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Thread: Movie extras/ SAG Card

  1. #1
    madmaxine
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    Default Movie extras/ SAG Card

    Has anyone done this? I read you have to get a Screen Actors Guild card to work as an extra in film productions. (Union rules.) I'm not talking indie/ B films or porn, but regular movies. Any info appreciated. Thanks!

  2. #2
    Pamela
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    I guess if you plan on being an extra in many movies, because you do get paid.

    I have a police officer friend in Florida who was an extra in 2 different movies, he talked so damn much about how good he was dancing and laughing with the cameras on him like he was the main character. When asking questions to him, he never mentioned signing anything however. But maybe this varies....Dunno.

    Pamela

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    you dont need a SAG card to be an extra in most cases, but by being an extra you can qaulify for one. SAG actors get paid more so you might want to get one

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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    Bringing this back...

    Someone told me that if you are part of a union then you get paid more and can have a speaking extras part. If not in a union then you get paid less and aren't allowed to speak.

    Any truth to these statements? How much can non union movie/tv extras make?
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    Try it out first as non-Union.

    I've done extra work a few times and will never ever ever do it again. 2 movies and a music video. WAY too much down time. You don't get the good food. And it's a lot of time.

    But I guess some people like it.

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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    ^^Any pros to the whole thing? I wonder what it takes to be union?
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    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    ^^^ You can pay for Union card or you can get "invited" or something once you do a certain amount of work. I forgot the specifics but maybe someone else here knows the deal.

    Here's a link! http://www.hollywoodaccess.com/sag.htm

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    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    Non union workers get paid like $200 for sitting around for hours and hours. It's like a 9 to 5 job.

    A pro to extra work is meeting different people. But I'm a bad example. Some people like it!

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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    You are required to work a certain amount of hours as a non-union/non-sag extra. Keep your pay stubs so that you can submit it with your application. There are a lot of fees. For more info, go to:

    http://www.sag.org/sagWebApp/applica...pageid=JoinSAG

    I attempted to apply years ago, but I was short a few hours.

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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    I hear its not easy at all to get your SAG card. I have a cuz who moved to LA and pursued acting for a couple years and even she never got SAG'd. You dont need to have a SAG card to do extra work, in fact I think most companies prefer that you dont have one so they can pay you less. Most extra work is loooooooong and boring, and the pay is very very low. I've done it a few times. You get there, have to be on set all day and get paid hourly, or like 80 a day. Then they don't have anything for you to do for literally hours. Finally they put you to work and its the same scene over and over ad nauseum.
    Extra work can be fun though if you get hired for a talent instead of just to be scenery. Recently I did extra work that paid $50 an hour plus $100 an hour for anything over 4 hours. It was the same old sit and wait for hours, then finally get to set. But for that pay scale I was happy to sit and do nothing for 3 hours then be looked at by wardrobe for 15 minutes and film for 45.

    There are several agencies where you can sign up to get calls for this kind of work. If you live in a city where major films are made, you can even do stand-in work (for like $100 an hour) without a sag card. All you need is be be of similar size to a main actress, and be available to sit around literally all day. Bring a book or your study material and its a cake walk.

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    Veteran Member I_luv_dancers!'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    You can work as an extra or a background actor without a SAG card. There's little or no pay, but they do feed you - last. Union rules dictate that union members must be fed first, and on a specific time schedule. Union members also eat better.

    I'll confirm that it's a lot of sitting around and waiting. The day can be very long. One scene I was in required us to be in the waiting area or on the set from 6 am to 11 pm. Looooong day!!

    I'd never do it for a living. Not much money and a lot of bullshit to put up with. But if you're interested in movies and want to be a part of one, and can afford to take time off work to be on a set for a few days, it's interesting. You may get to meet a famous actor or two and maybe get a picture with them.
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  12. #12
    ruru123
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    yes you don't "need" a SAG card. a SAG card will get you more money, lead to talking roles and help you try and get more then extra roles. i know alot of agents these days most the time want you to NOT be in a union, becuz in turn they will have to pay you union pay, ect.

  13. #13
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    Nonunion extras get a minimum of $54 per 8-hour day, plus lunch (in most cases). Sometimes you get overtime. Union extras get $127 for 8, also plus lunch, and you get bumps for certain things like bringing your own props or getting wet. Union extras are also eligible to be stand-ins, who get hella money - $132 for 8 hours minimum, and you'll almost always work a 12-hour day so count up that overtime! I'm always a bit annoyed when the stand-ins get paid more than I do for kicking back with a book all day, but that's SAG for you.

    Nudity gets you a rate of $300 per 8-hour day, BTW.

    Easiest way to get a SAG card is to collect three SAG vouchers, but that's not as easy as it sounds. You need to get a job as a non-union extra on a union show and convince them to give you a union pay voucher. There are ways to swing this but the most common is to trade sex or a blowjob for each one. You could also pray that not enough union extras show up that day (they're required to have 30) or finagle it some other way. Once you're SAG-eligible, you pay your SAG dues (a couple grand) and you're in.

    If you're not seriously pursuing an acting career, it's probably not worth it to join SAG.

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    Default Re: Movie extras/ SAG Card

    Being a non-union extra was pretty good money for a day's work...when you're used to minimum wage. But it's insanely long hours, and it's often in non-comfy environments.

    Eg. I did a shoot in a warehouse for a TV show, and it was super cold...and because we were supposed to be in a sexay club, we couldn't have jackets. In the Canadian winter. In an unheated warehouse. For hours.

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