[NEohioPAL] Actors and Actresses Needed (Video shoot)

[Joshua Brown]

You're looking for 8 actors and your entire budget is $400?  That's  
ridiculous, and frankly more than a little insulting.

Acting is work.  We have to get training, which costs money and time.   
We hone our craft through practice and discipline.  That should be  
worth a lot more to a client or casting director than "the experience"  
or a pittance.  $50?  For fifty dollars, I would expect this shoot to  
last no longer than an hour, which is grossly unreasonable for a  
professional video shoot.  Surely this will take several hours?  Time  
which I would have to take away from my regular bill-paying job?  Even  
if it only takes 4 or 5 hours, that's $10 - $12 per hour, not much  
better than a job slinging coffee or waiting tables.  If that's the  
level of talent you want to hire, why not just go to a coffee shop and  
hire the first barista who takes your order?

I'm sure there are dozens of young actors, fresh out of college or  
even still in college, and dozens more who still have that "young  
look", who will jump at this chance because it will "give them  
experience", and they'll just shrug off the low pay.  And that's the  
really unfortunate part.  Because we should be standing up for  
ourselves and demanding better pay.  I'm not talking about gobs of  
money.  I'm talking about fair pay commensurate with the time and  
talent required to give your clients a great result.

I work in the creative industry.  I know how hard it is to deal with  
clients who want the world for a tiny budget.  There have been times  
when prospective clients have balked at quotes from my company because  
we told them the real costs of the project, and they just didn't  
understand or didn't respect the cost of creative work.  And we walked  
away, because we knew that if we took on those projects for what the  
clients were willing to pay instead of what they actually should cost,  
we would lose money on the deal and the project would really suffer.   
I don't know the details of this particular project or client, but I  
hope you at least impressed upon them the importance of paying their  
actors a fair and decent wage.  If so, good for you, and I hope you  
get some good talent despite what the client wants to pay.  If you  
didn't, shame on your for not sticking up for the people you rely upon  
to supply the talent you need to complete your work.

jb