Do you like money?

I think it’s safe to say that if you are working as a stand-in in TV and film, you like money.

At least you like that it can help you pay for things.

Well, if you don’t know your contracts, then you may find when you are working, you are leaving a LOT of money on the table.

What do I mean?

I mean that it is helpful to read and understand the sections covering stand-ins in the various SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreements out there.

If you are familiar with the sections on stand-ins, then you will become sensitive to situations when you will be due more pay.

Sadly, although productions may be good and decent and follow the contracts honestly and to the best of their abilities, there are a decent number of productions that are happy NOT to pay you something you are due.

This might be because the production doesn’t know the contract that well. This might be because the production wants to get away without paying you for something. There could be other forces at play, too.

But if you don’t know your contracts, you will never know these situations.

And if you are the only one working on the job — which might sometimes be the case — you will be on your own to defend your pay.

For example, when standing in on a commercial, if you also work as a photo double, or a hand model, or even as an extra performer, you are due payment for that work.

As for 2024, we are talking over $400 for that additional work.

But if you don’t know the contract, you might not know that — and a production might not say anything to you about it.

Or if you only know the contracts for stand-in work on feature films, you might not know about the money you’re losing out on when standing in and doing additional work on commercials.

On feature films, stand-ins get nothing else for also doing background work. And stand-ins get only a $10 adjustment to their hourly rate when they also photo double or hand double.

I could go on.

Suffice it to say:

Over these upcoming holidays when work might slow down, have a look over some of the major SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreements.

They’re also known as “CBAs.”

The main ones to read over are:

If you read over the sections in them that pertain to background actors, extra performers, and stand-ins, you will start to get a sense of when you might be being screwed out of pay on a job. Then, you will know where to go for your grounds for higher pay.

One last note.

Each of these contracts has been updated since the ones linked above.

So, in addition to reading the above, you’ll also want to read the memoranda of agreement related to each contract.

They’re also known as “MOAs.”

These typically appear every three years or so. Typically, they update the pay rates but also include contract changes and additions.

The MOAs can be found under the contracts’ sections of the SAG-AFTRA website.

And, of course, if you have questions, Ask Stand-In Central!

What have you gained as a stand-in from knowing your contracts? Share your awesome experiences in the comments box below!