When and How to Engage a SAG-AFTRA Signatory for a Commercial


Summary

Hiring a local signatory is a great way to allow you to hire SAG-AFTRA talent without having to bind all your productions to the SAG AFTRA Commercials Contract. A union signatory is one that is already signed to one or more SAG agreements and can provide signatory support to facilitate talent agreements directly with SAG-AFTRA. This allows you to avoid becoming a signatory while having the ability to take on non-union productions in the future.

Pros of hiring a third-party SAG-AFTRA signatory 



→ Knowledge of contracts: When you outsource signatory support, you receive a team of experts who are well versed in all of SAG-AFTRA’s rules, regulations, and contract terms. With this knowledge, they are equipped to streamline your production’s hiring process.

→ Relationship with the union: Third-party union signatory’s have long-term relationships with SAG-AFTRA, which can greatly benefit your project. 

→ Access to high profile talent: Through a third-party, you will receive access to all of SAG-AFTRA’s talent pool including celebrities and athletes, experienced actors, background actors, day performers, musicians, singers, dancers, stunt performers & drivers and more.

→ Streamline the process: Additionally, you can streamline your production’s talent hiring process as a group of experts handles the budgeting, negotiations, contract agreements. 

→ Less work for you: Your third-party signatory should  be involved from the beginning. This includes active involvement in: Reviewing scripts and storyboards; Budgeting; Contracting On-set responsibilities; Payment processing.

Cons of hiring a third-party SAG-AFTRA signatory 


Involved from pre to post production: As a signatory, we must be engaged in the pre-production process according to the terms of the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract. In collaboration with advertisers or producers, and brands we basically assume all employer functions.

Conclusion


In summary, we see that there are different ways for you to work with SAG-AFTRA talent for your upcoming commercial and how you choose to engage a SAG-AFTRA talent, however, it really comes down to what makes most sense for a production’s long-term. And each option comes with its own set of pros and cons.

  • Signing up with a signatory will allow you to work with SAG-AFTRA talent. and 100% of your productions moving forward must be SAG-AFTRA complain Not to mention there’s still a lot of work and added costs a signatory must pay to the union on behlaf of the brand and the talent. 

  • Signing an OPO is one way around this, and reduce cost, but it isn’t a long-term solution for the talent’s rights. An OPO will still hold you accountable for future claims by the talent and the Union. 

Hiring a us as your SAG-AFTRA signatory gives you the best of both worlds. It allows you to work with SAG-AFTRA talent without having to turn down non-union work in the future. Plus- it allows you to sit back and relax as a team of experts streamline the hiring process… saving your production time, money and headache.

Looking to engage a local SAG-AFTRA signatory? You’ve come to the right place. SHARKS® Productions is registered signatory to the SAG-AFTRA Commercial Act under Signatory ID no. #01043998 for Corporate/Educational (Industrial) and Interactive Media Commercial contracts. We are happy to assist with helping you hire the best talent for your upcoming production. Contact us today  to set up a consultation.