Join the original In the summer of 2024, writer and labor advocate Adam Conover addressed attendees of the Stand With Animation Rally, organized by The Animation Guild. The rally occurred before their contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Conover spoke of the common refrain that executives at major studios do not respect the creatives in their industry, but framed it in a way that resonated with this author, saying—in part:
While Conover highlighted a blatant lack of respect from people in positions of power in the entertainment industry, he did not advocate for a response in kind. Instead, he emphasized the importance of self-respect. Professionalism demands that respect be maintained between all participants in any group effort, whether during contract negotiations or the production of a motion picture.
The Utah Filmmakers™ Association’s Core Values are Professionalism, Integrity, and Respect. Just as the business of filmmaking is inextricably linked to the art form, true professionalism cannot be demonstrated without integrity and respect. These values do not dictate behavior; they define a standard to strive for.
• Troubling observations
For the last quarter of a century, the author has been observing filmmakers in Utah, particularly those who comprise the established workforce of local film industry veterans who have made their living as filmmakers. Considering the industry’s rapid evolution and the ongoing examination of its viability as a practical career path in Utah, there has been an active interest in the overall conduct and practices of the current generation of filmmakers and what is being done to prepare the next.
While there’s no shortage of enthusiasm for making movies in the local film community—a distinct cohort from those in the film industry—anecdotal observations have noted some aspiring and semi-established Utah filmmakers who stand out for all the wrong reasons—in short, a demonstrable lack of professionalism, particularly where respect is concerned. These individuals are relatively few, but their conduct can—and does—affect the livelihoods of others.
When hired to work on productions for union-affiliated projects—especially those that take advantage of the state’s Motion Picture Incentive—local filmmakers should understand that they aren’t just doing a job; they’re representing local filmmakers and informing opinions about the quality of work that can be expected from Utah’s film industry.
Our local industry veterans deserve considerable credit for maintaining the market's viability and enabling our Film Commission to keep Utah at the forefront of studios and producers’ minds when considering production destinations, thanks to the abundance of local infrastructure and talent. It also spares production managers the logistical headaches of bringing in below-the-line crewmembers, equipment, and support services from out of state.
Still, when only a handful of local filmmakers are observed engaging in unprofessional behavior, it’s a disservice to the film community and the industry. It only takes one local hire to get fired from an incentivized production to hurt the employment prospects of other local filmmakers.
No one should assume it won’t happen because the Incentive Program requires hiring local talent. When Incentive funding is approved for a project, it remains conditional until a final audit verifies that the production has met the Program’s requirements. No one is going to keep an unprofessional crewmember on their payroll for the sake of a rebate. Serious, business-minded producers will settle for a smaller portion of an approved incentive if it means not compromising the saleability of their finished project.
Still, a single unprofessional experience can lead to generalizations about the capabilities of an entire region. Over the years, the author has become aware of incidents involving out-of-state and locally based productions concerning local hires. That they “act entitled” and are “disrespectful.” That “Utah filmmakers” can be “difficult to work with”—an industry euphemism that can kill a career; imagine the damage such a reputation can inflict when applied to an entire region. There have also been incidents in which notable industry professionals have made it abundantly clear that they would only return to the state on the explicit condition that a specific “Utah filmmaker” is guaranteed NOT to be involved in future productions.
It’s difficult to quantify the cost of lost opportunities. Consider all the lost wages for local hires who miss out on a producer’s next project when they decide to take their production to another state. There’s also the lost revenue for local support services and ancillary resources that many wouldn’t consider benefiting from the expenditures of a motion picture production. When deciding where to shoot their project, the producers probably won’t even remember the name of the one problematic local hire they had to let go. Still, they’ll never forget where they fired them and use that as justification to shoot in Georgia, New Mexico, or Ontario. It is an objectively unfair generalization about “Utah” crews based on wholly subjective experiences with just a few individuals.
Those perpetuating this problem are statistically insignificant, comprising only a handful of Utah filmmakers. They don’t need to be identified, called out, or corrected; the careers of those who cannot see the flaws in their behavior and who don’t or simply refuse to learn from their mistakes quite effectively weed themselves out of any industry—even if they don’t realize it—or they remain in complete denial as they isolate themselves in self-affirming bubbles of ignorance, engaging in “movie mogul roleplay.” Still, this does not negate the real damage they cause. Their bad habits, questionable business practices, and corner-cutting become normalized within their spheres of influence and rub off on others who perpetuate the same problematic behaviors.
• Professionalism vs “professionals”
The Utah Filmmakers™ Association’s primary means of interaction with the film community is through our Official Forum. Its first rule is an expectation of professionalism; its leading placement indicates its importance and should, ostensibly, make it easier to remember. Most other forum rules address problems that only arise when the first rule is forgotten or ignored. Unfortunately, many people subscribe to a narrow definition of “Professional.”:
This myopic view can evolve into the uninformed belief that one doesn’t need to act like a professional unless they’re getting paid. Throughout this treatise, those who embrace this conditional meaning will be referred to as “paid-pros” (paid professionals).
The off-putting behavior of paid-pros, who often believe they don’t need to act professionally when “off the clock” or between jobs, becomes much more noticeable on social media. Some of the most challenging people the author has had to engage with in the Utah Filmmakers™ group include a few “paid professional” filmmakers who are quick to take offense over innocuous feedback or polite requests to meet minimum standards in the group—standards that have existed for years and were implemented with guidance from film industry veterans. This phenomenon has been publicly addressed before:
Referring to oneself as a “professional” is meaningless without being respectful. Unfortunately, the practical application of “respect” also suffers from a deficient grasp of its meaning.
| The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and—especially where guest posts are concerned—do not necessarily reflect the official policies and/or practices of the Utah Filmmakers™ Association, its Officers and/or Associates. |