The next time you see a big name actor or artist associated with a video game, you can finally rest easy. That actor or artist is now being properly paid, based on a new agreement with video game publishers by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and radio Artists (AFTRA).
The announcement came late Friday in the form of a press release, touting the new deal that brings SAG in line with the pay scale for AFTRA members:
The contracts deliver a 3 percent wage increase upon ratification for SAG, thereby bringing SAG's wages into parity with AFTRA's, and another 2.5 percent increase on April 1, 2010, for both unions. Both pacts contain increases in benefit contributions and a liquidated damages provision to incentivize employers to give notice of vocally stressful work.
The contracts also established a new "atmospheric voices" category for voice actors. This allows performers to record multiple minor character voices in one sitting.
The contracts go into effect upon ratification by union members and lasts until March 30, 2011.
Other provisions include:
- A .5% increase in the pension and health contribution rate for Screen Actors Guild member effective upon ratification, and another .2% on January 1, 2010, for both unions (bringing the total rate to 15%).
- The establishment of a $100 liquidated damage for failure to give notice of vocally stressful work.
- An agreement to develop during the term of the contract a set of guidelines for conducting vocally stressful work.
Hmmm, there's that term again: Vocally Stressful. Three times in the same press release. It will be interesting to see what guidelines the two sides come up with for this.
Comments
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
thats nice and all but theres not many bad games saved by good voice acting.....more likely a bad game is saved by worse voice acting makeing it funny and worthwhile. Writers and programers need more luff'in here...
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Why so many people are focused on the overpaid actors? There aren't that many big name actor in the gaming industry. Most of those big name guy are only doing the movie tie-in games. At the top of you head, can you tell me who does the voice of Master Chief? Marcus Fenix? Sheppard?
You have no idea how it's like to be a voice actor, worried that you will get the next job. They never have a steady income to rely on.
Some people think it's only a couple hours work, which is true for some game. But what about the Bioware like games? or Bethesda?
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Female Sheppard is jobbing actress Jennifer Hale, Male one is writer Mark Meer.
Master Chief is voiced by disc jockey Steve Downes
Marcus Fenix is voiced by John "Bender Bending Rodriguez" DiMaggio.
In all 4 cases they are not people who rely on voice work as their bread & butter. Well, except maybe John DiMaggio, but lets be honest, when it comes to voice actors he is most defintely A-list.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Phil Lamarr
Mark Hamil
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Two of my favorites, especially Mark Hamil after his work on the old Lucasarts adventure games (Loved him as Limburger in Full Throttle)
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Who?
And the first line of this story shows the ignorance on this issue. I mean as if the "big name" actors as affected by this. It is them or their agent that set their fees. The majority have to go with what the are offered. A rise in the minimum only affects those paid the minimum.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
I think we can be pretty damn certain that the fees for the big names will go up accordingly too.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
The contract rate the big names can demand is much more a function of their perceived consumer appeal than the rate set by the unions.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
And now they will be charging 5.5% more.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Not if the value of their consumer appeal dips by, let's say for the sake of argument, 25%. Then, even with the 5.5% increase, they'll be forced to reduced their rate by 19.5%. The only members who are certain to benefit from the 5.5% increase are those who don't have any consumer appeal to leverage and therefore get the minimum pay-scale. They have nowhere to go but up. The same isn't true for those who negotiate their own market rate. Their rate could just as easily go down, even with a union-mandated rate increase.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Which is why, and despite GamePolitics making fun of the issue, the terms place emphasis on "vocally stressful" work. If the talent blows out their voice working on a project, that means they get to sit at home and twiddle their thumbs waiting on their voice to recuperate before they can even think about going out to earn another paycheck.
And the notion of vocal stress isn't as far-fetched as it might sound. I've spent enough time in recording studios to know that it is often the case that if you haven't captured a lead vocal on a song by the fifth take, you might as well call it a day because the vocalist's ability to sing their track will rapidly deteriorate after that point.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Seriously. I've worked on multiple games that are tied to movies. Most actors are pissed that they even have to come in twice for 4-6 hours of work for a game. A couple I would gladly punch in the face after the shit they pulled.
Did I get a 5.5% raise this year? No, I don't think so. As pissed as this makes me; it's really the publisher's fault for thinking that most actors have any idea how to do voice work and signing contracts based on their "star power" rather than their voice abilities
Mycroft
PS. Fuck you tobey maguire
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
That's because "star power" translates into increased sales, something in which the publishers are much more interested than any ability.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Most actors can't do a decent job with voice work; they end up detracting from the product.
Most people don't care about who does the voice work for the characters in games. IE: Christian Bale and Heath Ledger arent' involved in "Batman: Arkam Asylum" and people couldn't care less.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
"Most people don't care about who does the voice work for the characters in games. IE: Christian Bale and Heath Ledger arent' involved in "Batman: Arkam Asylum" and people couldn't care less."
Mark Hamil, a.k.a. Luke Skywalker and "The Person Who Did The Best Joker Voice Ever" did the voice of the Joker in Arkham Asylum so perhaps that's not the best example.
He may not be a big name actor but I still would have hated it if they'd gotten anyone else.
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I'm not under the affluence of incohol as some thinkle peep I am. I'm not half as thunk as you might drink. I fool so feelish I don't know who is me, and the drunker I stand here, the longer I get.
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I'm not under the affluence of incohol as some thinkle peep I am. I'm not half as thunk as you might drink. I fool so feelish I don't know who is me, and the drunker I stand here, the longer I get.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
I feel the same way; but I doubt that feeling extends to any where near the majority of people who will buy that game.
Mycroft
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
@Mycroft:
Not to say it isn't so (I honestly don't know) but if it is so, then why would a publisher ever shell out the big bucks for the big names? If the consumer could care less and a little name would move just as many copies as a big name, then why not go with the little names for less bucks and make more profit that way?
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
My personal opinion:
Publishers are the "Money People." They buy the rights to movies based on estimated 'star power' of the IP and it's actors/actresses. The people that make these decisions nether make nor play games. They see actors'/actress' voices as _always_ a value added.
I think that idea is wrong and that they would be able to get a better product from good voice talent AND have to pay _hundreds of thousands_ less for the IP.
Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamil are infinitely cheaper than Christian Bale AND do amazing work on every character they work on.
Mycroft
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Then they're dumber than a hubcap. In my book, it don't make no sense to pay more for the same result you could have gotten by paying less.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Ever listen in to a meeting of marketing execs?
I would not say they are 'dumber then hubcaps', but I would say that their professonal rewards are not tied to how well the product does or how well they can prove that money spent on X resulted in sales Y.
Usually it is a combination of force of personality and sensing which way the fad (within marketing) wind is going. So if the group wisdom is big name actors result in sales, then the marketing exec needs to show how on board they are with that tactic. They then need to convince people that the sales that were generated were due to their actions while disappointing numbers were due to things outside their control.
Never attribute to stupidity what can be explained by a warped reward model.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Just as well, Val Kilmer was a better Batman than Christian "Seriously why is he so highly rated" Bale.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Here's what I'm wondering. Does this cover only those cases where some big time actor is involved (like Christian Bale doing the voice of Batman in a movie-tie in game)? Or does this also cover most of the other voice-acting talent?
The vast majority of video game voiceover is NOT done by big name actors its done by people who simply make their living doing voices. I have no idea if those people are in the SAG, if they are then this contract makes a lot more sense, but if this was done to line the pockets of celebs then I have an issue.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
It covers every publisher who has agreed to use unionized talent (and that would be most all of them) because they have no choice, having done so, but to use union talent and it covers every single member of AFTRA and SAG who works for those publishers (and that would be most all because, in most areas, you can't work in film or television unless you're a card-carrying guild member). However, as I pointed out above, it only sets the minimum rates which publishers must pay. I doubt Christian Bale works for minimum union scale. Therefore, it is the little name actors who, unlike Christian Bale, have no big name to leverage when negotiating their pay rate who most benefit from the minimum rate set by their unions.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Why do people immediatly focus on the 'overpaid actors' when stories come out like this?
For every actor earning millions, contract work like this effects hundreds or thousdans of underpaid voice actors who make significant contributions to games yet historically have kinda gotten screwed over. Ever talk to a voice actor? They usually do the job 'for fun' because of how difficult it is to make any money at it.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Maybe because the article starts with this line?
"The next time you see a big name actor or artist associated with a video game, you can finally rest easy."
(Bold added by me for the hard of reading.)
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
But just because GamePolitics chose to spin their story that way doesn't make it a fact. The fact is more likely, as Neeneko points out, that for every big name actor appearing in a game, there are 10 you-ain't-never-heard-of-their-name actors also appearing in games. Who, as Neeneko also points out, are likely getting doo-doo for pay. And as I pointed out already, because it's union work, the big names help subsidize the little names.
And if GamePolitics indeed wants to raise some sort of critique of what the big name actors get paid for their appearance in games, then focusing on the negotiated union pay-scale isn't a very effective way of doing so. The union pay-scale only sets the minimum rate which publishers must pay talent. The big names, because they have big names, usually negotiate contract rates well in excess of union pay-scale. So, the correlation between union pay-scale and what big name actors get paid is, at best, weak.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Where the hell are the programmers and developers with their pay increases? Does the voice actors go through crunch time? Do they have to pull code out of their ass? Do they spend sleepless nights, without showers, and the threat of a relationship at home breaking up because you're not their during work?
I think that an important group of people in the development of games is missing one hell of a pay increase it rightfully deserves.
At least, more so then the voice actors.
"God, is that you?"
"No! It's a me, Mario!"
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Oh good, already overpaid actors (as measured by contribution to society) are going to get a pay increase.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
'Vocally stressful work'- anything that involves a lazy SAG member having to talk for more than a few minutes.
Seriously, this is what I'm talking about when I say unions suck. Oh, we need another 5.5% in wage increases in a recession.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Do you understand that voice-over talent, like most other talent in the film and television industry, work on a contract-to-contract basis with no guarantee of securing work between contracts? Do you also understand that the vast majority of SAG members spend most of their time sitting at home, waiting to be called to auditions for jobs which they'll probably not get? Not everyone has the comfort and security of full-time, long-term employment at UPS.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Do you understand that no part of what you said means that they deserve an extra cent for their work, and that no part of it is worth the 5.5% wage increase they're talking about?
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
You're opinion on that matter ain't changing the price of fish in Denmark. The publishers agreed to the new terms, so they apparently think otherwise. And it's their opinion that counts.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
In some punlishers opinions, we should pay $60 for a 3 hour expansion pack, only be able to rent the game for that price and generally get screwed around in whatever manner they see fit.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Haha.. Halo 3 ODST. I swear, I didn't know one person who bought that and felt like they got their money's worth.
Personally, I skipped over that. My next FPS is going to be Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, because the original had that extreme level of difficulty I love.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
I've seen a few comments from people trying to defend the cost/gameplay time ratio of it. But they were hardcore Halo fanboys so their opinions don't count.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Even the fanboys seemed unwilling to defend ODST around here. But then again, I think even the ones who will defend it are just as mad about ODST as everyone else.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Surely, the publishers weren't held over a barrel or something on the whole issue. It's not like the SAG, the Screenwriter's Guild (SWG, right?), or any other union has ever halted work on projects while they make idiotic demands.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Idiotic demands, like the right to get paid for the work they do?
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Why do they deserve an extra 5.5 percent, exactly? Last I checked, speaking into a microphone hadn't gotten any harder.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Because of course up until now they were volunteering their services instead of getting paid, amirite?
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Not that work stoppages aren't an often-used tool bargaining, but it would appear that the terms arrived at were the product of good faith negotiations between the parties deviod to any actual strikes.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Were strikes threatened? A lot of unions seem to threaten (directly or otherwise) a strike in order to get their demands.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
The second a union gets involved the threat of strike turns up. They don;t even have to mention it, they just conduct negotiations knowing that the company knows that they know the company knows they will call a strike to get their way if need be.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
The threat of strike is often more effective than an actual strike.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
But strikes and threats thereof only work where the employee is indispensable to the employer. If the union members are as valueless as you claim, then the publishers should kick them to collectively to the curb and go hire some non-unionized talent.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Oh yeah, because the SAG have NEVER made a big thing out of companies bypassing them in that way. /sarcasm
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
^^^^
Also, this
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
And if you think any of this was done for the benefit of the 'little people' in the SAG, you're an idiot.
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Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
Technically, it does benefit the "little people." SAG, like many other unions, pools the contract payments (e.g., health plan payments) it recieves for the equal benefit of all its members. The big money-earning members are paying an unequal share for benefits received by all members. The bigger those payments are, the greater the benefits to the entire membership.
Re: AFTRA, SAG Reach Deal with Game Publishers
At least we can "rest easy" that multi-million dollar actors are gonna get paid properly for talking into a micrphone for an hour. I know it had been weighing heavily on MY mind, I dunno about the rest of you. /sarcasm
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