Since 2000 UKFC has championed film production in the UK and has actively engaged with all stakeholders, including trade unions representing performers and other workers in the sector.

 In response to the announcement Equity General Secretary Christine Payne commented:

“We are appalled that this decision has been taken with no notice and no consultation. I urge the Government to ensure that public funding for film production will not be threatened by this change. We must guarantee a sustainable future for UK film – an industry makes a vital contribution to both our economy and international cultural reputation.”

There are two social networking pages which have been set up independently of the UK Film Council.  There are already 9,370 signatures to date attached to an online petition and a facebook page has received 14,771 visits.

 If you are interested in airing your views the addresses are:

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the-UK-Film-Council/137240442975080?ref=search

 http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/save-the-uk-film-council/sign.html

Due to the increasing financial pressures members find themselves under we are receiving an unprecedented volume of calls enquiring if there are any royalties or residuals due from programmes etc. initially transmitted many years ago which are now being exploited via TV, DVD/video or new media.

To help us process your claim it would be helpful if you could provide the following:-

• Your Equity membership name and number
• A photocopy of your contract
• Evidence of the transmission inc. time, date, TV channel or any other delivery platform eg. DTO, VOD etc.
• Evidence of DVD/Video Sales eg. Adverts from newspapers or availability to buy online

For unpaid royalty claims please contact Nick Craske, Equity’s Royalties Manager on 020 7670 0228 or e-mail Nick on ncraske@equity.org.uk

Click here to read The Independent article

Click here to join the credits crunch campaign

The Contract Enforcement role continues to bring in both substantial TV royalties and back-end payments on Cinema Films.  In 2009 Equity collected £1,152,719.46 in Cinema Film royalties and £910,792.47 for royalties/residual payments on TV productions.  So far, 2010 has seen the role bring in over £250,000.00 for the TV production Band of Brothers and Equity continue to receive large payments for Cinema Films.  If you think you are owed money please contact Christine Blake, Equity Contract Enforcement Officer on cblake@equity.org.uk or telephone 020 7670 0249.  Please also refer to the Factsheet section for further information regarding the process of Contract Enforcement.

A series of meetings have been held with some progress being made. The members of Equity’s Television Working Party which include agents and the Equity Council have been consulted with and updated on the regular basis.

In addition to the on-going negotiations additional meetings have been scheduled to enable representatives from Equity to discuss with the BBC diversity and the casting of actors, credits, walk-on and supporting artists.

 An Equity/BBC production forum will also be established which for the first time will enable the BBC, representatives from its drama production teams and Equity to meet and exchange views regarding current matters of concern.

Finally if you have been offered an engagement by the BBC and if the fee includes any ADR, fitting, read throughs, rehearsals sessions and overtime do please inform Equity’s BBC TV Organiser Ian Bayes. By doing this you will be can helping Equity to put pressure on the BBC to have this practice stopped. 

Ian Bayes Direct line – 020 7670 0252 or email – ibayes@equity.org.uk

Have you contributed to a sound recording that received radio airplay between 1996 and 2003? 

If so, you need to submit a claim to PPL before 26th July for radio royalties collected for your sound recording during this period of time.  

PPL has informed us that the deadline for submitting claims for sound recordings used between 1996 and 2003 has been extended until 26th July.  After 26th July you will only be able to claim for the use of sound recordings in the previous six years.     

Here is PPL’s full notification to performers who could benefit from submitting a claim for these old monies: 

PPL had previously communicated that after 26th April 2010, any accepted claims will only receive distributions for sound recording usage within the applicable six year statutory limitation period. 

Although we have received a high volume of claims to date, following a number of requests from various members, we have decided to extend the claims deadline to allow some extra time for members to make claims relating to sound recording usage between 1996 and 2003.  We are therefore extending the deadline from 26th April to 26th July 2010.  This means that up until 26th July 2010, we will continue to accept claims under the existing discretionary policy for income relating to use of a track between 1996 and 2003. 

After 26th July 2010 any accepted claims will only receive distributions for sound recording usage within the applicable six year statutory limitation period. 

We hope that this extension of time will be of benefit to our members.

If you have any questions about this please contact PPL performer services on 0207 534 1234

The entertainment industry is experiencing huge change at unprecedented speed. The era of communication dominated by a handful of terrestrial channels and radio stations has already become a distant memory. We now have hundreds of channels increasingly accessible on an ever growing array of platforms. Audiences can now watch programmes anywhere, any time on satellite, cable, Freeview, mobile phones, Video on Demand (VoD), download to own or rent and on the internet – to name just a few of the available alternatives to traditional terrestrial broadcasting. And audiences are taking to these new platforms in ever increasing numbers.

Equity has made huge strides in facing the challenges arising from new media commissions for example Productions made primarily for the new technologies including internet, mobiles, Video on Demand (VoD) and computer games (PS2/PS3/PSP/Xbox/Nintendo , etc.).

“Computer games” is a general term covering most interactive games played on personal computers, mobile devices, or dedicated games consoles such as Nintendo DS or Playstation.

The games industry is now worth more worldwide than the film industry. It is a massive, global industry, encompassing everything from games that are played without internet connection on personal computers, mobile devices or games consoles, to the internet-based MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games, such as World of Warcraft) that can involve thousands of players worldwide. No longer is the preserve of teenagers, there even games and websites specifically aimed at the under-tens, such as Club Penguin and Webkinz. For Equity members, this burgeoning field provides an array of opportunities in several different areas including directing, voiceover and motion capture. Motion capture is a relatively new field for actors, involving the digital capture of an actor’s movements to aid game animators in creating realistic characters.

WHAT HAS EQUITY ACHIEVED SO FAR?

A high number of performers have benefited from Equity’s guidelines on minimum fees and usage fees for voice-over and Motion capture work.  

The era of stability has passed, the new media environment is rapidly changing and therefore the terms of the agreements and guidelines will require constant scrutiny and review to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of our members. Equity has established a Future Media and Technologies Working Party, drawn from experienced members with knowledge of these new fields along with a closer working relationship with our sister Unions in the US, Canada and Australia to ensure that the agreements negotiated and the guidelines and information provided by Equity are relevant and of the highest quality. It is an exciting time to be a member of Equity as the Union faces the challenges that new technologies are bringing and members can play their part in ensuring that Equity remains the united voice of professional performers in the United Kingdom in developing the agreements, guidelines and information needed as we enter this challenging era.

Equity is attempting to improve and update all of its agreements/guidelines whilst the games industry is a technologically advanced industry it is not immune to the relentless advances in technology and the manner in which the consumer accesses games.

To better inform Equity’s negotiators of your needs and aspirations for any future agreements and guidelines please take few moments to complete the Video Games Industry questionnaire by following the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EquityVideoGames

If you have any questions relating to the questionnaire or Equity in general please contact Alexandra Moreau amoreau@equity.org.uk

Christine Payne, Equity’s General Secretary, said:

“This is a disaster! Almost every television actor in the country has at some stage worked on The Bill over the last 26 years and it is an enormously important source of work for Equity members. It also has a one of the most loyal audiences of any ongoing drama currently on television. We call on ITV to reconsider their decision to cancel this important programme.

“Our thoughts are with those members of Equity and other unions who will lose their job because of this decision and we are deeply concerned about what this implies for the future of ITV’s commitment to quality drama production.

“I understand that ITV has said that it is considering filling this slot with original UK-produced drama. I believe that my members expect that to be a cast iron guarantee – anything less would not be acceptable”

Over the past 18 months there has been an unprecedented collapse in long-running ITV drama. The closure of The Bill follows the ending of The Royal, Heartbeat and Taggart. Day-time drama the Royal Today and the highly-regarded drama Wire In The Blood have also been cancelled.

If you need to contact the BBC regarding a contributor payment query please note that the contacts have recently changed, please refer to the new contact details below…