The Key Mechanism: Flexibility Meets Professional Standards

This framework allows non-signatory producers and agencies to hire top-tier SAG-AFTRA actors on a project-by-project basis by engaging a SAG-AFTRA Signatory like BBS. This grants access to a vast pool of performers, including principal actors, background performers, and voice-over artists.

The core benefit of the third-party signatory process is strategic flexibility. We facilitate proper union engagement when full signatory status is not aligned with your business model. This allows producers to access the professional union talent pool for specialized projects. This approach also provides the flexibility for producers to engage non-union performers for other projects as needed. BBS ensures your production meets SAG-AFTRA's professional standards.

Expertise in Comprehensive Compliance and Oversight

A third-party signatory provides essential expertise in navigating the intricate rules of the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract. BBS takes its compliance role as a bona fide producer seriously to protect your investment and ensure SAG compliance. This expertise is essential for adhering to strict mandates like SAG’s Global Rule One, which requires union members to work under union contracts wherever applicable.

The signatory must be involved from the onset of the production, collaborating during the pre-production phase to assume all necessary employer functions and ensure compliance with union regulations. We ensure SAG-AFTRA performers are hired under compliant, fair contracts.

Managed Paperwork and Documentation: Outsourced Complexity

Signatories effectively outsource this complexity by handling all contractual obligations and required documentation. This includes:

• Making timely contributions to the union's pension and health funds. 
• Submitting essential post-production reports such as the Final Cast List and the Commercial Tracking Report. 
• Managing critical compliance paperwork, including the SAG Exhibit G and Taft-Hartley forms. The Exhibit G Form, in particular, serves as the official record for tracking the working hours of SAG actors.

By managing these complex compliance requirements, the signatory allows marketers and agencies to focus on the creative execution of the advertisement.

Ensuring Proper Financial and Labor Obligations

A key responsibility of the third-party signatory is to Insure Proper Payments. The SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract outlines several compensation components that the signatory must accurately manage:

• Session Fees: These rates vary based on job functions and specific criteria set out in the Commercials Contract, with rates updated periodically. 
• Residuals: These are additional compensations that principal actors receive, calculated based on factors including the duration and reach of the commercial, ensuring that performers are fairly compensated for the ongoing use of their work.

The signatory also ensures adherence to specific working conditions and premium rates stipulated by the contract:

• Meal and Rest Periods: Performers are entitled to a minimum of a 12-hour consecutive rest period between work sessions. The first meal must commence within six hours of the first call time. 
• Premium Rates: Specific conditions like night work (between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM) incur a 10% premium for principal performers, while weekend and holiday work is compensated at double the regular rate.

Case Study: Strategic Flexibility for a Marketing Agency

A third-party signatory process offers non-signatory teams a flexible way to hire top-tier SAG-AFTRA performers for specific projects.

The Challenge A marketing agency needed to hire a performer who had recently joined SAG-AFTRA, requiring the agency to make a critical decision for the production: either become a Full Signatory (which would require all future relevant productions for all their clients to follow SAG-AFTRA rules and incur long-term commitment) or Engage a Third-Party Signatory (BBS), which is a project-by-project solution.

The Solution The agency chose to partner with BBS as their third-party signatory. This decision gave them the strategic flexibility to access the union talent pool without the burden of becoming a full SAG-AFTRA signatory.

The Result By engaging BBS, the agency ensured seamless compliance and production quality. BBS worked closely with the agency's production, casting teams, and the performers. This smooth integration provided the agency confidence that all contractual and compliance matters were handled correctly.

Leveraging BBS Expertise for Seamless Production

As governed by the Letter of Adherence to the SAG/AFTRA Commercials Contract, the signatory assumes employer functions from the onset. BBS’s robust responsibilities include:

• Reviewing Scripts to determine the number of On-Camera Principal Performers (OCPs), Voice Overs (VOs), and Extras.
• Participating in Selecting the Production Company, Securing the Casting Company, and Involvement in Cast Selection.
• Negotiating Talent Agreements and Handling Cast Clearance Issues.
• Managing Talent Contracts On-Set and Insuring Proper Payments.

By leveraging BBS as a third-party SAG signatory, clients secure legal adherence and access to world-class professional talent. This transforms logistical compliance into a strategic advantage, acting as the bridge that connects ambitious creative vision to professional execution.

Contact us today for a free consultation and discover how BBS can empower your next award-winning campaign.