The following terms are used
frequently in the business. Be sure you are familiar with their meanings
and comfortable using them in conversation. SAG or AFTRA contract books
are indispensable for learning all the right words. Think seriously about
investing in one. They cost about five dollars. Using the right terminology
says you're a professional.
Principal Performer:
When an agency or casting director calls you for
a job, you will assure that it for a principal part. You will appear in
a close-up (neck up) shot on camera; speak a lien or lines of dialogue;
be identifiable and in the foreground and identified with the product.
Extras:
These parts are usually hired without an audition.
You will not be identified and involved with the product in any way. (For
example, you may walk in front of a bank as a man counts money, but you
do not react to him or to the money.)
Exclusivity:
The advertiser has a right under union contract
to demand that you do not perform in any commercial advertising a competitive
product while he is paying you to advertise his. Exclusivity applies only
to principals and identifiable voice-overs. Extras and unidentifiable voice-overs,
such as cartoon voices, are not bound by it.
Conflicts:
You have a conflict when you are already contracted
to be in a commercial advertising a product or service competitive with
the one in which you are about to be asked to perform. As there are often
varying interpretations of what products or services comprise a conflict,
let's go into specifics:
1. a product or service
is not considered competitive if it is manufactured or offered by the same
advertiser. Example: You could do a Kraft cheese and a Kraft mayonnaise
commercial.
2. A product or service is not
considered competitive with another product or service simply because the
manufacturer has in his line a competitive product or service. Example:
You could do a L'Oréal shampoo commercial and a Clairol hair coloring
commercial even though both companies manufacture both products.
3. Products or services, although
in seemingly different categories, may be considered competitive if they
make one or more similar product claims. Example: You could not perform
in both a soap commercial and a deodorant commercial if both claim to stop
body odor.
To avoid legal complications and loss
of income:
1. Make sure you (or
an agency if you go with one) have talked to the casting director and check
out all the product claims and all the grey areas.
2. If a manufacturer wants to
tie you up with several product claims, talk it over with an advisor and
decide whether it is worth it or whether you should ask for more than the
going scale-and-a-half rate.
3. When you get the commercial,
double-check everything. Read the script carefully and check claims.
4. Be sure you have a written
release if you have appeared in a competitive product commercial. Never
take a verbal release.
5. Don't rationalize. If you
know you are indeed a principal in a competitive product commercial, don't
talk yourself into thinking that actually you are only on camera for a
few seconds and no one will recognize you.
Non-Exclusive Commercials:
Commercials produced for cable only, seasonal commercials,
test-market commercials, and non-air commercials either require no exclusivity
or are negotiable. This is because of their limited run and limited audience.
Refer to Glossary for additional helpful terminology! |
