Banking On Commercials

While television and film roles are exciting, commercials are great opportunities for actors as well. In fact, commercials can be extremely lucrative, especially if you’ve booked a major, highly recognizable brand such as McDonalds, Apple or Target.

Once you book a commercial, there are a number of fees that you must be paid. A session fee is the amount of money that you’re paid for the day or time that you work on the commercial. This amount is regulated by the unions (SAG, AFTRA, etc.) and varies based on your role in the commercial. You’ll also receive residual payments – this term is thrown around in the industry a lot. Every thirteen weeks that the commercial runs, you will receive a holding fee (or residual payment) equivalent to the session fee that you were originally paid. The idea of the holding fee originated when executives decided that they didn’t want actors in their commercials also appearing in competitors’ commercials. So by “holding” the actor with the holding fee, the actor in a Pizza Hut commercials could not simultaneously appear in a commercial for Dominos or Papa Johns.

Additionally, residual payments are also made based on how often the commercial runs during those thirteen-week periods. This is referred to as a use fee. The use fee is determined based on how often the commercial airs, the markets (or cities) that it runs in and on which networks it appears. If your commercial is apart of a large campaign and runs often on network and cable stations nationwide during peak hours, like primetime, this can mean a huge payoff for you. For one or two days of work, you could eventually make several thousand dollars.

Voiceovers for commercials for major brands alone can be a six-figure career. Often major brands choose one person to serve as the voice for all of their commercials. This is a major opportunity and the audition process can be lengthy. After your first audition, you may be required to tape demo commercials (which you’ll be paid for) just so the decision makers can be certain that your voice is the right fit to advertise their brand.

Want to make your big break in commercials? Visit http://www.EliteCastingNetwork.comcasting opportunities. today to search for television and commercial casting opportunities.

How To Become A “SAG” Actor

You may have heard actors talking about the elusive “SAG card” and wondered what they were talking about. The Screen Actors Guild, most commonly referred to as SAG, is the largest union for working actors. The union represents nearly 120,000 working actors in film, television, industrials, commercials, video games, music videos and other new media. While many people who are interested in breaking into the industry as an actor have heard of SAG, or are somewhat familiar with the union, they don’t know how they become eligible to join.

There are several ways that you can become a member of SAG. You can become a member by 1) securing a principal or speaking role in a SAG film, videotape, television program or commercial, 2) securing a role as a SAG–covered background player at full SAG rates and conditions for a minimum of three work days or 3) if you are a member of an affiliated performers' union (ACTRA, AEA, AFTRA, AGMA or AGVA) for a period of one year and have worked and been paid for at least one role as a principal performer in that union’s jurisdiction.

That’s a mouthful! Let’s see if we can simplify it.

-If you book a role in a major television, film or commercial role, then you become SAG eligible. Most of the time this does not include independent film projects – although there are some exceptions.

- If you work as a background actor for at least three days on a film where the producer has signed a SAG agreement where he must cover background actors, then you are SAG eligible.

- If you are a member of another union such as ACTRA or AFTRA for at least a year, and you secure a principal role on a major union production, then you’re eligible.

Being a member of SAG is a great opportunity and has a lot of invaluable benefits. If you have more questions about SAG, post them on our bulletin board. We have lots of SAG members that are active on Star Search Casting and I’m sure they’d be happy to answer your questions.

Stay tuned for my upcoming blog about the many opportunities available to non-union people who are getting started in the entertainment industry as actors, models, dancers, singers, background players (extras), etc. And be sure to take a look at our forums for more great information about the entertainment business: http://www.starsearchcasting.com/forums/index.php