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| Topic: Student films - dear actors... | ||
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| Dear Actors, I know that many people like to complain about student films BUT can I also make a complaint please against Actors who treat student films as disposable time-fillers? I have been working on a film which has suffered Twice in the past couple of weeks from actors not showing up for shoot. Yesterday we received a phonecall in the morning from an actor - cast from this site I might add! - saying he was stuck in traffic. He was assure it was fine, and that he could just arrive asap. Later on there was another phone call made, where the actor admitted to 'f***ing up' - he was then assured not to worry, and just to get here when he could and we would rearrange the order of shooting, at which he launched into a tirade that finished 'you're not even paying me anyway' and hung up! Just because you're not being paid is not an excuse to leave other people in the lurch! Anyone who has worked on any kind of film project knows the stress levels of scheduling, the cost of equipment and venue hire, time pressures etc that impact in every single member of the team. To simply decide not to turn up is hideous and stresses out all the rest of the cast and crew who are working so hard on a project they care about. Luckily due to CCP the team were able to find another actor who stepped in at the last minute, but this still cost us 4 HOURS of our shoot day, in an expensive venue that was booked for one day only. If you commit to something PLEASE realise that this is a full commitment, not something you can just drop. (And yes, of course emergencies occur, but barring those you should BE THERE just like for any other job) I also discovered yesterday that employers can leave feedback on actors they've cast from this site, which no-one but other employers sees, so let that be a warning folks! So, ok, rant over! (And I do know that to the majority of experienced actors this goes without saying - but to anyone starting out PLEASE take note. Or it's very doubtful you'll get much further!) Cheers, Kate xx Editorial comment | ||
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| Reply #1 | |
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| Posted : 30/03/10 | |
| I think that all your points are valid the said actor whoever they are should not have said they would do it if they had no intention of doing so. Please note that most actors are pround of there work ethic and to reassure you that we are not all like that. You are very entitled to but p***ed off I know I would be as a fellow actor on set waiting. Better luck in the future | |
| Reply #2 | |
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| Posted : 30/03/10 | |
| To be fair, I think you'll find that that sort of behaviour is very rare from a professional actor and it's usually the other way round....and if they have the funds to hire venues, equipment etc. where the payment for the actors! We are taken for mugs by the majority of student film makers who would rather ensure sufficient funds to get hammered on a weekend than budget to pay their actors to ensure a professional media project! and before you start saying I shouldn't be so hard on them and should support new talent....check my CV! I'm speaking from great experience in this area! I once got to an audition for a student short and arrived at the advised place, date and time to find, no auditions, no student filmmakers and noone answering their phones! Luckily it was just down the road from me in Aldgate East so no big deal but disrespectful all the same and a complete waste of my afternoon! She learned a few new words on the voice mail message I left her I can tell you! There ain't no room for clowns in this circus! Onwards and upwards! | |
| Reply #3 | |
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| Posted : 30/03/10 | |
| That sought of behaviour is very rare and wrong! However (he said smugly!! - Sorry) I trained at a Film School (NFTS) that paid actors. I never had that happen on a set of mine, (Thank God) and I believe it was because I vetted actors really well and I paid correct rates from my budget. So the adage you pay peanuts you get monkeys applies in some cases! Sorry to hear you had this happen! Best to all. PS Film Schools (if they have any reputation for teaching) make enough money to pay Actors - Prospective students should remember this! | |
| Reply #4 | |
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| Posted : 30/03/10 | |
| Kate You are absolutely right. It's a personal choice whether to accept an expenses-only role in a student film. Nobody forces you to. But if you accept it, you are in effect giving your word you will turn up. Now whatever you think of the "students", that's one thing, but not showing up (or even just showing up late) is disrespectful of your fellow actors who were also relying on you. And Forbes ... yes, indeed. It is usually the other way round. | |
| Reply #5 | |
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| Posted : 30/03/10 | |
| This happened to me this Sunday. The leading lady turned up an hour late, so being kind we asked if she had forgotten to put her clock forward. O no she says quite brazenly, I was just late! This is a girl who says she is acting fulltime! Well lucky her! I still don't like her attitude though when everyone else was waiting around wasting precious time. | |
| Reply #6 | |
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| Posted : 31/03/10 | |
| Refreshing to hear the other side of the coin! Usually it is moans from actors. I do believe it is our choice as actors whether or not to accept unpaid roles, but if we do choose to do them then of course it is rude and out of order to let the film makers down. The actors behaviour was inexcusable in my book. I still wish, however, that the film schools would get there act together and have budgets in place to pay everyone involved. Best wishes to you in your chosen career Christine | |
| Reply #7 | |
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| Posted : 31/03/10 | |
| I don't want to rock any boats or stir anything up here, but can I make the suggestion that if student films have no budget to pay actors, then maybe they sould be using student actors. I'm still an acting student at the moment and have done a few student films as I tink it's a great way of gaining incite into the profession and brilliant networking. And at the moment, whilst I'm in training with my student loan to back me up, I can afford to be gaining experience for no pay. However, I know that the moment July come round I'm not going to be able to afford it. I can respect that there are some amazing student film makers out there, but there are also some talented student actors. Maybe we should all be helping each other out to get started? | |
| Reply #8 | |
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| Posted : 31/03/10 | |
| I did a student film a month ago at a moments notice and they never used my part . Not a call email or thank you. I wiil def think twice about doing any of this work again. all because someone else fell out at last minute . This was with the uni at wembley. Anyone else had this problem. | |
| Reply #9 | |
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| Posted : 01/04/10 | |
| Hi Kate, I agree with you, in an ideal world everyone would do their best work regardless of how much they get paid. But the reality of life is that more often than not you get what you pay for. I recently worked on a film where they paid the actors but not the crew. I asked why to the director and he said that it was impossible to find great actors for free. So what happened is that we had to do 30 takes because the AC couldn't pull the focus; in some cases the shots had to be sacrificed for the same reason. This happened because the focus is very difficult to do on complicated moving shots like a steady cam or on rails with a high resolution lens, and you can't find a great/experienced focus puller for free. Raising a lot of money is unfortunately not easy to do. | |
| Reply #10 | |
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| Posted : 01/04/10 | |
| I think its a two way situation. Film schools should include in their budgets payment for the actors they will use in their projects. That should be a RULE. Even if its 50£ a day, its our career not our hobby. On the other side, actors have to be committed to what they say. And if something important does come up (if mike leigh calls you!) have the decency to call the day before and/or help them find someone else. Something that i do find annoying though, is a) student films who advertise themselves as normal films and when you get to the place you realise they are 1st year students! b) students who hold auditions in the farthest parts of town making you go all the way there when they are no expenses paid. They should try to get somewhere more central. | |
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