helpful in the past) about using this agreement for a film to be entered here. I'll send another quick follow up and ask about this.

[Mark Johnson]

We have produced all of our projects since "Where the Heart Lies" under the SAG Indie agreement. As Tommy says, SAG is only interested in protecting its actors and getting them paid. If you aren't making money or trying to make money with a specific pitch, you won't have any trouble with this agreement. Moreover, if you get lucky enough to sell your film or get a deal you will find SAG happy to work with you to get the actors paid under the agreement (which is only fair if you end up making money on the deal).

Our actors have always been willing to work out rehearsal time as a freebie provided we make it convenient for them.

[Dustin R. Rogan]

What if the film wins prizes or like the FM boys won the $1K check? What then?

Rogan

[gabrielflorit]

Yeah - what happens then. Everyone knows I'm winning the $10K check this time. It's a fact.