useapen
2024-06-03 07:33:03 UTC
After more than two decades in the industry, Keith Dunkerley still loves
nothing more than working on a set. The 47-year-old director of
photography and camera operator, whos had consistent work since he moved
to Los Angeles 23 years ago, said his is the best job in the world.
Since the writers and actors strikes last year and the slow restart of
production, though, Dunkerley said his work opportunities look quite
different than in past years: He has worked only 18 days during the first
five months of 2024.
People outside the business dont understand this is not a factory,
Dunkerley said. Its not like, OK, the strikes over, go back to the
factory, turn the lights on and get the machines going. A lot of us knew
its going to take some time to ramp things up.
While Dunkerley supported his family through savings and odd jobs as a
handyman on TaskRabbit during the strikes, the sluggish rebound has been
difficult for him. Hes recently made more than 60 calls to friends and
industry contacts to look for prospects.
What Dunkerley is experiencing is a part of the massive ripple effect of
the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that is still affecting tens of thousands of
people working in entertainment and adjacent industries. Crew members,
especially, have been hit hard.
I am currently in the worst place Ive ever been in my entire life
financially, said Heather Fink, a boom operator and director. The
industry is in a crisis. It is not back to normal. We are in debt.
FilmLA, a nonprofit that tracks on-location permitting in the city,
released a report in April that revealed a slow bounceback in production
after the dual strikes. Local on-location filming in the first quarter of
the year was down 8.7% from the first quarter of 2023. Television
production was especially impacted, with production falling 16.2% from
last year.
Paul Audley, the president of FilmLA, said these findings are startling
when considering that film and television production saw a retraction at
the start of 2023 in anticipation of the looming writers strike.
What were facing is a combination of effects of the studios, as well as
the streamers, cutting back not only the number of series they produced
but in some cases the number of episodes theyre producing for shows,
Audley said.
With scarce work opportunities, many crew members are concerned about how
they will maintain their health insurance, which is often directly tied to
the number of hours they work. Those who have coverage with the Motion
Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans must work 400 hours in a six-
month period to maintain their insurance. Many veteran crew members, like
hairstylist and department head Jason Orion, whos worked on shows
including Greys Anatomy, said he has never been close to losing his
coverage until now.
Orion was able to keep his health insurance thanks to a job on 9-1-1. He
said because he worked down to the wire before the 2007-08 writers
strike, he thought hed be busy until the strikes officially began. In
reality, he had an almost nonexistent beginning of 2023. Even the shows
and films shooting in L.A. now have slashed many departments, he added,
noting sets that historically employed 20 hairstylists now have just two
or three.
Orion said 9-1-1 was a very hard show, noting that crew member Rico
Priem recently died in a car accident after pulling a 14-hour overnight
shift. We were all tired, it was a very terrible thing, Orion said after
noting that hours on sets are generally brutal and relentless.
These tough conditions are one of the top concerns in ongoing negotiations
between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE),
which advocates for film and TV crew members, and the Alliance of Motion
Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Hollywood
studios. Much like the WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations, wage increases,
residuals and the use of artificial intelligence also are issues on the
table.
Some crew members said theyre cautiously optimistic that negotiations
will proceed smoothly and that work opportunities will ramp up once an
agreement is reached, which members seem to believe will happen before
their current contract expires on July 31.
For others, optimism does not come easily after a year of struggle. Fink
said working in sound for 14 years was honestly one of the biggest
mistakes Ive ever made in my life, and that she feels uneasy about the
future. One of her primary concerns is the increasing number of
productions moving away from L.A. and California to states or countries
that offer better tax incentives for production a phenomenon dubbed
runaway production.
Im so afraid that there isnt going to be a job to even be concerned
[about] what the conditions are, Fink said.
California offers $330 million annually in film tax credits, but other
states looking to build up their status as production hubs, like New York
and Georgia, provide more attractive incentives and programs with higher
or unlimited funding. New Yorks cap is $700 million and Georgia currently
does not have a limit.
California remains noncompetitive with the rest of the world that is
offering incentives and tax credits, Audley said. Everybodys aware that
California is not an inexpensive place to do business and we have, in the
past, been able to overcome that but its just noncompetitive and we
dont have anywhere near enough money in those funds from the state to
draw and keep production in L.A.
Outside of the U.S., several countries, including the United Kingdom, New
Zealand and Australia, are offering cushy tax incentives for studios,
where they can bypass unions and pay crews lower wages than in the States.
For so long, American culture was the thing that we exported. It is very
strange to watch everyone be OK that its getting imported, said Ian
Barbella, a camera assistant whos worked on series and films including
Lessons in Chemistry and Wine Country. Theres no context of [how]
thats an American company not using American workers.
These compounding sources of stress the fear of their jobs moving out of
state or abroad, the strenuous conditions they face on set and the lack of
employment opportunities are affecting the mental health of many crew
members.
Diego Mariscal, a dolly grip with 25-plus years of experience and credits
including Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Mandalorian, has been
running a popular Facebook group called Crew Stories for the last five
years. The online community of 90,000 shares on-set experiences both the
good and the bad and offers support through posts and fundraising for
colleagues in need. Mariscal said he has seen the toll this weird limbo
has had on his peers.
Everyones just in panic mode and they dont know what to do, Mariscal
said. Through his social media accounts, he said he has recently fielded
multiple messages from crew members experiencing suicidal thoughts and
severe mental distress.
Communities like Crew Stories and the friendships crew members have
developed with co-workers have been a refuge for many. Jennifer Rose
Clasen, a still photographer for The Flight Attendant and Big Little
Lies, said her film family has been leaning on one another and sharing
their mental health struggles as they muscle through the dry spell of work
and the uncertainty that lies ahead.
I constantly have to remind my friends this isnt their fault because
theres a little trickle of work out there so theres just enough for
people to feel like theyre failing, Clasen said. That, compounded over
10, 12, 14 months, truly takes a toll on peoples well-being.
Amid the mental and financial challenges theyre facing, some said those
outside of the industry expect them to seek out adjacent careers.
Dunkerley said its not that simple.
I love what I do, he said. You definitely question what you do, you
wake up [and] its kind of like, What am I doing? What am I supposed to
do now? Whats going to happen? And you just hope that something will pop
up. Im really hopeful. Fingers crossed.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-05-
28/hollywood-crew-unemployed-fewer-jobs-la-production-decline
nothing more than working on a set. The 47-year-old director of
photography and camera operator, whos had consistent work since he moved
to Los Angeles 23 years ago, said his is the best job in the world.
Since the writers and actors strikes last year and the slow restart of
production, though, Dunkerley said his work opportunities look quite
different than in past years: He has worked only 18 days during the first
five months of 2024.
People outside the business dont understand this is not a factory,
Dunkerley said. Its not like, OK, the strikes over, go back to the
factory, turn the lights on and get the machines going. A lot of us knew
its going to take some time to ramp things up.
While Dunkerley supported his family through savings and odd jobs as a
handyman on TaskRabbit during the strikes, the sluggish rebound has been
difficult for him. Hes recently made more than 60 calls to friends and
industry contacts to look for prospects.
What Dunkerley is experiencing is a part of the massive ripple effect of
the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that is still affecting tens of thousands of
people working in entertainment and adjacent industries. Crew members,
especially, have been hit hard.
I am currently in the worst place Ive ever been in my entire life
financially, said Heather Fink, a boom operator and director. The
industry is in a crisis. It is not back to normal. We are in debt.
FilmLA, a nonprofit that tracks on-location permitting in the city,
released a report in April that revealed a slow bounceback in production
after the dual strikes. Local on-location filming in the first quarter of
the year was down 8.7% from the first quarter of 2023. Television
production was especially impacted, with production falling 16.2% from
last year.
Paul Audley, the president of FilmLA, said these findings are startling
when considering that film and television production saw a retraction at
the start of 2023 in anticipation of the looming writers strike.
What were facing is a combination of effects of the studios, as well as
the streamers, cutting back not only the number of series they produced
but in some cases the number of episodes theyre producing for shows,
Audley said.
With scarce work opportunities, many crew members are concerned about how
they will maintain their health insurance, which is often directly tied to
the number of hours they work. Those who have coverage with the Motion
Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans must work 400 hours in a six-
month period to maintain their insurance. Many veteran crew members, like
hairstylist and department head Jason Orion, whos worked on shows
including Greys Anatomy, said he has never been close to losing his
coverage until now.
Orion was able to keep his health insurance thanks to a job on 9-1-1. He
said because he worked down to the wire before the 2007-08 writers
strike, he thought hed be busy until the strikes officially began. In
reality, he had an almost nonexistent beginning of 2023. Even the shows
and films shooting in L.A. now have slashed many departments, he added,
noting sets that historically employed 20 hairstylists now have just two
or three.
Orion said 9-1-1 was a very hard show, noting that crew member Rico
Priem recently died in a car accident after pulling a 14-hour overnight
shift. We were all tired, it was a very terrible thing, Orion said after
noting that hours on sets are generally brutal and relentless.
These tough conditions are one of the top concerns in ongoing negotiations
between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE),
which advocates for film and TV crew members, and the Alliance of Motion
Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Hollywood
studios. Much like the WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations, wage increases,
residuals and the use of artificial intelligence also are issues on the
table.
Some crew members said theyre cautiously optimistic that negotiations
will proceed smoothly and that work opportunities will ramp up once an
agreement is reached, which members seem to believe will happen before
their current contract expires on July 31.
For others, optimism does not come easily after a year of struggle. Fink
said working in sound for 14 years was honestly one of the biggest
mistakes Ive ever made in my life, and that she feels uneasy about the
future. One of her primary concerns is the increasing number of
productions moving away from L.A. and California to states or countries
that offer better tax incentives for production a phenomenon dubbed
runaway production.
Im so afraid that there isnt going to be a job to even be concerned
[about] what the conditions are, Fink said.
California offers $330 million annually in film tax credits, but other
states looking to build up their status as production hubs, like New York
and Georgia, provide more attractive incentives and programs with higher
or unlimited funding. New Yorks cap is $700 million and Georgia currently
does not have a limit.
California remains noncompetitive with the rest of the world that is
offering incentives and tax credits, Audley said. Everybodys aware that
California is not an inexpensive place to do business and we have, in the
past, been able to overcome that but its just noncompetitive and we
dont have anywhere near enough money in those funds from the state to
draw and keep production in L.A.
Outside of the U.S., several countries, including the United Kingdom, New
Zealand and Australia, are offering cushy tax incentives for studios,
where they can bypass unions and pay crews lower wages than in the States.
For so long, American culture was the thing that we exported. It is very
strange to watch everyone be OK that its getting imported, said Ian
Barbella, a camera assistant whos worked on series and films including
Lessons in Chemistry and Wine Country. Theres no context of [how]
thats an American company not using American workers.
These compounding sources of stress the fear of their jobs moving out of
state or abroad, the strenuous conditions they face on set and the lack of
employment opportunities are affecting the mental health of many crew
members.
Diego Mariscal, a dolly grip with 25-plus years of experience and credits
including Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Mandalorian, has been
running a popular Facebook group called Crew Stories for the last five
years. The online community of 90,000 shares on-set experiences both the
good and the bad and offers support through posts and fundraising for
colleagues in need. Mariscal said he has seen the toll this weird limbo
has had on his peers.
Everyones just in panic mode and they dont know what to do, Mariscal
said. Through his social media accounts, he said he has recently fielded
multiple messages from crew members experiencing suicidal thoughts and
severe mental distress.
Communities like Crew Stories and the friendships crew members have
developed with co-workers have been a refuge for many. Jennifer Rose
Clasen, a still photographer for The Flight Attendant and Big Little
Lies, said her film family has been leaning on one another and sharing
their mental health struggles as they muscle through the dry spell of work
and the uncertainty that lies ahead.
I constantly have to remind my friends this isnt their fault because
theres a little trickle of work out there so theres just enough for
people to feel like theyre failing, Clasen said. That, compounded over
10, 12, 14 months, truly takes a toll on peoples well-being.
Amid the mental and financial challenges theyre facing, some said those
outside of the industry expect them to seek out adjacent careers.
Dunkerley said its not that simple.
I love what I do, he said. You definitely question what you do, you
wake up [and] its kind of like, What am I doing? What am I supposed to
do now? Whats going to happen? And you just hope that something will pop
up. Im really hopeful. Fingers crossed.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-05-
28/hollywood-crew-unemployed-fewer-jobs-la-production-decline