by Paul Moore, Assistant Executive Director

The Editors Guild has several different types of post production agreements at our disposal to help us negotiate deals with the wide variety of shows produced in the Eastern Region. When one of the major studios decides to edit a feature or TV show in New York (defined as a 250 mile radius around Columbus Circle), it does so under the "Majors Post Production Agreement." As members may recall, this is our national studio contract, which we have amended to include appropriate rates and conditions for the New York area.

But the Eastern Region also has several other post production agreements that we use to cover the many kinds of shows produced here -- and this can be confusing for members. In fact, we've found that agents and lawyers can sometimes create deals that undercut the provisions we've negotiated. In this article, I'll try to lay out the basic deals we use and clarify some of the key differences between them.

Independent Features

New York has long been active in independent feature and documentary production, and the Eastern Region office is continually negotiating contracts with such producers. Independent agreements are negotiated in a forum with the seven New York-based IATSE production locals, and occasionally with the New England Studio Mechanics local as well. This is facilitated by our participation in two New York City IA organizations: the East Coast Council and the New York Production Locals (NYPL). The East Coast Council crafts deals for motion pictures with all-in budgets of six million dollars or less. NYPL negotiates independent agreements on motion pictures with budgets in excess of that figure, and also on all television productions produced in the New York City area. These contracts are typically called NYPL Independent Agreements.

We sit down with producers on an "as-needed" basis when projects are beginning pre-production. This allows producers to bargain with all locals simultaneously and permits us to draft distinctive agreements for each production based on the show's budget and production requirements.

Lower Budgets

The sometimes precarious and all-important element in low-budget East Coast Council agreements is a "risk and reward" scenario. We reduce the scale wages up front in exchange for a back-end deferment deal using a clause that allows for recouping the difference between the actual wages paid and independent scale (NYPL scale). If the picture makes a specified amount of money at the North American box office -- typically two-and-a-half times its entire budget -- the deferred wages are paid. An additional 25 percent wage bonus is paid when a picture grosses four times its budget. For example, if a budget is two million dollars and the producers have the good fortune to take in more than five million, the production and post-production crews will receive a check for deferred wages, and additional money will be remitted into the health and pension funds. In these deals, the percentage by which wages are reduced from the New York independent scale rates depends on the film's budget. A five million-dollar budget will have rates slightly below scale; a 2.5 million budget will have greatly reduced wages.

We attempt to monitor production budgets in a variety of ways. All department heads are asked to report to their local if they feel a budget has been misrepresented. An audit is also triggered if the picture is in the middle of principal photography or about to wrap and receives additional money, sending the budget higher than we originally agreed to. If the budget goes up by more than five percent, we will re-negotiate wages and other terms.

The main risk of these deals is that the picture may not generate the gross receipts necessary to implement the back end. Another risk is that it could take a year or more after completion of post production to realize any deferred wages, or even longer if the release is postponed. There are auditing procedures written into the agreement so the parties are able to track gross receipts. The benchmark is the weekly gross listed in Variety.

Since everyone is working at reduced wages, these deals have strict weekend and night premium provisions. The mandated work week is 40 hours, Monday through Friday. There is no provision for "any 5 out of 7." Premium wages are paid on weekends. On Saturday, the first eight hours are paid at time-and-a-half, the next four hours at double time, and triple time is paid for work in excess of twelve hours. On Sunday, the first eight hours are paid at double time and hours beyond that are paid at triple time. The call window to commence the workday is between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Any calls after 2 p.m. are paid at time-and-a-half for the first eight hours. Turnaround is ten hours. If you do not receive that amount you will be paid as if you did not go home at all -- until you receive ten hours off.

Higher Budgets

The New York Production Locals negotiate agreements with independent producers when budgets exceed six million dollars. Some independent production companies prefer to sign long-term agreements but most sign individual deals for each production (called "picture only" deals). At the time of this writing, editor's scale wages are the same as in the New York Addendum to the Majors Post Production Agreement, while scale for assistant editors and editing room assistants is higher. Other aspects of this contract include a 40-hour work week on a Monday through Friday basis, double time after 12 hours and triple time after 16 hours. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, double time is paid for all hours worked up to 12 hours, and triple time after that. The rationale for improved wages and conditions is that producers are choosing to sign a deal for a single picture rather than a longer-term agreement.

Documentaries

The New York office also uses an agreement called the Basic Standard Agreement with several companies that produce documentaries. This is a "term agreement," which means that it is a longer deal, typically three years in duration, that obligates the producer to re-negotiate when it expires. Scale wages and benefits typically increase over the course of the agreement. Staff editorial wages are based on a 40-hour week, and the company has the ability to hire freelance editors at a slightly higher rate on a temporary basis.

Independent documentary producers typically sign a different contract, the Independent Freelance Documentary Agreement, on a project-by-project basis. Wages, overtime, holidays and other terms and conditions are negotiated per project. If you are offered the opportunity to edit a documentary, please call me or Norman Gay and we will work with you and your producer to craft a deal that addresses the specific economics of your show.

Facilities

In addition to the recent agreement negotiated with N. Y. Times Television (see our September/October issue), the New York office has negotiated term agreements with two new post production sound facilities: Soundtrack and Digital Cinema. Both agreements have staff wage structures based on year-round employment for sound editorial and re-recording classifications and are modeled on the Sound One agreement. In addition, both companies have signed the Independent Feature Motion Picture Agreement to cover freelance editorial hires.

All these deals can be confusing, but at their core they reflect the diverse and sometimes chaotic nature of the New York area itself. We produce all kinds of shows here and the many deals at our disposal give us flexibility to negotiate agreements with all of them. The result is more union work for the membership and, long term, more control over New York production.

It's important that all members understand the agreements we work under. If you have questions about anything in this article, please don't hesitate to call the office and speak to me.