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Feature Article 8/1/2006 11:42:30 AM
The Behind-the-Scenes Tale of the Videogame Voice Acting Negotiations
In 2005, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) signed the Interactive Media Agreement that raised the fee for voice acting sessions in videogames. Michael Bell (pictured) of SAG doesn't think this is enough, and will fight for residuals next time negotiations come up in 2008.
In 2008, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) will go back to the negotiating table with the videogame industry to forge a new contract for voice acting in games. What transpired in 2005 was a major difference in the area of compensation between the actors' unions and the game publishers. There were also differences in the philosophies of both unions in regard to compensation regarding residuals or bumps in lieu of a game's success.
Michael Bell, chair of the interactive committee for SAG, has provided voices for over 57 games, in addition to TV and film work. Bell used his knowledge of the game industry to put together the interactive committees for SAG and two committee members for AFTRA.
"We offered a proposal to the game companies that we all felt was very fair," said Bell. "If the game was successful and shipped 400,000 units, a clear indication of the success of a game such as Halo 2 or Metal Gear Solid 3, we proposed a bump in the form of a second session fee. That meant we would be paid including the session fee $1,432 total ($716 being the newly agreed upon session fee for the next 4 years--a raise from the previous $556.20."
"After the first bump, with every increment of 250,000 units shipped of that game, we'd be eligible for another session fee with a cutoff of payments after three increments," continued Bell. "We thought that was a very fair proposal because the publishers of these games were already making deals including bumps, royalties or residuals with a lot of the sports figures and celebrities appearing in their games."
Bell said, "Actors receive compensation for their work, whether on-camera or off through residuals in all other venues of our contract. Session fees alone combined with the temporary often fickle nature of our work is not enough to guarantee an actor will make his/her health insurance or contribute enough to their pension plan when the time arrives that they can no longer work. The $25 billion videogame industry has yet to consider that fact for those actors who do not enjoy celebrity status. Residuals are the life blood of the rank and file performer.
At that point, the publishers threatened to go none union if SAG and AFTRA did not drop the residual formula from our proposal. To that, Bell said, "No union actor, stars included, may work for a non signatory producer without facing disciplinary action from their union. They obviously want celebrities, so that threat holds no teeth."
Bell said it is common knowledge that professional union actors provide a greater opportunity for a good game to be even better. For this specialized work, hiring someone out of community college or someone who just wants to break into the business is poor business sense. Bell added that the Top Ten games in 2004 and 2005 were performed by union talent.
"I train people for voice animation" said Bell, "and I know most of the actors that can deliver that work expeditiously and creatively and those who can't. Most actors who are trying to get into the business, and many already in the business, find the work very taxing. It's a specialized field, demanding in many cases, classical training, an ability to provide a variety of dialects and characters, and tons of personal energy."
Bell believes that with next generation games utilizing performance capture, which requires even greater expertise and vigor, the professional actor will be in even greater demand.
In 2005, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) signed the Interactive Media Agreement that raised the fee for voice acting sessions in videogames. Michael Bell (pictured) of SAG doesn't think this is enough, and will fight for residuals next time negotiations come up in 2008.
As to the claim that we were going to strike, Bell emphasized that the actors' unions never threatened to strike during the negotiations. The committee held a caucus and asked the members that worked that contract (and there are a lot of them), if they could go back to the publishers with the authority only to call a job action if they continued to refuse to consider some kind of bump predicated on the success of a game. The majority of the community agreed to that proposal.
"We told the game publishers that we'd been doing this work for them for 12 years," said Bell, "and that the compensation for that work went from $504 to $695 in those 12 years and now that the industry was healthy, we would like a compensation formula that provided us with some kind of residual or bump, but only if a game proved wildly successful like Halo 2 which grossed over $225 million on its first day of release, would the bump kick in. Their collective answer after months of negotiating was, 'Let's be clear about this, it's a matter of principle. We have the money, but you're not going to get it.'"
"Nowhere to go with that," said Bell. "Within a short time, the AFTRA committee after much deliberation, decided to accept the game publishers' offer of a raise in session fee, but no residuals.
"It was like swallowing someone else's cold," said Bell. "I really felt awful. Those of us on the SAG committee and over 50 percent of the members knew we had a shot at this because the major players in the industry were insistent on using highly visible celebrities for their games, and although many stars are members of both unions, the fact that SAG provides a much better pension plan (3 1/2 percent accrual rate to AFTRA's 1 1/2 percent) is a motivating factor for actors to insist on working a SAG contract.
In 2008, Bell said his committee is going to work very hard to come to terms with the industry which it is expected will have grown even more successful by that time...if one is to take the publishing giants of that industry at their own words.
Bell added, "With remote delivery and more new technology to come, whether I'm still around for this struggle, beats the hell out of me, but I hope I have galvanized enough members to think about the possibilities, and now that both unions are very aware that games are here to stay, and are considered by the industry to be the new movies employing major film stars, and directors like Spielberg, Lucas and that ilk, perhaps we can hope for a better compensation package."
With next generation consoles opening up new opportunities for Hollywood talent, and an influx of Hollywood directors stepping into the interactive realm, the playing field should be much different in 2008 than it was in 2005. While the same battle will likely be fought between the unions and the game industry, the outcome won't necessarily be so easily resolved.
CHART
The salary minimums from the first 1993 Screen Actors Guild Producers Interactive Media Agreement through the term of the present 2005-2008 Screen Actors Guild Producers Interactive Media Agreement are as follows:
1993 thru 6/30/95: $504.00
7/1/95 thru 12/31/99: $522.00
1/1/00 thru 12/31/01: $540.00
1/1/02 thru 7/28/05: $556.20
7/29/05 thru 12/31/05: $695.00
1/1/06 thru 12/31/06: $716.00 (current rate)
1/1/07 thru 12/31/07: $737.00
1/1/08 thru 12/31/08: $759.00
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=13388
The Behind-the-Scenes Tale of the Videogame Voice Acting Negotiations
In 2005, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) signed the Interactive Media Agreement that raised the fee for voice acting sessions in videogames. Michael Bell (pictured) of SAG doesn't think this is enough, and will fight for residuals next time negotiations come up in 2008.
In 2008, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) will go back to the negotiating table with the videogame industry to forge a new contract for voice acting in games. What transpired in 2005 was a major difference in the area of compensation between the actors' unions and the game publishers. There were also differences in the philosophies of both unions in regard to compensation regarding residuals or bumps in lieu of a game's success.
Michael Bell, chair of the interactive committee for SAG, has provided voices for over 57 games, in addition to TV and film work. Bell used his knowledge of the game industry to put together the interactive committees for SAG and two committee members for AFTRA.
"We offered a proposal to the game companies that we all felt was very fair," said Bell. "If the game was successful and shipped 400,000 units, a clear indication of the success of a game such as Halo 2 or Metal Gear Solid 3, we proposed a bump in the form of a second session fee. That meant we would be paid including the session fee $1,432 total ($716 being the newly agreed upon session fee for the next 4 years--a raise from the previous $556.20."
"After the first bump, with every increment of 250,000 units shipped of that game, we'd be eligible for another session fee with a cutoff of payments after three increments," continued Bell. "We thought that was a very fair proposal because the publishers of these games were already making deals including bumps, royalties or residuals with a lot of the sports figures and celebrities appearing in their games."
Bell said, "Actors receive compensation for their work, whether on-camera or off through residuals in all other venues of our contract. Session fees alone combined with the temporary often fickle nature of our work is not enough to guarantee an actor will make his/her health insurance or contribute enough to their pension plan when the time arrives that they can no longer work. The $25 billion videogame industry has yet to consider that fact for those actors who do not enjoy celebrity status. Residuals are the life blood of the rank and file performer.
At that point, the publishers threatened to go none union if SAG and AFTRA did not drop the residual formula from our proposal. To that, Bell said, "No union actor, stars included, may work for a non signatory producer without facing disciplinary action from their union. They obviously want celebrities, so that threat holds no teeth."
Bell said it is common knowledge that professional union actors provide a greater opportunity for a good game to be even better. For this specialized work, hiring someone out of community college or someone who just wants to break into the business is poor business sense. Bell added that the Top Ten games in 2004 and 2005 were performed by union talent.
"I train people for voice animation" said Bell, "and I know most of the actors that can deliver that work expeditiously and creatively and those who can't. Most actors who are trying to get into the business, and many already in the business, find the work very taxing. It's a specialized field, demanding in many cases, classical training, an ability to provide a variety of dialects and characters, and tons of personal energy."
Bell believes that with next generation games utilizing performance capture, which requires even greater expertise and vigor, the professional actor will be in even greater demand.
In 2005, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) signed the Interactive Media Agreement that raised the fee for voice acting sessions in videogames. Michael Bell (pictured) of SAG doesn't think this is enough, and will fight for residuals next time negotiations come up in 2008.
As to the claim that we were going to strike, Bell emphasized that the actors' unions never threatened to strike during the negotiations. The committee held a caucus and asked the members that worked that contract (and there are a lot of them), if they could go back to the publishers with the authority only to call a job action if they continued to refuse to consider some kind of bump predicated on the success of a game. The majority of the community agreed to that proposal.
"We told the game publishers that we'd been doing this work for them for 12 years," said Bell, "and that the compensation for that work went from $504 to $695 in those 12 years and now that the industry was healthy, we would like a compensation formula that provided us with some kind of residual or bump, but only if a game proved wildly successful like Halo 2 which grossed over $225 million on its first day of release, would the bump kick in. Their collective answer after months of negotiating was, 'Let's be clear about this, it's a matter of principle. We have the money, but you're not going to get it.'"
"Nowhere to go with that," said Bell. "Within a short time, the AFTRA committee after much deliberation, decided to accept the game publishers' offer of a raise in session fee, but no residuals.
"It was like swallowing someone else's cold," said Bell. "I really felt awful. Those of us on the SAG committee and over 50 percent of the members knew we had a shot at this because the major players in the industry were insistent on using highly visible celebrities for their games, and although many stars are members of both unions, the fact that SAG provides a much better pension plan (3 1/2 percent accrual rate to AFTRA's 1 1/2 percent) is a motivating factor for actors to insist on working a SAG contract.
In 2008, Bell said his committee is going to work very hard to come to terms with the industry which it is expected will have grown even more successful by that time...if one is to take the publishing giants of that industry at their own words.
Bell added, "With remote delivery and more new technology to come, whether I'm still around for this struggle, beats the hell out of me, but I hope I have galvanized enough members to think about the possibilities, and now that both unions are very aware that games are here to stay, and are considered by the industry to be the new movies employing major film stars, and directors like Spielberg, Lucas and that ilk, perhaps we can hope for a better compensation package."
With next generation consoles opening up new opportunities for Hollywood talent, and an influx of Hollywood directors stepping into the interactive realm, the playing field should be much different in 2008 than it was in 2005. While the same battle will likely be fought between the unions and the game industry, the outcome won't necessarily be so easily resolved.
CHART
The salary minimums from the first 1993 Screen Actors Guild Producers Interactive Media Agreement through the term of the present 2005-2008 Screen Actors Guild Producers Interactive Media Agreement are as follows:
1993 thru 6/30/95: $504.00
7/1/95 thru 12/31/99: $522.00
1/1/00 thru 12/31/01: $540.00
1/1/02 thru 7/28/05: $556.20
7/29/05 thru 12/31/05: $695.00
1/1/06 thru 12/31/06: $716.00 (current rate)
1/1/07 thru 12/31/07: $737.00
1/1/08 thru 12/31/08: $759.00
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=13388
