Joining IATSE toronto

PaPa

PaPa

Major Contributor
Hey all.

My girlfriend and I will be moving to Toronto in September and I have decided that with my level of experience on set both as a filmmaker and actor in montreal, it's time that i find the best way to earn income, especially considering i have a BFA in Cinema ( Butt F*&k All ) :D.

Now, just to help keep this discussion on point, i understand that a degree doesn't necessarily guarantee anything, but i figure asking here was a great place to start considering what this forum is about.

I have many videos i could use as demo, but the main concern now is figuring out how to go about joining IATSE considering I am from montreal, and don't know a single person in Toronto who is part of the union.

Let's pretend I am not 100% sure which department i would want to be part of. It may be Directing, it may be Camera, etc... What would you the best advice you could give someone who wants to take a stab at this? Where should i start?

I understand from the site http://www.iatse-873.com/docs/HowToApply.html that 3 letters of recommendation are required. My guess is that before joining the union, you have to work with IATSE members on productions. This may be from working with people on non union projects who know how you work, and it may also be by being invited to work on union sets as a PA or something. If you were new to a city, what would be the steps you would take to start getting these letters of reference?

What would you do to get started? How would you figure things out. If you are in IATSE toronto, it would be great to contact you via e-mail so please send me a message with your contact information. I would be incredibly grateful.

I am sure there are others on the site who may be doing or wondering the same things, so let's keep the information here objective and useful to all who are looking for help.

Thank you!
 
Disclaimer - this applies to the US West Coast IA craft locals; YMMV in Canada...

In order to be considered for IA membership you must document 30, 60 or 90 days' employment (varies with the specific local) in a signatory department over the last (I think it's two years), plus a Producer's Letter detailing your work on the project and requesting that you be placed on the Industry Experience Roster. There's also an avenue that allows you to claim non-union work experience, but you need a lot more of it, and I don't recall the details off hand...

Now, in order to get you on that signatory show to begin with, you either need a Waiver Letter from the production (ie we're hiring this guy off-roster because there is no one suitable available, otherwise) or start as a PA, which will satisfy some locals but not others, when the time comes to apply for membership. Or, get hired on to a non-union show which then organizes, and you may be eligible for a card in whatever category you were working, pre-organization: this is how I picked up my first IA card (was a designer on The Last of the Mohicans, which started non-union in L.A. but got organized once shooting began, in North Carolina).

Union membership is extremely useful; good luck in pursuing your card!



*edit* when going for my Art Director's card I discovered that really, no one in the IA understands their own damn procedures, and that six different phone conversations will yield six entirely different and contradictory sets of advice on how to proceed. It's a great introduction to union practice, so take advantage of the learning experience.
 
Wow. This sounds quite... Intense.

Thank you for taking the time to write up this info. I'll try to break down the steps to take and then post back.
 
So basically, the steps are:

1) Get out of the house and find work ( friends, online, grapevine, advertising ) and try to get work on their sets as PA or anything really ( for union projects ) or hope that a project you are working on becomes union once you're already on board.

2) Work 30 to 90 days in a specific department (must be within 2 years?)

3) Each project requires a letter from the producer explaining what you did and refer you to IATSE. (Are these standard? Will all producers provide this? When does one ask?)


Related questions:

A) Where does one start looking for first gigs? What would you recommend for someone with a ton of experience and a large demo to go with that? Does a Demo serve any purpose at this stage? If you were starting from scratch, what would you do and where would you look?

B) Are there any courses that need to be taken before you can even begin? Are they manditory?
 
Technically I am a 667 member (the Toronto Camera IATSE local), my membership has been hold since I left about 11 years ago. So my info could be a touch dated. But for 667 you needed letters of reference X2, and had to take a assistants course. That got you on the trainee list. The trainees were the only ones actually placed on productions by the union. Everyone else has to get there own darn work.
There are many options for getting set experience outside of union shoots. Most of the commercial and music video world is non union. PA on some shoots, get to know the members of the departments you want to be involved in, work your tail off in front of said people, and they will bring you in. Shorts are another route. Most features in Toronto, even the low budget ones, are union sanctioned. So the commercial world is a very good in.
The rest of the crew positions, are handled by a different IATSE local, and I am not exactly sure how they go about things.
Like I said, I left that world awhile ago, but that is how it was. Good luck, work hard, never sit down, and and you will get there.
 
Welcome to Toronto. You will love it (although I love Montreal also).

I personally don't hire IATSE people as the union stuff gets way too complicated and with small budgets the amount of cost just can't be justified.

I had a good friend who when finished school looked into joining IATSE and it seemed that he would have to be a complete boot lick forever to get anywhere. The amount of time you had to commit for little or no pay would have made affording to live in Toronto impossible so Instead he worked on smaller non union productions (Music Videos etc) and has done just fine. I also know people who went the other way and are now the head of cinematography with a decent size Toronto based production company (non unionized though for TV shows not films).

Do you know people here already? Do you know have contacts within production companies? What are your end goals? Film, TV, commercial, music videos etc.
 
Prairieboy said:
Technically I am a 667 member (the Toronto Camera IATSE local), my membership has been hold since I left about 11 years ago. So my info could be a touch dated. But for 667 you needed letters of reference X2, and had to take a assistants course. That got you on the trainee list. The trainees were the only ones actually placed on productions by the union. Everyone else has to get there own darn work.
There are many options for getting set experience outside of union shoots. Most of the commercial and music video world is non union. PA on some shoots, get to know the members of the departments you want to be involved in, work your tail off in front of said people, and they will bring you in. Shorts are another route. Most features in Toronto, even the low budget ones, are union sanctioned. So the commercial world is a very good in.
The rest of the crew positions, are handled by a different IATSE local, and I am not exactly sure how they go about things.
Like I said, I left that world awhile ago, but that is how it was. Good luck, work hard, never sit down, and and you will get there.
Click to expand...

Good information. Thanks for the post. The only thing missing here and is still the main wonder is where to begin looking. That's the big one i think. If you were starting from scratch, where would you look? So there is a course. I'll have to look into that.

Ratlab, i appreciate your input. Just to keep things on focus, this is dedicated to someone who will be looking at joining the union. As an actor who is currently in a union, i understand the pluses and minuses of being in one, but just to keep things simple and get the best perspective possible, let's focus this on joining and how. Thanks guys.
 
that is an aspect of joining. in order to get into ia in nyc, as i understand it, you have to have worked in the type of department you'd like to join under for a certain number of years, having earned a certain minimum income from that work for each of those years. you also need to know someone in the union well enough that they'll walk you in the door, as a sponsor. neither of those can be taken for granted.

in other words, you have to demonstrate that you don't need union work for a few years. you have to achieve a certain level of success in your position. just pursue your work and career, pay your bills, try to do good work with good people. the opportunity to join ia, should it arrive, may turn out to be a natural progression. or it may not be as useful to you by that time. either way, first you have to have work.

i've often wanted to transplant and found it daunting. good luck to you.
 
This is all very good information, but we have yet to discuss the second issue that will cripple many people from starting to climb this ladder:

"Where does one start looking for first gigs? What would you recommend for someone with a ton of experience and a large demo to go with that? Does a Demo serve any purpose at this stage? If you were starting from scratch, what would you do and where would you look?"
 
I am sure there is a large number of people on this site that work within IATSE and your input and information would be invaluable to this topic. Please support this thread and others like me who are looking at going from hobby to career.
 
I guess to start on a union path, you need to be sure what path you are on and get into the right department from the start. Years ago I met a freelance dp that shot mostly corporate/industrial stuff, all non-union, but was in IA as an assistant and specialized in IMAX in that capacity. Every now and then he'd go off and assist on an IMAX shoot, but his daily bread was lugging a Betacam around the burbs non-union. I don't know if it is still the case, but a lot of tv stuff, series, MOW's which is most of the big stuff in TO crewed out of NABET, and IA only got occasional Hollywood features. This was probably ten years ago, so that may have changed, but worth looking into.

You're probably best shopping around the commercial shops, as they will probably be working the most. The shoots are non-union, but you'll likely find union members. The DP is likely an operator or first AC on union gigs. Its very much about who you know and I don't know anyone, so good luck.
 
I started out doing non-union VFX model and miniature and SFX work, until an acquaintance asked if I was interested in Art Department work, which I was. So he took me about town, introduced me to a number of actually very highly-placed people in the field, and 'threw me at people until I stuck.' Not long thereafter I got hired as a junior on a going-union Carolco project, which then tanked before organizing, then was hired onto The Last of the Mohicans (again, as a junior on a non-union project) which got organized when it went to North Carolina, which is how I wound up with my first card.

So FWIW I suggest trying something similar, in your particular chosen specialty. Network as aggressively as you can, keep reminding people that you are out there and looking to work, cultivate opportunities to meet people - even if they aren't hiring at the moment - who may remember you later, keep working on your portfolio and/or reel and picking up new skills so as to improve your competitiveness.
 
At this point you really need to focus on what you want to do. A reel really is only applicable when seeking work as a shooter, Director, Art Director. All of which you will not be doing if seeking your first union job.
Having a few reference fro where you are coming from at this point may be your best asset. I have been away from Toronto for over a decade now, but companies like Players/Partners do many commercial and music video shoots a year, and all of which was completely non union. I would approach those type of commercial houses, and look for PA work. With a few good references, and a bit of a resume from where you are from, that should be doable. Just keep approaching them. Then once on set WORK YOUR TAIL OFF. People will notice. The crew members cycle though, and once they see your work effort they will be open to the idea of showing you some things. If you show a keen interest, they will call you when they need a fourth electric, or another set dresser. once you get that opportunity, show up early, and WORK YOUR TAIL OFF. At that point it will not take long to keep getting calls. Be as professional as you can, treat it like a career, and before long you will have a resume that the local union will be impressed with enough that when there is a need, you will get your chance.
I can not say it enough, WORK YOUR TAIL OFF, do not sit down (there is always something you could be doing), network without being annoying, keep learning, stay positive, and polite to whom ever you work with. Twice now in my career I have been hired for a job from someone who was once my trainee way back in the past.
 
Prairieboy said:
A reel really is only applicable when seeking work as a shooter, Director, Art Director. All of which you will not be doing if seeking your first union job.
Click to expand...

It's true that you're very unlikely to operate in any of those classifications, when starting a union career.* But that doesn't mean that a reel isn't important: all of our PAs on the last 'Star Trek' had design portfolios and reels to show. Did we entrust them with design work? No, of course not, they had their hands full handling PA duties. But if I'm choosing between two otherwise even-pick candidates, I'll take the applicant with a reel and/or portfolio. She's obviously done some hands-on work herself, I've seen it, I can expect that perhaps she'll have a better grasp or accelerated learning curve concerning our workflow and what we do. Plus, it shows that you actually care about the work, and would do it even when you're not being paid or otherwise rewarded. When it's time to decide which PAs or assistants we want to endorse for union membership, who do you think we'll mark out as a better bet? The person who arrived with a portfolio/reel - even to do PA work - or the person who's given us no insight into their creativity, at all?

The 'polite' part is indeed very important. Well summed-up by a sign someone hung on stage, first day of photography on 'Star Trek: Voyager' - Be careful which toes you step on today. They may be connected to the ass you'll be kissing, tomorrow.



* 'very unlikely' as in, no, it's not going to happen
 
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