ACTORS
ACTORS
Producing Your Own Theater Company, Making Your Own Film, CD, Or Other Independent Productions
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ACTORS
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Producing Your Own Theater Company, Making Your Own Film, CD, Or Other Independent Productions |
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As you plan to launch your own theater company, it is vital to be able to articulate this vision and the Company’s direction before the business and funding community that will be a vital part of these institutions. The elements of certain things you need to keep in mind are outlined below.
A proper budget plan will maximize what you do have and perhaps allow you to generate more income. Low overhead is the best guarantee of success and survival. Think before you spend. If you can put off an expense in your early days, do so. Also be wary of overstaffing beyond the theater’s essential needs to function efficiently.
Checklist For Producing Theater, Film, CD Albums, Or Other Independent Productions |
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Regardless of the kind of independent production you are staging, certain factors are usually constant. Some to consider include:
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Decide on the decision-making structure, both artistic and administrative. |
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Define the company through a mission statement. |
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Make up a budget and decide on funding strategies. |
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Obtain necessary licenses and insurance, and see that health/safety regulations are in compliance with local laws. |
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Trademark elements like company name, logo and distinguishing look. |
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Register these trademark elements with local authorities as a business entity. |
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Open a bank account for the theater company. |
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Choose between profit and nonprofit status. |
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Decide on your funding sources. |
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Consider or examine the feasibility of a theater location and its audience potential. |
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Decide if there will be non-production activities like community outreach and workshops. |
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Start a database primarily to facilitate mailing lists and labels. |
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Consider the myriad of staffing it takes to run a theater: board member, producer, theater operator, promoter, general manager, controller, box office manager, fundraising manager, director of public relations/marketing, literary manager or dramaturg, stage director, technical director, maintenance supervisor, actors. |
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Consider strategies for marketing, publicity and audience development. |
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Check our listing of relevant associations and support groups for further information. |
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New digital technologies have become a near necessity in most any independent production. Their practicality and usefulness and cost-effectiveness should be evaluated, especially in regard to older analog technologies. |
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Use our communication tools (chat room; message board; messaging tools etc.) to reach others who can provide you with more help and information |
Most rental spaces, not to mention unions, will require you to arrange for insurance. It’s difficult to come up with a one size fits all arrangement or solution since every space will be different. Every production, depending on the number of personnel you’re using per show, may have different insurance requirements as well.
Do plan for adequate coverage in the event of a natural disaster, particulary during showtime. You will most certainly need to provide workmen’s compensation for the actors and technical people. Consult Actor’s Equity for specifics. Developing a rapport with Equity is a smart move, as they can penalize you financially, and/or shut you down totally.
Even if you are not working with Equity, it is a good idea to take a look at insurance for your actors’ welfare. How can you get the best deal on sufficient coverage? Browse the phone book and call around to price various insurance companies listed. Some of them should actually specialize in theatrical insurance, especially in large cities. Be honest about your situation so you can get adequate coverage for a good price. While shopping for insurance, also consider coverage packages for audience members as well.
Unless you are paying full-time staffers full-time salaries, it’s very probable you will not be held responsible for health insurance coverage. Equity requires health insurance for its members for some productions, and so this is something you should be aware of.
AEA, as was mentioned previously, is the professional actors’ and stage managers’ union, based in New York City, but governing nationwide and with related union presence abroad. Equity exerts much control over the productions it sanctions for its members to appear in. The organization is very protective of its members’ interests, but will certainly be fair to a company acting in good faith as well.
Although every case is different, depending on the kind of agreement a producer or theater company reaches with Equity, the production entity may post a bond with the union. This bond insures salary coverage for the cast in case a show runs into trouble. The amount of the bond is evaluated and set by the union.
Some of the other unions in operation are:
Actor’s are known to work very hard for what amounts to very little money, simply because of the passion that drives them in their craft. Finding the money in your budget to pay for their work, even if Equity doesn’t require it, shows appreciation and is a way to build your theater company’s reputation within the acting community as a good place to work. And that in turn should lead to being able to attract talented performers, which then raises your artistic output.
From the start, it’s very important for your Company’s financial health for you to fully integrate with and cultivate the good will of the community at large. How exactly do you go about maximizing and utilizing the support of your community? Here are some pointers:
There are several different forms of showcases. For some, a showcase can simply involve different casts of actors doing scenes from plays to showcase their talents for industry professionals such as agents or casting directors. Showcases like these are often produced by universities that sponsor a New York City trip for graduating drama students, thus allowing them to display their talents in the country’s theater mecca. Commercial schools in New York and Los Angeles also present showcase nights which can be subsidized by the students involved. Some actors find it useful to produce themselves independently in this way. “Scene Nights,” as they are called, began as a means of furthering the participants’ careers without committing to a complete show for a consumer theater audience. Still, for others, a showcase can be an inexpensive way to preseent a fully staged play or musical for a paying audience.
If there are members of Actor’s Equity Association (AEA) involved in a showcase production, whether it is a scene showcase or a more substantial evening of theater, some form of an agreement will have to be drawn up with the union. Operations on a small budget can be covered by one of the showcase contracts which allows AEA actors to take part in limited runs of productions with minimal payment so long as certain requirements are met. Showcase contracts first came into existence in the 1970s, so that union actors would be able to participate in shoestring productions and still have some protection. The rules for Equity members vary from city to city. For instance, in New York it is known as the Showcase Code, in Chicago it is the Chicago Showcase Code, and in Los Angeles, it is the 99-Seat Theatre Plan.
Equity showcase productions often seek both to play to ordinary theater-going audiences, and to attract the attention of agents, casting directors, and producers who might be in a position either to take the show to another venue, or to employ or represent the production’s members, whether actors, directors or playwrights. Theater artists who want to form their own companies often choose to produce under the showcase agreement.
By definition in discussing independent film, we usually refer to pictures designed for release in movie theaters that are not produced and distributed throughout the world by one of the eight major studios: Disney, Dreamworks SKG, Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. Typically, independent pictures are financed by “pre-sales” contracts from distributors that are discounted and cash flowed by a bank, and often supplemented by private money, and, if they qualify, from subsidies and tax incentives from abroad. The budgets range from tens of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars.
Terms To Know |
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Acetate Dub. An individually cut record, as opposed to pressed records. Angel. The financial backer of a play. Business Owner/Manager. A fundamental management function of an independent produce is making deals, but in doing this there are a myriad of rules, regulations and forms to navigate through. Community Theater. A local theater group in a city or town. Delivery/Distribution Manager (film). Once you have a distribution deal in place, “Delivery”, a technical term, is next. It consists of supplying the physical elements such as the interpositive, internegative, soundtracks, video masters, stills and slides and the legal elements such as copyright registration, rights documents insurance, copyright and title searches and talent agreements. Demo Firm. An organization specializing in the production of demo tapes. Demo Tape. An audiocassette, audio CD or DVD recording of an actor’s voice demonstrating voice acting abilities. Distributor/Distribution Arranger (film). Independent producers are not usually involved in the distribution of films. Distribution is still the domain of the Hollywood-based major studios that generate more than 90% of U.S. box office, but there are also smaller distributors and independent sales agents who handle independent productions. There are also non-profit organizations that can lend a hand in various ways. Impresario. An entertainment entrepreneur. Physical Film Producer. Once you have a script, director, cast and financing, you can then proceed to make a movie. Details and procedural steps will include: setting up a production company (if one isn’t already in place); hiring employees or engaging independent contractors; setting up accounting and payroll services, becoming signatory with the talent and craft guilds, finding location; clearing the script and title of any obstacles; while shooting, getting the best performances from cast, crew and director; while watching budgets and time; in post-production, helping to edit shot footage into the storyline. Producer. The individual who oversees the making of a single or long playing record, radio, television or stage show from inception to completion. Project Developer. The function in this role is to write or supervise the writing of a screenplay that can attract a director, cast and financing. If the screenplay is to be based on material owned by someone else, or is co-authored with others, the rights for it must be optioned or acquired. Project Financier. Upon securing a director and principal actor, production financing is next. Sources of independent financing are family and friends, equity investors, distributors in the form of domestic studios and foreign sales agents, banks, foreign subsidies and tax incentives. A lawyer is absolutely needed during this phase. Project Packager. When a screenplay is finalized the film must be packaged and financing secured. The film package consists of the script, director, producer, and cast, as well as the budget and production schedule. The budget and schedule are flexible and usually can be changed and adapted as time goes by. However, it is a good idea to have a budget range in mind during the development process. But overall, the fundamental issues of this process are when and how to get talent. Video Toaster. A popular computer editing system for actor’s demo tapes. |
The most wonderful movie concepts cannot work without proper business and legal implementation. In implementing the business and legal management of producing a movie, there are seven primary functions the independent film producer has:
A performing artists’ decision to record an album (CD) should be made with proper research and knowledge of what goes into studio production. Some very basic questions that should be answered before you begin include:
Without a major label behind you, your budget is key. It may become the facor that decides the success or failure of your project. Backers can include friends, family, supporters, or, a producer or executive producer. Bear in mind that statistically, far more recording projects fail than succeed. Seasoned investors savy about the industry know this. If you are new to album recording, seek the advice of an experienced attorney.
When first planning your budget, include the cost of rehearsal and recording studio time. This varies a great deal, ranging from as low as $25 to $350 an hour for state-of-the-art recording studios. Calculating the amount of time it takes to make a recording depends on certain factors. A singers album should average a minimum of ten hours in the studio, six to fifteen hours to mix, and eight hours to polish off the finished product before it goes to the plant for replication (for CDs, this is known as pressing).
A good producer will secure the right working team for your album. The recording engineer has the hardest technical job of getting the best recording on tape while helping to enhance the sound of the finished product. Engineers are hired on an hourly basis and should be experienced enough to work with the pace of the session and ensemble team. This will probably average $50 an hour.
As you get close to recording you and your recording technicians must choose one of the two different recording methods -- analog or digital. Analog is the older one with today’s analog recordings using methods that came into being during the mid- to late 1960s. Analog recording uses audio tape as its sound transfer medium. Digital, which is newer and cheaper, uses a recordable compact disc or computer sound chip as its medium. It should be noted that the recording industry like other competitive industries, adds new and improved recording devices and technology to their technical process to enhance and improve the quality of any recording.
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The Musician’s Guide to Making & Selling Your Own Cds & Cassettes |
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Click the titles of the above books for their availability, or enter the title of a book not shown in the above listing in the search box below. |
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Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center |
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