A Bit More on Board Tests

I got a number of gripes today. About board tests. About uncompensated overtime. About board artists who now also get to be animatics editors ...

A supervisor from one of the bigger t.v. studios asked if it's kosher for board artists to be doing editors work. I said not if they're not being paid for it. And not if there is an Editors Guild presence/contract at the studio, since animatics is Editors Guild work.

The supe asked what I would do about the infractions. I said I would file a grievance ... provided people stepped forward to participate in it. (I have a hard time filing grievances without names. The studio asks: "Somebody didn't get paid overtime? Who? We need a name so we can cut a check." It's also helpful to have a warm body at an arbitration hearing to testify.)

And I went on to say that I had no problem with board artists creating animatics if

1) There was no Editors Guild around.

2) They were getting paid for the work.

Because the big issue is, if schedules aren't lengthened to account for the extra work, and then people put in late night for free, there's a contract violation that needs to be addressed, but the Guild needs to have an upright mammal with opposable thumbs who will sit in the witness chair at the arbitration and help bolster the case with clear, concise testimony.

Of course, many are reluctant to do that because of possible blowback, but it's really the best way to enforce the contract. Many times it's the only way.