SAGAftra At An End?

It has been sometime since the last newsletter and we have news!

 I hope that all of those IPG members in the United States had a fantastic and joyous Thanksgiving holiday. Every member everywhere, please accept my best wishes for the upcoming holiday season and of course for a prosperous 2024 for everybody.

 We have a number of things to catch you up on and you will be amazed at what is coming in 2024!

SAGAFTRA EXPIRY DATE ON THE HORIZON - Our Industry Has Forever Changed.

I emphasize once again, the IPG has taken no position on any of the recent labor negotiations since last spring. However, the IPG has been supportive of the actors union as far as so-called AI and certain industry practices relating to CGI.

 What follows is not an official position of the IPG, so please do not repeat it as such. It is my own analysis and my own opinion on the developments and where things are going to go from here.

 What is being included loosely under the broad term of "AI" is a number of technological advancements and practices which have evolved over the last 30 years or more. The current media & cultural obsession with the term “generative AI” is deceptive, in that there is no such thing as actual “generative AI” currently, nor can there be for the foreseeable future. What we actually have are some moderately usable tools for database analysis and manipulation via computer algorithm. No algorithm can “generate” anything remotely original. The plethora of lawsuits against ChatGPT and other developing platforms simply underscore some of the bogusness of so-called “generative” AI technology.

 But of vital importance to the actors union is the capability of technology to record your biometrics, and reproduce them at will in the digital space. In other words, scanning your physique, capturing your motion, and cloning your voice. Suddenly, these technologies are in the news, but they are far from new, and far from novel. I directed my first feature film in 2003, a film called Bashing, and at that time I scanned my lead actors physiques, for potential use as CGI replacements, and possibly for promotional matters. I never did use those scans. But that was 20 years ago, and it could be done reasonably on your desktop back then. The gaming industry has been making use, some of it unethical, of motion capture of performers since long before that. Vocal cloning has advanced to the point where I can have you read a page of about 500 to 1000 words or so, and then reproduce your voice to read any thing I want, with near 100% accuracy, including your cadence and idiom. You cannot tell the difference. And there is the problem.

You can see that this is not an issue appropriately addressed within the context of a mere collective employment agreement. It is an issue which is vital for us as humans to come to grips with. It is an issue which can only be resolved by legislation. In my viewpoint, I am the only one who owns any of those things as they relate to myself. And nobody, not the government and certainly not somebody who gives me a day rate on their film, should be permitted to appropriate any of that for their own use. Ever.

 Rather than sticking to their principles, the SAGAftra negotiating committee entirely abandoned its concerns over AI at the last minute. They have, in my view, betrayed every single member of the union and probably doomed it to irrelevance. It is to be noted that their deadline passed for a reasonable counter to their requests. Then suddenly they had an “amazing deal” to sell to the membership, coincident with the announcement by the AMPTP that the shows facing cancellation would include those employing the members of the negotiating committee. Suddenly a deal could be struck and AI was nothing to fight over. In case the obvious conflict was not noticed by all, legal counsel leaked that the reason the union caved was because members of the committee were going to lose their own roles if the dispute continued.

 ALL ACTORS WILL BE “SCANNED”

The proposed agreement requires every actor to be scanned on set as a condition of their employment.

 Let that sink in. Now, understand that only if you are already making $80,000 (don’t quote me on the number) on that production will you get any extra compensation for that scan. Let that sink in. Now, understand that there is no way practical to track the use of your scans or to prevent them being used in any production in the future without any compensation or notice to you. Let that sink in. Your own scans - “you”- could be used in pornographic scenes, in gory violence as perpetrator or victim, to play a serial killer, to pronounce vile political statements - whatever. Let that sink in. The contract will say that the producers cannot use those things outside of the production without paying you. However, every person familiar with the technology will tell you that those clauses are unenforceable and the use of your scans untraceable. You do not need to be a lawyer (as I am) to see that is true. It takes literally moments to swap faces, or make a minor change to the distance between your eyes or nostrils or your hair color or to remove freckles and then… It's no longer your scan. Right?

n my view, the only ethical and only acceptable treatment of these technologies within the context of any agreement would read something like this:

 "No actor shall be scanned physically, or be subjected to vocal cloning or motion capture, or similar technologies designed to record and reproduce any part of their biometrics, as a condition of employment. No producer shall perform such procedures on any talent without first having completed an agreement for the specific extent of the procedures, and their specific use, which agreement must include compensation and expiration dates, negotiated through the talent’s professional representative. In all such cases, the copyright rests in its entirety with the talent, all resulting data will be delivered to the talent immediately upon scanning and before use by producer, and the producer shall only have a limited license to the use of it, which license talent may revoke upon review of the results of the use."

 The next version of the IPG members handbook will contain a similar provision and will address the issue in both the best practices portions and the ethics portions of the handbook.

 Be that as it may, what does this mean for SAGAftra? The membership is still voting as I dictate this newsletter. The voting period ends December, 2023. It has been the most divisive and controversial voting period in the history of the union, to my knowledge. There is justified dissent centered around the uncertainty and the warnings by certain people (including those who were on the negotiating committee) that the so-called AI issues essentially kill the careers of many of their members.

 The executive committee has stated that this is the best they can get at this time, and in their viewpoint, it buys them 2 1/2 years until the next negotiations, at which time they will have a stronger position from which to bargain.

 It is my opinion, without qualification, that if this agreement is ratified, the actors union has effectively set its own expiry date. It has made itself permanently irrelevant in the industry.

 Essentially, this agreement guts the union's industry power. At the next renegotiation, the union will be incapable of affecting anything the AMPTP wants to do. Background players in particular could be all but entirely phased out. Principal actors, aside from distinctive leads and those who gain an actual market name for themselves, could become entirely irrelevant. “Name” actors, those who are able to cultivate a detectable brand in the market, will have power, but this power they have already, and it is not the union’s power to maintain or create.

 Our industry has been evolving over the past several decades and that evolution has reached a critical mass. The industry is entirely & forever changed, and the balance of power in the industry has entirely and forever changed.

 The balance of power, contrary to the apparent belief of the major studios, is shifting permanently to independent producers & individual creators, and away from corporate studios and distribution monopolies. The financial gains and market shares will inevitably follow.

 The return of independent film creator is here. The technology that the major studios somehow believe is going to help them control their industry cartel, is more likely to dissolve it completely. Their control of distribution, like that of the music industry about 20 years ago, is vaporizing before their eyes. The technology does not permit industry control, it permits independent access to communication and access to audience. In other words, it puts power in the hands of individual creators like you and me, and the growing number of writer-producers and director-producers in the IPG. The industry has changed and it is our industry. We have only to reach out and take it.

What Is Your FilmPod?

That is what people will soon ask you, instead of "where does your film stream?"

 As you know, the IPG's Direct To Audience Initiative has been a focus of the executive since the beginning of the Guild. The purpose is to give you, the independent film creative, direct access to a global audience without paying parasitic middle actors. The first functional phase of the Direct To Audience Initiative is the Filmpod and the Media Royalty Toke (MRT).

 The FilmPod & MRT break the monopoly mainstream of distribution, and put you in total control, so you can find your audience, make more money, and make more movies.

 You need to learn more about this opportunity. Find out what the FilmPod and the MRT means for you at our Google Voice meet on Saturday, December 2, 1920 23, at 11 AM Pacific. Get a link emailed to you by requesting one from me at [email protected]

You, as a member of the IPG, have preferred early access to Filmpods and MRTs. What does it mean?

• You can register for a free FilmPod to market and stream your own title.

  You get first in line to purchase your own MRTs at a discount, should you wish to do that.

  You get preferred tools to promote your titles and to make more money.

  You get to be in the first wave of globally accessible filmmakers, promoted before the masses begin using Filmpods.

New Board Member

We welcome Steve Taylor to the board of the IPG. Steve will be the IPG's new Social Coordinator and will work with our professional outreach coordinator who has yet to be appointed. If you want to be involved in organizing IPG social events, outreach parties, seminars, networking, showcases, etc. please contact me and I will put you in touch with Steve.

Writers!

Writers! - Have you wanted to Blog/Vlog on anything film related? I have a place for you! I want to have ongoing entries on producersportal.com and independentproducerguild.org. The IPG will provide you with your own blog/vlog space if you want to do consistent entries on anything film related - from industry analysis to tutorials to film criticism. Contact me at [email protected] with any proposal!

Ongoing Updates

1. Virtual Theatrical

The virtual theatrical program continues to develop. The artistic development is in coordination with IPG members who are directors and writers, and with outside consultant Joey Madia, the writer of Three Gothic Doctors And Their Sons, which will be the second production of the virtual theatrical program. IPG member Alex Moreno is our grant writer and funding coordinator for the virtual theatrical program. The VT program is done in partnership with Tailor Living Charities, at 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.

 Currently, the website Virtualtheatrical.com is in a holding pattern as we have moved it to a new server and have to replace the content. However, our first production is slated to be Firebird, second is Three Gothic Doctors, third is a show called Nightcrossings and we are developing several other prospects. We would like to do a first season in 2024 of between four and six productions.

 Virtual Theatrical is a developing form of narrative storytelling which combines immersive audience experience with livestream, live performance, and edited scenes. It will be groundbreaking and will establish new horizons and new potential for creative storytellers.

2. Offices

As you know, our wish list for 2024 includes both office space and rehearsal/performance/sound stage space. IPG executive board member Earl Hundt is in charge of coordinating efforts to locate such spaces but his time and reach is very limited. Therefore, we welcome anyone and everyone who can assist in this important goal. Specifically, we would like spaces in the TMZ. On the other hand, I myself have some contact sin Atlanta, and that would be a good spot for the first IPG approved facilities. Not least because Hollywood seems to be dissolving in so many ways.

In cooperation with Tailor Living Charities, tax-deductible donations and trades can be arranged!

Please contact me at [email protected] directly with any and all ideas you have for these things.

3. Other IPG Needs

I want to emphasize to everybody that the board members of the IPG or unpaid and we put in an unbelievable amount of hours into developing these programs for you, and for future generations of filmmakers. We also put our own money into the organization to keep it running.

We need your help both financially and with your time. We need your creative input, your expertise in administration, in marketing, teaching, networking, and of course in filmmaking. We are growing steadily but slowly, and as a member of the IPG you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to effect positive change in your chosen industry. Don't leave it to everybody else. Democracy is a participatory sport. You get involved and affect your world, or you get what you are given by others. I have no better way to help you be a more effective, successful creators, than to encourage you to be active in the Guild.

So please, if you find any of the following to be of passionate interest to you, please contact me and you can take them on. Or, if there is something that you would like the Guild to do which would make it effective, or you want to create a program, please contact me, take charge and create it. This is your industry. This is your Guild.

 We Need These Resources & Functions:

• donor and fundraising coordinator and volunteers (for VT, for IPG programs)

• offices, storage space

• rehearsal space, performance space

• production equipment

• administrative equipment (computers, desks ,etc) for offices

• financial support to expand our web presence, and for outreach to independent creators

• people willing to spend time mentoring young and emerging filmmakers

• someone willing to work on the establishment of a pension and health plan for IPG members & other independent filmmakers

• researchers (internet and other)

• administrative assistants

• social media coordinator

• publicity coordinator

• legislative liaison, to communicate with lawmakers

   

I look forward to talking with you at the seminar on December 2!