At least one union has made some headway in clashing with Hollywood studios.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced on June 3 that it has reached a historic (but tentative) three-year agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
As well as ensuring that DGA members will not be replaced by technological advances like artificial intelligence, the DGA has made advances on wages, streaming residuals, safety, creative rights and diversity, according to Jon Avnet, chair of the DGA negotiating committee.
The DGA-brokered settlement also contains a whole host of firsts:
- new terms and conditions for filmmakers and their teams on variety and reality shows made for subscription platforms
- terms, creative rights protections, working conditions and residuals for scripted drama projects made for free streaming platforms such as Freevee, Tubi and Roku
- compensation for the months of soft prep that directors currently perform for free before shooting begins
- a pilot program to require the employment of dedicated safety supervisors alongside prohibition of live ammunition on set.
Meanwhile tto Writers Guild on America (WGA), whose more than 11,000 members started hitting on May 2, he said That his attempts to set limits the employment of TO THE they were completely rejected by the AMPTP. In contrast, the ADI he knew how to forge a revolutionary agreement that confirms that AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members.
In numbers: directors versus studios
19,000: The number of DGA membersincluding directors, assistant directors, production managers, associate directors and stage managers
24 days: The duration of negotiations between the DGA and the AMPTP
5%: THE Iwage increase below the first year of the contract, followed by 4% and 3.5% respectively in the second and third years. The contract also provides for an additional 0.5% to fund a new parental leave allowance.
76%: Thereincrease abroad residuesreruns, syndication, or other repurposed forms of a film or showfor drama programs made for the biggest platforms. As our industry becomes ever more global, these earnings are critical to ensuring our members are valued and rewarded for their incredible work, Russell Hollander, DGAs national executive director, She said. The residuals for an hour-long episode will now be around $90,000 for the first three years.
1 hour: THE Unprecedented reduction in the length of the day for assistant directors, as per the new agreement
1 day: ThereAdditional guaranteed filming day for one-hour programs won by episodic directors for pay TV and video on demand subscription (SVOD)The first such additional day added in more than 40 years
June: Derived from the date of June 19, party celebrate the end of slavery has been officially added to paid leave calendar
Date of interest: June 6, 2023
The provisional agreement between the DGA and the studios I will go awaiting approval by the corporations national bedge to a special meeting scheduled for tomorrow (June 6).
Quotable: WGA will not fall into divide and conquer
They [AMPTP] he pretended he could not negotiate with the WGA in May because of the negotiations with the DGA. It’s a lie. It’s a choice they made in hopes of bringing the divide and conquer strategy to life. The essence of the strategy is to strike deals with a few unions and tell the rest that’s all there is. It’s gaslighting, and it only works if the unions are divided.
The WGA negotiating committee, to the writers in an email last Thursday (June 1), when they suspected a deal with the directors was in the offing, according to A New York Times relationship.
A brief explanation of how artificial intelligence threatens Hollywood writers
Artificial intelligence is already coming for both copywriting and technical writing jobs. His days of cannibalisming film and TV writing roles are not distant OR.
Like directors, writers want Hollywood to draw a line in the sand right now and say, ‘Writers are human beings,’ Mike Schur, the creator of The Good Place and co-creator of Parks and Amusement, has said in his ccountryside.
Manufacturers they came to their agreement with the directors faster because, perhaps, they are most urgently required on sets, to shoot from the screenplays that studios Have accumulated. For now, AMPTP continues to play hardball writers.
Next: Actors may protest too
The Screen Actors GuildAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAGAFTRA), the union which it represents about 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcasters, dancers, DJs, journalists, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voice actors and other media professionals, is currently in the process of collect a vote to authorize the strike.
Union negotiations with the AMPTP are it should start on June 7th. The expiration date on his current deal is June 30.
Even the actors have concerns about the AI. In December, Apple introduced a service which allows book publishers to use human-sounding AI narrators, replacing the voice actors. Artificial intelligence is replicating the rumors of musicians and actors in computer generated songs AND video game voiceovers. Motion capture technology could go a step further and mimic the skills and styles of actors, using their likenesses without consent and, consequently, compensation.
As AI becomes ever more powerful, we need to protect our profession. We ask all eligible members to vote YES to authorize a strike, the guild wrote.
One more thing: the copyright conundrum
In Marchthe US Copyright Office has suggested that content created entirely by an algorithm and completely devoid of human authorship is not admissible for copyright protection. Monetizing something that has no legal barrier to copying is difficult, and it is In the best interest studios to keep the human touch.
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