TAG Craft Meetings

As many know, the Animation Guild covers just about every kind of artistic and technical job related to animation: writers, board artists, animators, designers, background artists, and technical directors. (The Guild doesn't cover production people).

As we come to the end of the first year of the 2015-2018 contract, the board's officers and board decided it would be a good idea to hold craft meetings to review how people are faring under the new agreement, and to share information. To that end, Guild membership will come together on the following dates at 1105 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank California:

Craft Meetings - August and September

Agenda:

Review of the 2015-2018 Agreement – One Year In
New Media
Studio Tests
Uncompensated Overtime
Production Schedules
Piece Work
Animatics

1) board artists and revisionists – Tuesday, 7 p.m. August 16

2) timing directors – Tuesday, 7 p.m., August 23

3) designers, background artists – Tuesday, 7 p.m., August 30

4) CG animators, modelers and tech directors – Tuesday, 7 p.m., September 13

5) Writers – Tuesday, 7 p.m., September 20 ...

The Guild has 3,747 people working under its jurisdiction; this is a big jump from where it was five years ago, when the total was 2,718, and slowly climbing
out of the employment doldrums of the early oughts.

Even with the record-high employment, there are abuses that continue: non-comped overtime; overlong storyboard and design tests; unrealistic schedules. Many of these issues have existed for decades, and they are much like plastic pop-up moles in arcade games. A problem gets taken care of on one studio production, and (whattayaknow!) up pops its bristly little head on another show.

These meetings are open to active and inactive Animation Guild members. As we get nearer to meeting dates, handy reminders will go out via e-mail.

Knowledge is power, and the more knowledge you have, the more effective you'll be steering your career through the corporate shoals.