National Assn. of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) has announced revisions to its national guidelines, which outline subjects to consider for production companies and agencies during contract negotiations.
The updates, which address payment issues for both live action and digital productions, reflect the “new realities,” according to letters recently sent to AICP members and to agency business managers and producers.
Noting that the bulk of the expenditures on a shoot are distributed in the first ten days, AICP president/CEO Matt Miller said the new guidelines now call for a 75% upfront payment. “This was not an arbitrary decision on the part of the AICP Board of Directors,” he said.
“Many state labor codes require crew payment within two weeks. This puts a burden on production companies some of whom have to go into debt to finance a production before they get paid.”
The updated guidelines also recognize the longer work schedule of digital productions and recommend that for productions expected to exceed 120 days, a monthly payment schedule be worked out to ensure cash flow so the companies can cover staff salaries and overhead.
“The guidelines were developed to promote responsible business practices between production companies and their clients,” Miller said. “I’m happy to say that agency responses so far have been predominantly positive.”
