Just a thought, as I don't post often, nor comment, however I have noticed that quite recently Mandy has been allowing far too many jobs to be posted that pay 70 quid or under for the day. That is nowhere near what a professional actor should accept for their talent, and (IMO) anybody that accepts that kind of work ISN'T a professional (or doesn't respect the craft!) They should automatically go into the "opportunities" bin for students, wannabees, etc.
That’s NMW - the level Mandy have set as a minimum for paid work. I don’t know if there’s any legality behind it (i.e. they HAD to set it at that), But at least _there is_ a minimum!
I agree all jobs that are not set at Equity rates should be in a different category. If students or those trying to build a cv want to apply that is their choice. This site in theory is a great thing but there is a lot of un-professionalism ( I know this sounds snotty - not meant to) #professionnotahobby
Thanks for all your comments and input. I agree with you Toni. As to national minimum wage, I'd hardly classify our profession as 'unskilled' labour, so by default should command much more than NMW, surely?
Anyway, I'm glad it's opening up an interesting discussion.
PS - Happy New Year, and I wish you all much success for 2020!
Its steadily getting worse . I got a message from another site , for a pop video paying £40.00. The project was allegedly for a named artist . I blew a polite raspberry ...........
Im sick to the back teeth of things being advertised as work , which are clearly not work , because work pays bills . And a lot of the so called jobs are for experience . My mobile provider will not take payment in experience . My brother has a motto . No money no Matt .
Interestingly enough i applied for a role , which was on here for £70.00 , purely because it wasn't an all day commitment , & i was free anyway . But i did stipulate that i was after a fee of £150.00 , because a fair drive was required to reach a location . And lets face it , there is no such thing as a half day , because what ever project you are involved in , requires at the very least an hour or two of travel on any given day .
I wasn't arsey, i simple asked the question about money . I was offered £170 all in . They got what they wanted , I got a reasonable rate for a job . We all came away happy . Nobody felt cheated or used . This is show but people need to be reminded its also a business . And as such actors require proper payment , not an IOU
There's a good booklet Equity produced called Professionally Made, Professionally Paid. It lists things you can do. I can't attach it here but it should be available from Equity.
Its a discussion which has long needed to be pushed forward . I think the absolute min fee should be £100+ . . Even if im involved in a low budget student film in London , my travel in £9-12 .Basic food costs for being in the city are upwards of £8+ . Then you need to consider tax on top . You are often required to provide your own costume .
But of course its not solely a student film issue , it extends to all areas of the industry . I dont think its unreasonable to expect a basic of £100+ a bit of lunch or help with travel .
If someone cant , or won't pay this , then id question their view of your worth . Or the quality of the project is so poor , that the footage you hoped to gain from it , won't be worth showing to your friends on a phone , let alone a casting agent .
This forum needs a 'Like' button for the comments.
Frankly, I'm surprsied that the Mandy moderator has let this topic slip through.
I'd go with the £200/day minimum, in absence of Equity Rates.
Sub-rates are not professional, and an alarm bell to whatever other penny-pinching may be going o within a production.
If you don't value yourself - why would you expect anybody else to value you?
The 'like' button, and some kind of suggestion box to Mandy would be excellent. So glad this discussion is gaining more traction, let's hope it leads to some constructive action as well.
Also recently noticed how low payment is on here now for work. Even £200 per day is low. When you think about it if you accept that to be say in a furniture commercial - you then can't cast for any conflicting products for at least 3 years? So in theory you have sold your self for 200 quid?
I agree that anything less than £200 should be in opportunity section unless a charity tvc then I have no issues!
Does anyone know why we can no longer comment on the fees offered for work? The fees offered in a great deal of cases are not professional rates and buyouts are ignored on commercial jobs which completely undermines our industry.
In an ideal world scenario, there would be a minimum set amount for acting talent - say about £15 per hour - by which a candidate can judge the expectations of a casting director. This is similar to the policy set by the Register of Artists' Models, and it has served me well - that said, of course, RAM membership does include a trial session to ensure the model can do what is required.
Of course, there is Spotlight membership, which acts in the same vein to prove to the casting director that you can do the job - but outside of that, what is there? A portfolio of performances can do it, as can mention of RADA, LAMDA and the Italia Conte etc., but outside of these, the director is taking a big risk in going for untried talent. And whilst anything under £200 might be considered an "opportunity" by more accomplished actors, let us say, there are those who are trying to get their foot in the door. Their less conventional means should not automatically confer upon them the status of amateur - perhaps they didn't have the breaks, and nobody really knows what another has had to go through to get to where they are unless you steal his shoes. As for me, I'm okay about lesser-paid work being on the jobs list rather than the opportunities list so I know what not to go for - but if I'm desperate, I can lower my sights a little.
Sorry,just came across this post( and my comment will probably be deleted) but i've stopped my paid subscription here as its become a site to exploit actors, people are just trying to get Actors on the cheap, and if the Actors continue to apply for these low paid 'jobs'(commercials), then it'll get to the point, where we're paying to be in things because its 'good for the showreel'! . This is a valuable site for Actors, but c'mon Mandy, and c'mon Actors, stop advertising low paid things as 'jobs', and please please Actors, STOP applying for them, if you want to earn any decent money from this business-you are being exploited. Rant over :)..
Andrew I am just about to cancel for same reasons - there is some good things about this site but ultimately they advertise and promote work that is insulting to our profession- #proffesionnotahobby x
I’ve just cancelled too. It costs me on average at least £60-70 just to get to London where most of productions are. Add to that the explosion of real people, and now ‘from the same family’ type castings, just not worth it.
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