Cross Delancey Street With Me Next Tuesday

Great Image, huh? Don't thank me,
thank Birmingham's Theater LJCC!

Hey everyone

Long time, huh?  I know, I know... I should really spend more time keeping up with the blogging, but most of my writing time has been consumed by OregonFilmandTVDollars.com... now that the year is winding to a close, however, I may get a few more chances to post some of my overly-long yadda-yadda about life, the world, etc... at least that's the goal.

That's not the topic of today's post, however... even though the year's winding to a close, I seem to be getting busier and busier.  Before I run off to the next appointment, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be appearing in the Portland Civic Theater Guild's "First Tuesday" reading of Susan Sandler's Crossing Delancey.

You may remember the 1988 film version of Crossing Delancey with Amy Irving.  The film is based on the play we'll be reading at 10:00 AM next Tuesday December 6 at Portland's Old Church (1422 SW 11^th - click here for a map)  If you're not familiar with the story, it follows
Izzy, a single New Yorker who runs her own bookshop and day-dreams of a life with one of her customers, a celebrated author. Her Grandmother Bubbie, however, has other plans for Izzy's future - she conspires with  Hannah, a flamboyant matchmaker, to set Izzy up with the man they feel is the perfect match for her: Sam, the pickle maker.  It's a beautiful, sweet romantic comedy - a perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

I'm lucky enough to work with Karen Wennstrom, Mary Mcdonald-Lewis, Chrisse Roccaro, and Rick Sanders on the reading... oh, and the show's director is kind of fun to work with too!

I hope you get a chance to come down next Tuesday morning and share this light little comedy with us.  Take an early lunch - we'll provide the sweet!

Hope you're all doing well...

- Harold

JibbaJabbaJibbaHappy Halloween!!

Hey there kids!


I haven't talked about it much here, but I was recently cast in a new web series going into production later on this month called Born Hero. The Born Hero team put a little something together for you to getchya-in-the-mood for tonight's All Hallows Eve:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Kinda gives you an idea of how much fun I'm going to be having on the set while we're shooting Born Hero, huh? A Rappin' Drac... I don't think I've ever been one of those before...



Happy Halloween

Animus Cross Series II Ends With Episode 7

Hey folks

Been a while since I dusted off the ol' Blog here... most of my focus of late has been in building readership for my other project at http://www.oregonfilmandtvdollars.com/... as the election draws near, the OMPA and I have been working to remind the candidates for state-wide office of the contribution Oregon's film and TV industry makes to the state's economy... it'll be very interesting to see who we'll be working with next year!

That's not what I'm writing about today, though. I wanted to let you know that - just in time for Halloween - Animus Cross Series II is drawing to an end with the release of the seventh and final episode of the series at http://www.animuscross.com/ (if you have a hard time watching the episode on the official site, remember that it'll be released on creator A.L. Steen's YouTube channel next Wednesday.)

A lot of people have asked where the series is going from here - whether we'll be rolling on a series III in the new year. The jury's still out on that one... a lot has happened in Amanda and Jerry's life since we wrapped Series II (not the least being the arrival of their son Trone.) Series I and Series II were entirely self-financed, and I think their money may need to be... uh... directed in a different direction now.

That's not to say that production on Series III is completely off the table - not by a long shot! We just need to explore some sponsorship and distribution options to get the third series funded. Keep your eye on the official site and on the Animus Cross blog for word on future developments...

Happy Halloween, ladies (if only we could have gotten Clancy Brown to do this on camera while he was in town working on Leverage...)

-Harold

One Foot In The Gutter

Hey folks... remember me?

I know, I know... I'm in the habit of saying "sorry it's been so long since I posted," but seems like the past few months have been even more "spotty" than usual - maybe because I've been posting nearly every day, but not on THIS blog. As the general election gets closer, I've been contributing a lot more on http://www.oregonfilmandtvdollars.com/ and encouraging workers in Oregon's film and TV industry to get to know their candidates for state-wide office.

BUT! With all that being said, I DO have a little something to share with you today... but only a little something :)

Around this time last year I shot a scene in Justin Koleszar's new film One Foot In The Gutter. Justin's fairly new to Portland, having (as of last year) just moved up from Arizona... but the script is amazing, and I was really happy to be part of his new feature. The film has been going through post for quite a while, and Justin just released this teaser yesterday:


So, keep an eye on http://www.onefootinthegutter.com/ for details on how the film is progressing, and when we can plan to see it released.

Hope you're all doing well...

-Harold

Animus Cross II, Episode 5 Is Live!

Hey everyone- I'm a little late in getting the word out to you about this. I've been traveling for the past couple of weeks and haven't really had a lot of time to sit down and blog... but now that I'm back in town for a little bit, I want to encourage you all to check out the fifth episode of Animus Cross - Series II



We've received some great comments on the innovative design of the Animus Cross web site - but some people have issues watching the videos at the official site. So everyone can enjoy the show, creator A.L. Steen has posted all five episodes of Series II on her YouTube channel.

If you haven't caught up with Series II yet, head on over to YouTube and enjoy! You'll want to see all the episodes before Episode 6, set to launch on September 29!

Hope you're all doing well...

-Harold

Animus Cross Series II Launches April 28!

Hey everyone!

Mark your calendars! Steen House Entertainment has just announced the official launch date for Animus Cross Series II: "Hell For The Company."

(See the trailer in HD on YouTube or Vimeo)

Episode 1 of the new series will launch at www.animuscross.com on Wednesday, April 28 - and new episodes will be released on the last Wednesday of the month through November.

Trish and I are really excited to share this new series with you all - we knew when we were shooting Series I back in 2008 that we were part of something special... and Series II proves the point by "upping the ante -" more action, higher production values... and we finally get to show you the creatures who have been menacing us in the dark!

Be sure to spread the word: encourage your friends to get caught up on Series I: "Hell Runs The Way" at www.animuscross.com, and to become fans at the series' Facebook Page. Sign up for the Animus Cross Forum at the official site, and post your questions or comments for the series creators. Then, get ready to return with us to Frontier Idaho next Wednesday... the trip will be dark and dangerous, but I can promise you it'll be quite a ride!

-Harold

Back-To-Business: A Taxing Situation V: Using PerformerTrack

The Back-to-Business Series: Index

As I mentioned in the last post in the Back-To-Business series, I've been using Holdon Log's PerformerTrack system for three years now, and it's really made tax time a breeze.

Now, PerformerTrack is an all-around acting career manager - it tracks a lot more than your income and expenses. When I meet with actors for Private Business Coaching sessions, I often use the structure PerformerTrack instills to help them get their businesses organized. You'll probably notice references to the system popping up more as the Back-To-Business series continues. Today we're going to focus on the Income and Expenses section.

Expense Tracking Made Easy from PerformerTrack on Vimeo.

As the video above shows, the Income and Expenses section of the system tracks every deductible expense listed on Actors Tax Prep's expense sheet - and it categorizes your expenses by project, to allow for better reporting at the end of the year (remember, W-2 expenses are deducted as "non-reimbursed job-related expenses" - so having expenses broken out by project really helps when filling out those 1040's.)

Using this section of the system is pretty basic - we've already talked about how you should be saving your receipts, and noting the purpose of your expense on those receipts (remember, you have to justify those expenses!) Before you take your receipt and drop it into your handy accordion file, though, take a second to log into Performertrack at http://www.performertrack.com/, and click the "Income/ Expenses" tab.




You'll note that four tabs appear on the top of the "Expenses" screen. If the receipt you're entering into PerformerTrack is related to a specific project (like, for instance, parking at an audition or dry cleaning a costume for a show), then you'll want to click the "Project Expenses" tab and choose the appropriate project from the yellow menu at the upper-right of the screen (that drop-down menu says "Additional Expenses" now, because that's the screen we're in!).

Fill out all the fields in the expense screen (whether "Project Expense" or "Additional Expense - the fields are the same). It's important to note that the "Expense Details" section changes, depending on the type of expense you're logging. So, for instance, if you're logging expenses for your Home Office - again, be sure you check with a tax professional about whether or not you qualify for the home office deduction - the "Expense Details" drop-down changes to list specific types of expenses associated with your home office (homeowners insurance, rent, alarm fees, etc.) The small red, white and blue icon next to that drop-down links you to PerformerTrack's online expense guide - a handy source of information on deductible expenses actors can track in the system.

See the little "blue cross" icons next to the "Purpose of Expense" and "Payment Method" drop-downs? Those icons indicate that you can create your own items on that list. This allows you to break down your expenses even further - you can track how much money you spent parking for auditions vs performances, for instance... or how much you spent on your credit card vs. your bank account.

Finally, be sure to note all the details about your expense in the "Description" box. This is a more expansive version of writing on your receipt - you can note the purpose of your expense, who you met with, what you discussed, or anything else that you think would help justify the expense should the IRS... uh... "ask" about it :).

Click "Save," and your expense is logged into the system. Seem like a lot of work? It's really not, once you get into the habit of entering your expenses ... and the payoff every April is well worth the time you spend. What pay-off am I talking about? Well, look at the far-right of the screen... do you see that white button labeled "Expense Report?" A little work every day/ week/ month entering your expenses into the system will pay off when tax time rolls around and all you have to do is click that button - producing a report of all your expenses for the year.

The income section works in much the same way - you enter the income you've made for each project into its own screen (you'll notice that there's also a section for "additional income"... I've never used this section, as all my income is related to some project I've worked on - but it's there).

There's a couple of things to note about PerformerTrack's income screen - See the spaces for "Gross Amount" and "Net Amount?" Recording these figures help you double-check to see how much withholding you've already paid on your W-2 income - and many agents base the commission you owe on your GROSS pay for a job, rather than the NET.

A large portion of union dues are based on a percentage of the union earnings an actor brings in every year. That's why PerformerTrack added the Union Affiliation drop-down. Many union performers have to scramble every year - again, the same way they do at tax time - to pull together pay stubs and memos, so they can figure out how much they owe their union in dues. When you enter your income into PerformerTrack, you can specify whether the income was SAG, AFTRA, Equity, etc... or whether it was non-union. If you've tracked this information in the Income screen, dues-time becomes a snap - all union performers have to do is run an income report, and their union earnings are displayed on one page. This saves a lot of time and effort!

Finally, take a look the PT and CT icons on the right side of the income screen. Remember my recommendation that you set up a bank account for your acting business? One of the many advantages to keeping a business account is the ability to hold a percentage of your income back to pay for your acting expenses. Like headshots - you know you need them. Saving a portion of your acting income in your business account will help you pay for them in a matter of months!

PerformerTrack calls this your "Performer Trust" account. This area of the expense screen prompts you to hold back a certain percentage of your acting income for these business expenses. Just choose "Yes" in this area, and the system will calculate an amount to hold back - from 2.5% to 20% of your pay check. You don't have to hold money back in your "Performer Trust" account... but if you ever want to get ahead and pay for some of those expenses, the cash has to come from somewhere! You'll note that there's a Performer Trust Report button on the right side of the screen... you can pull up a report at any time to see how much you've saved towards that new reel or pair of shoes.

The second icon, "CT" is a Child Trust tracker. Parents managing their children's performing careers are familiar with the Coogan Law - I'm not as familiar with it because, well... I don't have kids who are actors. My understanding, though, is that parents are required to withhold 15% of all their child actors earnings in a trust account. This area in the PerformerTrack income screen lets you track the amount deposited into that trust account. I'm obviously weak in this area... for more information take a look at this section of the official PerformerTrack site.

Again, all the details PerformerTrack's income system asks you to record may seem a little daunting... but when Tax-time comes around, being able to print a report detailing all your income can't be beat! No more sorting through W-2's and 1099's, adding up gross vs. net figures... once it's in the system, you can just run a report and transcribe it onto the appropriate tax form - or drop it off with your tax preparer. He/she'll be very grateful to you for making the job so much easier!

I'm sure that after all this, you can see the advantage of tracking your income and expenses in PerformerTrack - and now is the time to start! We're not too far into the year, so adding the income you've made and the expenses you've put out this year wouldn't be as long a process as it would be in, say, September! As I mentioned in the last post, HoldonLog has offered my readers a special discount: if you want to check the system out for yourself (and I'd highly recommend that you do), you can save 20% off a one-year subscription by entering the coupon code PORTLAND9 in the check-out screen. Now's the time to get started... before those receipts and pay stubs start to pile up again!

Next week we're going to take a step back from just tracking your income and expenses for taxes... we're going to talk about using your money to help build your business, rather than letting the money control your decisions. Until then...

Let's get to work!

-Harold

Back-To-Business: A Taxing Situation IV - Mailbox

The Back-To-Business Series: Index

Hi there folks... did you think I'd forgotten you? Sorry about the late post today; I had to suspend this morning's answering of your questions to run to Oregon Public Broadcasting for a voice session. I'm back now, though... lets dig into the inbox and see what some people had to say about Monday's post on Tracking Tools.

... but I'm confused about mileage tracking. I thought that actors couldn't dedcut mileage for going to rehearsals and shows. JD (Athens, GA)

Ok - say it with me - I'm not a licensed tax preparer, so don't take my word for this. If you've got questions about what you can deduct and what you can't, please please please spend a couple of bucks to see a tax professional and get those questions answered. If the IRS calls your deductions into question, you want an expert by your side to defend the deductions you've taken... and I can't do that for you!

With that being said, here's my understanding of the situation: The IRS doesn't allow people to take "commuting miles" as deductible; that is, you can't write off the miles you drive from your home to your job. You can, however, write-off mileage from one job site to another. So, for example, you can't write-off the mileage you drive from home to the coffee shop you work at. If you go from that coffee shop to the bank so you can deposit the night's take, however, you can deduct that mileage (you just can't deduct the mileage from the bank back home.)

Now, as actors our job sites are casting offices, theaters, film sets, and the like. We have to follow the same rules as everyone else - we can't deduct the mileage we drive from home to those job sites. As sole proprietors of our own businesses (remember, that's what filing a Schedule C makes you), though, We can deduct the mileage we drive from our offices (one job site) to these other sites. The key to justifying this mileage is to be sure that you've got a qualified home office set up.

Now, again, I'm not a licensed tax professional - you should definitely consult with a licensed expert to be sure your home office qualifies for the home office deduction. If it does, then all mileage from your home office to your job sites is deductible - when you're doing a Schedule C job. When you're doing a W-2 job, you've been hired as an employee by the production company, so all mileage from home to the job site is considered "commuting miles," and is therefore not deductible.

One more time... consult a licensed tax professional if you've got questions about the specifics of the mileage you drove this past year...

... I don't get how my calendar is going to help me "justify" my expenses. It's just got my appointments in it, doesn't it? BR (St. Louis, MO)

... What do you mean about meetings? I'm not Sandra Bullock, "taking meetings" with big-time producers to pitch my latest movie. I'm just another Portland actor out looking for work. AF (Portland, OR)

These two questions actually relate to each other. A lot of the "business" of show business doesn't take place on stage or in front of the camera. It doesn't take place in the rehearsal room, or at your agent's office. A lot of the "business" of show business takes place at parties, bars, coffee shops, and restaurants.

It's been said that show business is a "personality" business - that how you come across to producers/ directors/ casting agents in informal situations (such as Portland's weekly Leverage viewing parties, or at film premieres) goes a long way toward your getting work on that next project - or on a project a year down the line. While people outside "the business" look at film screenings and industry parties as glamorous events where pretty people rub shoulders, those in "the business" look at them for what they are - business events. Opportunities to get to know the people who have the power or influence to get you hired on that next job. Opportunities to be seen, and to promote yourself. Like any other activity geared towards building your business, what you spend on these events is a legitimate deduction.

See, you never know who's going to help you get that next job. It could be that director you met at that party that actor threw... or it could be the young actress you go out to coffee with after rehearsal. Or, it could be the grip you introduced to a the aforementioned director over lunch - he hears about an opening on another project, and he could very easily put in a good word for you. Just about all our activities with industry contacts can lead to future work... which makes all of our lunch/ coffee/ bar dates business meetings - if you talk business with those contacts.

Which brings us back to our calendar... noting every meeting you have with industry contacts helps you to justify the miles you drive to get there, the meal and/ or drinks you buy (only half of that amount is deductible, though...), your parking, etc... an actor friend calls you up on the spur of the moment and says, "Hey, lets grab lunch?" Go - but be sure to note the meeting in your calendar! Not only will it help you justify the expense - it'll remind you about the meeting when you're hunting for deductions at tax time!

And, finally, here's one I get asked a lot!

You're always out there pimpin PerformerTrack - do you work for them or something? SD (Antioch, TN)

No, I don't work for HoldonLog, the company that makes PerformerTrack. I'm just a very satisfied user of the web-based system - it's been an invaluable tool for me over the past three years. Since I started using PerformerTrack (and its predecessor ActorTrack), I've started thinking of my acting career as a business - in fact, a lot of the information I share with actors in my Personal Business Coaching sessions and here on the blog are derived from the lessons I've learned by using those systems.

We'll talk more about PerformerTrack in next Monday's post... and don't be surprised if you hear more about it in coming weeks as well. It really is a great way to take charge of your career!

Until then...

Let's get to work!

-Harold

Back-To-Business: A Taxing Situation IV - Tracking Tools

The Back-To-Business Series: Index

We're going to finish up our discussion on taxes by looking at some tools to help you track your career activities throughout the year. A lot of the actors I work with in private Business Coaching sessions spend weeks every March and April trying to reconstruct their activities from the past year - pulling together receipts, going through old rehearsal schedules, and compiling list upon list to transcribe onto their tax forms. Tax season doesn't have to be so frustrating - a lot of sweat and effort can be a avoided if you'll just take a little time during the year to log your income, expenses, and career activities; that way when April rolls around you'll have all your information in one place so you can gather it together with ease, get your taxes filed... and getting back to doing the work you want to do: auditioning and performing!

>> You don't have to spend a lot of money on these tools. We've already talked about one cheap-and-easy-to-use option that makes tax time easier - an Accordion File can help you separate your receipts into deductible categories (be sure to note the purpose of your expenditure on the receipt... more on that in a minute). Other less expensive tools like these can help you keep track of expenses you don't get receipts for - like the miles you drive to conduct business (including trips to audition, perform, meet with producers and directors, check your mail, go to the bank...)

That mileage is a legitimate deduction (within certain boundries - be sure to consult a licensed tax preparer to get all the details.) The thing is, you have to keep track of it - and you have to produce a log to prove you drove those miles for legitimate business purposes if the IRS asks ("asks" is such nice term for an audit, don't you think?) At the very least, be sure to note the date of the trip, the miles driven, and the purpose of the journey. To be totally prepared to justify your mileage to the IRS in an audit, you should also list your car's odemeter reading at the beginning of the year, the beginning and the end of the each trip, and at the end of the year.

Sounds like a lot of information to record in a simple notebook, doesn't it? Maybe one of these is a better investment - for a little more money you can get a pre-printed booklet to fill out every year. Just keep it in your car's glove box, and pull it out every time you make a business-related trip!

>> Did you notice that word I used a couple paragraphs back - justify? I hope you never have to go through an audit, but if you do the IRS is going to expect you to justify the expenses you've written off on your taxes - prove to them that the money you spent was used to conduct or build your business. That's why we make notes on the receipts that we save every year - if anyone asks, we can tell them (for example) WHO we had coffee with and WHAT was discussed and HOW that meeting contributed to our performing business.

An actor's most important tool can also help to justify his or her expenses: the calendar. You probably already use a calendar to keep track of your auditions and appointments (at least I hope you do!) - whether it's small and pocket-sized, a larger "Day Runner" style, or an electronic PDA (I myself have opted for the "Smart Phone" option - my Blackberry Storm carries all my calendar and contact data in one compact package. It's very handy!) Noting every class, audition, performance, meeting, or appointment in your calendar - yes, EVERY one - will give you extra amunition in case you have to justify your expenses to the IRS.


Lets face it - the IRS knows that anyone can write a note on a receipt at any time, claiming that a lunch at Kornblatt's Deli was a business expense and not a personal one. Having that lunch documented in your calendar, though, and noting who you're meeting with and why is going to help support your receipt - and make it look a LOT more legitimate if the IRS "asks."

>> Of course, the point of all this was to make tax time easier, not harder... all this seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? Making notes on receipts, filing them, writing appointments in your calendar, noting your mileage... and that doesn't even begin take into account the work of pulling all that data together at tax time. Isn't there an easier way to get all your tax information together in one spot?

Of course there is... and regular readers of my blog have probably already figured out what I'm going to recommend:

Expense Tracking Made Easy from PerformerTrack on Vimeo.

HoldonLog's PerformerTrack "webware" combines all the tools I've mentioned above - your calendar, your mileage log, your receipt file... and it makes tax-time a breeze by letting you print out reports in April (or whenever you feel like it) that breaks down your income and expenses. You still have to use the system - entering in appointments, income and expenses... but entering it in once gives allows you to access that data any time, and saves you the trouble of stacking paperwork and transcribing at tax time.

It also saves you the trouble of going through those bank statements I mentioned last week... entering in your income as it comes in produces a report of everything you've made in the past year. An extra bonus for union actors - income can be categorized by union, so at dues time you don't have to hunt for pay stubs to figure out how much you owe (we'll get into that a little later...).

Next week I'm going to take an in-depth look at PerfomerTrack, and show you how using the system can help make tracking your income and expenses a snap. If you don't want to wait, though, visit the http://www.performertrack.com/ and take a look for yourself! PerformerTrack is a subscription-based service (though it doesn't cost much - a yearly subscription works out to just $9.95 a month), but I can help you out there... Because I believe every actor can benefit from using their system, I've worked it out with HoldonLog to offer my readers a special deal. You can save 20% off a one-year subscription to the system by entering the coupon code Portland9 into the check-out screen. That drops the subscription price down to $7.96 per month... a lot of Portlanders spend that in two days at the coffee shop.

As always, feel free to email me your questions or comments... or send them to me on Twitter! For now...

Lets get to work!

-Harold

Meanwhile, Some GOOD News: The Outbreak Is BACK!

Hey folks

Thanks very much for all the kind words I've received in the wake of my release from Wake Before I Die; I've been overwhelmed by the messages of support that have come in in the past few days - and I mean overwhelmed! I've received so many emails and Facebook messages and phone calls that I've had a hard time responding to all of them... if I haven't gotten back to you as yet, please know I'm very appreciative of all your kind words.

That being said... the only thing to do is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on moving forward. I had a great audition for an industrial yesterday, and I've got a few more things on the books in coming weeks...

I did want to let you all know about some great news from the crew at SilkTricky, the producers of last year's interactive zombie movie hit The Oubreak. Fans of the film were dismayed to find that SilkTricky had taken the full interactive experience off the the official web site; the movie was so popular that bandwidth costs were getting out of hand - a testament to how many people kept visiting - and returning to - http://www.survivetheoutbreak.com/!

To help pave the way for the release of their new project Bank Run, though, the folks at SilkTricky have brought The Outbreak back for a limited time. So, if you've missed killing me in a myriad of different ways, head on over to http://www.survivetheoutbreak.com/ and run me through the zombie apocalypse again... do it quickly though, before the film gets taken down again!

And remember to visit http://www.bankrungame.com/ to find out more about SilkTricky's new project - you know it's going to be great!

Hope you're all doing well...

-Harold

I'm "Preppin' The 'Net" With Cisco Systems!

Hey everyone!

A new internet video I appear in for Cisco Systems just launched... well, "internet video" doesn't quite to the scope of this little project justice.

See, the deal is this: Cisco has this product called the ASR 9000 router. Without getting all geeky-speaky, it's a bigger pipe for internet communications to go through. In order to promote this new router, Cisco created a web site around a kooky scientist who exhorts the viewer to help him "Prep The Net" with this new router.

And that kooky scientist... well, that's him above and to the left.

Ok, so if you don't care about computers, routers, exobytes of data and so forth, there's still some fun stuff to do on the site... Cisco is asking users to print off and tape together paper versions of their ASR 9000 router - and to take photos of these routers in various locations. You can upload the photos to the site, and they'll be displayed for people to take a look at and share.

I should mention that "V," the mastermind at Visual Producers, directed the video on the site... he and the fabulous Mason West at Ascentium were the creative minds behind the concept. Everyone was a blast to work with on this project... we all had a GREAT time putting it together (even the pedestrians I freaked out on Burnside St).

So, visit with this kooky scientist at his wacky web site: http://www.prepthenet.com. And go ahead! Download the "paperware" and have some fun!

Hey! I Saw Your Commercial!

So, in the past couple of weeks, I saw two of my friends from the Portland acting community in separate TV commercials - and I immediately shot them an email and/ or Facebook message letting them know I saw the spot, and congratulating them on the gig.

Now, I did this for a couple of reasons... the first is obvious: it's always nice when you have the opportunity to pat your friends on the back and give them a hearty "way-to-go-you-got-the-gig." It's no big secret that the odds are against us in this business - there's always more actors than there are roles, and any time a friend books a role they're to be congratulated for beating those odds.

I had another reason for letting them know I saw their spots, though - one that people outside "the business" aren't often aware of. When an actor gets hired to do a commercial, he or she doesn't just get paid for the time s/he works shooting the commercial; s/he gets paid for the length of time that commercial runs. Now, this doesn't make sense to a lot of people with regular 9-5 jobs; it's not uncommon for people to say to me, "why should you get paid for more than the time it takes to do the work? I don't get paid that way."

It's an understandable question; consider, though, that we actors don't work for one boss 9-5 every day. We don't get a regular pay-check for our weekly efforts. Instead, we're independent business people selling a product: our image (well, ok, we're selling a few different flavors of the same product... we sell our voice, our actions, our "look" in a given situation... but you get the idea). We get one check every time we sell that product... and then we have to go out and sell it again. Might take a week, or a month, or a year.

When we sell our image to promote a product, we're effectively out of the market (at least for that segment of industry) while that commercial is running - Pizza Hut isn't going to hire my friend Jim Caputo (above), for instance, while he's promoting Izzy's Pizza. He's the "Izzies Guy," and is identifiable as such. An actor might be able to book a commercial for a different type of product, but even that's not guaranteed; if the actor is too identifiable with a particular product or company, companies in other sectors might still find him or her too "identifiable," and not want to go that way with the job.

So, the actor is compensated for the time that s/he is going to have a difficult time booking more work; part of his or her payment is determined by the amount of time the commercial is set to run. Which brings me back to my hearty "way-to-go-you-got-the-gig" messages to my friends...

Some times, a commercial runs outside the time period its contracted to, and the actor isn't aware of that (because s/he didn't get paid for it). I don't want to necessarily ascribe sinister motives here... some times the company or ad agency just makes an oopsy-daisy: one hand doesn't know what the other is doing, they don't realize the spot is out-of-contract, whatever. Mistakes happen. It's important for the actors in the commercial to know about this, though - if they don't happen to be watching that specific channel at that specific time, they'd have no clue that they should be getting paid for their work (and compensated for not being able to get more work). If the commercial is shot under a union contract (SAG or AFTRA), the actor can go to the union; then union would then contact the producers and/ or ad agency and/ or company (whomever is responsible), and remind them that more payment is due - or order that they stop running the spots. If it's a non-union commercial... well, then it's up to the actor him or herself to pursue it (hopefully with an agent's help). Either way, such measures can't be undertaken if the actor doesn't know the spot has run.

Trish and I have both been in this situation, and we've both been helped by friends who dropped us an email or called us to let us know they'd seen a commercial on TV we should have been getting paid for. It makes a big difference to us - not only to our bank accounts, but to the types of work we're able to pursue while that spot we thought was off the air is running.

So, I'd just like to ask all of you reading this to keep an eye out - if you see someone you know on TV, take a second to let him or her know - mention the station and time, if you can remember it. Whoever you call will be flattered that you saw the spot - and you might do that actor a favor in letting him or her know that s/he is due another payment.

I'm Not A SAG Member, But...

...that doesn't mean I'm not watching today's SAG elections closely. Look, I'm a non-union actor, but what happens within the guild (and within AFTRA, the television and radio union) affects me - and more importantly my local market - a great deal.

Hey, it's no big secret. My business is changing; we saw more than a few nods to that fact at Sunday's Emmy Awards when half the jokes were about the "death of traditional television" and the rise of "new media." The amount of work I've been doing over the past couple of years is directly related to the way the industry is changing - inexpensive equipment and editing formats, digital self-distribution, "web-tv," and increased state incentives have all conspired to make this a golden age of opportunity for actors around the country. Now more than ever, you don't have to live in New York or Los Angeles to have a career in the entertainment industry.

As I said before, I'm a non-union actor... but that doesn't mean I'm anti-union. The reality of the Portland market is that, currently, there's more non-union work available than union work. Union actors are barred from working non-union jobs, and that's posed a real catch-22 for SAG and AFTRA members here in town - most union actors weren't able to work more than a couple of jobs a year, unless they wanted to work "off the card," withdraw from the union(s), or go "financial core" - any of which would serve to weaken the purpose of the union, which is to provide uniform protection and collective bargaining for the acting profession.

Looking at that catch-22, I've opted to stay non-union... for the time being. Recently, things have been shifting in the Portland market. Big out-of-town productions such as Leverage, Twilight, and Untraceable have been shooting here regularly. More importantly, support for the actors unions has been growing within our local industry; I've talked to at least four filmmakers in the past year about projects they're planning to mount in coming months - all of them plan to be SAG or AFTRA signatories. The official announcement has been made that Electric Entertainment is going to bring Leverage back to Portland third season... and then there's that Daniel Baldwin guy...

Besides, I may have to join the union(s) before too long... generally speaking, you can only work one union job as a non-union actor (under the Taft-Hartley law). In order to work on another union shoot, you must join the appropriate union. I and other actors here in Portland are thinking that our non-union days may be numbered... which, given the circumstances I outlined above, isn't as scary a prospect as it might have once been.

What keeps it from being so scary is the increase in union work in my region... and that's why I'm watching this SAG election so carefully (you didn't think I'd ever get back to the point, did you?). For those of you not following SAG politics, the two major candidates for president this year are Anne Marie Johnson (representing the "Membership First" faction) and Ken Howard (representing the "Unite For Strength" faction). I'm not going to go into the differences between the candidates and the factions... click the links if you want to find out more about them.

What's got me watching so closely is Johnson's recent statements of support for the SAG "Branches" (Portland constitutes one of these), and the Regional Branch Directors responses to these statements. Now, generally speaking, the respondents to Johnson's statements have been in support of Howard, and I haven't seen a similar breakdown of Howard's attitudes and opinions on the branches... but that last article from SAGwatch gives me pause, and makes me wonder just how much support SAG Portland is going to get from a Johnson presidency.

I'm not a SAG member, but that doesn't mean I won't become one. Whether I, and other non-union actors in the branches actively seek membership in the unions depends largely on the amount of work we can expect in our areas... and that's going to depend on how much support the branches get from the national union. Look, guys, production is not going to stop leaving Los Angeles for other areas of the country; as I mentioned above, technology and incentive programs have made sure that you don't have to be based in LA to get films and TV shows made. It seems to me that it would be in the union(s) best interest to strengthen their presence in these outlying areas, to preserve the overall amount of union work. But hey, what do I know... I'm just a non-union actor in a Branch, not a "real" actor in LA, right?

I hope that SAG voters think about the future, and the way the industry is changing when they cast their votes. I guess we'll find out when the results are announced tomorrow...

-Harold